by all manner of ghosts, ghouls
and
poltergeists.
They’ve
wisely shifted the focus from
the families themselves to
Elise, a medium-for-hire with
the ability to astral project
into a spiritual realm called
“The Further.” But even with
Shaye’s
consistently
game
performance, it’s impossible to
dodge the feeling that this has
all been done before and done
better.
To the credit of “The Last
Key,” it continues this trend
of leaning into the franchise’s
strengths by finally putting
Elise, and Elise alone, in
the spotlight. Instead of any
random family calling for her
to investigate any random
house, it’s her own childhood
home, the place where she
first discovered her ability and
learned about The Further.
It’s an admirable attempt
to provide the character with
an interesting backstory, and
Shaye perfectly communicates
that past Elise’s struggle to
overcome the scars it left on
her. Director Adam Robitel
(“The
Taking
of
Deborah
Logan”)
even
avoids
an
overuse of jump scares, opting
for a tension-based approach
that lends itself to several
impressive set pieces. One in
particular purposefully uses
tinny audio to terrific effect.
Yet for all these strengths,
“The Last Key” still winds up
retreading the same climactic
points
that
it
has
moved
through for three movies in a
row now. Inevitably, the story
traipses its way back into The
Further through a combination
of idiotic character decisions
and convoluted storytelling
and inevitably some demon
with
a
half-way
decent
design reveals itself to be the
ultimate culprit beyond all the
happenings. Even if it wasn’t
repetitive in the worst way, it’s
just boring this time around,
and the monster behind it
all is never given any clear
motivation of its own to make
it a worthwhile foil of Elise.
Even the thing’s name doesn’t
make any sense; Javier Botet
(“It”) is credited as Key Face,
but the monster has keys on
its fingers (it’s actually cooler
than it sounds) not on its face.
The “Insidious” franchise,
therefore, once again wastes
its potential on a story that its
characters, its world, its star
and, above all, its audience
deserve better than. “The Last
Key” makes some definite
improvements, and if nothing
else, it shows that Robitel
may have a real future in the
genre. But for those hoping
that “The Last Key might
finally break the mold for the
series will be in for yet another
disappointment.
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ACROSS
1 Share-a-ride
pickup hrs.
5 Go wild with Wild
Turkey, say
9 Golden Horde
member
14 Pope __ VI
(1963-’78)
15 Copied
16 Be nuts about
17 “The Simpsons”
bus driver
18 Drink garnish
19 Old-time actress
Shearer
20 Blindsided
23 “Let’s see ... ”
24 German city on
the Danube
25 Set ablaze
28 The hit in the
baseball mantra
“A walk is as
good as a hit”
30 Sugar source
32 Cultural funding
gp.
33 Pumpkin pie
maker’s tool
36 Beef inspection
org.
39 401(k)
alternative, for
short
40 __ stick: incense
41 One of a global
septet
46 Suffix with
percent
47 College city on
I-35
48 Sharp
52 Yom Kippur
month
54 “Who am __
judge?”
55 China’s Chou
En-__
56 Flatbread lunch
items ... and, as
shown by circles,
what 20-, 33- and
41-Across are?
60 Work really hard
62 ’60s-’70s pitcher
nicknamed Blue
Moon
63 Huge
64 Awards for
Asimov et al.
65 Computer list
66 Concerning
67 Suits
68 Musically low
69 Floral neckwear
DOWN
1 Geological
timespans
2 Woven Japanese
mat
3 Colorful period
4 Plod (through)
5 Small pastry
6 Poppy drug
7 Keystone State
Ivy
8 Scandinavian
literary work
9 Brightly colored
songbird
10 Deck out
11 Attacked with
gusto
12 Limb with biceps
and triceps
13 “In Dreams” actor
Stephen
21 Netflix competitor
22 Flying aid
26 Light shirts
27 All __: listening
29 Annoying bug
30 First known
asteroid
31 Lab gel
34 Play charades,
say
35 Open just a crack
36 Ton, for one
37 Songs for one
38 Equestrian event
42 Equestrian
equipment
43 In the center of
44 Panama
landform
45 Grub
49 Go by
50 Elk
51 Where much Bee
Gees music was
played
53 Mayhem
54 Graphic symbols
57 Berth before birth
58 It can come to
mind
59 Concrete
60 Cow or sow
61 Unilever soap
brand
By Paul Coulter
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/10/18
01/10/18
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
We can all learn some
lessons from Córdoba
There’s no city in the world
quite like Córdoba. Situated
in the south of Spain, Córdoba
has all the quaint
charm
of
a
muggy
summer
town.
