The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, September 24, 2018 — 5A

ACROSS
1 Answer with
attitude
5 Female WWII gp.
9 Ink cartridge
color
13 “ ... calm, __
bright”: “Silent
Night”
15 Stone of
“La La Land”
16 Revolutionary
spy Nathan
17 How canvassers
usually work
19 Correct a script,
say
20 Satisfied sounds
21 Golf’s “Big Easy”
Ernie
22 Raised-baton
strokes, in music
24 Sauce with falafel
26 Desk tray words
27 How page-turners
are often read
32 Prop for Chaplin
35 Lodge logo
animal
36 Total failures
37 Novelist Tolstoy
38 Tallahassee sch.
40 Thanksgiving mo.
41 Blows volcano-
style
45 “Double Fantasy”
collaborator Yoko
47 At the peak of
48 How apartment
leases
sometimes run
51 Prepare
(oneself), as for
a jolt
52 Hebrew greeting
56 “Definitely!”
59 “__ the
ramparts ... ”
60 Org. that
publishes the
newsletter
GoGreen!
61 Fictional estate
near Atlanta
62 How pistol
duelers typically
stand
65 Close tightly
66 At any time
67 Count who
composed “One
O’Clock Jump”
68 Depresses, with
“out”
69 Boxer Oscar __
Hoya
70 Catches on to

DOWN
1 1978 Egyptian
co-Nobelist
Anwar
2 “Welcome to
Maui!”
3 Wade noisily
4 Round Table title
5 Ties the knot
6 Latin “I love”
7 Invoice figure
8 Use the HOV lane
9 Frito-Lay snacks
with a speedy cat
mascot
10 When said thrice,
“and so on”
11 Touched down
12 Hockey targets
14 Courtroom
transcript pro
18 Antipasto morsel
23 Osso __: veal
dish
25 Cooler cubes
26 Annoying
28 Keebler sprite
29 Blow off steam
30 Suffix with switch
31 Answer the
invite, briefly
32 Skelton’s
Kadiddlehopper
33 Prefix with
dynamic

34 Grammar,
grammatically,
e.g.
39 Crazy Eights
cousin
42 WWII vessels
43 No __ traffic
44 Pierced with a
fork
46 Initial stage
47 “Eureka!”
49 E to E, in music
50 Pulsate

53 Car dealer’s
offering
54 Ref. to a prior ref.
55 Manufactures
56 Govt. accident
investigator
57 Island near Maui
58 Percussion
instrument
59 Pod in gumbo
63 “Snow White”
collectible
64 Grocery sack

By Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/24/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

09/24/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Monday, September 24, 2018

As a followup to the wild

success of the award-winning
TV show “This Is Us,” creator
Dan
Fogelman
(“Crazy,

Stupid,
Love”)
returns
to

the big-screen with the star-
studded film “Life Itself.”
But, Fogelman is experiencing
a
burnout.
“Life
Itself”

follows Will (Oscar Isaac,
“Annihilation”) as he recovers
from the end of his marriage
with his college sweetheart
Abby (Olivia Wilde, “Drinking
Buddies”). Through therapy
sessions
with
Dr.
Morris

(Annette
Bening,
“20th

Century
Women”),
Will

explores the key moments in
his and Abby’s lives that led
up to their separation.

Although the monologues

have the same rhythm of the
emotional speeches of “This Is
Us,” a show that redefined the
quality of network dramas,

“Life Itself” is too muddled.
While the multiple timelines
on “This Is Us” play out
coherently and impactfully, in
the limited space of a film only
confusion results. Fogelman
also indulges in grotesque,
sadistic violence, forcing his
characters to undergo every
possible avenue of trauma
with no empathy toward their
suffering, only an obsessive
fascination
with
torturing

fictional people. In a teenage-
rage response to the gooey
sentimentality of “This Is Us,”
Fogelman packs “Life Itself”
with every R-rated sequence
of trauma, from molestation to
decapitation.

Every
actor
tries
to

showcase their chops, but
the
terrible
script
creates

unbreakable
barriers.

