The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Arts Monday, January 12, 2014 — 5A Classifieds Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com ACROSS 1 “Say it isn’t so!” 5 Slick 9 Japanese poem with 17 syllables 14 More than simmer 15 Natural skin soother 16 Caravan stop 17 ’50s-’60s Ramblers, briefly 18 Grand Prix series designation 20 Brings in, as salary 22 Geeky types 23 Controversial Vietnam War defoliant 26 Onetime Leno announcer Hall 29 Salt, in Franasce 30 “__ we there yet?” 31 Add to the staff 33 Serving at Popeyes 36 Gutter site 37 Avon or Fuller Brush work, e.g. 42 Too 43 Country bumpkins 44 “I hope you’ve learned your __!” 47 Pro vote 48 Little white lie 51 “__-hoo! Over here!” 52 What Al Capone led 56 Collar attachment for Spot 57 “MASH” setting 58 “Shh! Don’t tell!” and hint to what can precede the starts of 18-, 23-, 37- and 52- Across 63 Cheesy sandwich 64 Dance in a line 65 Actress Garr 66 Autobahn auto 67 Like a truck climbing a steep hill 68 Flower part 69 Tiff DOWN 1 White House family 2 Respect that’s “paid” 3 Coin with a buffalo, once 4 Designer Mary- Kate or Ashley 5 Klutzy fellow 6 U.N. worker protection gp. 7 Doone of Exmoor 8 Red Sea republic 9 “Texas” poker variety 10 Very small batteries 11 Prefix with metric 12 Kith and __ 13 Exploit 19 Hankering 21 Button that gets things going 24 Sandwich cookie 25 Raring to go 26 Airline with famously tight security 27 Symbol of peace 28 Hair colorings 32 Vegetables in pods 33 The “B” in TV’s former The WB network 34 “Your point being...?” 35 Target city for Godzilla 37 Tyne of “Judging Amy” 38 Margarine 39 __ buco: veal dish 40 Scuba diving area 41 Not tight 45 Familiar adage 46 Evening, in ads 48 Inflame with enthusiasm 49 Marcos with a shoe collection 50 “Take a hike!” 53 Verifiable findings 54 “Snowy” wader 55 Sauce tomatoes 56 “Othello” conspirator 58 Here, in Le Havre 59 Truck weight unit 60 NBC late-night comedy hit 61 Before, in poetry 62 Tiny Dickens boy By Marti DuGuay-Carpenter ©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 01/12/15 01/12/15 ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: RELEASE DATE– Monday, January 12, 2015 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis xwordeditor@aol.com CHECK OUT OUR COOL www.michigandaily.com WEBSITE. 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Though the 62-year-old action star manages to main- tain his always impressive screen pres- ence, his talents are wasted on this most lacklus- ter, incoherent and ill-con- ceived action vehicle from French director Olivier Megaton (“Colombi- ana”). Indeed, it’s time to lay this “Taken” franchise to rest. A sequel to the previous two “Taken” films in name only, this third go for retired covert operative Bryan Mills features no kidnappings or Albanians from Tropoja. Instead, Mills is framed for the murder of his ex- wife (Famke Janssen, “X-Men”) and must embark on a mission to clear his name while doling out occasional mild-mannered, PG-13 punishment to those responsible. In theory, this idea is intrigu- ing — an update of “The Fugi- tive” with Neeson replacing the equally formidable Harrison Ford in the title role. Sadly, the premise proves the only com- parison between the two films. Where “The Fugitive” is clever, gripping and intelligent, “Taken 3” proves humdrum, a mere exercise in emptying wallets. The script, from French mae- stro Luc Besson (“Lucy”) and American Robert Mark Kamen (“The Fifth Element”), is so contrived, so very ignorant of just how stupid it is. And Mega- ton’s direction features, quite simply, some of the choppiest, most incomprehensible cam- erawork and editing, as well as a dearth of poignancy and immediacy. One chase sequence — and there are multiple, each less compelling than the previ- ous — features, and I’m not even kidding, four cuts in about one second. That’s about equivalent to twisting your head side-to- side as fast as you can in one second — it’s dizzying. Throw in some shaky camera work, and you have yourself an unin- telligible film. The actors are given little to work with; Liam Neeson (“Non- Stop”) is solid as always, though he has far less to do here than one would hope (but he does survive two, count ‘em, two car explosions). Newcomer to the franchise Forest Whitaker (“Out of the