In
May,
colorful baskets
of dainty flowers
hang from hooks
on whitewashed
walls
outside
homes
and
businesses.
It’s
easy to get lost in
the narrow roads
—
roads
cars
couldn’t possibly
fit through and
whose
houses
boast beautifully
decorated patios.
All the houses
are white with
bright
yellow
and
baby
blue
fringes as if the
whole city had a color scheme.
Strolling through the streets
of Córdoba in July, in a daze
due to the intense heat, I
could have easily surrendered
myself to the city’s ambiance
alone. However, I wouldn’t
be able to truly understand
Córdoba
without
knowing
its history. Córdoba’s past is
so turbulent that it’s hard to
forget.
Córdoba is situated in the
south of Spain, also called
the
Andalucia
region.
a
part of the Roman empire,
Andalucia was conquered by
the nomadic Visigoths from
northern Europe during the
Dark Ages. The Moors soon
took over, spreading Islam
and building lavish mosques
throughout the region. After
a brief period of Jewish rule,
the Reconquista of the 13th
century converted Spain to
Christianity. The Andalucia
region was one of the last
strongholds
of
the
Moors
before Catholicism reigned.
From
these
religious
upheavals
came
the
Córdoba of today: a blend
of Christianity and Islam —
much like how Istanbul serves
as the crossroads for the
world’s three major religions
(Christianity,
Islam
and
Judaism). When in Córdoba
last summer, I visited its most
famous site: the Mezquita.
The outside of the building
was deceptively unappealing,
standing only 40 feet tall and
hidden from view until I stood
directly in front of it. Little
did I know that this building
would change my perspective
on the world forever.
Upon
walking
in,
rows
of
towering
red
and
white
striped arches
greeted
me.
They seemed to
go on forever,
stretching
back as far as
my eyes could
reach.
The
columns
were
so
wide
that
I could stand
behind one and
be
completely
hidden
from
view.
I
recognized
these arches —
with geometric
patterns
instead of religious figures
— and the wide open spaces
between
them,
as
classic
to Islamic architecture. To
my right, the mihrab — a
traditional
Islamic
prayer
room
—
stood
bedazzled in rich
gold. Everything
pointed
to
the
Mezquita being a
mosque.
Half an hour of
exploring
later,
I was astonished
to come face-to-
face with a grand
Christian chapel.
It was built in
baroque
style,
with pearl-white
marble columns,
an extravagantly
detailed
dome
ceiling
and
a
religious
nave.
It
was
then
that I began to
realize how vast
the
Mezquita
actually was. In
its height of operation, the
Mezquita had 19 doors leading
into the complex. After an
hour, I looked around and
didn’t know what part of the
building I was standing in. I
couldn’t even find the room
with the red and white arches
where I’d started. Each section
was unique from the rest,
and each seemed to embody
Christian
architecture,
Islamic
architecture
or
a
blend of both. Right beside the
chapel was another section
of Islamic arches, but the
ceiling was built in the gothic
Christian style.
I’d never been in such
a
strange
place
before.
Everywhere I looked, my eyes
found two types of designs:
two
different
colors
of
columns, two different ceiling
heights
and
two
different
types
of
floor
tiles.
The
architectural styles conflicted
with each other but coincided
at the same time.
Instead
of
leveling
the
building and constructing a
new place of worship from
scratch,
the
Christians
blended their style with the
pre-existing Islamic mosque
during the Reconquista. A
large
Christian
nave
was
placed in the center of the
building where open space had
been before. The Christians
built
upwards:
Elaborate
ceilings were added to the tops
of the Islamic arches. Some
parts are distinctly Islamic,
others distinctly Christian.
