The IP Machine Laughs at Itself
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg mock Hollywood’s creative collapse in The Studio — while continuing to churn out sequels, reboots, and branded spin-offs.
349 Articles by: Eileen Jones
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Eileen Jones is a film critic at Jacobin, host of the Filmsuck podcast, and author of Filmsuck, USA.
Defending Academic Freedom in The Male Animal
At a time when academic and political repression is sweeping the United States, the 1942 screwball comedy The Male Animal offers a reminder of what courage in the face of crackdowns on a college campus can look like.
Friendship Is a Cringe Comedy About Ghastly Human Need
The excruciatingly funny Friendship finds comedian Tim Robinson pursuing a creepy bromance with Paul Rudd. It’s surprisingly well-done, using cringe humor to explore the growing phenomenon of male loneliness.
Will the Mission: Impossible Franchise Ever Die?
In the eighth but likely not final entry in the Mission: Impossible series, The Final Reckoning finds Tom Cruise squaring off against an AI “Entity.” As always, the stunts are impressive. But no force on Earth can make Ethan Hunt a compelling character.
The Grim Timeliness of “Noir and the Blacklist”
A new Criterion series of McCarthy-era noir films is a timely collection for an era of rising government repression — though you wouldn’t know it from Criterion’s oddly subdued promotion.
Florence Pugh’s Thunderbolts* Shocks Marvel Back to Life
Thunderbolts* is Marvel’s first piece of lively entertainment in years. Maybe there’s another decade of life left in the Marvel Cinematic Universe beast after all.
The Legend of Ochi Is a Handcrafted Kids’ Manifesto
The Legend of Ochi, a new A24 family film, combines live action, CGI, and old-fashioned puppetry to charming effect.
Sinners Is the Non-IP Hit Hollywood Needed
Ryan Coogler’s vampires ’n’ blues thriller Sinners is everything Hollywood tells us the masses don’t want: Set a hundred years in the past, it’s not a sequel, reboot, or adaptation of anything. And yet it’s a smash hit with moviegoers.
Warfare Is Hell at the Movies
Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is another combat movie that promises to make war look like hell but instead makes it look like a thrilling trial by fire for young men to prove themselves.
A Minecraft Movie Is as Bad as It Is Popular
Based on the best-selling video game of all time, A Minecraft Movie is officially a megahit. If this is Hollywood’s savior, we’re all doomed.
Don’t Blame Rachel Zegler for Snow White
The press is blaming the young and very online actor Rachel Zegler for Snow White’s dismal box office showing. But Zegler’s performance as the original Disney princess is the only bright spot in an otherwise cynical cash grab.
The Monkey as Sleeper Horror Hit
It’s been a rough year for movies so far — which makes the new horror hit The Monkey an enjoyable surprise.
In Praise of French Poetic Realism
In the 1930s, the French realist filmmakers found a way to speak to and fight against the rising authoritarianism in their country and the world.
Black Bag: Not Much to See Here
Black Bag is being hailed by critics as highly sophisticated cinematic fare — rather than an unambitious rush job by a talented director eager to move on to his next, similarly unsatisfying project.
Severance Is an Indictment of Workplace Hell
Apple’s dystopian workplace thriller Severance entered its second season as a genuine cultural phenomenon. With its brutal satire of the American corporate structure, it’s easy to see why.
Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 Misfires
Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to Parasite is another darkly comic satire of our capitalist hellscape. But even with Robert Pattinson and sharp lefty themes, Mickey 17’s comedy is cringe and its pace glacial.
I’m Still Here Is Worthy of Oscar Hype
Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here is the true story of a left-wing political family in Brazil caught up in the dark days of the military dictatorship. It’s a riveting story with incredible character and period detail that deserves an Oscar this Sunday.
RIP to Gene Hackman, the Everyman Actor
Legendary actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead this week at 95, brought a tough, working-class attitude to his mesmerizing performances.
Young Snipers in Love Across The Gorge
Apple TV+’s The Gorge finds two attractive young snipers, Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, flirting across the abyss as they guard the gates of hell below. It’s a promising premise, but it never pays off.
Love Hurts, and So Does Going to This Movie
Love Hurts is the Valentine’s Day–themed action movie you never asked for.