Tony Sokol
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley Profusely Swear to Keep Britain Tidy in Thea Sharrock’s ‘Wicked Little Letters’
Features • Published on March 2024
The poison pen letter was a very popular tool for old school trolls. Predating snark, it was the literate version of the anonymous venom of modern internet attacks. Most of these naughty correspondences…
‘Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World’: Radu Jude’s Scathing Slice of Satire Saves the Apocalypse for a Rainy Day
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World • Published on March 2024
Writer-director Radu Jude’s “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World” is a brilliantly caustic, subversive critique on the society that labor has made of Romania’s citizenry. This is…
‘Late Night With the Devil’ Is a Funny and Frightening Found Footage Horror That Flips the Dial
Cameron Cairnes • Published on March 2024
Don’t touch that dial. “Late Night With the Devil,” from sibling writing and directing team Cameron and Colin Cairnes, is a must watch for horror fans, and a true innovation for found…
Pawo Choyning Dorji’s ‘The Monk and the Gun’ Is a Modern Lesson on Traditional Wisdom With Timely Wit
Features • Published on February 2024
A minor exchange in the second act of writer-director Pawo Choyning Dorji’s modernization fable “The Monk and the Gun” captures the essence of the message and the skewered brilliance of the satire.
Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’ Is an Immaculate Look at an Antiseptic Life in Tokyo
Features • Published on February 2024
German filmmaker Wim Wenders loves the camera and all impressions it can capture. His Oscar-nominated Japanese drama “Perfect Days,” co-written with Takuma Takasaki, merges a full array of photographic arts to showcase…
‘The Woman in the Wall’ Hides an Effective Tearjerker Behind a Conspiratorial Crime Horror Story
Features • Published on January 2024
“The Woman in the Wall” more than justifies Sinéad O’Connor’s non-violent protest, tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II live and unscripted on “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 3, 1992. This…
‘Lift’: Kevin Hart Heist Thriller Never Gets off the Ground
F. Gary Gray • Published on January 2024
In spite of all the on-board hazards, “Lift” is too smooth a ride for Kevin Hart. He is tuned up, in top physical shape for another action star turn, but toned down. Directed…
‘Self Reliance’: Jake Johnson Plays a Dangerous Game the Safest Way for His Directorial Debut
Andy Samberg • Published on January 2024
Hulu’s likably offbeat “Self Reliance” is written, produced, and directed by Jake Johnson, who stars as Tommy, a contestant in a lethal-stakes reality competition show. Either that or he’s as crazy as…
Ilker Çatak’s ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ Puts a Compelling Twist on Class Warfare
Features • Published on December 2023
Early in German director Ilker Çatak’s educational drama “The Teachers’ Lounge,” seventh graders debate whether 0.999… equals one, and are called to the chalkboard to defend their conclusions. Most students speculate on…
‘Finestkind’: Nautical Crime Caper Flounders in Hackneyed Waters
Ben Foster • Published on December 2023
“Finestkind,” the title of writer-director Brian Helgeland’s nautical crime caper, can mean anything in Boston’s riverfront slang. Called the “Swiss army knife of words,” it could refer to a great crew, or…
‘Fargo’ Season 5 Leans Into the Coen Brothers’ 1996 Film but Politely Avoids a Head-on Collision
Coen Brothers • Published on November 2023
Joel and Ethan Coen have a love-hate relationship with America’s Midwest. They could never come out and say it, however. The fifth installment of FX’s “Fargo” is set in Minnesota and North…
‘Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story’: A Long-Form Recap of Perry’s Success Story That Never Dispels the Myth
Amazon Prime Video • Published on November 2023
Armani Ortiz and Gelila Bekele’s “Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story” is touted as a love letter to Willie Maxine Perry. Tyler Perry’s mother is his greatest influence. He lives her values,…
In Aki Kaurismäki’s ‘Fallen Leaves,’ Two Lonely Workers Circumvent Romance in a Bleak Helsinki
Aki Kaurismäki • Published on November 2023
Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves” is the fourth film in the Finnish director’s “Proletariat” series following “Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel,” and the 1990 film “The Match Factory Girl.” Set against the war in…
Director Conor Allyn Empathizes With the Devil, but Throws Amber Heard ‘In the Fire’
Amber Heard • Published on October 2023
“I’m a fraud,” psychiatrist Grace Burnham (Amber Heard) tells Martin Marquez (Lorenzo McGovern Zaini), the mysterious boy she is treating for an undiagnosed and as-yet unexplored dissociative disorder. “I repeat the teachings of great men,…
‘Joan Baez I Am a Noise’ Is a Revelation to the Casual Listener, and a Breakthrough for Longtime Fans
Features • Published on October 2023
The title of “Joan Baez: I Am A Noise” comes from a teenaged Joanie Baez’s notebook. The future folk icon claims she wanted to be the center of attention and was, even…
‘The Royal Hotel’: Kitty Green and Julia Garner Reunite for a Different Kind of Toxic Workplace Nightmare
Features • Published on October 2023
American tourists Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) run out of money on the flip side of the world, bounce deeper into the Australian Outback to earn their way back, and fight…
‘Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein’ Is a Tongue-in-Cheek Peek Into the Mind of a Notorious Killer
Ed Gein • Published on September 2023
If ever there was a notorious character worthy of sensational coverage, it is Ed Gein. The 1957 execution of Albert “The Lord High Executioner” Anastasia barely got noticed outside of New York City…
Chris Rock Hits Back at Will Smith, Takes Aim at Meghan Markle in ‘Selective Outrage’ Netflix Special
Chris Rock • Published on March 2023
Chris Rock’s Netflix special, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” was technologically historic as the first-ever live global streaming event for Netflix, airing a week before the 2023 Oscars, and a year since Will…
Stephen King’s Classic Horror Tale Gets Creamed in Kurt Wimmer’s ‘Children of the Corn’
Children of the Corn • Published on March 2023
“Nothing ever really dies in the corn,” a troubled young teen says at the beginning of writer-director Kurt Wimmer’s “Children of the Corn.” But the husk of Stephen King is left…
Netflix’s ‘Day Shift’ Wastes Jamie Foxx in an Action Comedy That Doesn’t Need Vampires
Day Shift • Published on August 2022
As fun as it is to watch from an ultraviolent horror perspective, “Day Shift” is a cookie-cutter action movie where vampires lock and load, and Jamie Foxx might as well be…