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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Antebellum Is as Bad as Everyone Thinks
Get Out was a triumph. Antebellum tries to follow in its footsteps, but it completely fails at making a horror movie out of the experience of racism in America.
The Coen Brothers and Their Big Socialist Losers
Spinning comedy out of misery, Joel and Ethan Coen have spent decades telling the story of American failure. No wonder they’re so drawn to American socialists.
Aaron Sorkin Turned the Chicago 7’s Militancy and Defiance Into Bland Liberalism
Netflix’s new Aaron Sorkin movie on the Chicago Seven tries — and fails — to turn a travesty of justice and an attack on the Left into a defense of American institutions.
We’re Sorry to Report That the New Borat Movie Isn’t Funny
Amazon’s Borat sequel tries to replay the zany laughs of the original but picks easy, woke moralizing over funny social satire.
John Carpenter, Apocalyptic Filmmaker
John Carpenter’s movies provide visions of societies falling apart. No wonder his work is resonating now more than ever.
Apollo 10 ½ Reeks of Nostalgia for an Overly Familiar Time
Richard Linklater’s latest autobiographical film, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, is a doting tribute to middle-class family life in the suburbs of Houston. Good luck making it through the whole unbearably sentimental movie in one sitting.
Sofia Coppola Wants You to Feel Bad for the Very Rich and the Very Sad
Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks is yet another meandering depiction of life as a bored and alienated celebrity.
Hillbilly Elegy: Bad Politics, Even Worse Cinema
The only good thing we have to say about the reactionary film adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy is that it’s so boringly told you’ll forget about it in an hour.
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe Is Pretty Damn Good So Far
The first film in Steve McQueen’s new Amazon Prime anthology chronicles the struggle for racial justice in Britain with the 1970s Mangrove Nine trial. It’s a wonderful achievement and valuable popular education on the British struggles against racist policing.
Pam & Tommy Is the Kind of Sharp, Funny, Class-Conscious Satire We Need
In Pam & Tommy, the story of the infamous Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape becomes an epic tale of thwarted American dreams.
Mank: A Great Screenwriter in Search of a Great Biopic
David Fincher’s ode to Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz revives an eighty-year-old debate over whether or not Orson Welles deserves a co-writing credit — and it’s exactly as entertaining as that sounds.
Wonder Woman 1984 Has Set the Bar Even Lower for Superhero Films
The big-budget Wonder Woman sequel is an ugly, tedious, bloated, badly CGI-ed mess and a wretchedly directed film. And yet critics keep making excuses for it because of its supposed social relevance.
WandaVision Needs More Surrealism
Disney Plus’s new Marvel show WandaVision promises a surreal spin on a 1960s sitcom reality. But so far, it’s delivered little more than winks and nods to Marvel Cinematic Universe loyalists.