In the 9th century Tang dynasty, a woman is abducted as a child and trained to be a merciless killer. When she fails one of her assignments, she is ordered to return to her town of birth to murder the governor, who is also her cousin and former lover. Such is the premise of Taiwanese […]
Author Archives: Sebastian Torrelio
Movie Review: ‘Steve Jobs’
When Steve Jobs passed away in late 2011, the reaction to his illustrious and world-changing career was, to put it lightly, divisive. The world seems to acknowledge how Jobs helped advance computing technology to where it is today, but recognizes that perhaps he didn’t use the most honorable corporate methods as co-founder of Apple Inc. […]
To View or Not to View: ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘The Last Kingdom’
In the war zone that is the fall TV season, it’s important to pick out the gems hidden in the media mesh. Each week, A&E columnist Sebastian Torrelio will profile one new show and one returning show that share a connection, detailing how they may make those after-school hours more meaningful. There is not a […]
Movie Review: ‘Pan’
There are a handful of moments in director Joe Wright’s prequel take on the “Peter Pan” story that are absolutely terrifying. One is when Hugh Jackman appears on screen as the child-kidnapping pirate Blackbeard and starts singing Nirvana for no apparent reason. Another is when a poorly composed CGI skeleton emu starts stumbling and squawking […]
To View or Not to View: ‘New Girl’ and ‘The Grinder’
In the war zone that is the fall TV season, it’s important to pick out the gems hidden in the media mesh. Each week, A&E columnist Sebastian Torrelio will profile one new show and one returning show that share a connection, detailing how they may make those after-school hours more meaningful. In 2012, Fox filled […]
Movie Review: ‘He Named Me Malala’
Generally speaking, documentary plot lines are hard to spoil, but definitely not impossible to. Great documentaries provide insight into the overlooked details of a subject, interwoven into a storyline that fits seamlessly with the cinematic format. “He Named Me Malala” has none of these things. The only one it somewhat appears to have is a […]
Movie Review: ‘The Martian’
There are four people primarily responsible for what the cinematic version of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel “The Martian” ended up being: Weir, obviously; director Ridley Scott, coming off a streak of overwrought audience displeasures; screenwriter Drew Goddard, known for throwing absurdity into his stories; and Matt Damon, known for wandering into onscreen absurdity. Sure, the […]