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Arts
Monday, December 5, 2016 — 5A

Classifieds

Call: #734-418-4115
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ACROSS
1 Poets
6 Ocean breaker
10 Former Iranian
ruler
14 From another
planet
15 Golfer’s club
selection
16 Golfer’s target
17 What the star gets
on a marquee
19 Express
checkout lane
unit
20 “__ Haw”
21 Contemptuous
manner, in slang
22 “Pet” annoyance
23 Dejected
26 Wrap tightly, as
in bandages
30 Poker holding
31 Charged atoms
32 Madame of
physics
34 Guy’s partner
37 Level of optimal
accomplishment
41 Bygone jet,
briefly
42 Act with passion
43 Caution
44 Song at the Met
45 Like most
peanuts
47 Meeting of world
leaders
52 Name on rented
trailers
53 Lane with a nose
for news
54 Pasta suffix
57 Dirt road grooves
58 Honorable ... and
like the starts of
17-, 23-, 37- and
47-Across
61 Emancipated
62 Pigmented eye
layer
63 Watchdog
warning
64 Part of NIMBY
65 Swiss capital
66 Foul, weather-
wise

DOWN
1 It’s drawn in a tub
2 Natural skin
soother

3 Unlike green
tomatoes
4 Star of the ball
5 Tattletale
6 Witty Oscar
7 Astrological Ram
8 Maria __ Trapp
9 Subj. with
grammar
10 Handheld riot gear
11 Marriott facility
12 Advil competitor
13 Macho guys
18 Tempt
22 “The Hunger
Games” nation
24 Severe pang
25 Carnival
26 Drinks that make
a drink last
27 Troubles
28 Vet sch. course
29 Disdainful click
32 Zagreb native
33 N.Y.-based
educators’ union
34 Insect in a dusk
swarm
35 Realtor’s lot unit
36 Allow to borrow
38 Danger
39 Give out
40 Tapered tool
44 Tickled

45 Less than 1%?
46 Give, as
homework
47 Like the beach
during a storm
48 “Star Trek”
lieutenant
49 Alma __
50 Rags-to-riches
author Horatio
51 Lindsay who
played Liz in “Liz
& Dick”

54 Wedding
promises
55 Mature eft
56 Relaxed way to
sit by
58 O’Hare, for
United 
Airlines
59 “__ been 
thinking ... ”
60 Org. 
promoting 
hunter safety

By Brock Wilson
©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
12/05/16

12/05/16

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Monday, December 5, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

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20TH CENTURY FOX

There’s Something About Mountain Dew.

Has there ever been a Broadway 

musical as big as “Hamilton?” 
It seems like every time I write 
about the show, I ask myself that 
question. I’ve never seen anything 
from 
the 
stage 

capture the cultural 
zeitgeist in such a 
big way.

The 
latest 

iteration 
of 
this 

impact 
is 
The 

Hamilton Mixtape, 
an album of covers 
and 
spinoffs 
of 

songs in the show. 
The list of artists 
who 
lent 
their 

voices is impressive: Usher, Kelly 
Clarkson, Regina Spektor, Sia, 
John 
Legend, 
Common 
and 

Jimmy Fallon, to name a few. But, 
given how much I love the musical 
and some of these performers, 
I was surprised by how many 
problems 
there 
are 
on 
The 

Mixtape. A lot of the spinoffs and a 
few of the covers are brilliant and 
will be songs I listen to regularly, 
but some feel uninspired and drag 
down the album as a result.

The 
biggest 
problem 
with 

The Hamilton Mixtape comes 
from some of the covers’ lack 
of 
emotional 
depth. 
There 

are 
undoubtedly 
some 
good 

reimaginings of songs on the 
album, but others lack the power 
that the theatrical performers 
brought to them.

Take “Satisfied” for example. 

