Movie critic and international gadabout Tricia Olszewski can often be spotted running out of screenings in the Washington, D.C., area muttering her favorite critique, courtesy of Bart Simpson: "I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows." She published her first film-related article while working in a Buffalo, N.Y., multiplex, inspired by lunatic Jurassic Park crowds clamoring to get into the showings "where the seats shook." They were talking, of course, about the new DTS sound technology, but the intense rumor-mongering that audio innovations tend to inspire had them believing they were seeing the sequel to MANT! So she wrote an (allegedly humorous) essay about it, in the process discovering a flair for pointing out the idiotic. Naturally, a gig at the Washington City Paper followed. More than a decade later, she's the last film critic standing.
Tricia also contributes reviews to the Colorado Springs Independent and PopMatters and has written about music and theater for the Washington Post, prompting her to nurture hobbies such as filing and data entry. She's a member of the Washington, D.C., Area Film Critics Association and counts Michael Mann, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino among her favorite directors. Technically, she's neither "international" nor a "gadabout."
Playwright, actress, and screenwriter Zoe Kazan has been seen — or not seen — in blink-and-you-missed-them indie films such as “Meek’s Cutoff” and “Happythankyoumoreplease” as well as in small roles in more mainstream fare such as “Revolutionary Road” and “It’s Complicated.” But the 28-year-old Los Angeles native is also the granddaughter of famed director Elia Kazan (“On the Waterfront”) and daughter of scripters Nicholas Kazan (“Reversal of Fortune”) and Robin Swicord (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), which just about makes her Hollywood royalty. Read the rest of this entry »
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Everyone is thinking it: Arthur, Dudley Moore’s 1981 comedy about a lonely billionaire, didn’t need to be remade. But to have comic/actor/all-around crazy guy Russell Brand fill Moore’s shoes and swap the character’s butler for a nanny — played by Helen Mirren! — and suddenly update the classic doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Read the rest of this entry »
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In Catherine Hardwicke’s “Red Riding Hood,” the titular character of the classic fairy tale is no longer referred to as an item of clothing: Her name is Valerie. And she’s all grown up, torn between the man she loves and the man she’s been arranged to marry, her emotions further taxed as her town battles a werewolf. Amanda Seyfried, blessed with a fairy-tale face, plays Valerie and here talks with her director about the look of the film, its modern touches, and why Valerie is far from a damsel in distress. Read the rest of this entry »
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Ben Foster’s most critically acclaimed role to date was as a quietly tortured military man who delivered news of soldiers’ deaths in “The Messenger.” So his participation in a straight-up action flick, “The Mechanic,” is a bit of a shock. Co-starring with stuntmaster Jason Statham in the remake of Charles Bronson’s 1972 original, Foster toughened up and decided he wasn’t about to let something like vertigo — or even the possibility of death — prevent him from doing his own stunts, too. Particularly one of the movie’s most stunning: a free-fall off the side of a 450-foot building. Read the rest of this entry »
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The assassin at the center of The Mechanic is a man of precise action and few words. The 1972 original starred, naturally, Charles Bronson. Now the current remake recruited an actor who’s perhaps destined in fill Bronson’s shoes: the reticent Transporter and Crank star, Jason Statham. Read the rest of this entry »
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Anthony Hopkins will perhaps always be best known for having eaten someone’s liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. But frightening audiences Hannibal Lecter-style is so 1991: In “The Rite,” Hopkins’ latest film, the devil literally makes him do it. Read the rest of this entry »
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Clint Eastwood is still directing at the age of 80 — which should make him feel pretty lucky. His latest film, “Hereafter,” starring Matt Damon, Cecile De France, Jay Mohr and twin newcomers George and Frankie McLaren, deals with the afterlife, specifically near-death experiences and communicating with those who’ve passed, all wrapped up in the larger issue of fate. Written by “The Queen” scribe Peter Morgan, “Hereafter” incorporates real-world events into its fictional story, including Eastwood’s biggest filming challenge: The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Read the rest of this entry »
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Survival of the fittest is the prevailing theme of Animal Kingdom, the assured feature debut of Australian writer-director David Michôd. Read more>>
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“The Extra Man” flies one freak flag too many. Read more
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Todd Solondz seems to grasp for significance while hating his creations. Read more>>
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