Fogelman,
in
a
show
of

pretentious douchery, inserts
a meta excuse for the haggard
narrative:
Abby’s
college

thesis that explores unreliable
narrators,
challenging
the

way stories work. Fogelman,
in all his ego, believes he
has imagined a new format
for stories, one that all the
writers before him could not
fathom. But, in reality, he has
created the scribbled mess of a
kindergartener learning their

ABCs. Hold up, I’m sorry —
that’s the first half of the film.
Halfway through, Fogelman

switches
the
narrative
to

a family in Spain with a
complete tonal 180° and little

preparation or
explanation
for the move.

The
story

refocuses
on

olive
farmer

Mr.
Saccione

(Antonio
Banderas, “The
Expendables
3”) in Spain as
he navigates a
love
triangle

with the wife
of his foreman.
Although still
interested
in

trauma,
the

second
half

feels like honey
compared
to

the first. But
the
storyline

fades due to
the distracting
question: Why
does it exist
in
the
same

film?
Rather

than lean into
the success of
“This Is Us,”
Fogelman tries
too
hard
to

prove he could
do
something

different.
Fogelman
wants
the

parts of “Life
Itself”
to
fit

together
like

a complicated
knot. Instead,
he
shows

that
there’s

a
difference

between
an
expert

constructing
a
beautiful

puzzle and an
amatuer trying
to undo a knot
only to make a
bigger mess.

‘Life Itself’ does not live
up to work on ‘This Is Us’

“Life Itself”

Amazon Studios

Michigan Theater

FILM REVIEW

MEGHAN CHOU

Daily Arts Writer

AMAZON STUDIOS

Fogelman,

in all his ego,

believes he

has imagined

a new format

for stories, one

that all the

writers before

him could not

fathom

Prince
has
long
been

regarded as one of the most
talented musicians the popular

music world has ever seen; a
multi-instrumentalist, he had
the ability to independently
churn out hits throughout his
illustrious
career,
striking

the perfect balance between
complexity and simplicity. Yet,
because of his mysterious aura,
few knew his music making
process, and even fewer actually
witnessed it. Finally, with the
posthumous release of Piano &
A Microphone 1983, a live album
that captured Prince sketching
out song ideas on a piano, fans
have a window into the Purple
One’s creative process at the
height of his career in 1983.

The album’s title is self-

explanatory; the only elements
featured
are
a
piano
and

Prince’s striking voice. With

such stripped down production,
the project lures you into
the basement in which the
35-minute project was recorded.
When Prince asks his sound
engineer to turn his mic down
in the middle of the first track,
an “OMG that’s him” reaction
ensues, and visions of the artist
stomping to a beat or wincing at
the beauty of his own falsetto
populate the mind.

The album’s live and private

nature
provides
extremely

special insight into how Prince
worked. On “17,” you can hear
him
spontaneously
voice
a

synth rhythm to accompany
the melody he has already
tracked out. On “International
Lover,” Prince begins to beat-
box the drum beat he saw fit
for the completed version of
the song. Across the album,
improvised
vocal
riffs
and

piano licks provide a refreshing
twist on Prince’s music that is
typically only heard polished
and produced. These elements
also highlight Prince’s musical
prowess
from
a
technical

standpoint that many might not
be aware of.

However, Piano has one major

issue: Prince didn’t want you to
hear it. Historically a pioneer
for proper compensation for
musicians, from his dispute
with
Warner
Bros.
to
his

outspoken
disapproval
of

streaming services, he removed
his entire discography from all
streaming services when the
platform became fans’ primary
mode of consumption. His work
wasn’t made available on these
services until after his death,
posing the controversy between
the desire to to enjoy his art and
the obligation to respect his
wishes.

What’s worse, this album was

never even intended for release
on
traditional
consumption

platforms, let alone streaming
services. It was a secret project
that sat comfortably in hiding
until Prince’s archival music
vault was literally drilled open
and a deal was struck between
the artist’s estate and Sony to
release the vault’s exclusive
content for profit.

So, if you’re a big Prince fan,

it’s tough to enjoy Piano without
the little voice inside your head
screaming “traitor!” With that
said, the project is ironically
most geared towards Prince’s
admirers who could appreciate
the value of its look behind
the scenes. How do you deal
with such an ethical dilemma,
with an angel perched on one
shoulder and the devil on the
other? My advice: Consume
with caution and hope Prince’s
improvisational scatting dilutes
the heavy guilt that sits in your
stomach.

