“Hitchcock,” a behind the scenes biopic, takes a potentially intriguing background and weaves a dull, poorly written tale completely undeserving of its subject.

Straight women and gay men all across D.C. were presumably disappointed by the news that came out over the Thanksgiving holiday that Brad Pitt had dropped out of the production of State of Play, a big-budget political thriller set to begin filming here in Washington this winter. You may recall that Pitt had stopped by the Washington Post newsroom in September to do some research on the character he was slated to play in the…

>> 9:30 Club has Editors, Ra Ra Riot, and Biffy Clyro. $15 tickets still available, and don’t miss our full preview of Ra Ra Riot by clicking here. >> Michael Powell’s 1969 erotic drama Age of Consent features a young Helen Mirren in her film debut. Screening for free tonight at 7 p.m. at the Library of Congress’ Pickford Theater. Call (202) 707-5677 by 4 p.m. to reserve a seat. >> Malcolm MacPherson covered Ambassador…

It must be hard out there for a Washington film critic. You’ve got big-city cinema dreams, but you’re stuck in a town where politics is usually the order of the day. The number of people who turn to you as the last word in quality filmmaking is probably frustratingly small considering the size of the media market you’re working in. So what are our humble D.C. area film critics to do? Well, as we’ve noted…