“Disney’s The Kid” Starring Bruce
Willis and Emily Mortimer Directed by Jon Turtletaub Now
playing
When Ross Duritz isn’t wearing a $2,000 suit, the
successful image consultant can be found sporting a UCLA t-shirt.
His keen fashion sense might be attributed to “The
Kid’s” screenwriter Audrey Wells, a UCLA alumnus. On
the verge of turning 40 years old, Duritz (Bruce Willis) magically
encounters himself as eight-year-old Rusty (Spencer Breslin).
Rusty, an awkward and pudgy cry-baby, reminds the workaholic of
everything he hated about himself before his own image makeover.
Ross had worked hard throughout high school to earn himself a
scholarship to (you guessed it) UCLA and consequently went on to
greater accomplishments in the business world. However, the kid
isn’t happy with his wealthy but lonely 40-year-old self.
Rusty’s childhood dreams of becoming a pilot are crushed by
the reality of the aging Ross, a “dog-less, chick-less guy
with a twitch.” The movie might seem a little predictable if
you’re familiar with Charles Dickens’s “A
Christmas Carol.” However, there is only one ghost of the
past in the film and he is even more lovable than Tiny Tim. In his
feature film debut, Breslin does an impressive job of keeping up
with Willis. Line for line, joke for joke, even punch for punch,
the duo turns the fantastic story of time travel and transformation
into a believable account of the kid in all of us. There is also a
timeless quality to the film as Duritz plays a modern-day Scrooge
whose childhood amnesia prevents him from living a full life.
Racing through five-minute hours, he avoids his father and
doesn’t have time for any kind of fulfilling relationship. He
doesn’t even have time to go crazy ““ until Rusty enters
his life. His world is turned upside down. In a slightly contrived
love story, lobster and cream sauce meets hot dogs when romance
sparks between Duritz and his assistant Amy (Emily Mortimer).
Smart, beautiful, and charming, Amy’s only flaw might be
showing too much forgiveness when it comes to Ross’s
insensitive and dishonest ways. However, it is easy to see why she
falls for Ross. At times you have to laugh at his character’s
embarrassing moments. But his endearing awkwardness is easy to
sympathize with, whether it’s at age eight or at age 40.
Emilia Hwang Rating: 8
“Shadow Hours” Starring Balthazar Getty,
Rebecca Gayheart, and Peter Weller Directed by Issac Eaton Now
playing
Under the belly of bustling downtown Los Angeles lurks a dark,
seductive nightlife. With scenes of moral and physical degradation,
“Shadow Hours” reveals the depraved reality behind the
glamorous façade of the city. Michael Holloway (Balthazar
Getty) moves to Los Angeles in search of a new life with his wife
Chloe (Rebecca Gayheart), withdrawing from a former life filled
with drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, the film does not avoid the
substance-abuse movie clichés. Drifting aimlessly from his
daily work as a gas attendant to secret fight clubs and S&M
dens, Michael plays the Hollywood game of ambition and addiction.
He lies and manipulates to feed his needs, alienating himself from
his wife who wants to help him A slow downward spiral ensues,
followed by an equally slow recovery. The charismatic Stuart
Chapell (Peter Weller) lures Michael to be his research partner for
his upcoming novel. When Michael acquiesces, he is pampered with
expensive tailored suits and cash as they push into the shady,
lawless nocturnal world of Los Angeles. A sincerely innocuous
adventure into the mysterious side of the city’s nightclubs
quickly evolves into a whirlwind of sinful pleasure and
degradation. The debauchery they witness and sometimes participate
in is horrifying, if not utterly relentless; it takes your breath
away, perhaps too much. There are many gruesome moments of sexual
mutilation, which surround the character with an inflexible parade
of graphic, face turning, images. This is not a film that one
decides to see on a whim. Overall, the film displays an admirable
effort of exploring the idea of conflict derived from the
multi-faceted inhabitants of Los Angeles and the city itself.
However, the ending offers no moral closure, avoiding the
inevitable retribution of living a double life.
Judy Pak Rating: 4
“The Woman Chaser” Starring Patrick
Warburton Directed by Robinson Devor Coming to select theaters July
21
You enter a smokey bar. The dark music informs you that you are
no longer in color. Indeed, you have entered the black and white
world of film noir. But wait. Listen. The deadpan narration you
hear is not a Humphrey Bogart voiceover. Instead, it belongs to
Patrick Warburton who plays Richard Hudson, the hard-boiled
used-car salesman turned writer/director. Following in pulp fiction
tradition, “The Woman Chaser” is based on the Charles
Willeford novel of the same title. Directed by Robinson Devor, the
movie is sharp and to the point. Terse. However, Devor’s
innovative treatment of original ’60s pulp is both homage and
parody. While much of the plot and dialogue holds true to its pulp
predecessors, there is an element of self-consciousness to the film
that lends it a humorous edge. In the film, Hudson asks himself,
“Isn’t the making of money the reason for
existence?” He grows bored and realizes that seducing women
and selling repossessed cars does not constitute a full and
satisfactory lifestyle. Through his unique brand of perverse logic,
he decides he must write and direct movies in order to fulfill his
life. It makes perfect sense to him, since, after all, he has seen
so many films. Thus it is in the surreal world of Hollywood that
Hudson must learn the relative value of worth. His stepfather, Leo
Steinberg (Paul Malevich) pawns his most prized painting to fund
Hudson’s fantasy of becoming a director. To Hudson, it is
just the portrait of a clown, but to Leo, it is a priceless work of
art. While trying to tell another story in his film “The Man
Who Got Away,” Hudson begins to blur the lines between
reality and dreams in the real story of his own life. A reading of
T.S. Eliot moves him to tears, but the harsh facts of the real
world send him into a delusional act of arson. Hudson is a man
against the world. Set against the familiar sites of Exposition
Park and Capitol Records,he is the noir character who stands alone.
Hudson learns the hard way that in Hollywood, everyone has their
price. People are bought and sold, just like the cars in Honest
Al’s lot. So in the end, all that’s left is that dimly
lit bar, and the jazzy tinkling of the piano. Oh, and the seduction
of a Salvation Army lady. You don’t have to be a fan of film
noir to enjoy “The Woman Chaser.” because at its core
is a movie about movies and a story about the art of storytelling
““ in six reels.
Emilia Hwang Rating: 7