A guilt-ridden listen to
Prince’s ‘Piano’ of 1983

Piano & A

Microphone 1983

Prince

NPG Records

MIKE WATKINS

Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC REVIEW

Sometimes it seems like moms

are invincible. They find the
thing we swear we lost forever
ago. They can tell when we’re
feeling down, and know exactly
how to bring us back up. They
predict when it’s going to be cold,
even before the weather itself

does, so that we always have a
jacket when we need it. Moms
can seem like superheroes: strong
women that push through their
days selflessly and efficiently.
But as much as we all may say
our moms are unstoppable, they
are only human. And sometimes,
they feel bad. NBC’s new family
comedy, “I Feel Bad,” tells us
why.

Sarayu Blue (“No Tomorrow”)

plays Emet Kamala-Sweetzer, a
mom that’s constantly concerned
with the lives of her children but
tries very hard not to show it.
And in the first two episodes,
she feels bad about something. In
the premiere, she stresses over
becoming her mother. Next, she
feels guilty for taking just one
self-care day from her stressful
life. Emet takes viewers through
each story in her voice-overs,
taking an omniscient approach

to the events unfolding. Her
narration is endearing, though
unnecessary at some points. It
makes for an easy flow between
scenes, but this is often broken
by the inclusion of events Emet
was not present at, thus making
her voice useless.

Emet is a busy mom, and

the people surrounding her
aren’t exactly lightening the
load.
She
is
complemented

by
the
quintessential
goofy

husband David (Paul Adelstein,
“Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”)
who seems to just be there for
comedic relief, which isn’t to
say he’s not good at providing it.
Her overbearing parents, played
by Madhur Jaffrey (“The Only
Living Boy in New York”) and
Brian George (“The Big Bang
Theory”), are always around, and
they never miss an opportunity
to critique her parenting.

“I Feel Bad” has all of the

components meant to make it
a lovable and successful show
— cute kids, a cohesive theme,
witty humor — but before it gets
there it needs some serious TLC.
This is essentially NBC’s attempt
to emulate ABC’s “black-ish,”
just from a mother’s point of
view. Both shows are narrated by
an amusing and likable parent,
and follow that parent through
both their family and work life.
In Emet’s case, that work life is
being the only female artist for
a video game developer who’s
primarily interested in nerdy
men drawing big boobs on
bikini-clad heroines. It’s a smart
choice by writers, and easy to
laugh at, but the men that Emet
works with are often shown in
scenes that Emet wouldn’t know

were happening, like when they
gather at a bar in one scene to
discuss Emet’s concern that she’s
turning into her mother. There
is no reason these men should
be given their own scene, and
Emet having no way of knowing
this is happening messes with
the linear narrative that carries
the show. Much like how Dre
Johnson’s coworkers in “black-
ish” are nothing more than an
allegory
for
institutionalized

racism in the workplace, Emet’s
vulgar coworkers would work
best if they remained background
characters, just a representation
of the sexism woman face at
work, especially in the field of
video games.

With funny dialogue, clever

storylines and a powerhouse
producing lineup that includes
Amy Poehler (“Broad City”), “I
Feel Bad” is certainly not a lost
cause. It’s genuinely a funny
show, and the story has depth.
Emet and her husband have a
biracial family, and her Indian
heritage is not something that
gets ignored. Representation is
important, especially in a show
that develops enjoyable themes
that appeal to the masses, like
not wanting your daughter to
join a provocative dance club or
desperately trying to find just
10 minutes for yourself. Every
show has its kinks to work out in
its first season, and “I Feel Bad”
isn’t immune to that. But the
prognosis is a good one, and soon
enough the characters of “I Feel
Bad” will be another charming
TV family millions of everyday
viewers and critics alike will
tune in to see time and time
again.

Endearing ‘I Feel Bad’
off to a promising start

“I Feel Bad”

Episodes 1-2

Thursdays 9:30 p.m.

NBC

SAMANTHA DELLA FERA

Daily Arts Writer

TV REVIEW

NBC