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ACROSS
1 Jackson with a
1972 Lifetime
Achievement
Grammy
8 Rx watchdog
11 Wing
14 Most sober
15 Curved part
16 Md. neighbor
17 Infomercial
promise
19 Md. neighbor
20 Powerful 1970s
Pittsburgh
defensive line,
familiarly
22 Didst whack
25 Spot checker?
26 One-named
Deco master
27 Swiss river
28 Loot
31 Storm warning
33 Pair
35 Algonquin Round
Table member,
e.g.
37 Role for Dustin
38 “The Card
Players” artist
42 Amu __: Asian
river
44 Verizon
subsidiary
45 Undertaking
48 Anka song with
the phrase “Kiss
me mucho”
51 Soccer chant
53 Loving murmur
54 A giraffe has a
long one
55 Org. concerned
with briefs
57 “Swing Shift”
Oscar nominee
59 Sticker on store
fruit
63 Fill in (for)
64 Hint in a specialty
crossword, and,
literally, what’s
found in 17-, 20-,
38- and 59-Across
68 Actor Wallach
69 Jeans name
70 Like some lunch
orders
71 “Amen!”
72 Inject
73 “Seems that way
to me”

DOWN
1 “Mrs. Miniver”
studio
2 2001 W.S.
champs
3 Guffaw sound
4 Stop at sea
5 Hopkins role
6 Scotland’s Arran,
e.g.
7 Perfectly, with
“to”
8 Leak source
9 Diminutive celeb
sexologist
10 Taiwanese PC
maker
11 Pirate on the
Queen Anne’s
Revenge
12 Descendants of a
son of Jacob and
Leah
13 Venezuelan
cowboy
18 MDL ÷ X
21 Studio occupant
22 Glum
23 Kentucky Derby
time
24 Latin “pray for
us”
29 Barn __
30 Light source

32 Banquet
dispenser
34 Futon kin
36 Sweet __
39 OPEC member
40 Madhouse
41 The lot
42 Portrayer of
“McDreamy” on
“Grey’s Anatomy”
43 Typically
46 Boozer
47 Colorful carp

49 Revered
50 Was loyal to
52 Picks
56 High point of a
European trip?
58 Foil giant
60 Golden St.
campus
61 Yours, to Yves
62 Tie up
65 Not of the cloth
66 __ Nimitz
67 DDE’s command

By Matt Skoczen
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
04/13/17

04/13/17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 13, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

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6 — Thursday, April 13, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘Smurfs’ is more bearable 
than its bad predecessors

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Still from the latest “Smurfs”

The anticipated sequel to the hit animated movie proves mediocre

“Smurfs: The Lost Village” 

is marginally more sufferable 
than the live-action / CGI 
films that came out in the 
early 2010s, which is to say, 
this movie will not make 
parents leave their children 
unattended in a movie theater 
while they sprint outside for 
fresh air after every scene. It’s 
not a pleasant experience for 
anyone above the age of five, 
and the dearth of original ideas 
is exhausting, but for those 
preparing themselves for the 
worst, rest easy. “Smurfs: The 
Lost Village” is not terrible. 
It’s only bad.

The 
thing 
is, 
there’s 
a 

moving idea at the core of 
“The Lost Village”: Smurfette 

(Demi Lovato, “Camp Rock”), 
a Smurf created by evil wizard 
Gargamel (Rainn 
Wilson, 
“The 

Office”), has an 
identity 
crisis. 

She 
sees 
the 

naturally-created 
boys 
around 

her 
comfortable 

in 
their 
own 

skin and wants 
something similar, but she 
worries that her origin means 
she’ll only ever be meant 
for evil. That’s a potentially 
powerful character arc, and 
when writers Stacey Harman 
(“The Goldbergs”) and Pamela 
Ribon (“Moana”) tap into it, 
it results in some of the most 
poignant scenes “The Lost 
Village” has to offer.

The voice cast also has 

talent to spare. Wilson puts 
his comedic chops to good 

use, and the four jokes that 
work do so because of him. 

