Jon Hamm has a terrific salesperson persona. Partially because he’s beautiful, and partially because of his experience as Don Draper on AMC’s “Mad Men,” which Disney executives obviously caught wind of at some point between his first and 10th Emmy nomination. Taking the chivalrous, though arrogant, Don and making him into a PG Disney character […]
Author Archives: Sebastian Torrelio
Movie Review: ‘Godzilla’
In some ways, Godzilla is to Japan as Captain America is to the United States. He’s a symbol of hope and heroism at times most dire, such as when giant three-headed dragons arrive on meteorites from other planets. Other times, Godzilla is more like King Kong, destroying everything in his path for whatever reasonable or […]
Movie Review: ‘The Immigrant’
The opening shot of “The Immigrant” shows the Statue of Liberty’s back turned toward the camera. She represents defiance, and wants her new visitors to know that their trip across the Atlantic will ultimately make for an elegiac, if not beautiful, tale. James Gray’s newest film, which debuted in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film […]
Movie Review: ‘Walk of Shame’
All things considered, the circumstances could have been worse for Meghan Miles. The fictional newscaster goes through a lot in “Walk of Shame” as she engages with gang members and police officers alike, but at least she’s not watching herself from the comfort of the local cinema. If she were, she’d discover how unreasonably executed […]
Album Review: ‘Shriek’
Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have sold their guitars and bought turntables. Coming off its breakout album, 2011’s “Civilian,” Wye Oak sounds a bit refreshed, although also a bit weary. “This morning, I woke up on the floor, thinking I had never dreamed before,” Wasner reflects in the opening of “Before,” the first track on […]
Movie Review: ‘Last Passenger’
Audiences don’t seem to be flocking to the cineplex for realism anymore. Whereas the believable epic “Gone with the Wind” was once the highest-grossing film of all time, so was the more fictionalized “Jaws” after it and, more recently, “Avatar.” Had “Last Passenger,” the debut feature from British director Omid Nooshin, come out at the […]
Movie Review: ‘Fading Gigolo’
The most believable thing about “Fading Gigolo” is that two aging, Jewish movie stars have the ability to be funny together. The chemistry between renowned director Woody Allen and acclaimed actor John Turturro is really the only detail a film of this sort needs to market for a comedy-itching audience to flock to it. Unfortunately, […]