“Glicked”: Are You Not Entertained?
Don’t fight the arrival of Wicked and Gladiator II. Accept them, allow them both to wash over you and leave no trace.
318 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.
Anora: A Refreshingly Class-Conscious Indie Film
In keeping with the harsh realities of working-class life in America, filmmaker Sean Baker doesn’t deal in facile happy endings — not in his latest, Anora, nor in his other recent films. Living to fight another day is triumph enough.
It’s a Dismal Time for Political Films
Film industry executives are scared of them. Audiences are bored by them. It’s a dismal time for political films.
Conclave: A Shallow but Posh Papal Potboiler
There’s always an unlimited supply of narrative and visual drama to be mined from the machinations of the Catholic church. Conclave successfully taps into it.
Errol Morris’s Reminder of Trump’s Sadistic Border Policy
Donald Trump’s separation of children from their families at the border was a centerpiece of his migration policy. Errol Morris’s new documentary, Separated, chronicles the cruel policy during Trump’s first term that would likely return in a second.
Go See The Apprentice Before It’s Too Late
Trump supporters will never go see The Apprentice, and anti-Trumpers won’t be able to bear two hours watching the bane of their existence rise to wealth and power. This lack of a clear audience spells an unfortunate box-office bomb.
Joker: Folie à Deux Torpedoes Joker’s Melodramatic Power
Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the huge 2019 hit Joker, is a vague and incoherent bummer of a film that even the dedication and charisma of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix can’t redeem. But with musical numbers!
Wolfs Is Lax, Low-Key Entertainment
In Wolfs, George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s new Apple TV+ buddy action-comedy about a rivalry between two lone-wolf fixers cleaning up a crime scene, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for: lax, unambitious entertainment for dark times.
Corrupt Pols and Charismatic Idiots
Around 1947, McCarthyism hit Hollywood, just when it was starting to make hit films about the corruption and idiocy of American electoral politics.
Megalopolis Is Francis Ford Coppola’s Sad Nadir
Francis Ford Coppola was once a real cinematic titan creating indelible experiences at the movies. But Megalopolis, his overstuffed saga of the failing American empire, marks the drastic decline of his powers as a filmmaker.
An Appreciation of Maggie Smith
Beloved actor Maggie Smith died yesterday at 89. To understand her brilliance, look no further than her complex performance in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Demi Moore’s The Substance Is Bright Pop Body Horror
The Substance, starring Demi Moore, is a bright and showy body horror film about aging and the hypersexualization of the female body. But it doesn’t go much further than illustrating at great length that there are nasty cultural attitudes toward older women.
RIP James Earl Jones
Few American acting careers have made such lasting impressions on so many as James Earl Jones’s.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Is a Sweetly Satirical Delight
After a dreary sojourn through several terrible films, director Tim Burton’s delightful new Beetlejuice joint proves that you can go home again.
The Crow Is a Predictable Dud
From the depths of August’s cinematic dumping ground comes The Crow, a dreary reboot of the classic 1994 Brandon Lee film, reviled by critics and loaded with lurid CGI and occult hooey. Save yourself the ticket price — better films are on their way.
Alien: Romulus Has a Wow Finish for the Summer
If you guessed that our film critic Eileen Jones would hate Alien: Romulus, buddy, you guessed wrong. The corporate manipulation and betrayal in the Alien films don’t lose their fascination over the course of their many variations.
Borderlands Bombs Out
Borderlands is officially a box office disaster. Even Cate Blanchett can’t save it.
M. Night Shyamalan Falls Into His Own Trap Once Again
Trap is a deeply silly thriller — and further proof that writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is among the most uneven filmmakers in the history of the medium.
Deadpool & Wolverine Gleefully Skewers the Marvel Universe
Deadpool & Wolverine’s cynical mocking of all things Marvel is its secret weapon. No wonder it’s making a killing at the box office.
Glen Powell Chases Down Twisters
In Twisters, Glen Powell, Hollywood’s newest MVP, spins a formulaic script into good old-fashioned summer box office gold.