Tony Sokol
‘American Horror Story: Double Feature’ Brings Familiar Faces to Beloved Creatures
American Horror Story • Published on August 2021
Success is an addiction. All the truly prosperous creators are junkies looking to fix on the lifeblood of the ordinary. Ask anyone who believes in the connection between Spirit Cooking and a failed…
‘The Walking Dead’ Season 11: Cliffhangers and Claustrophobia Mark Unexplored Territory
AMC • Published on August 2021
It looks like it will be a long, drawn-out demise as “The Walking Dead” takes its last steps. Season 11 will be a bit longer than the regular seasons, which have already…
‘The Lost Leonardo’ Finds the International Art Community Suitable for Framing
Features • Published on August 2021
“Everyone in this country now, and I guess the world, talks about fake news, and all the lies and politics and of all the hypocrisy, but what scares people the most, in my…
‘Brand New Cherry Flavor’ Takes a Page from ‘The Monkey’s Paw,’ and Gives Back a Finger
Brand New Cherry Flavor • Published on August 2021
If you’re a fan of cute and cuddly kitten clips, Netflix’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor” is not for you. Yes, there are precious furball babies all over the series, but you won’t…
HBO’s ‘Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union’ Catches Imperfect Dreams and Rude Awakenings
Barack Obama • Published on August 2021
Countries have borders presided over by governments composed of citizens, flawed, inconsistent, and greedy. A utopian society is impossible because utopia is defined quite differently by individual utopians. It is an exciting idea…
‘Jolt’ Is Jarring as a Comedy, but Hilarious as an Action Film
Features • Published on July 2021
“Jolt” is the “Hulk” rom-com no one knew we needed to see. Lindy (Kate Beckinsale) is new on the dating scene, and at first glance, she looks like should have her…
‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’: An Unmemorable Thriller Whose Main Mystery Is What Just Happened
bruce willis • Published on July 2021
Lukas Haas plays more than the main suspect in director Randall Emmett’s serial killer investigation procedural “Midnight in the Switchgrass.” He is its symbol. Serial killers are always the guys…
‘Die in a Gunfight’: Young Star-Crossed Lovers Play a Dangerous Game
Alexandra Daddario • Published on July 2021
“Die in a Gunfight,” always seems like it’s about to get started. Every scene feels like it is an explanation rather than exposition. By the time the film hits the half hour…
‘Casanova, Last Love’ Changes the Rules of Engagement
Benoît Jacquot • Published on July 2021
As the title implies, veteran French filmmaker Benoît Jacquot’s “Casanova, Last Love” ends a longtime romance. Giacomo Casanova (Vincent Lindon) held his own in the company of Voltaire, Goethe, Mozart,…
‘Let Us In’: Urban Legends Lose Their Street Cred in Tween Sci-Fi Comedy
Features • Published on July 2021
The strangest thing has been happening since Netflix introduced “Stranger Things.” Filmmakers are revisiting the teenaged-led, light suspense films which were very popular in the ‘80s. Eleven would have fit right in on…
Good Crooks Go Bad As Pierce Brosnan Steals the Gold Meant for ‘The Misfits’
Features • Published on June 2021
“The Misfits” is a golden oldie masquerading as contemporary classic and earns its name in the bait and switch. Pierce Brosnan plays a legendary international thief named Richard Pace. From what…
‘Domina’ Highlights the Ambiguity of a Compelling Heroine of Ancient Rome
Domina • Published on June 2021
Both Epix’s “Domina” and HBO’s “Rome” leave out a very important figure of Roman history. Fulvia, Marc Antony’s wife, was in charge of the empire when her husband and Octavius went chasing…
In ‘Why Women Kill’ Season 2, Murder Is a Common Accessory
Features • Published on June 2021
“When we got married, he said he’d never make it to 70,” Mrs. Rita Castillo (Lana Parrilla) tells her private gumshoe Vern (Jordane Christie) in the season two opening episode of…
Techno-Thriller ‘Profile’ Sets up a Cagey Catfish Trap for Naive Jihadists
Features • Published on May 2021
In Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov’s “Profile,” reckless British journalist Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) catfishes a senior member of ISIS, Abu Bilel Al-Britani (Shazad Latif), to his destruction. She does…
In the Midst of America’s War on Drugs, No One Could Get Arrested for ‘The Crime of the Century’
Alex Gibney • Published on May 2021
Alex Gibney’s “The Crime of the Century” aims to make audiences think about legalized drug pushing, and viewers will need something to dull the pain. Or better still, to soften their lives…
‘Godfather of Harlem’ Claims New Territory in Season 2
Features • Published on April 2021
“Godfather of Harlem” season two is being tied with the “French Connection.” It is the title of this season’s first episode, a new business venture for Forest Whitaker’s Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson,…
‘Kung Fu’: The CW Puts Their Stamp on an Iconic Story
Features • Published on April 2021
The CW’s “Kung Fu” is a new show using an old title, rather than a reboot of an old classic. The original “Kung Fu” series, which aired from 1972 through 1975, is…
‘Hemingway’: PBS Series Highlights the Contradictions Behind the Myths of an American Literary Icon
Ernest Hemingway • Published on April 2021
“There were so many sides to him, he defied geometry,” Ernest Hemingway’s first wife is quoted as saying in the first episode of “Hemingway.” The three-part PBS documentary works as a protractor,…
Maggie Brings Enemies Old and New as ‘The Walking Dead’ Takes a Detour Before the Final Season
AMC • Published on February 2021
“Home Sweet Home,” the first episode of the extended 10th season of “The Walking Dead,” is what happens when you film around Covid delays. The pandemic bumped the original finale, “A Certain…
Hulu’s ‘No Man’s Land’ Barely Cracks the Glass Ceiling of the Syrian Revolution
Features • Published on November 2020
ISIS soldiers are afraid of women. The staunch hardliners of the Islamic caliphate are happy to die in battle because they’ve been promised paradise in the afterlife with 72 virgins for…