Mandy Patinkin 
(“Homeland”) is 
put to little use as 
Papa Smurf, but 
when he is given 
his due near the 
film’s 
end, 
he 

absolutely 
nails 

it, carrying the 
most 
emotional 

scenes of the film. The most 
shocking part of the cast may 
be the minor characters, which 
includes vocal performances 
by “New Girl” stand-out Jake 
Johnson as Grumpy Smurf and 
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable 
Kimmy Schmidt”) as Vanity 
Smurf. The two feel underused 
as 
mere 
stunt 
casting, 

especially considering they’re 
the funniest members of the 
ensemble.

The 
rest 
of 
the 
movie 

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

Daily Arts Writer

plays like “The Smurfs Go 
to Pandora.” The fantastical 
setting is cool at first but upon 
inspection reveals itself to 
be an (even more) animated 
knock-off of the setting of 
“Avatar.” The story doesn’t fare 
much better. After the early 
Smurfette-centric 
scenes, 

the core group of Smurfs 
ventures into the forest to find 
something that Smurfette saw 
earlier. The result is a plotline 
certain to be the subject of 
much ire on meninist message 
boards.

The 
ensuing 
message 

of 
female 
empowerment 

is 
welcome, 
but 
it 
isn’t 

communicated 
in 
any 

interesting 
way. 
It 
winds 

up being a “battle of the 
sexes” like every movie of 
this type (see: “Alvin and the 
Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”) 
but 
blessedly 
abbreviated 

here. 
The 
accompanying 

score is occasionally pretty, 
but 
director 
Kelly 
Asbury 

(“Gnomeo & Juliet”) often goes 
to the well of generic, outdated 

pop songs like “Blue (Da Ba 
Dee).” Get it? Because the 
Smurfs are blue.

Besides Smurfette and Papa 

Smurf, the characters hold 
no weight either. The Smurfs 

are fundamentally one-note. 
Their personalities are able to 
be defined by one word, and 
because of that, it’s hard to 
care about them or laugh at 
any of the jokes derived from 
their traits. Clumsy Smurf 
(a 
perpetually 
screaming 

Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock”) 
is clumsy. Ha. Nosey Smurf 
(Asbury) is a voyeur. Ha. 

Brainy Smurf (Danny Pudi, 
“Community”) is a nerd, but in 
a bizarre series of jokes, seems 
to have murderous impulses, 
which in a modern cinematic 
climate, seems an idea destined 
to be the inspiration for a dark 
and gritty “Smurfs” reboot, 
presumably helmed by Zack 
Snyder. It’s just hard to care 
about any of them when they 
have to stay within boundaries 
defined by a single adjective.

Aside from its work on 

Smurfette, “Smurfs: The Lost 
Village” doesn’t do anything 
original or interesting. It lacks 
a strong story or sense of humor 
– at one point, Gargamel French 
kisses 
his 
vulture, 
Monty, 

because kids love bestiality. 
Its old characters are as flat 
as ever, and the new ones it 
introduces have their own 
shticks that are driven into the 
ground within thirty seconds. 
It’s all vastly preferable to the 
hybrid animation dreck from a 
few years ago, but that doesn’t 
make it recommendable to any 
but the youngest of children.

“Smurfs: The 

Lost Village”

Columbia Pictures

Rave Cinemas, 

Goodrich Quality 16

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Renowned literary critic 
to promote newest book 

Literary critic and author Steven Moore to present selections 
from his new work “Mr Back Pages” this coming Monday

Following his two-volume 

venture 
“The 
Novel: 
An 

Alternative History,” in which 
he surveyed the innermost 
roots of literature, author and 
literary critic Steven Moore 
has come out with a newer, 
fresher take on the written 
word.

“It’s 
mostly 
about 

innovative fiction of the late 
20th century,” Moore wrote 
about his upcoming book, 
“My 
Back 
Pages: 
Essays 

and Reviews,” in an email 
interview. 
“The 
first 
half 

consists of a couple hundred 
book reviews written over the 
last 40 years and the second 
half about two dozen essays.”

While not officially the 

third 
volume, 
“My 
Back 

Pages” serves as somewhat of 
a final installment to Moore’s 
exploration of the history of 
the novel.

“I didn’t have the energy 

to write the huge concluding 
volume 
on 

modern 
fiction 

that I intended,” 
Moore 
wrote. 

