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1 Tie up at the pier
5 Basics
9 Expressive chat
image
14 “That works for
me”
15 “Dang!”
16 Cars sold at
auctions
17 Nabisco
chocolate-creme
cookie
18 Vermeer or van
Gogh
20 Postgraduate
degree
22 First-class
23 Sailor
24 Tanning lotion
letters
27 Golf hole
benchmark
29 Snacked (on) to
excess, briefly
32 Pinup queen
Page
34 __ buco: veal
dish
36 Mob kingpin
38 PG-13 issuing
org.
39 __ vincit amor
40 Restful resorts
41 Vase material
named for its
white color
43 Window insert
44 Wiped off the
board
45 Genghis __
48 ’60s tripping drug
49 Took command
of
50 “Morning Edition”
airer
52 Lion’s den
54 Turning point in
tennis, and a hint
to this puzzle’s
circled letters
59 Casino big
spender
62 Veggie in a green
smoothie
63 Sleep lab study
64 Where Norway’s
Royal Family
resides
65 Biblical paradise
66 L.A.’s region
67 Pics on ankles
68 Hair-coloring
agents
DOWN
1 Gloom partner
2 Cajun veggie
3 Course including
romaine and
croutons
4 Greenhouse gas
protocol city
5 Loved to death
6 Get-up-and-go
7 New cow
8 Mar. 17th
honoree
9 Horn of Africa
nation
10 Clothing store
department
11 Withdraw, with
“out”
12 G.I. doll
13 Dead Sea
country: Abbr.
19 Lawrence’s land
21 U2’s “The Joshua
Tree” co-producer
Brian
24 “Enough!”
25 Residents around
the Leaning
Tower
26 __ up: came clean
27 Saddle knob
28 Aim high
30 Madame Bovary
31 Language of
Copenhagen, in
Copenhagen
33 Culinary meas.
35 Acorn droppers
37 Pike or trout
39 Seasoned expert
42 Army leader
46 Last Olds models
47 Catch red-
handed
51 Place to keep a
camper, for short
53 Irritated
54 Mets’ old
stadium
55 “Casablanca”
woman
56 Boston NBAer
57 Protected from
the wind
58 Some male dolls
59 Owns
60 NASDAQ debut
61 Health
supplements co.
By C.C. Burnikel
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/13/17
03/13/17
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Monday, March 13, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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FOR RENT
HELP WANTED
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
‘Kong’ is empty but pretty
“Kong: Skull Island” is a King
Kong movie more or less inspired
by “Apocalypse Now.” If that
doesn’t catch your fancy, this
probably isn’t the movie for you.
This is a gleefully absurd monster
flick drenched in Vietnam War-era
pastiche, and it understands and
embraces that identity to an insane
degree. It’s certainly not perfect —
in fact, there’s an argument to be
had about whether
or not it’s even good
— but for what it is,
it’s a rollicking good
time.
Film
fans
will
know that “Kong”
takes place in the
same universe as
the
most
recent
American iteration of “Godzilla”
in
preparation
for
the
2020
cinematic throw down between
the two titanic monsters. To the
film’s credit, it avoids the common
pitfall of trying to build the entire
universe in a single movie without
telling
a
good,
self-contained
story (see: “Iron Man 2” and “The
Amazing
Spider-Man
2”).
To
its discredit, it then goes about
repeating “Godzilla” ’s gravest
mistake: the complete misuse of its
cast and characters.
“Kong”
has
an
almost
ludicrously
accomplished
cast,
including Tom Hiddleston (“I Saw
the Light”), Brie Larson (“Room”),
John Goodman (“10 Cloverfield
Lane”),
Samuel
L.
Jackson
(“Kingsman: The Secret Service”)
and John C. Reilly (“The Lobster”),
and with all this A-list, top-tier
talent, only the latter two are ever
given any weight. While the human
characters won’t be the reason the
vast majority of people see this
movie, the sheer amount of screen
time spent with them necessitates
some sort of depth.
