Jarrod Jones

Chicago

Film and TV Critic at Freelance

Your second-favorite repository for film, comics, and TV criticism since 2013. Edited by @jarrodjones_. Inquiries: [email protected]

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Articles

CCFF 2025 Reviewed: OBEX, Mr. K.

6 days ago | doomrocket.substack.com | Jarrod Jones

OBEXOBEX, a miraculous oddball directed, co-written by, and starring Baltimore-based filmmaker Albert Birney, takes the well-trod hero's journey and reboots it with the blocky veneer of Apple IIGS aesthetics and the playful inanity of point-and-click adventures. It's one of those esoteric DIY projects you will either connect with instantly or won't.
CCFF 2025: Lurker, Zodiac Killer Project, It Ends

1 week ago | doomrocket.substack.com | Jarrod Jones

LURKERWhen rising pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) enters the hot streetwear shop where Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) works, bromance is in the air. Matthew cues up a song on his phone — Oliver's favorite, as it happens — prompting them to strike up a conversation. It would read as buddy kismet had we not just watched Matthew scan Oliver's socials to find just the tune to grab his attention. You get the sense Matthew doesn't listen to much music, but he clearly understands fame.
Thunderbolts* Zeroes In On The Human Beneath The Hero

2 weeks ago | pastemagazine.com | Jarrod Jones

After Captain America: Brave New World promised to jolt the Marvel Cinematic Universe out of its post-Endgame torpor and delivered a compromised mess instead, here comes Thunderbolts* with the jumper cables.
Daredevil: Born Again forges a new, dangerous path in its season-one finale

1 month ago | avclub.com | Jarrod Jones

In a bold episode brimming with memorable moments, one in particular stood out during the season-one finale of Daredevil: Born Again. Accompanied by Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) cut power to New York and, in so doing, asserted his dominance over it. Plunged into darkness, stars suddenly enveloped and illuminated the city below.
Warfare Is a Technical Exercise That Thrives on Sensory Overload

1 month ago | pastemagazine.com | Jarrod Jones

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. As a blistering exercise in sustained tension, Warfare works. As a depiction of the toll war takes on the body and soul, well, it’s pretty good at that, too.
Kingpin flexes his power in a busy Daredevil: Born Again

1 month ago | avclub.com | Jarrod Jones

When Daredevil (Charlie Cox) tossed Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) off the roof of Josie’s Bar during the premiere of Daredevil: Born Again, it felt like the last we’d see of Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter—at least until next season. In “Isle Of Joy,” Bullseye makes a violent return just as the Fisks (Vincent D’Onofrio and Ayelet Zurer) ascend to what can only be called a municipal monarchy. This very busy season of Born Again grows busier by the episode, and this week might be its busiest yet.
Kingpin flexes his power in a busy Daredevil: Born Again

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Jarrod Jones

Daredevil: Born Again could be hiding a hint about Wilson Fisk's supervillain son The Rose in plain sightDaredevil: Born Again episode eight features a rose motif in some of its scenes with the villainous Bullseye. And while it could be easy to dismiss …
Misericordia & Eric LaRue Review: Misery loves company

1 month ago | doomrocket.substack.com | Jarrod Jones

MISERICORDIAWhen Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) returns to his hometown to pay respects to his recently deceased mentor, he probably didn't anticipate an extended stay in Purgatory. Yet that's just what he gets in Misericordia, Alain Guiraudie's darkly hilarious meditation on death, desire, and evading responsibility in this crumbling world of ours. The film begins with a funeral, and it never ends.
Playful horror-comedy stuck in purgatory

1 month ago | avclub.com | Jarrod Jones

As the years wear on since 1978’s Halloween, it’s heartening to see a new generation interpret the slasher. Gen Z horror-comedy Hell Of A Summer boasts a few touchstones that connect it to the splatter films of yore—its campground setting makes Friday The 13th the most obvious—but the movie’s approach to slaughter and mayhem is more chill than chilling. It’s here to make people laugh, not give them the ick. Unfortunately, it isn’t particularly great at doing either.
The Minecraft Movie Makes a Mushy Mess of Fan Service

1 month ago | pastemagazine.com | Jarrod Jones

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. The Super Mario Bros. Movie struck videogame adaptation gold last summer, bombarding multiplexes with vivid pop silliness (and global brand recognition) that audiences found irresistible. Now, Mojang Studios and Warner Bros. are getting in on the action with The Minecraft Movie, an equally colorful and boisterous diversion designed to tap that rich vein of gamer passion and disposable income.