“So I decided it 
might 
be 
time 

to 
gather 
all 

my 
scattered 

writings into one 
convenient place. 
As I assembled 
them, I realized 
that 
I 
had 

already 
written 

about many of 
the novelists I 
planned to cover 
in 
that 
final 

volume, so this new book is 
sort of a surrogate for that 
unwritten third volume.”

Moore’s 
writing 
is 

reflective of his untraditional 
approach to literary criticism. 
He 
started 
his 
collegiate 

studies as a history major, 
and this background is seen 
as he strays from theoretical 
styles, opting instead for more 
historical angles on fiction.

“I was more concerned with 

locating modern writers in the 
continuum of literary history, 
and 
drawing 

attention to the 
little-known 
ones, rather than 
deconstructing 
their 
work,” 

Moore said.

Having played 

in several bands 
throughout 
college, 
popular culture 
references 
and 

glimmers 
of 

folk-inspired 
idiosyncrasy 
shine 
through 

in 
Moore’s 

work. His texts 
are casual and 
attainable 
for 

contemporary 
audiences.

“The music of 

the 1960s was 
my 
first 
love, 

especially 
the 
innovative 

lyrics of Bob Dylan, Jim 
Morrison, Robin Williamson 
(of 
the 
Incredible 
String 

Band), 
Syd 
Barrett, 
and 

Keith 
Reid 
(of 
Procol 

Harum),” Moore wrote. “So 
when I turned to literature 
I 
carried 
their 
sensibility 

with me: their fanciful use 
of language, their alternative 
worldviews, their iconoclasm 
and 
nonconformity, 
their 

willingness to be different. 
I’m not your typical literary 
critic (no academic affiliation, 

bookselling background), and 
I owe part of that to them.”

An avid listener, writer 

and thinker, Moore is, above 
all else, an ardent reader. He 
holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers 
University, 
for 
which 
his 

dissertation 
on 
William 

Gaddis (“William 
Gaddis”) 
was 

published 
in 

1989. 
Drawn 

to 
him 
from 

shared interests 
in 
mythology 

and religion, he 
resonated 
with 

Gaddis’s 
works 

and 
the 
ways 

in 
which 
he 

resembled James 
Joyce, an author 
Moore 
deeply 

admired in his 
20s.

“Since hardly 

anything had been written 
about him (Gaddis), I decided 
to rectify that. Both my first 
published article and first 
book were on Gaddis,” Moore 
said. “I liked his style, his 
outlook on life, his humor 
and sarcasm, his encyclopedic 
range — he was Mr. Right as 
far as my literary tastes were 
concerned.”

Now 
a 
prominent 
force 

in 
the 
realm 
of 
literary 

criticism, Moore encourages 
burgeoning writers to do the 

unthinkable: to 
be themselves.

“Before 
I 

began 
writing 

the 
first 

volume of my 
novel 
history, 

I 
assumed 

I 
would 
be 

writing 
it 

in 
standard 

academese, and 
dragged my feet 
because I had 
grown 
tired 

of that style,” 
Moore 
said. 

“Then one day 
I just decided 
to write it in 
my own voice, 
quirks 
and 

all, 
and 
the 

floodgates 
of 

creativity burst 
open. I dashed 
off the 36-page 

introduction in a week, and I 
think it’s that personal tone 
that separates my criticism 
from the academic variety. 
Similarly, my favorite writers 
are those with a distinctive, 
even eccentric voice of their 
own.” 

Moore has been living in 

Ann Arbor since 2001. If you 
haven’t 
seen 
him 
around 

Hatcher, where he’s done the 
bulk of his research for the 
past 16 years, you can catch 
him 
promoting 
“My 
Back 

Pages” at Literati this Monday.

ARYA NAIDU
Daily Arts Writer

Steven Moore: 

“My Back 

Pages: Essays 
and Reviews”

Monday, April 

17 @ 7 P.M.

Literati 

Bookstore

Free

Now a prominent 

force in the 

realm of literary 
criticism, Moore 

encourages 
burgeoning 

writers to do the 
unthinkable: to be 

themselves

FILM REVIEW

The rest of the 
movie plays like 
“The Smurfs Go 

to Pandora”