In the show, that song represents 
a moment of anguish for Angelica 
Schuyler. She’s watching her sister 
marry the only man she’s ever had 
a connection with. She sings about 
how she loves Alexander, but 
ultimately loves her sister more. 
The song is one of the emotional 
gut punches of the musical and 
is ultimately why Renée Elise 
Goldsberry won the Tony for 

Featured Actress in a Musical this 
year. Those are almost impossible 
shoes to fill, but Sia doesn’t even 
come close. Her rendition lacks 
even a fraction of Goldsberry’s 
depth. It sounds like she’s just 
singing the song, not performing 
it and giving it everything she 
can. And, ultimately, that’s why it 

suffers.

That’s not the 

only 
cover 
that 

needs just a little 
more 
from 
the 

singers. 
Usher’s 

“Wait for It,” a 
track that gives 
depth to the Aaron 
Burr character, left 
me feeling empty 
inside. 
Ashanti’s 

“Helpless” didn’t 

seem to have any of the hopeful 
optimism and innocence the song 
requires. Plus, Ja Rule’s version 
of Alexander’s verse is painful 
because of how he whines his way 
through it. Also, I don’t know what 
the dialogue opening of Jimmy 
Fallon’s “You’ll be Back” is, but it’s 
not funny in the slightest.

Yet, a few of the covers stick 

out above the rest because of how 
fresh and new they feel. “Dear 
Theodosia” is one of the most 
beautiful songs in “Hamilton,” 
and the song’s simple piano-based 
nature fits Regina Spektor’s voice 
perfectly. Spektor and Ben Folds 
don’t try to do too much, and just 
let the song’s beauty stand on its 
own. Also, Kelly Clarkson’s cover 
of “It’s Quiet Uptown,” another 
one of the musical’s emotional 
gut-punches, nearly moved me 
to tears the first time I heard 
it. In her voice, I felt the pain of 
what losing a child is like. John 
Legend’s “History Has Its Eyes 
on You” doesn’t have much lyrical 
depth (as the song in the musical is 
very short), but it’s another perfect 
match of singer and song.

Where 
The 
Mixtape 
truly 

shined was in its spinoffs. In some 
cases, 
composer 
Lin-Manuel 

Miranda and the artists took a line 
or two from a song and made it 
their own. My favorite is probably 
“Wrote My Way Out.” The third 
track of the album takes two lines 
from “Hurricane” and spins them 
off into a hook that’s as powerful 
as it is catchy. The verses by Nas, 
Dave East and Miranda each 
have statements about what it’s 
like to write your way out of a 
rough situation. Miranda’s verse 
is particularly strong. His lyrics 
have the momentum of a runaway 
freight train as he brings ideas 
of not fitting in with his peers at 
school, but still having the need to 
put his thoughts on pen and paper. 
There’s also “Say Yes to This,” 
which takes the song “Say No to 
This,” where Hamilton is trying 
and failing to oppose an affair 
with Mariah Reynolds, and turns 
it to Reynold’s perspective. Jill 
Scott’s sultry performance makes 
the song seductive, and it’s hard to 
resist falling for it.

There are also a couple of 

tracks where The Mixtape takes 
an existing song from “Hamilton” 
and puts it into a modern context. 
The most memorable example is 
“My Shot.” The hook is the same, 
but the verses by Black Thought, 
Joell Ortiz and Busta Rhymes 
put a modern spin on the words, 
updating them to talk about their 
perspective on what it’s like to 
grab “their shot.” Wiz Khalifa’s 
“Washingtons by Your Side” is 
less successful, but it passes very 
quickly, so it doesn’t leave a lasting 
negative impact.

I’m very surprised by how 

mixed my feelings were on The 
Hamilton Mixtape. Since seeing 
the show in August, I’ve fallen in 
love with the music, consuming 
every possible thing I can that’s 
related to the show. Before 
listening to the album, I didn’t 
think there would be anything 
“Hamilton”-related I wouldn’t 
enjoy. And, I really did love some 
of the tracks. Others just make me 
wish for something deeper.