Furnace”) plays the cop assigned to take Mills down. I assume he was added to create a sense of urgency, but, really, what kind of threat does the LAPD pose to a guy who singlehandedly took out an entire human trafficking cartel? Maggie Grace (“Knight and Day”) returns as Mills’s daughter to look sad and help- less. And Stuart, the new hus- band of Mills’s ex-wife from the first “Taken,” miraculously reverse-aged 10 years and was recast as Dougray Scott (“Mis- sion Impossible 2”). I’ll admit, I have a soft spot for these kinds of action films — yes they’re mindless, yes they don’t advance cinema in any way, shape or form and yes, they’re fun as hell. Not every- thing that we deem cinema needs to be high art, not every- thing needs to be avant-garde, cerebral, meaningful. Some- times a healthy dose of escap- ism is not only welcome but also necessary. But it’s mishandled films like “Taken 3” that prove me wrong. I’ve gotten a lot of flak for wanting to see this film, and in this instance I was rightfully put in my place. The action film as a genre has been thoroughly stripped down into a series of explosions, quick cuts, shaky camerawork and poorly devel- oped characters. There is, or used to be, artistry to convinc- ing an audience that they are watching something urgent, that there is danger and that they should care about the man or woman facing that danger. What we have now is a mere semblance of action’s former self, a genre that seemed origi- nal not ten years ago reduced to a skeleton, a formula. So for now, I’ll look to the past for my adrenaline fix, for my danger. And to all those would- be warriors out there, looking to revive a lost art, I have but two words for you: Good luck. ‘Galavant’ is fun, not funny By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer The musical TV genre has a very mixed track record on network tele- vision. While “Glee” was successful for a long time and “Empire” opened strongly this week, other attempts (like “Smash”) have failed. While the ratings for “Galavant” were nothing to write home about, this show should have gained more atten- tion. Though it’s not perfect, the first two episodes produce a highly entertaining hour of television, putting it among the better televi- sion musicals. “Galavant” follows an epony- mous knight (Joshua Sasse, “Rogue”) whose true love Madale- na (Mallory Jensen, “Young & Hungry”) was kidnapped by the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson, “Psych”) so he could marry her. When Gal interrupts their wedding, Madalena chooses to remain with the king. After a year of heartache, the Princess of Valencia (Karen David, “Waterloo Road”) asks for his help in a quest to save her kingdom from the clutches of King Richard. What contributes the most to “Galavant” ’s fun tone is its music. Written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (collaborators on Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid”), the songs are catchy and cathartic. The core of the show lies in its ability to release beautiful songs in each epi- sode. Numbers like King Richard’s “She’ll be Mine” or the quartet songs “Maybe You’re Not the Worst Person Ever” prove that Men- ken and Slater know how to put together amusing tunes with some clever words. Though the main “Galavant” melody does begin to tire by the third reprise in the hour, Slater adds some sharp quips to the lyrics which lessen the burnout. While the songs’ humorous lyr- ics are fantastic, the show’s dialogue is disappointing. Some contain humorous moments, but many have gags that come off as overly broad. Sometimes they have a solid idea, but it lasts for one or two lines too long, like a scene where Gal’s rival Sir Jean Hamm (John Stamos, “Full House”) tells a series of “yo-mama” jokes. Creator Dan Fogleman was also responsible for “The Neigh- bors,” which was similarly hit- and-miss comedically. It’s a shame that these scenes aren’t as strong, because they’re the only things that hold this show back from being the best small-screen musical. The lack of comedic success is not the cast’s fault, however. Many of the actors bring charm to the screen despite being saddled with weak material. Omundson especially gets some of the more immature jests, but he has so much fun with his part that you hardly