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Arts
Monday, March 9, 2015 — 5A
Classifieds
Call: #734-418-4115
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ACROSS
1 Works with yarn
6 Anheuser-__
Brewery
11 Solomon, for one
14 Valium drug
company
15 Snow-block
home
16 Logger’s tool
17 Past one’s prime
19 Doc for a kitty
20 Thickness-
measuring
instrument
21 Hiker’s tool
23 Mauna __
24 Actress
Zellweger
25 Perilous course
to go down
30 Margarita
condiment, in
Mazatlán
32 Tiny amt. of time
33 Ballet skirt
34 Vote in
36 Tom Collins
liquor
38 Red giant with a
carbon-rich
atmosphere
39 Say with
assurance
40 Red-shirted bear
42 Prefix with bar
43 Achieves one’s
goal
48 Skin openings
49 “Saw __”:
second “Saw”
sequel
50 Popeye’s
adoptee
53 Lacking a
handle?
57 Bother a lot
58 Interest-paying
institution
60 Alphabet finale
61 Where embryos
develop
62 Do-or-die poker
bet
63 Finale
64 Heat-resistant
glassware
65 Writer/director
Allen with four
Oscars
DOWN
1 McDonald’s
founder Ray
2 __ Scotia
3 Atlantic republic
at the edge of the
Arctic Cir.
4 Roller-coaster
ride feeling
5 Climactic tennis
match situation
6 Oktoberfest quaff
7 “That turns my
stomach”
8 Deli machine
9 Ant complex
10 Watson’s
associate
11 Perked pot
contents
12 Couple that’s split
13 Dampens
18 Piles
22 Furrier’s hides
24 Cookbook
contents
25 Streamlined
26 Take down a __:
humble
27 Navel variety
28 School support
gps.
29 Peseta
replacement
30 Tailor’s line
31 Thomas __
Edison
35 __ suzette:
dessert pancake
37 Christmas quaff
38 Logger’s tool
41 Round gasket
44 Cleans with a
paper towel, as a
spill
45 War-ending pact
46 Shot put
competitor, e.g.
47 Devil, in
Durango
50 Small or medium
51 Small songbird
52 __ out a living:
barely got by
53 Windows
alternative
54 Bueno’s opposite
55 City near Tulsa
56 Big Apple fashion
initials
59 Anger
By Carol Hacker
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/09/15
03/09/15
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Monday, March 9, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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PARKING
Awkward Hozier is
still breathtaking
By AMELIA ZAK
Daily Music Editor
“Musicians should not play
music. Music should play musi-
cians” – Henry Rollins
At the Royal Oak Music The-
atre this past Saturday, Irish
singer/songwriter
Andrew
Hozier-Byrne,
performing
under the name Hozier, fought
to
keep
Rollins’s
haunting
words true. Self-described as a
“gangly introvert,” it isn’t sur-
prising that Hozier doesn’t find
himself most comfortable in
front of sold-out crowds who,
ebullient with praise and appre-
ciation, want nothing more than
to know everything about him.
Andrew quietly wandered
onstage last Saturday night in
Royal Oak, and with little hesi-
tation began to strum out the
first chords of “Angel of Small
Death & The Codeine Scene.”
And so the night began, fol-
lowing a completely organic,
un-calculated
formula
from
beginning to end: the immense
musical
and
lyrical
talents
that introduced “Take Me to
Church” to popular culture.
His overt awkwardness con-
trasted with the cookie-cutter
star ‘role’ he is supposed to play
as a highly-sought singer in the
pop-culture circuit, the figure
of Andrew Hozier-Byrne is an
unintentional juxtaposition.
His lanky six-foot-five-inch
frame and booming voice com-
pensate for Hozier’s otherwise
amateurish stage presence. But
the move from song to song was
delicate and fluid, moving from
his opener to his second single
off Hozier, “From Eden.”
“Innocence died screaming,
honey, ask me I should know/I
slithered here from Eden just to
sit outside your door” sings all
the present lips, as if minions to
this gigantic creature towering
before us all, mimicking each
guttural emphasis or passionate
emphasis the beautiful Irish-
man sings. Lined with depth,
variety, sensuality and a casual
biblical reference, the lyrics
provide a story that is univer-
sally accessible without losing
its immediacy.
The music continued with-
out a word from Hozier himself.
Throwing an electric guitar
over his shoulder, Andrew and
his equally talented surround-
ing band descended into one of
the album’s best, “Jackie and
Wilson,” singing of a Bonnie-
and-Clyde-sort-of-girl
who
builds up a man’s dreams only
to disappear upon finishing her
cigarette. And everyone once
again is singing along and feel-
ing the almost tangible emo-
tion laced through the song and
it becomes inexplicably clear
that this man need not talk nor
describe his talents – he’s just
here to play. None of that Hol-
lywood, cookie-cutter pop-star
nonsense here: the music is
playing this musician.