Jackson and Reilly are actually
given solid characterization, and
correspondingly, they are the
highlights of the piece. Jackson
portrays the thinly veiled Colonel
Kurtz
stand-in
as
primarily
unhinged,
but
earlier
scenes
showing his inability to move past
the ending of the Vietnam War
make him more of an interesting
and complex antagonist. Reilly, on
the other hand, is the human heart
and soul of the piece, and his ability
to switch between touching drama
and
his
trademark
screwball
comedy provides a memorable,
eminently likable character.
Then we come to the Eighth
Wonder of the World himself,
King Kong, and here is where
“Kong” truly delivers. Apparently
acting on the complaints that the
2014 rendition of Godzilla wasn’t
given enough to do in his own
movie,
Kong
is
given a series of
exhilarating action
scenes, each one
more rousing and
exciting than the
last. The sequence
teased
in
the
trailers
where
Kong
fights
off
a small fleet of helicopters is an
early highlight of the film and acts
as a fabulous introduction to this
new interpretation of the beloved
character.
As good as these action beats
are, the Kong-less ones that feature
the human cast facing off against
the Skull Island’s other monstrous
inhabitants are even better. They
would have undoubtedly been
stronger had those characters
been fleshed out, but as they stand
now, they’re still great. Director
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, previously
best known for his excellent indie
comedy “The Kings of Summer,”
shows himself to be more than
capable creating inventive, fast-
paced sequences that effortlessly
hold his audience’s rapt attention,
and together with cinematographer
Larry Fong (“Super 8”), he creates
some truly superb, brightly colored
imagery that compliments the
send-ups to ‘70s era film.
Even with all that in mind,
it’s hard to overlook “Kong” ’s
many problems, though. It has a
remarkably skilled cast, yet does
nothing with them. The jokes are
welcome, but they often either
don’t work or clash with the tone of
what is supposed to be an intense
scene. While Vogt-Roberts is adept
at creating distinct action scenes,
he seems to still struggle with
balancing his ensemble and tone.
It’s a wild ride from start to finish
— there’s no mistake there — but
these problems keep it from being
the “Apocalypse Now” homage it
clearly aspires to be.
JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
Daily Arts Writer
Loss, as seen on television
When
the
Judd
Apatow-
produced “Love” premiered on
Netflix early last year, its premise
was on the verge of sounding
generic: A decidedly low-key sitcom
with raunchy undertones about a
restless white heterosexual couple
in Los Angeles. We’ve already seen
this kind of a rom-com plot with
Apatow’s films “This is 40” and
“Knocked Up.” However, instead of
fulfilling the tropes of its executive
producer or the clichés of its
genre, “Love” ended up subverting
expectations by taking a more
realistic, humanistic approach to
its subject matter, which explored
modern
relationships
through
the nerdy Gus (Paul Rust, “I
Love You Beth Cooper”) and the
rebellious Mickey (Gillian Jacobs,
“Community”). It also became one
of the most authentic depictions of
L.A. on television — FX’s “You’re
The Worst,” a similarly themed
show, is a close second.
Now, in its second season,
“Love”
still
embraces
its
awkward, cringeworthy humor
and
naturalistic
dialogue,
but it continues to develop its
protagonists as nuanced characters
by placing them in even weirder,
funnier and more discomforting
scenarios.
Even
though
it
fumbles a bit within the first
two episodes, “Love” is keen on
growing and maturing, effectively
distinguishing itself among other
new additions of Netflix rom-com
shows — Joe Swanberg’s romance
anthology
“Easy”
and
Tom
Edge’s inventive British sitcom
“Lovesick.”
“On
Lockdown,”
the
first
episode of the new season, picks up
where last season ended, with Gus
and Mickey kissing at a gas station
after Mickey reveals her intentions
to quit dating for awhile. While the
season finale may have had a bit of
an on-the-nose rom-com ending,
“On Lockdown” concerns itself
more with the repercussions of
Gus and Mickey’s pact to not have
sex or date indefinitely.