Mixed feels for ‘Mixtape’

ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer

‘Hamilton’ compilation album boasts impressive talent

B

The Hamilton 

Mixtape

Various Artists

Atlantic Records

ALBUM REVIEW

Telling a joke that gets the 

entire room laughing is the 
social equivalent of hitting a 
grand slam. Gazing around and 
seeing everyone’s brief joy feels 
so good that it bears repeating. 
Logically, if it’s funny once, it 
should at least be equally funny 
the second time. More is usually 
better, and more laughter is 
always 
better. 
Unfortunately, 

with every repeated attempt, 
the joke exponentially decays 
into the realm of pitiful comedy 
occupied by the likes of Dane 
Cook and Jeff Dunham.

There are few things more 

heartbreaking than witnessing 
someone ruin a perfectly good 
joke. The timing, context and 
delivery all felt so right before 
the overzealous jokester got 
carried away. This humiliating 
act is like watching a baseball 
player trip on home plate and 
break their femur after hitting 
the game-winning grand slam — 
it’s a tragicomedy.

Comedy 
ages 
the 
worst 

compared to all other movie 
genres. Its short shelf life is 
because of the fleeting nature of 
jokes; dated cultural references 
usually fail to align with newer 
audiences. It’s not that telling 
the same joke becomes repetitive 
and exhaustive. It’s that the 
jokes just aren’t as relevant to the 

modern world.

The 
cheesy 
and 
raunchy 

“There’s 
Something 
About 

Mary” was mostly well-received 
by audiences and critics after its 
1998 release. AFI would even go 
on to rank it the 27th funniest 
movie of the last 100 years, 
ahead of comedy behemoths 
like “Ghostbusters” and “Animal 
House.” Peculiarly, this “classic” 
has aged quite poorly since its 
release. Although the famous 
pant-zipper gag is punchy and 
funny, the excessive amount of 
jokes that make fun of people 
with disabilities are lazy and 
offensive. Laughing at the pain 
of others is still the standard 
for comedy, but in 2016, we 
don’t really laugh at autism and 
paralysis. It’s shocking to think 
this was ever widely accepted.

Challenging the norm is what 

makes comedy so gripping. By 
contesting a sensitive subject, 
comedians and movies can often 
bring light to a controversial 
issue. How this is done and who’s 
at the tail end of the joke, however, 
determines everything. Movies 
that satirize systems of higher 
authorities tend to age better 
than those that bully traditionally 
marginalized 
groups. 

Throughout time, there will 
always be something inherently 
wrong in the world that can be 
critiqued, like bad leadership and 
useless bureaucracies.

“Monty Python and the Holy 

Grail” has aged as gracefully as 

David Lynch’s glorious mane of 
gray hair. Every joke and scene is 
still as hilarious and brilliant as it 
was in 1975. There will never be a 
day where this movie is not funny. 
What sets it apart from other flops 
of this time is its ability to takes 
risks in the genre and experiment 
with basic storytelling elements, 
like conclusive endings and tidy 
plotlines. Considering the movie 
was a standalone and unique 
work, time does nothing but 
solidify its masterful quality.

Movies that were never lauded 

by critics, but adored by a cult 
following, like “Tim and Eric’s 
Billion Dollar Movie” generally 
age beautifully. However, they 
seldom break out into more 
widespread appreciation as time 
progresses. Movies that are so 
idiosyncratic only appeal to a 
specific group of people that 
adore all aspects of the movie; 
it’s unusual that this changes 
over time. With “Tim and Eric,” 
it’s nearly impossible that larger 
audiences will eventually grow to 
love the movie’s surreal and often 
grotesque moments that attract 
such a cult following.

Whether or not a movie will 

age well to the modern world is 
impossible to predict. Although 
an ingenious script and innovative 
storytelling don’t hurt, people’s 
tastes 
change 
unpredictably. 

Many people may find the 
classic “Doctor Strangelove” a 
bit slow today when compared to 
“Sausage Party.”

