Kelly Jane Torrance
Articles by Kelly Jane Torrance
Costner’s ‘Swing Vote’
Kevin Costner is an old-fashioned movie star. He's an Oscar-winning director and a financier-producer, too. He's also a plain ol' movie lover. Published August 1, 2008
TORRANCE: Bumpy road to ‘Brick Lane’
Tannishtha Chatterjee really made herself at home on the set of "Brick Lane." Published August 1, 2008
MOVIES: ‘Brideshead’ revisited again
When producers announced a new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's lush 1945 novel "Brideshead Revisited," the question on many lips was: "Why?" Published July 25, 2008
TORRANCE: Goode’s star rises with recent works
Matthew Goode knows firsthand that many in his native England didn't see the need for a new adaptation of "Brideshead Revisited." Published July 25, 2008
MOVIES: Mamma Mia, what kitsch!
How do you like your kitsch? With a heavy dollop of irony? Or straight-up, on the rocks? If it's the latter, you'll love "Mamma Mia!" Published July 18, 2008
A telling thriller
Combine the tricky twists and turns of the American thriller with the subtlety and sophistication of French cinema and you have "Tell No One" ("Ne le dis a personne"), a highly charged piece of work that grabs you by the neck and doesn't let go. Published July 18, 2008
Crystal skulls and Kermit: Museums no relic of past
When British scientist James Smithson died in 1829, he left his fortune to the United States, a country he had never visited, for an "Establishment for the increase & diffusion of Knowledge." Published July 16, 2008
Media Room
"The Bank Job" might seem like it has a pretty preposterous plot. The thing is, the story is true — at least partly. Published July 11, 2008
TORRANCE: Elegant ‘Angel’ of Canada
"The Stone Angel" is a Canadian classic. The novel by Margaret Laurence is required reading for almost every high-schooler up north. Published July 11, 2008
Media Room
"The X-Files: I Want to Believe," the second feature film based on the cult television show, hits theaters July 25. Published July 4, 2008
MOVIES: A smart, spunky ‘girl’ for tweens
"Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" is likely to do brisk business among families this weekend. What could be more fitting this Fourth of July than to take your daughter to a movie about a spunky young girl helping her friends and family struggle through the Great Depression? Published July 2, 2008
TORRANCE: Maddin’s Winnipeg
Canadian auteur Guy Maddin is known as much for how his films look as for what they say. Most of his films, which include the Isabella Rossellini musical "The Saddest Music in the World," look as if they were shot in the 1920s or '30s rather than the present day. Published June 27, 2008
TORRANCE: The carry-on library
We've all done it. Rushing to get clothes, kids and currency properly packed, we arrive at the airport ready to relax and realize we've forgotten a book for that four-hour flight. Or we remember but finish it by the time we land and have nothing left to focus on but our fellow sunbathers as we sprawl out on the beach. So we stop at the airport bookstore and, all too often, are stuck choosing between the latest Stephen King and the last few Jodi Picoults. Published June 27, 2008
Sage Advice
Dear Christie Brinkley: As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. Published June 25, 2008
With gadgets, early adopters now wary adopters
Do you pride yourself on being an early adopter of new technology? Perhaps you were envied as the first on your block to have the stylish Apple iPhone last year - only to find that those who waited a mere two months got theirs for $200 less. Published June 20, 2008
Media Room
Radio talk-show host Adam Carolla understands if some people forever associate him with "The Man Show." Still, he hopes people - especially film critics - will watch his new-to-DVD film "The Hammer" without considering his comedic baggage. Published June 20, 2008
TORRANCE: ‘Beauty’ leaves one spellbound
"Beauty in Trouble" ("Kraska v nesnazich") was inspired by a song that was inspired by a poem. This moving and surprising Czech film, however, is very much down to earth, its concerns informed as much by modern, complicated Czech life as by an age-old, universal narrative. Published June 20, 2008
Sage Advice
Woo hoo! I did it! The jurors may have thought it was me on that tape, but they had to admit there simply wasn't enough evidence to convict. What I'm most interested in now, besides a digital video camera with password protection, is how my next album is going to sell. It should be out in July. Is that enough time for the hubbub over these accusations to die down? After all, I was found not guilty. Published June 18, 2008
Just not ‘Happening’
M. Night Shyamalan is in that select club of name-above-the-title directors. The India-born, Philadelphia-raised auteur's name is usually in even bigger type than that of the big names - Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and now Mark Wahlberg - who headline his films. Published June 13, 2008
Expanding Silverdocs festival increasingly international
Silverdocs just keeps getting bigger. Now in its sixth year, the documentary festival presented by the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring goes from six days to eight days this year. There's now less chance that you'll find every showing you want to attend sold out before you've had a chance to pick up tickets. Published June 13, 2008
