The New John Brown Series Is as Good as You’d Hoped
Ethan Hawke’s The Good Lord Bird is the thrilling cinematic depiction of radical abolitionist John Brown that we’ve been waiting for.
371 Articles by: Eileen Jones
Eileen Jones is a film critic at Jacobin, host of the Filmsuck podcast, and author of Filmsuck, USA.
The Only Thing You Need to Read About the Inane Cuties Controversy
The controversy over the new Netflix movie Cuties is so stupid, you never should’ve heard about it. But it’s gotten so hysterically overblown by this point, it can’t be ignored anymore.
The Labor Abuses of Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres’s reputation as the kindest celebrity in America has finally been shattered. But it’s not just her “mean streak” that’s the problem — it’s that she’s an exploitative boss, who cheated her employees at the height of the pandemic.
Chadwick Boseman (1976–2020)
More than any other actor of his era, Chadwick Boseman, who played a range of black heroes from Thurgood Marshall to T’Challa, had a capacity to inspire his audience and evoke a sense of pride in the triumphs and struggles of black people.
Bringing H. P. Lovecraft to Jim Crow America
The new HBO series Lovecraft Country melds the macabre monster stories of H. P. Lovecraft with the real-life horror of Jim Crow America. Once again, Jordan Peele shows that the scariest American monster is the white-supremacist cop.
Movie Theaters Were Made for a World That No Longer Exists
Movie theaters are set to reopen soon, but neither the safety of viewers, nor support for the film industry itself, can be guaranteed.
The Controversy Surrounding An American Pickle Is Better Than the Film Itself
Seth Rogen’s new film prompted him to ask some searching questions about Jewish education in the diaspora today and drew significant attention after his criticism of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. But An American Pickle is a superficial portrait of Jewish experience in the New World and a corny rags-to-riches story of immigration.
Bacurau Is the Most Must-See Movie Since Parasite
Movies about class and inequality have made it into the global mainstream recently and are picking up major prizes. The genre-busting, edge-of-your-seat Brazilian film Bacurau is the latest. You’ve gotta see it.
The Half-True Story of Catherine the Great
Period dramas too often treat their subject with polite reverence and slavish accuracy. Tony McNamara’s new show, The Great, flips the genre on its head, telling the story of Russia’s great Empress with all the grotesque comedy the eighteenth-century Russian court deserves.
Jerry Stiller Was a Decent Man
Jerry Stiller was one of those mensches from a bygone era who is almost hard to believe in now, as startling to encounter as a member of a species thought to be extinct walking into your living room.
There’s Nothing Good About Phyllis Schlafly
Mrs. America, the new miniseries about Phyllis Schlafly, doesn’t want us to come away with a harsh view of its subject. But we should: Schlafly’s right-wing views were consistently monstrous, doing untold damage to the country.
Beautifying the Apocalypse
In films like Annihilation and Ex Machina, director Alex Garland knows how to make the end of the world look majestic. But his new show, Devs, gives a grace and dignity to the apocalypse that you won’t find in our own world.
The Death of Revolutionary Film Form
From the end of World War I through the 1970s, filmmakers around the world experimented with film form in the hopes of awakening a new political consciousness. Why did that dream die?
Parasite Is Our Film
We still can’t believe the Academy, a notoriously hidebound institution, awarded four Oscars to Parasite, an explicitly anticapitalist movie. But we’ll take it.
The Cats Horror
No, it’s not “so bad it’s good” — Cats is a beloved Broadway musical turned into a $100 million Hollywood freak show.
Little Women for the Lean-In Generation
With its starchy girl-power message and Meryl Streepish prestige, Little Women is bound to be a hot contender for critics’ awards, Oscars, and Golden Globes. But don’t be fooled: it’s a bad movie.
“Scorsese Versus Superheroes” Misses the Point
Martin Scorsese’s recent comments bashing superhero movies provoked a torrent of outrage. But the real issue isn’t Marvel movies — it’s a funding model that prioritizes easy blockbusters over riskier, daring films.
The Little Man on the Big Screen
Everyone knows Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, but it was director Preston Sturges who captured the volatile reality of success, failure, and the American dream.
You Have to See Parasite
The brilliance of Parasite doesn’t lie in any political allegory it weaves, but instead in its depiction of the cruel realities of trying to make it in a capitalist system set against you. Everyone should go see it.
The Joker Melodrama
Melodrama was an ultra-popular entertainment form of the Gilded Age. It seems fitting, then, that in 2019, we have returned to the genre in Joker.