Today, the Mezquita is 70
percent
mosque
and
30
percent church. But somehow,
it works.
My
whole
life, I’ve seen
religions clash
around
me.
My
parents
are
first-
generation
Indian
immigrants.
My grandfather
fled
Bangladesh in
his
twenties
due
to
the
persecution
of Hindus by
Muslims. I still
hear stories of
the continuing
conflicts
between India
and
Pakistan
over the land
of
Kashmir
between them. In the U.S.,
I’ve grown up surrounded by
the clash between Muslims
and Christians. Our war with
the Islamic world is still
raging, both physically in the
Middle East and mentally in
our effortless stereotyping of
Muslims in the U.S.
The
Mezquita
was
the
TRINA PAL
Daily Arts Writer
‘Insidious’ can do better
More
than
any
other
subpar horror series currently
running,
the
“Insidious”
franchise has the potential
to become something great.
All the pieces of the puzzle
are there. Its world is steeped
in an interesting mythology
and its approach to demons,
spirits and the afterlife is
refreshingly novel. The de
facto main character, Elise
Rainier (Lin Shaye, “Ouija”),
is a compelling and likable
presence, to say nothing of
how impressive it is to see a
74-year-old woman leading a
major horror franchise. And
while it lacks the drop-dead
gorgeous cinematography and
deliberate pacing that James
Wan — who helmed the first
two installments — brought
to “The Conjuring” and its
sequel, the director’s self-
described stamp of “crowd-
pleasing but twisted” horror is
still discernible.
All this is to say that the
“Insidious” films have always
been a cut above other horror
films of similar ilk, which is
what makes it so disappointing
that
they’ve
never
nailed
their stories. Each of the now
four movies in the series is a
slight variation on the classic
“haunted
house”
scenario
where a family moves into a
new home and is quickly beset
JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
Daily Arts Writer
“Insidious:
The Last Key”
Ann Arbor 20 +
IMAX, Goodrich
Quality 16
Universal Pictures
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
My whole life,
I’ve seen religions
clash around me.
FILM REVIEW
Have we, in
recent years,
ruined something
that used to work?
It was certainly
possible for both
groups to pray
at the same site
Finding the possibilty for religious coexistance in Spain
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
first physical manifestation
I’d seen of what I had never
thought possible. The world’s
largest
religions
were
supporting each other instead
of tearing each other down.
There would be no baroque
ceiling without the support
of the red and white arches
below. The mosque provided
the foundation, but the church
made the Mezquita unique.
Córdoba is comfortable with
its roots and embraces all
that has made it unique.
While Spain is predominantly
Catholic,
Córdoba
knows
that its Islamic influence has
shaped the city today.
Still, nothing is perfect.
While
technically
labeled
as
a
Mosque-Cathedral
Monument Complex, Muslims
are not allowed to pray in the
Mezquita today. At one point,
Visigothic
Christians
and
Muslims split the building as
a place of prayer, but modern
religious
wars
have
made
this impossible. It makes me
wonder: Have we, in recent
years,
ruined
something
that used to work? It was
certainly possible for both
groups to pray at the same site
before. The architects of the
Mezquita embraced the idea.
Why is everything distinct
and divided now?
The
original
intent,
however, shouldn’t be lost on
us. Places like Córdoba and
the Mezquita — while not
flawless in modern times —
still exist. The U.S. is a melting
pot of cultures, but religious
tolerance has a long way to
go. We — myself included —
can’t walk down the streets
without labeling people based
on their religious beliefs or
race. It’s inherent. But that
doesn’t make it an excuse.
Deep inside me lies a hope
that, if Córdoba managed to
house two different religions
under
the
same
building
hundreds of years ago, we can
do it now too.
The U.S. is a
melting pot of
cultures, but
religious tolerance
has a long way to
go.
The “Insidious”
franchise,
therefore, once
again wastes its
potential
6A — Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com