But to avoid an influx of nega-
tive
assumptions
regarding
Andrew’s shyness, he does con-
verse with audience by endless-
ly praising their presence and
support. In a thick Irish accent
he provides context for his
next couplet of songs, like the
experience of “love at its most
vacuous” that inspired his most
recent single, “Someone New.”
Bouncing from a bluesy and folk
sound as he vacillates between
an acoustic, electric and steel
guitar, Mr. Hozier-Byrne estab-
lishes himself and his literary
lyrics as the constant and the
music to be the ever-changing,
ever exciting, but always excel-
lent variable.
Hozier’s
choice
in
cover
songs for his Royal Oak perfor-
mance were incredibly indica-
tive, once again, of the immense
attention he pays on music
over all else in his occupation.
His first cover of Skip James’s
“Illinois Blues” was beauti-
fully jaunting and then per-
fectly juxtaposed by an encore
presentation of Amerie’s “1
Thing.” From country blues
to ’90s pop, Hozier clearly
adores this music and effec-
tively beckons his audience
to feel the same, breaking the
two very different songs down
for his audience so that they can
enjoy it too.
The night ended magically
as his set’s last song began with
the staged introduction of a
couple as a Robert asked for the
hand in marriage of his now
fiancé Carey. And with her con-
firmation, and Andrew’s con-
gratulations, the night ended
ever so sweetly with the deep
whisper, “In the low lamp light
I was free/Heaven and Hell
were words to me.”
Leaving the concert, it was
unclear whether Hozier’s star-
dom is sustainable. His current-
ly massive pool of fans wouldn’t
dissipate for lack of talent, but
rather perhaps for the critical
differences Hozier places upon
himself. Hozier did incred-
ibly well, holding combinations
of sensuality with pleads of
social change like those pres-
ent in his largest hit, “Take Me
to Church.” But awkwardness,
although at times endearing,
doesn’t always appeal to the
masses.
Hozier’s
propensity
for sustained success is held in
the balance by his next album.
And maybe this wheat and chaff
separation is necessary; per-
haps it will act as the opportu-
nity to separate the “Take Me
to Church” fans from the enam-
ored or obsessed. Nevertheless
and despite the unknown nature
of his future, it was invigorat-
ing to witness Rollins’s prolific
words embodied modernly.
CONCERT REVIEW
‘Crime’ is arresting
TV REVIEW
Graphic new ABC
series features
narrative urgency and
taut storytelling
By DREW MARON
Daily Arts Writer
There’s no shortage of crime
series
out
there
that
show
members of law enforcement
following
evidence,
questioning
suspects
and
chasing
down
bad guys before
ending
the
episode
at
the
bar,
discussing
what they learned
that week.
“American
Crime” critiques
these shows through its very
existence, exploring the idea that
crime is more than a fantasy —it’s
a reality faced by actual people
on a day-to-day basis. Creator
John Ridley (“12 Years a Slave”)
doesn’t flinch from showing the
harsh emotional reality endured
as a result of violence and crime.
The
show
follows
the
aftermath of a home invasion
which
leaves
war-veteran
Matt
Skokie
(Grant
Merritt,
“Revolution”) dead and his wife
Gwen in a critical condition.
The episode begins with Matt’s
father, Russ (played by Academy
Award Winner Timothy Hutton,
“Leverage”),
waking
in
the
middle of the night to a phone
call every parent dreads: asking
him to fly to Modesto, Calif. to
identify the body of his son.
Russ’s reaction to seeing Matt
in the morgue is a scene shown
in all the promos, but only when
watching the episode live is the
pain truly raw and more real. The
camera stays focused on Russ
in a tightly framed close-up of
him in front of a window with
blinds drawn – a male voiceover
narrating, “Someone inside the
room is gonna pull the blind back.
You’re gonna see a table with a
body on it. I need you to tell me if
the body you see is your son. Let
me know when you’re ready.” As
Russ remains fixated on the blind
yet to be pulled, the camera does
not move, but stays focused on
Hutton’s character as he gazes
absentmindedly at the covered
glass. The man behind him
commands, “Go ahead,” and then
two latex covered hands appear
on the other side and pull back
the blind to illuminate Hutton’s
face. We do not see Matt’s dead
body – only the impact it has on
Russ.
Like
“Breaking
Bad,”
“American Crime” is not for
the faint of heart. It is a drama
in the truest sense of the word,
attacking the nerves — not
just through graphic images
of violence but with emotional
ferocity.
