Me and Orson Welles

Nostalgia drips from 30s-era Welles film

ZAC EFRON (left) and Christian McKay (right) as Orson Welles in “Me and Orson Welles.”

“Me and Orson Welles” just breathes nostalgia.
Zac Efron plays a young, idealistic actor named Richard Samuels who ditches high school to become a member of Orson Welles’ acting troupe at the Mercury Theatre.
This fledging but talented group is attempting to put on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The pay isn’t too good. Nothing. The workload is heavy.
But the cast senses a greatness in Welles and vie to be part of the troupe and perhaps carve their own slice of fame.
As backdrops, Adolph Hitler is taking over in Europe. David O. Selznik is making a film called “Gone With the Wind.”
Efron’s character hungers to be an actor and Welles demands perfection from the start. Everyone must know their lines immediately and must know absolute pronunciation and voice diction.
There can be no room for error.
Welles, played by Christian McKay, is the absolute monarch of the troupe. All women must submit to him if asked.
Cast members know they can never disagree with Welles. When one member does, it eventually ends in dismissal.
In real life, Welles was called the Boy Genius and his talent was prevalent. While in his 20s he acted and produced “Citizen Kane,” a thinly disguised biography of newspaper magnet William Randolph Hurst. The film ranks No. 1 on most lists of the greatest films of all time.
But this takes place a few years before.
Claire Danes is Sonja Jones, an actor in the troupe. While there are numerous relationships amongst the cast, nobody apparently can seduce the lovely Jones.
Until young Zac comes along. And what kid wants to go to high school when he can bed beautiful actresses and appear in productions with the future Boy Genius of the entertainment industry?
Efron does an exceptional job as the young, naive actor, learning his craft and about life.
And McKay certainly looks and sounds like Welles. He nails down that distinctive voice made famous the world over when his theater troupe put together “The War of the Worlds,” the radio play that had the world thinking we were being invaded by aliens.
The Welles in this film knows how to be stern and absolute, as well as gentle and flattering.
Efron’s character gets a cold slap of worldly reality at the end of the film
There are many side characters, from actors to a young, would-be author the Efron character meets.
Richard Linklater directed this film. His wide-ranging talents are responsible for such films at “A Scanner Darkly,” “Dazed and Confused” and “School of Rock.”
This film got little notice when it was released in December 2009. It wasn’t in 3-D and Optimus Prime wasn’t a character.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t deserving of attention. In fact, why not watch it as a double feature with “Citizen Kane?” Now that’s a good idea.

ME AND ORSON WELLES
• Directed by Richard Linklater
• Screenplay by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo from a novel by Robert Kaplow
• Rated PG-13 for sexual references and smoking
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• 3 1/2 stars out of 4

Kick-Ass

‘Kick-Ass’ bloody fun, takes chances

AARON JOHNSON is "Kick-Ass."

I had a bit of a disagreement with a female co-worker.
She didn’t care for “Kick-Ass,” but her husband loved it.
I said I would be the tie breaker.
I found it a, well, kick-ass kind of film.
Sure it is a goofy movie, but it took a few chances with the story and characters that made it a little different and more engaging.
So here is the premise. What if people out in the world decided to use their talents to become crime fighters and wear costumes, just like in the comic books.
Certainly, you point out, there’s nobody from the distant planet Krypton who came to Earth with powers more powerful than mortal man, like Superman.
And nobody we know of has been bitten by a radioactive spider, creating Spider-Man.
But look at Bruce Wayne. He built himself up, trained his body and mind and became a superhero with no powers, Batman. Ollie Queen was able to use trick arrows to nab the bad guys as Green Arrow.
So what kid hasn’t dreamed at some point of being a superhero, whether with real super powers like Superman or just an athletic guy, like Batman?
Thus the appeal of “Kick-Ass.”
Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson, gets picked on at school and decides to become a super hero.
Now what should any self-respecting kid do first if he wants to battle the bad guys in costume garb? Why, build a Web site and get a fancy costume.
Trouble is, Dave doesn’t worry too much about the physical part. So when he tries to stop two guys from breaking into a car, he in his Kick-Ass costume and the baddies almost become incapacitated from laughter.
They also beat, kick and stab him.
So his first attempt at truth, justice and the American way ends up in a trip to the emergency room.
But Dave’s thoughts of being a super hero aren’t original.
Because Nicolas Cage has become the crimefighter Big Daddy, along with his ruthless 11-year-old daughter, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, who is Hit Girl.
They are battling a crime boss played by Mark Strong. With all of these super heroes showing up, the Strong character decides to use his son, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as yet another super hero, Red Mist.
Now the only one in this sea of tights and capes who could be considered a super hero is Hit Girl. Sure she is only 11, but she can take out a room full of macho men in a blink of an eye.
She isn’t disturbed as she leaves a dozen bloody corpses in her wake.
There are some subplots. Somehow Dave captures the heart of the hot chick at school, even though she doesn’t know he is Kick-Ass.
There is no curbing of the violence in this film. When the crime boss captures the heroes, he shows their torture on TV. America watches as Kick-Ass gets his groin kicked to the point it is doubtful he will ever father children.
But don’t worry, he bounces back to battle the bad guys.
Big weapons, sharp knives, lots of blood. It’s been done before, but it works.
Now when I was a kid, there was a code for super heroes. You never killed anyone.
Not so in “Kick-Ass.” In many ways this could be called “Kill-Ass.”
Now I can enjoy an English drawing room drama where the most action is when the butler adjusts the Lord’s tie.
But the fast action, don’t-give-a-damn how bloody and politically incorrect it all becomes is appealing as well.
Give it a look and then maybe hang out at Dairy Mart, in case somebody tries to shoplift a carton of chip dip. Grab your cape and kick some ass.

KICK-ASS
• Directed by Matthew Vaughn
• Written by Jane Goldman, Vaughn and Mark
• Runtime: 117 minutes
• Rated R for violence, language
• 3 stars out of 4