As much as they liked to be
apart, the two end up spending
the entire night together due
to
a
series
of
unfortunate
circumstances. Mickey can’t stay at
her house because her Australian
roommate Bertie (the hysterical
Claudia
O’Herty,
“Trainwreck”)
is
having
sex
with
Gus’s friend Randy
(Mike
Mitchell,
“Comedy
Bang
Bang”). Later, Gus
and
Mickey
are
stuck at Gus’s apartment complex,
where the cops have confined
the residents as they lead an
investigation of a nearby loose
criminal. This situation sounds
like an overused rom-com trope at
first, but thankfully, “Love” does
what it does best by displaying Rust
and Jacobs’ surprisingly strong
chemistry and their witty banter in
order to push the story along. After
a hilariously bizarre sequence of
Gus and Mickey’s attempt to escape
the complex, the two still end up in
bed together, but not in the way one
would think. This scene contrasts
greatly with the previous episode’s
final moments with an anti-climax
that will either anger or surprise
fans, but nevertheless deliver on
the promise that “Love” wants to
give its characters room to evolve.
However, as seen in the next
episode, “Friends Night Out,”
Gus and Mickey are still stuck in
personal gridlocks, engaged in a
sexual and romantic tension that
keeps viewers guessing if they
can really stay off of each other.
This episode, while funnier, more
entertaining and revealing than the
first one, still showcases “Love” ’s
flaws when it puts Gus and Mickey
in a very classic sitcom setup. After
deciding to spend some time away
from one another, they each hang
out with their respective friend
groups and immediately regret
doing so when each situation
reminds them of the trials and
tribulations of being single.
Gus wants to hang out with
his buds at a bar, but becomes
unsettled when a group of women
decide to join them; Mickey grows
distressed as the
seventh
wheel
to the group of
married couples she
eats dinner with.
Considering
how
the characters have
acted in previous
episodes, it doesn’t come as surprise
that Gus and Mickey are as great
together as they are horrible people
to everyone else. With his “asshole-
disguised-as-nice-guy” demeanor,
a withdrawn Gus rebuffs Kali
(Tipper Newton, “Southbound”),
one of the women who joins his
group, mistakenly believing she
was flirting with him when she
was just trying to be friendly.
Seeing all the couples get along, a
jealous, detached Mickey stirs up
some drama when asking a dirty
question of her own during a game
of Table Topics. Both leave their
respective parties in despair, but as
expected, they come together for a
dialogue-less final sequence, where
Mickey breaks her abstinence and
the two have car sex to the apt tune
of the Avett Brothers’s “No Hard
Feelings.” While it was nice to see
Gus and Mickey back together,
this ending might have been more
rewarding had Gus and Mickey
spent more than just one episode
without being a romantic couple.
‘Love’ matures with plot
SAM ROSENBERG
Daily Arts Writer
Over spring break, my Grandpa
died. I remember my eyes shooting
open in the middle of the night,
because I’d heard a sound: A single
choked sob. My door was cracked
open, and I saw that the lights
were on downstairs — there was
a faint buzzing of the TV in the
background, and I heard my dad’s
voice.
My first thought was that
something terrible had happened
between my mom and dad. Their
marriage was falling apart. Maybe
my dad had admitted to cheating
on my mom, and she was crying
and he was trying to calm her
down. I had no particular reason to
believe this, except that I couldn’t
think of any other reason why
they’d be talking in the basement
at 4:00 in the morning, with my
dad speaking and my mom crying.
Unless someone died.
I heard Mom come upstairs and
I knew I wouldn’t fall back asleep
without knowing what was going
on, so I went to her room, my heart
pounding, dreading the worst. She
looked at me, tears in her eyes, and
said, “Your grandpa has passed
away.” I felt guilty for how relieved
I was. My parents were fine.
Four days later, we were on the
road to Rochester, Minnesota,
where the funeral would be held.
Grandpa Chuck was my mom’s
stepdad, and he’d been married
before my Grandma Carol. He and
his first wife had had three kids by
the time my parents were born,
and those kids had kids of their
own, and some of those kids had
kids of their own. Most of that side
of the family lived in Minnesota, so
I hadn’t met any of them in my life.
This would be the first time I met
them — all new uncles and aunts
and cousins, or, I guess, step-uncles
and step-aunts and step-cousins.