notice the bad jokes. He gives a huge performance, chewing scenery left and right. It works well, especially in the musical numbers. He is what makes “She’ll be Mine” as amusing as it is. “Galavant” is exactly what a TV musical should be. Its songs are catchy and it’s a hell of a good time. While the humor isn’t always strong, the other elements are prominent enough to make it incredibly enjoyable television. Earning the right to wear band T-shirts DGC RECORDS Smells like teen spirit...or maybe that’s manure. By MELINA GLUSAC Daily Arts Writer They’re everywhere. Who would’ve thought two little x’s for eyes, a squiggly smi- ley face to finish them off and an all-caps rendering of a band name would unite and inadvertently become the biggest fashion state- ment of 2014? Sure, the typically black and yel- low T-shirts containing the afore- mentioned components emerged way before this past year — 1987, to be exact, when Nirvana formed. But it wasn’t until last year (pos- sibly before, one is too trauma- tized by it all to look these things up) that Urban Outfitters and other hipster-catering clothing brands decided Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl were the new Louis Vuitton bag. As preposterous as it sounds to the ears of any ex-brooding teen or early ’90s connoisseur, grunge is “in” now, dipped in flannel shirts, Dr. Martens and Nirvana; 1994 has come full circle (except, of course, in regards to popular music). Teen- age girls, fashion bloggers and hip men alike don Nirvana t-shirts. Got a lone black blazer? Finish it off with some distressed jeans, black booties and a Nirvana t-shirt. It’s a neutral; it goes with every- thing. Don’t worry. All this leaves music purists and Nirvana fans with one pesky ques- tion: Do these people even know who Nirvana is? Now, maybe we’re not giving them enough credit. I’m sure they know Nirvana was a band with a lead singer that died. Oh, and they sang that one really catchy song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” right? Yeah, that was a good one. Really edgy, man. That one was rockin’. But do they know some of Nir- vana’s best work (i.e. “Dive” or “Aneurysm”) wasn’t a product of Nevermind, however glorious it is, but rather 1992’s Incesticide? Do they know about “In Bloom” or the Biblical imagery of “Heart-Shaped Box”? Do they know Cobain wrote “Something in the Way” about his experiences with homelessness, allegedly living under the bridge on Wishkah River in Washington when he couldn’t find a place to sleep (though Novoselic disputes this)? Moreover, do they intensely dislike Courtney Love? Probably not. Well, maybe the Courtney Love part. I like to think this parapher- nalia constitutes a “true” fan, one that is worthy, for lack of a better word, of wearing a shirt with a certain band’s name. I personally employ a strict 15-song rule before I slip any sort of music-related attire on my body: If I know at least 15 songs by the artist on the T-shirt, I deserve to wear it. Part of it’s a pride thing, but the other part is some deep irrational fear that I’ll run into another human being like myself who will test me, as I’m testing all Nirvana T-shirt owners with these words. Knowing all the guts and glory behind your choice aesthetic of the day makes it that much more worth it, at least to me. What angers most Nirvana fans is the “style over sub- stance” mindset many outfitters of the urban variety have adapted — they prefer the frock for its grunge- y chic look rather than the fact that it reminds them of the sunny tune, “Rape Me.” Understandable, but not intellectually desirable. Nevertheless, it’s exposure — the fashion world has made sure people don’t forget about one of the best things that happened to the music industry in the ’90s, whether that was a conscious move or not. All the Forever 21 models are carrying on Cobain’s memory, as much as that would have nauseated him, per- haps even inspiring people to revisit the justifiably legendary band. In the meantime, though, I’ve only given you seven songs for your repertoire. Study up before you slip on. TV REVIEW C- Taken 3 Rave and Quality 16 20th Century Fox B+ Galavant Mini-Series Premiere Sundays at 8 p.m. ABC MOVIE REVIEW 20TH CENTURY FOX When will they let me stop making these movies? MUSIC NOTEBOOK