ACROSS 1 Sales pitch 6 Outback birds 10 Sunup 14 Café lure 15 Clickable webpage word 16 Home to billions 17 Grass shortener 18 Apart from that 19 Slightly wet 20 Julie Andrews’ “The Sound of Music” role 23 Risk, e.g. 24 Healthful berry 25 Jimmy Fallon hosts it 31 “Homeland” spy org. 32 Taxi 33 Nebraska city 34 “Apocalypse Now” setting, familiarly 35 Gathering for fans of graphic novels, anime, etc. 38 Delivery vehicle 39 Painting need 41 Microwave 42 Valuable rock 43 Avengers member with a patriotic shield 48 Tolstoy’s Karenina 49 Dutch cheese 50 9/26/1957 Broadway debut featuring the consecutive songs found at the start of 20- Across, the middle of 25- Across and the end of 43-Across 55 With 50-Down, tightrope walker’s place 56 Oscar winner Kazan 57 Aquafina rival 59 Craving 60 Accelerates, with “up” 61 Foolish 62 Military meal 63 Cafeteria carrier 64 V-formation fliers DOWN 1 “Casablanca” pianist 2 Formal school dance 3 Corn Belt state 4 Rise into view 5 Cattleman’s rope 6 Late morning hr. 7 Venus de __ 8 Disentangle 9 Quick drawing 10 Arp’s art movement 11 Right away, in a memo 12 Namby-pamby person 13 Midday snooze 21 Gas brand that had a torch in its logo 22 Florida’s Boca __ 25 Pageant winner’s crown 26 Exaggerate, as a stage role 27 Spanish island in the Mediterranean 28 Devastation that’s wreaked 29 Scarlett of Tara 30 Decrease in intensity 31 “Closing Bell” channel 35 Repetitive shout at a protest 36 Required little effort 37 Newspaper opinion pieces 40 Secret supplies 44 Add to text, as a missing letter 45 Carpenter, at times 46 Suitable for all ages, filmwise 47 Apple software for creating videos 50 See 55-Across 51 Omelet ingredients 52 Prima donna 53 Ready for picking 54 Toy dog’s barks 55 Play a kazoo 58 TV’s “Science Guy” By Peter Gordon ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 09/26/17 09/26/17 ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, September 26, 2017 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis xwordeditor@aol.com 5 — Monday, September 25, 2017 Arts The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Based off the novels by Diana Gabaldon, “Outlander” follows the story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe, “Now You See Me”), a young army nurse whose single touch to a henge circle transports her to the Scottish Highlands in 1743. Torn between two worlds, Claire must make the impossible decision to remain in the past or return to the present, where a previous life awaits her return. This dualism, emphasized often throughout the series, was especially poignant in the premiere of the third season of the steamy series, as both Jamie (Sam Heughan, “Doctors”) and Claire struggle to adjust to a life without one another. This is mainly accomplished through quiet scenes that are able to speak volumes, sometimes without uttering a single word. Moments as simple as a man playing bagpipes on the corner of the university reminds viewers of the double life that Claire has not only lived, but continues to live. A Scottish song playing quietly and unexpectedly on the streets is the perfect metaphor for the new lifestyle which Claire is struggling to adapt. Though she has returned to her own time and is living happily in Boston with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies, “Game of Thrones”), a part of her still remains in the Scottish Highlands with Jamie. Cooking over the fire rather than on the stove, she responds almost automatically that her husband much prefers it — the line that once separated Jamie from Frank is beginning to visibly blur. MEGAN MITCHELL Daily Arts Writer TV REVIEW The new series explores the intracacies of Jamie and Claire’s relationship as they enter the next chapter of their lives in the show ‘Outlander’ premiere has historical roots, romance STARZ “Outlander” has returned “Friend Request” is a train wreck of a motion picture, every bit as stupid and borderline offensive as a movie with the tagline “Evil is trending” is expected to be. The trio sitting behind me in the theater apparently caught on early, and after ten minutes, they left, whispering, “If we leave now we can make the next showing of ‘It.’” If I’d had any idea what was about to ensue, I would have followed them. The film tells the story of Laura (Alycia Debnam-Carey, “Fear the Walking Dead”), a pretty, popular, perfect college student who adds a shy girl from one of her classes, Marina (Liesl Ahlers, “Inside Job”), as a friend online. However, after Marina begins to exhibit strange behavior, Laura unfriends her, leading Marina to take her own life. Soon people start dying, and it becomes apparent that some remnant of Marina is still terrorizing Laura. But that isn’t the worst part. As people start dying, Laura starts losing friends online. Can she and her friends stop this malevolent force before more people die? And can they do it before, unthinkably, her friend count hits zero? On the most basic level possible, “Friend Request” is a monumentally ill-advised movie. People die frequently and horribly, yet the main characters are continually interested in how this is affecting their social media image instead. The film features several cutaways showing the friend count of the main character dropping closer and closer to zero, and it treats this with the gravest importance. In a smarter