If Only Challengers Were as Hot as It’s Trying to Be
Luca Guadagnino’s tennis pro drama Challengers is a test of Zendaya’s star power. She passes. But the promised hot-and-heavy love triangle doesn’t deliver.
405 Article(s) by: Eileen Jones
Eileen Jones is a film critic at Jacobin, host of the Filmsuck podcast, and author of Filmsuck, USA.
Guy Ritchie’s Ungentlemanly Warfare Is a Disappointment
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is Guy Ritchie’s British twist on the old World War II “man on a mission” flicks. But despite being loosely based on a true story, it plays more like a cartoon.
It’s Impossible to Take Alex Garland’s Civil War Seriously
Civil War imagines a crumbling USA torn apart by militias, a crazed president, and murderous ideological rage. The problem is, director Alex Garland never tells us anything about those ideologies. Because then he might be seen as “taking a side.”
Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen
There are innumerable cinematic Jesuses, most of them bland, pious, and blue-eyed — until an Italian communist decided to preach the old gospel in a new way.
Ripley Is a Waste of the Talented Mr Andrew Scott
Netflix’s new series Ripley, the latest iteration of Patricia Highsmith’s murderous con man from The Talented Mr Ripley, is an arty, inert snooze. Its flat portrayal of the title character doesn’t come close to the novels or other fantastic adaptations.
Monkey Man Packs a Wild Punch
With a breakneck pace, Dev Patel’s directorial debut, Monkey Man, delivers on its bloody, brutal promise: a John Wick film in Mumbai that attempts to reclaim Hindu mythology for the underclasses of Indian society.
Everyone’s Hooked on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem
Based on Cixin Liu’s megapopular sci-fi novels, 3 Body Problem is an engrossing spectacle about alien invasion. It’s a welcome 21st-century twist on the old War of the Worlds premise.
Annette Bening’s Helicopter Mom Dominates Apples Never Fall
In the new mystery miniseries Apples Never Fall, Annette Bening’s fantastic performance can’t save an otherwise bland “whodunit” thriller.
Palm Royale Is a Weak Critique of the “Bubble” of the Rich
Showing that rich women in 1969 are “living in a bubble” is like demonstrating that, as ever, water is wet. But even if Palm Royale was meant to deliver messages of great satirical significance, it’s too weak to carry them.
The Road House Remake Is Actually a Great Time
Do you ever hear about a new movie like the Road House remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal, assume it’s terrible, mentally prepare your vicious takedown of it — and then watch it? And it’s actually . . . good?
The Pulpy Joys of Presidential Assassination in Manhunt
The new Apple TV+ miniseries Manhunt turns the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s murder into a zany crime thriller with oddball pleasures.
The Enduring Predictability of the Mostly Apolitical Oscars
Yet another “return to normal” Oscars — briefly disrupted by a statement from Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer criticizing Israel’s assault on Gaza — only demonstrates just how boring even a “good one” can be.
Perfect Days Celebrates Spare, Mindful Escapism
Critics love Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days for its depiction of a happy and humble Japanese toilet cleaner. But it’s really a fantasy of escape — one that seems to appeal mostly to the affluent.
Kate Winslet Rules as an Unstable Autocrat in The Regime
The new HBO miniseries The Regime imagines the last days of a crumbling modern-day autocracy. The series is obviously intended to draw parallels to our own slowly collapsing empire, with Kate Winslet as a grandly imperious and unstable head of state.
Bob Marley: One Love Is a Feel-Good Fake
The story of Bob Marley’s reggae music and his politically infused Rastafarian beliefs is fascinating. Not that you’ll learn anything about them from watching the new feel-good biopic Bob Marley: One Love.
Drive-Away Dolls Is a Wonderfully Unimportant Romp
Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls is a delightfully raucous lesbian road comedy. Don’t listen to the wet-blanket critics — this film is good news in dull times for American movies.
Dior and Chanel Square Off in the Messy The New Look
Largely set in occupied France during World War II, the new Apple TV+ series The New Look zeroes in on Christian Dior’s rivalry with Coco Chanel — but it falls flat when it tries to handle Chanel’s infamous Nazi sympathies.
The New Mr. & Mrs. Smith Is Very Different From the Brangelina Film
Loosely based on the 2005 film, the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV reboot uses the action-comedy genre to represent how impossible life is for so many people today, with two misfit unemployables turning to assassin work out of desperation.
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans Reminds Us to Never Trust a Writer
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud follows Truman Capote’s infamous breakup with the East Coast socialites he called “the Swans,” showing how his charm and talent as a raconteur couldn’t save him from being banished by wealthy elites.
The Zone of Interest Is Much More Than a Holocaust Film
Jonathan Glazer’s haunting new film The Zone of Interest follows the life of an Auschwitz commandant in 1943 as his family goes about their business with the horrors of the Holocaust just on the other side of a wall. It’s mesmerizing and unsettling.