In style and tone, the show
feels
reminiscent
of
Steven
Soderbergh’s
“Traffic”
and
HBO’s “The Wire” as we branch
off from Russ’s story into the
other lives drawn into Ridley’s
web. There’s Felicity Huffman
(“Desperate Housewives”), who
plays Matt’s mother and Russ’s
ex-wife Barb, in a role that is sure
to put Huffman at the front of the
Emmy race for Best Supporting
Actress.
There’s also Benito Martinez
(“The Shield” and “Sons of
Anarchy”) as Alonzo, an overly-
protective
father
whose
son
Tony — played masterfully by
newcomer Johnny Ortiz — is
accidentally implicated in the
murder
and
then
arrested.
Another
newcomer
is
Elvis
Nolasco (“Oldboy”), a drug addict
in a relationship with the equally
messed-up Aubrey, played by
Caitlin
Gerard
(“The
Social
Network”). Richard Cabral (“The
Counselor”) rounds out the cast
as a criminal who may or may
not have been responsible for
Skokie’s murder.
Overall, the real star is John
Ridley.
Between
comedies,
comic books and the Academy
Award-winning screenplay for
“12 Years a Slave,” Ridley can
now add showrunner to his
already impressive résumé. With
“American Crime,” he has built
an epic tapestry woven with
emotional
performances,
taut
storytelling and a focus as urgent
as this morning’s newspapers.
“American Crime” is one of the
most engrossing and impressive
television pilots to be seen in
quite a long time.
ABC
We found love in a hopeless place.
Unfunny ‘Business’
By VANESSA WONG
Daily Music Editor
Following a showdown against
his more professional, well-
groomed boss, Daniel Trunkman
(Vince Vaughn,
“The
Intern-
ship“) jumps ship
and launches his
own
competing
firm, called Apex
International.
He, joined by a
clueless, inexperi-
enced interviewee
(that’s right, not
even a legitimate hire) (Dave
Franco, “Now You See Me“) and
a recently laid-off, sex-crazed old
man (Tom Wilkinson, “Selma”),
operates out of a Dunkin’ Donuts,
and after a full year of dawdling,
finally manages to snare a deal.
But until they seal it with the
ever-important handshake, the
fate of their firm hangs in limbo.
They embark on a business trip
to settle what they assume is
just a formality, but find, to their
dismay, the manager of their old
firm cozying up to their poten-
tial business partner. Every sign
points in her favor, threatening
the legitimacy of Apex Interna-
tional. The ragtag group embarks
on a bumbling wild goose chase
to regain their edge, and of
course, hijinks ensue.
But in conjunction with the
requisite crazy parties and sex is
a story arc that no one would ever
think to associate with this breed
of comedy: responsibility. Daniel
contends with the challenges
of parenthood; always too busy
with work to adequately com-
fort his bullied teenage son and
misbehaving young daughter. In
fact, his daughter’s homework
assignment for him, asking him
to answer the question “who’s
your daddy?” acts as the film’s
main
narrative
mechanism.
Throughout,
Daniel
agonizes
over how to define who he is as a
person and as a father. Further-
more, as the deal falls increas-
ingly out of Apex’s grasp, Daniel
feels the pressure to succeed for
his team, which, no matter how
grossly incompetent, has always
remained true to him.
Though it offers a welcome
interlude from normal slapstick,
“Unfinished Business” does so
at the expense of the dumb jokes
that characterized and popular-
ized the genre. Its promotional
poster promises two hours of
depravity with its color-tinted
party shots of each Apex employ-
ee and the tagline “Best Business
Trip Ever.” But even with licen-
tious nudity, the finished prod-
uct seems to vacillate between
hedonism and sentimentality,
ultimately returning to the latter.
In fact, the driving force behind
the main plotline grounds it in
realistic adult concerns. After a
disturbingly graphic gay fetish
scene that finds Daniel witness
to their business partner’s exhi-
bitionist side and the film’s sub-
sequent, and only, rave montage,
the two men commiserate over
their midlife crises. Are Vince
Vaughn movies finally growing
up?
It might be a nice balance if
the funny parts were actually
funny. Only Franco’s character,
in all his blind optimism and
shocking stupidity, stands out.
Even then, the running joke sur-
rounding his name – Mike Pan-
cake – warrants no more than a
smirk at best and gets dragged
out far longer than it should. The
rest of the gags are staid and lack
the incendiary spark to actually
succeed.
If this is to be a continuing
trend in comedy, then there’s
still more work to be done to
meld seriousness and silliness
together. Otherwise, we’re bet-
ter off saving the histrionics for
another fight.
A+
American
Crime
Series
Premiere
ABC
Thursdays
at 10 p.m.
C+
Unfinished
Business
Rave &
Quality 16
Regency
Enterprises
We’re better
off saving the
histrionics.
Leaving the
show, it’s unclear
if his stardom
will stay.
FILM REVIEW