WILL STEWART

Daily Arts Writer

Unpredictable shelf lives of comedy

Some former classics age like fine wine; others age like stinky cheese

FOCUS FEATURES

Someone has been drinking Mountain Dew... =]

On December 31, 2015, with 

about ten minutes left in a year 
that had graced us with the first 
great “Star Wars” movie since 
1983, I decided to do something 
I had never done before: I was 
going to make a New Year’s 
Resolution. I’d tried it before; 
I’d told myself that I was going 
to drink less Mountain Dew 
about 20 times, only to down my 
regular three cans the very next 
day. No, my resolution would 
have to be something measurable 
and absolute. With that in mind, 
I made my decision: if I saw a 
trailer in 2016, I would see the 
movie.

And so the madness began.
It started slowly enough. I saw 

a movie a week, marking down the 
trailers for future reference. By 
March, I was up to two movies a 
week, which increased to three by 
the time summer got underway. 
I had never been more broke. I 
would wake up the morning after 
with my eyes hurting. I ate so 
much popcorn it made me sick.

It was incredible.
It may sound obvious, but there 

are a lot of movies released in one 
year. “You idiot,” you’re probably 
thinking, “of course there are a 
lot of movies released in a year.” 
I knew this, but the reality of the 
situation didn’t really hit me until 

I realized that even at a rate of 
roughly twelve movies a month, I 
was still missing some.

What all this amounts to is 

that over Thanksgiving break, I 
saw my hundredth movie of the 
year. What all this means is that, 
despite my best efforts, I have 
learned some things.

The first thing was that a lot 

of great movies fly under the 
radar. To be clear, this isn’t me 
saying that all indie movies are 
the greatest things ever and any 
movie with a seven figure budget 
is a sign that film is dying. That’s 
bull. Several of my personal 
favorites from this year, like 
“Captain America: Civil War” or 
“Deadpool” are blockbusters that 
more than earn their hundreds of 
millions. However, some movies 
like David Mackenzie’s smart, 
intense, and surprisingly funny 
heist film “Hell or High Water” 
and Laika’s animated epic “Kubo 
and the Two Strings” barely 
manage to make their budgets 
back despite being some of the 
best that 2016 has to offer.

With that in mind and at the 

risk of sounding like a cynic, most 
movies are just average. I want to 
make it clear that of the 100-plus 
movies I’ve seen thus far, I’ve 
liked over half of them. It’s been a 
good year. I’ve seen far more great 
ones than I have awful ones. Still, 
I’ve found at least one in every 
three films fit into that middle 
ground where they contain good 

and bad in equal measure. A lot of 
these aren’t bad; they just aren’t 
memorable.

Having gone through this, 

I’d argue against the common 
criticism of modern film is that 
every movie is either a sequel, 
reboot, or remake. There are 
plenty of original films released 
in a year. Many of them fit into 
one of the two aforementioned 
categories. They either fly under 
the radar of most people, or they 
just aren’t all that good. If you’re 
looking for an original movie, 
chances are there is at least one 
playing near you; you may just 
have to look past the movies that 
have people lining up around the 
block.

Finally, 
it’s 
important 
to 

keep in mind that if you decide 
to 
do 
something 
like 
this, 

upon finding out about your 
financially inadvisable New Year’s 
Resolution, 
your 
roommate’s 

girlfriend will forcefully show 
you trailers to crappy looking 
movies so you have to see them. I 
learned this the hard way, and so I 
watched “Nine Lives.”

I have one month left in this 

experiment of mine, with about 
seventeen movies I’ve yet to see. 
It’s been bad for my eyes. It’s 
been bad for my wallet. It’s been 
awesome, and I can’t wait to do 
the same thing in 2017 and see 
what it has to bring. Besides, of 
course, another awesome “Star 
Wars” movie.

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

Daily Arts Writer

100 movies and counting: Lessons 
I learned from watching film in 2016

How one New Year’s resolution drove me into a descent of madness

FILM NOTEBOOK

FILM NOTEBOOK

