Kelly Jane Torrance

MOVIES: A ‘Duchess’ of style and substance

"The Duchess" is one frustrating film to watch. It's not that the ethereally beautiful Keira Knightley isn't convincing as the title's 18th-century aristocrat. She is.

September 26, 2008

Sage advice

Advice compiled and condensed from actual sources by Kelly Jane Torrance, who composed the questions.

September 24, 2008

EDGE: Book world is a no-spine zone

This season's most controversial book isn't an election-year expose or a celebrity tell-all - it's a historical novel.

September 19, 2008

MOVIES: Great mystery of human heart

Critics have contrasted French subtlety to Hollywood's love of the over-the-top many times. Leave it to master Claude Chabrol, though, to make a film about the varieties of corruption and depravity without so much as a glimpse of nudity.

September 19, 2008

MOVIES: ‘Women’ remake cedes war of sexes to ‘39 classic

"What do you think this is," Mary Haines asks exasperatedly in the new remake of "The Women." "Some kind of 1930s movie?" If only.

September 12, 2008

MOVIES: Monsters stalk the scene

The fall movie season always has more serious fare than the summer. Studios like to release the films that have the best shot at awards just before the deadline so judges have them fresh in mind when it comes time to vote.

September 11, 2008

TORRANCE: Effects of strike linger

Last season's writers strike, which left many popular programs with shortened seasons, might be just a distant memory - but that doesn't mean television is back to business as usual.

September 11, 2008

Streisand among Kennedy Center honorees

Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Twyla Tharp and Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who will be saluted in a performance gala at the Kennedy Center.

September 9, 2008

Streisand among Kennedy honorees

This year's Kennedy Center Honorees, announced Tuesday, include an Oscar winner, a Grammy winner, a Tony winner and someone who has won all three, as well as two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

September 9, 2008

Tangled Web

As online dating has lost the stigma once attached to it and millions of people flood big sites such as Match.com looking for love, niche dating sites have begun to proliferate to help narrow the field.

September 5, 2008

Fame has its price

Just the words "Hollywood Walk of Fame" conjure up an idealized vision of Tinseltown.

August 29, 2008

MOVIES: In search of indie romance

If "In Search of a Midnight Kiss" were writer-director Alex Holdridge's first film, I would say it was a pretty promising debut. The black-and-white film is studded with beautifully composed shots and flashes of wit and humor. It's Mr. Holdridge's third film, though, and an experienced filmmaker should offer us more than just brief glimpses of talent.

August 29, 2008

BEYOND: A knight’s many tales

Sir Ben Kingsley is one of the most versatile of actors. His range is simply astonishing.

August 22, 2008

MOVIES: Touching ‘Elegy’ unlike the book

The cinema has not served Philip Roth well.

August 22, 2008

Sage Advice

I just turned 50, and all I can think about is how I look. Sure, I've broken boundaries and broken records, but none of that seems to matter to me when I look in the mirror. I've done my best to look like I did 30 years ago. Some people say I look preternaturally preserved. Now I'm starting to wonder if that look is a little scary. Does a larger-than-life figure like me need to look human?

August 20, 2008

Conservatives: Let’s see good (marital) sex

It might be shocking to learn that the PTC is demanding better sex on TV — as long as it's marital sex, of course.

August 15, 2008

MOVIES: ‘Vicky’ is sexy, funny romp

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a Woody Allen film, but you wouldn't know it from the promotional materials.

August 15, 2008

MOVIES: ‘Boy A’ ponders child murderer’s redemption

"Boy A" is one of those ripped-from-the-headlines films that, depending on the execution, can end up a maudlin movie-of-the week or an incisive but moving commentary.

August 8, 2008

EDGE: ‘Pineapple’ tokes out of both sides of its mouth

Nobody likes a hypocrite - that's why some political scandals provoke more outrage than others.

August 8, 2008

Rickman, the epitome of Englishness

British researchers announced this spring that they had used a mathematical formula to determine the ideal human voice. The well-known actors who came closest to having the perfect male voice, they declared, were Jeremy Irons and Alan Rickman.

August 8, 2008