As we went to the viewing, and
then the funeral, I observed the
people around me. Uncle Matt,
my mom’s brother, was quiet as
usual, sometimes even indifferent-
looking, but once I thought I caught
him dabbing his eyes with a tissue
— or maybe I didn’t. Three of my
new cousins all had the same basic
characteristics, and I tried in vain
to figure out which was which. My
new uncle Steve, with the same
white mustache and gravelly voice
of my grandpa, stood over the
coffin, crying as other men rubbed
his shoulders consolingly. My other
new uncle Tim stood solemnly to
the side, more subdued. I thought
he looked more like Grandpa, but
everyone told me that I was wrong,
that Steve was his spitting image.
Looking around at everything,
I thought about how surreal it
was. I’d never lost a close family
member before; my closest loss was
probably my first cat, or maybe my
piano teacher. In any case, I’d never
been to a funeral, never heard a
family member’s eulogy, never
heard “Amazing Grace” blaring
from a set of bagpipes. I’d never
heard a pastor explaining that that
we could feel safe and comforted
because our loved ones were in a
glorious place with God now.
Scratch that: I’d heard all those
things before, but only on TV. Being
a person that takes in so much
narrative means that I’ve always
compared things to TV, but as I get
older, it only increases. There have
been so many times this year when
something happened and I thought
about how I’d only ever seen that
thing on TV — seeing someone at
a party doing a line of cocaine, or
walking through the clinical, over-
lit white hallways of an emergency
room, or stepping into a cabin in
the middle of the woods.
I’d seen countless funerals on
TV, but never in real life, and now it
was all happening and it was real.
That body in that coffin, which
didn’t look like Grandpa at all, really
was him. Old hymns reverberated
throughout the chapel. The stained
glass windows depicted warm
chartreuse meadows and deep
blue skies. I’m not religious, but as
we stood and prayed, I felt that this
was important.
Afterward we drove to the
cemetery to bury him, and since he
was a veteran, there were several
men from the Army who shot
rifles into the air. The sun was on
my back but it was chilly outside,
and as another veteran handed
Grandma a folded up American
flag and spoke softly to her, I
couldn’t tell if the tears in my eyes
were from sadness or the cold sting
of the wind.
After it was all over we went to
my new uncle Tim and my new
aunt Paula’s house with the rest of
my new family. We all drank and
ate good food and watched the
funny little kids be funny little kids.
At the end of the night we went
downstairs and Tim fired up a
slide projector, and we all huddled
around looking at old pictures of
the family I never really knew. The
lights were dim, and we were all
laughing. Part of me felt like I was
intruding on an intimate family
moment, but I mostly felt happy
that I was able to be here, finally
getting to know these people I’d
heard so much about from my
grandparents. Even if they were
this fully-formed family, we had
Grandpa in common.
When I think of Grandpa
Chuck, I think of his stories. I have
so many memories of sitting across
from him at the dining room table
and hearing a story about fishing,
or hunting, or his times in the army.
On their own, many of the stories
were pretty anticlimactic; they
were small, subtle, often just about
an amusing conversation Grandpa
had or something he had to fix on
his boat. But there was a quiet force
to the way he spoke, something
both engaging and calming, and
no matter how the story ended, it
always felt powerful and complete.
At the funeral, when Steve went
up and told some last stories about
Grandpa, I couldn’t help but think
of how they really did look and
sound alike. Steve had that same
storytelling ability Grandpa had.
As he spoke about his father, about
how there was a warmth his gruff
exterior couldn’t totally hide, I
felt myself blinking away tears.
Even if I didn’t believe in heaven
or hell, this was an afterlife of its
own: my mom, and my brother,
and Grandma, and Steve, and Tim
and all my new cousins and their
children.
I watched a movie yesterday
called “The Father of My Children,”
by Mia Hansen-Løve. In the movie,
a film producer dies, and his family
is left to finish his films while they
privately go through their own
TV REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
“Love”
Season 2 Premiere
(First two episodes)
Netflix
“Kong: Skull
Island”
Rave Cinemas,
Goodrich Quality 16
Warner Bros. Pictures
TV/NEW MEDIA COLUMN
BEN ROSENSTOCK
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