movie, this might have been played as an intentional joke, a satire of our increasingly social media obsessed society. Unfortunately, despite attempts at ham-fisted messaging about internet addiction – there are moments the screenwriter may as well grab you by the throat and scream in your face, “SEE! THE INTERNET IS EVIL!” for all the subtlety on display – nothing ever comes of it, and it just seems in bad taste. Of course, in a story that demonizes those with mental illness and valorizes the people who on more than one occasion call the target of their ridicule a “bitch,” that’s about par for the course. That leads into the biggest problems of “Friend Request,” the characters, who are easily organizable into two camps. There is Laura, who is perfect and popular and never does anything wrong and is the most boring member of the ensemble as a result. Then there’s everyone else, who spend their time riddling off relevant exposition and heroically insulting a suicide victim. In fact, the most sympathetic character of the whole ordeal is Melanie herself, who is given a tragic backstory that means her actions, if not condonable, are at least understandable. The horror is riddled with the same kind of brainless jump scares that always populate this sort of flick. Every other scene, a character wanders off on their own, and something jumps out at them and screams, and because humanity has a fight-or- flight reflex, we scream, too. It’s lazy and predictable, but again, it’s par for the course. And of course, the whole thing wraps up with one last scare that makes no sense, but as a horror movie in 2017, is required to give it the illusion of weight. Likeable characters, a well thought out plot, and competent scares might have done the same thing, but that would apparently be asking just too darn much. It’s hard to articulate how much I hated “Friend Request.” I hated the way it vilifies those with mental illness and implicitly advocates avoiding them at all cost. I hated that it treats the people who ridicule them as some sort of heroes. I hated the characters. I hated the story. Most of all, I hated that just two weeks after “It” showed us what an incredible cinematic experience the horror genre is capable of delivering, “Friend Request” is here to remind us of the predictable, boring, insipid drivel it usually is. WARNER BROS. “Friend Request” playing in theaters now JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer ‘Friend Request’ is every bit as insipid as expected The film is more horrifying in its execution than anything else FILM REVIEW What makes a series like “Outlander” so different from shows of a similar nature is their ability to portray the historical reality of gruesome battle scenes. It’s easy to create a wonderfully brutal battle scene from scratch, but to portray a moment in history alongside the familiar characters is something special indeed. The Battle of Culloden, from which the aftermath is depicted in the first half of the season premiere, is one of the most significant clashes in British history in a struggle against the Jacobite rising. Gruesome and bloody, “Outlander” holds nothing back in depicting the battle and the fall of many of last season’s heroes. Most of which is told through flashbacks as Jamie relives the most gruesome moments of battle in his isolation. From walking through the woods to lying atop a pile of fallen Jacobites, Jamie is obviously living in his own personal hell, mourning the loss of Claire all the while. Though each season brings a new chapter into the lives of Jamie and Claire, one thing that fans can always count on are the misty eyes that are likely to occur when watching “Outlander.” Whether it be through Jamie’s anguish conveyed in a single look or the young Jacobites who are physically led to their own execution, this season is no exception to the pulling of the heartstrings. As much as Jamie suffers, as does Claire, which is, of course, reflected in a more modern sense. Deciding to complete her education in medical school, she faces blatant discrimination which serves to remind us of a time not so long ago. But it’s not only her professional reputation that suffers under the weight of another life. At home, Frank smoothly accepts Jamie’s child as his own, though he struggles to share Claire with Jamie. But with good reason. Even in the throes of passion, Claire cannot look Frank in the eyes, preferring to simply make love to her husband. Except her husband lies separated in the past by 200 years and far across the Atlantic. Not only does the “Outlander” premiere encompass the best of the series, but also the best of the reality of Claire and Jamie’s situations. While it’s obvious that Claire’s marriage to Frank is all but destroyed by her devotion to her rough and rugged husband, it’s a sharp blow to see the mournful reality of a marriage destined to fail play out on screen. However, as Jamie struggles more than we’ve ever seen him, we cannot help but anticipate a welcome reunion between the lovers. After all, history does have a tendency to repeat itself. Outlander Series 3 — 2 episodes reviewed STARZ Mondays at 8:00 pm “Friend Request” Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX, Goodrich Quality 16 Warner Bros. This is mainly accomplished through quiet scenes that are able to speak volumes