Tony Sokol
On ‘Letter to You,’ Bruce Springsteen Revisits the Past to Find Inspiration
Album Reviews • Published on October 2020
Bruce Springsteen has been looking back for the past few years, whether in the form of writing his “Born to Run” memoir or reminiscing that he’s…
‘The Conners’ Season 3 Opens With Socially Distanced ‘Keep on Truckin’ Six Feet Apart’
Features • Published on October 2020
The Conner family continues to survive as it moves into a socially distanced season 3. None of the family have caught Covid, because they’ve apparently set up a fortress against the…
Netflix’s ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ Gives Up the Ghost to Bring a New Twist to an Old Love Story
Features • Published on October 2020
Precocious children are perfectly splendid in the world of subliminal horror. There is all that prepubescent curiosity which has yet to rage as hormones. Netflix’s “The…
Self-Aware A.I. Steals the Show as Fox’s ‘NeXt’ Plugs Into Real-Life Concerns
Features • Published on October 2020
“I’m sorry, Dave,” HAL said in Stanley Kubrick’s masterwork, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” “This conversation can serve no purpose anymore.” With the slamming of a pod door, HAL, just an alphabetical…
‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’ Turns a Graphic Horror Story Into a Teen Series
Features • Published on October 2020
If “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” is indeed what follows an undead nation’s return to normalcy, we’ll stick with the zombies. This runs like…
‘The Walking Dead’ Season 10 Finale Sidesteps ‘A Certain Doom’ While Stumbling Into an Uncertain One
Features • Published on October 2020
It’s been quite a while since we were left at the tower waiting for the final episode of “The Walking Dead” season 10. In…
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ Skips the Politics to Focus on the Everyday Players in a Detective Story
Features • Published on October 2020
“The Salisbury Poisonings” opens like a political “Andromeda Strain.” A beast from the east hit the west in 2018. The series dramatizes a real…
‘Gangs of London’ Carves New Territory for British Mobsters, Usually in Rivals’ Faces
Features • Published on October 2020
“Gangs of London” wastes no time in burning itself into distinction. The very first scene is a blazer. A poor nobody dangles, upside down,…
‘South Park: The Pandemic Special’ Skewers the National Response With a Comic Dystopian Present
Features • Published on September 2020
“South Park” opens season 24 with “The Pandemic Special.” Like the 1999 animated feature, “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” the series first hour long special opens with…
Jeff Daniels Brings Everything But Justice to Showtime’s ‘The Comey Rule’
Features • Published on September 2020
If you had vague trust issues with the presidency of Donald Trump before now watching “The Comey Rule” will confirm them. Of course, if…
Netflix’s ‘Kiss the Ground’ Says the Solution To Climate Change Is Under Our Feet
Features • Published on September 2020
Directed by Rebecca and Josh Tickell, Netflix’s “Kiss the Ground” is a dirty movie. It wants to arouse viewers to get into the mud,…
Dawn Porter Shows off Pete Souza’s Presidential Portfolio in ‘The Way I See It’
Features • Published on September 2020
To begin with, Pete Souza didn’t like the drapes. Deep reds look so much better in an oval office than ornate gold curtains. But Souza is a photographer not an interior decorator,…
‘All In: The Fight For Democracy’ Takes Aim at Voter Suppression Without Losing Sight of Solutions
Features • Published on September 2020
Stacey Abrams grew up with three parental directives: she had to go to school, she had to go to church, and she had to help a stranger in a significant way.
Hilary Swank Promises to Bring Life to Mars in Netflix’s ‘Away’
Features • Published on September 2020
Netflix’s expansive planet-hopping series “Away” begins on the moon, where the crew is preparing to launch the world’s inaugural trip to Mars. We don’t…
Sweden’s Favorite Detective Gets a Modern Makeover in Netflix’s ‘Young Wallander’
Features • Published on September 2020
Netflix’s “Young Wallander” is the story of a naive and caring young cop on his way to becoming a cynical loner with anger issues.
‘Fatima’ Finds Its Faith in the Human Power of Cinematic Miracles
Features • Published on August 2020
The post-Biblical epic “Fatima” opens with a quote by the quintessential scientist, Albert Einstein: “There are two ways to live your life. One is…
‘A Thousand Cuts’ Offers a Sobering Look at Filipino Journalist Maria Ressa’s Fight Against a Murderous Dictatorship
Features • Published on August 2020
“A Thousand Cuts” opens with a “snapshot of our information ecosystem today.” Traditional news sources are being roundly ignored, cut off from social media…
‘World’s Most Wanted’ Spotlights International Corruption in a Fact-Driven Narrative
Features • Published on August 2020
In some ways, American true crime documentaries are going the way of the zombie. In the horror classic “Dawn of the Dead,” George A. Romero warned when there’s no more room…
‘Rebuilding Paradise’ Surveys the Camp Fire Devastation and Warns of the Dangers of Climate Change
Features • Published on July 2020
“We just left pleasure,” President Donald Trump declares before being reminded the name of the devastated town he just toured is Paradise, “and what we saw is not acceptable.” However inappropriate…
‘Gaslighter’ Review: With a New Sound and Vision, the Chicks Don’t Need Dixie
Album Reviews • Published on July 2020
It has been 14 years since Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer, and Martie Maguire closed the history of the Dixie Chicks with their album “Taking the Long Way.” Since then, they’ve toppled the Civil…