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.
338 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.
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.
Emilia Pérez Is the Ultimate Unloved Oscar Nominee
Despite Emilia Pérez’s mixed reviews and poor audience reactions, Hollywood handed the musical 13 Oscar nominations in the hopes of proving its progressive bona fides. Then old tweets from its star surfaced.
The Brutalist Is a Confounding but Beautiful Mess
The Brutalist is a big and bold story of the immigrant experience and the postwar American dream. It’s confounding yet always interesting — a heartening thing in these cinematically tough times.
Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths Is Powerful and Tormenting
Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths is another triumph by that legendary dramatist of working-class British life. But films like Leigh’s are a rare breed these days.
Presence Is an Engrossing Experiment in Supernatural Cinema
Steven Soderbergh’s low-budget haunted house flick Presence puts the viewer in the point of view of the ghost. It’s a thrilling experiment — more like this, please.
RIP to David Lynch, Mysterious, Bizarre, and All-American
Director David Lynch, who died this week at 78, brought an avant-garde sensibility into the American mainstream when we needed it most. There will never be another like him.
Better Man Is a Standard Biopic, Slightly Monkeyed With
A CGI simian twist isn’t enough to turn Better Man into anything more than a by-the-numbers Robbie Williams biopic.
The Damned Settlers Have Got to Pay
With a modest budget but plenty of thrills involving spooky 19th-century ships, frozen wastelands, and ghouls from Nordic folktales, The Damned proudly carries on our Gothic horror revival.
Timothée Chalamet Does Dylan
Despite Timothée Chalamet’s best efforts, A Complete Unknown is a cookie-cutter Bob Dylan biopic for a legendary artist who deserves something far more interesting.
Nosferatu Is a Flawed Triumph
Robert Eggers’s remake of the original 1922 vampire classic Nosferatu is a master class in atmospheric dread. You won’t even mind the occasionally clunky script.
Queer Asks You to Believe Daniel Craig Can’t Get Laid
Based on William S. Burroughs’s cult novel, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer finds an American expat looking for love among the men of 1950s Mexico. But a story about thwarted desires runs into problems when you cast a Hollywood hunk like Daniel Craig.
Jude Law Takes on White Nationalists in The Order
As an alternative to the “Big IP” movies dominating the box office, The Order is an effective and often thrilling drama about the FBI’s pursuit of white nationalists in the early 1980s.