The Catholic Weekly 21 June 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 20 21, June, 2020 ENTERTAINMENT ACROSS 7. Perhaps I’ve seen it lots! (10-3) 8. Exact account written by young cleric (8) 9. Alleged to be one in gloomy setting (4) 10. The robber also put in a piece (6) 12. Charge some of the main dictators (6) 14. Plates required for this kind of diet (6) 16. Southern trees used for window fittings (6) 18. In for a long viva voce (4) 20. Violently destroys Schubert variation (8) 22. Hornblower in the nursery (6,3,4) Quick Crossword answers also fit the large grid CROSSWORD DOWN 1. An inclination to write church music (8) 2. Army engineer gets Kitty to pay the money back (6) 3. Star performer very eager to make a comeback (4) 4. Pleasant neckwear showing refinements (8) 5. Not in the habit of having mint! (6) 6. Sprite producing endless danger (4) 11. Quaker did (8) 13. One replete with good spirits will be (8) 15. It’s a Spanish pastime to leap all over the place (6) 17. Were Indo-Europeans so ad dressed? (6) 19. Bird run over by train (4) 21. What the workman uses for turning up the swag (4) CRYPTIC CLUES QUICK CLUES SOLUTION FOR LAST WEEK ACROSS 7. Diverse (13) 8. Manager (8) 9. Always (4) 10. Aptitude (6) 12. Entire (6) 14. Ten years (6) 16. Breakwater (6) 18. Plan (4) 20. Tinge (8) 22. Anomaly (13) DOWN 1. Frail (8) 2. Ebb (6) 3. Haven (4) 4. Scholarship (8) 5. Guile (6) 6. Trick (4) 11. Discourse (8) 13. Shrink (8) 15. Deed (6) 17. Start (6) 19. Connect (4) 21. Headland (4) 15,755 QUICK Across 1 Evil; 8 Accidental; 9 Murderer; 10 Eddy; 12 Single; 14 Set off; 15 Bounce; 17 Credit; 18 Asks; 19 Memories; 21 Pedestrian; 22 Tier. Down 2 Voluminous; 3 Land; 4 Accrue; 5 Adores; 6 Unsettle; 7 Slay; 11 Diffidence; 13 Gangster; 16 Enmity; 17 Commit; 18 Alps; 20 Rant. CRYPTIC Across 1 Scow; 8 Homeliness; 9 Greylags; 10 Rudd; 12 Fought; 14 Denise; 15 Better; 17 Oregon; 18 Free; 19 Displace; 21 Malefactor; 22 Alto. Down 2 Charioteer; 3 Whey; 4 Impact; 5 Closed; 6 Entrance; 7 Used; 11 Disconcert; 13 Gathered; 16 Redcap; 17 Onsets; 18 Fame; 20 Lira SAINTS OF THEWEEK From an aristo Pixies abound in this silly harmless tale IN THE hands of such great artists as British novelist J.R.R. Tolkien or Irish poet W.B. Yeats, the elements of medie- val lore have been deployed to great effect. Such, alas, is not the case with Artemis Fowl (Disney), director Kenneth Branagh’s crowded, off-key screen ver- sion of Eoin Colfer’s 2001 fan- tasy novel for young adults that’s streaming now on Dis- ney+. In fact, despite his past achievements at the cinemat- ic helm, Branagh succeeds here in doing something al- most unimaginable. To wit, he makes the for- midably gifted – and gifted at being formidable – Dame Judi Dench, tricked out in the guise of a leprechaun, seem downright foolish. That’s symptomatic of a larger problem with his film, the origins of which may or may not lie in its source ma- terial. Branagh never succeeds in overcoming the disconnect between the earnest tone of screenwriters Conor McPher- son and Hamish McColl’s script and the inherent silli- ness of many of the non-hu- man characters who populate it. The sight of Foaly – a cen- taur played by Nikesh Patel – prancing around, for instance, is risible. Back on the human side of the narrative’s divide lies an- other difficulty in the fact that our protagonist, the brilliant 12-year-old boy of the title (Ferdia Shaw), is a brainy brat in whose quest viewers are unlikely to feel much invest- ment. McPherson and McColl only aggravate the situation by failing to lay the ground- work necessary for gaining audience sympathy. After Artemis’ often-absent namesake dad (Colin Farrell), a wealthy, mysterious an- tiques dealer based in Ireland, disappears, the world press speculates feverishly on his Remarkably, Judi Dench seems foolish in her role as Commander Root in Artemis Fowl. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/DISNEY ENTERPRISES ARTEMIS FOWL Find the career you deserve catholicjobsonline.com.au SEE OUR LATEST JOBS A Yorkshire draper’s son, John was one of the “new men” of Tudor England, a distinguished scholar at Cambridge Univer- sity who was ordained at age 22. Privately austere, John held several high offices: chaplain to a king’s mother, vice chancellor and chan- cellor of Cambridge, bishop of Rochester, counsellor to Catherine of Aragon during King Henry VIII’s divorce proceedings against her. But John steadfastly refused to accept Henry as head of the church in England, and was imprisoned. Aloysius served as a page in Spain and Italy. His father opposed a religious vocation, planning instead a military career for him. Aloysius joined the Jesuits in Rome in 1585, taking his vows two years later. His health had been compromised by kidney disease, but he served in a Jesuit hospital opened in Rome when plague struck the city. He died of plague while ministering to the sick. Canonised in 1726, Aloysius later was declared protector of young students and patron sain f Catholic youth. S treaming John Fisher 1469 - 1535 Feast: 22 June Aloysius Gonzaga 1568 - 1591 Feast: 21 June fate. But Artemis himself dis- covers that pops has been kid- napped by Opal Koboi (Hong Chau), a malevolent pixie, and thus learns that the world of Celtic mythology about which his father has been ed- ucating him is real. Teaming with Domovoi Butler (Nonso Anozie), Dad’s aptly named butler, Hol- ly Short (Lara McDonnell), an elfin security officer, and Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad), the dwarf who serves as the movie’s narrator, Artemis seeks out the priceless arte- fact that Opal has demanded as a ransom. Along the way, he dons a dark suit and sun- glasses that make him look like an undersized addition to the cast of Men In Black . At one stage of Artemis’ journey – during which he gets the better of Commander Root (Dench, begorrah!), Hol- ly’s superior – a predictable pro-tolerance theme crops up momentarily. But this is put across feebly and soon sinks out of view. With little bothersome content, Artemis Fowl is ac- ceptable for all but easily frightened tots. Yet it doesn’t take much mature discern- ment to recognise from its poorly structured proceed- ings, in which spectacle con- sistently trumps story, that Kenneth has failed to find the frequency. The film contains much bloodless combat and brief scatological humour. - CNS ¾ ¾ John Mulderig STREAMING ON DISNEY+