Respect Is a Weak Portrait of the Hellaciously Strong Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin was a legend. But the new Franklin biopic, Respect, is a forgettable film that avoids the darker and more difficult parts of her life.
353 Articles by: Eileen Jones
Eileen Jones is a film critic at Jacobin, host of the Filmsuck podcast, and author of Filmsuck, USA.
In Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho, Even the Rooster Is Bad
Clint Eastwood is back in a starring role at age 91 in Cry Macho. But if this is to be his final film, it’s an awful way for a legend to say goodbye.
The New Candyman Plays It Too Safe for Real Scares
Nia DaCosta’s Candyman reboot is a hit, but unlike the strange and haunting 1992 original, it’s a by-the-numbers horror flick.
Meet Scott Seiss, TikTok’s “Angry Retail Guy”
Comedian Scott Seiss on how his viral TikTok character “Angry Retail Guy” gave voice to the rage of the 21st-century chain store worker.
A Portrait of the Val as a Young Kilmer
Sourced from decades of the Hollywood star’s private home videos, the new documentary Val depicts the rise and fall of infamously “difficult” actor Val Kilmer with charm and intimacy — even if it’s a self-serving portrait.
Old Had Immense Potential — But M. Night Shyamalan Squandered It
Insufficiently developed characters, awkwardly acted scenes, embarrassing dialogue: M. Night Shyamalan has made some awful movies in his day, but Old is one of his worst.
Anthony Bourdain Deserved a Realer Documentary Than Roadrunner
From staging its emotional finale to deploying AI-generated simulations of Anthony Bourdain’s voice, Roadrunner’s director has undercut the reliability of the entire project.
Blue-Collar Jocks
In the 1970s, sports movies were funny, bitter comedies about working-class jocks taking aim at both the front office and the rich.
Black Widow Could’ve Been Worse
Black Widow is a dumb movie that recycles the same Russophobic Cold War narrative Hollywood has been using for years. But it’s just dopey enough and supplies just enough laughs that I couldn’t be mad at it.
Summer of Soul Is an Enthralling and Emotional Concert Film 50 Years in the Making
With historic performances by everyone from Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight to Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone, Questlove’s documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival is a moving portrait of black music and a radical political and cultural moment.
Luca Is Another Beautiful, Overstuffed Pixar Sob Sandwich
Pixar’s latest film, Luca, is so chock-full of twists and turns, it reveals just how much that once-little animation studio has helped shape our current “bingeworthy” narrative standard.
In the Heights Is the Most Boring Movie of the Year
The controversy over casting in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical In the Heights obscures just how dull the film really is.
A Quiet Place Part II Can’t Match the Thrills of the Original — But It’s Close Enough
The sequel to John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s horror-thriller A Quiet Place can’t deliver the same surprises as the original. But it still works.
Did They Just Turn Cruella de Vil Into a Girl Boss?
Disney has rebooted their legendary dalmatian-skinning villain, Cruella de Vil — and turned her into a scrappy, likable hero. The result is the complete mangling of one of the greatest Disney villains of all time.
Helen Keller’s Socialism Has Been Whitewashed
You wouldn’t know it from the whitewashed image of her as an angelic, unthreatening icon, but Helen Keller — yes, that Helen Keller — was a socialist.
Halston Suffers From Ryan Murphy Syndrome
Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix limited series on the 1970s fashion icon Halston is yet another showcase not only for Murphy’s trademark bright and glossy style but also his contempt for the unglamorous rabble.
Hollywood Shouldn’t Remake the Brilliant Another Round
Thomas Vinterberg’s Oscar-winning Danish drama Another Round celebrates the ways in which alcohol can bring joy to a midlife crisis — but there’s no way the coming Hollywood remake can avoid American moralism.
Mare of Easttown Is a Welcome Addition to the Small-Town Murder Mystery Genre
HBO’s Mare of Easttown is constructed around a familiar, virtually surefire plot: a shocking crime in a small town leads to an investigation that ultimately reveals every major local scandal in an astoundingly errant community. And it works.
Sasquatch Tries, and Fails, to Make Bigfoot a Metaphor for American Violence
Hulu’s docuseries Sasquatch uses Bigfoot as a hook to zero in on an unsolved 1993 triple homicide in the weed empire of Northern California. The series has some compelling material to work with — which it proceeds to squander.
Exterminate All the Brutes Exposes the Murderous History of Colonialism
Raoul Peck’s HBO docuseries Exterminate All the Brutes isn’t easy to watch — but it’s important popular education on the 600-year development of the concept and system of white supremacy associated with colonialism, slavery, and genocide.