Jon Lisi

Jon Lisi writes about film and television. He lives in New York City.

Film/Reviews

Even Meryl Streep Can’t Save ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ from Postmodern Pretense

Jon Lisi / 14 August 2015

The French Lieutenant’s Woman has not aged well, and this has to do with the failure of postmodernism and poststructuralism to contribute anything useful to popular culture.

In Praise of Kristen Wiig’s Risky Career Choices

Jon Lisi / 11 August 2015

Kristen Wiig’s genius is that she can generate humor and pathos from the same source, her characters’ pain.

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Some Memories Just Won’t Be Released in ‘Unfriended’

Jon Lisi / 11 August 2015

Unfriended successfully updates horror movie conventions for a social media savvy audience.

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‘The Salt of the Earth’ and Tensions Between Peace and Disruption and Beauty and Destruction

Jon Lisi / 6 August 2015

The Salt of the Earth shows that Sebastião Salgado is as much of an activist as he is an artist.

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How Do the ‘Merchants of Doubt’ Sell Skepticism?

Jon Lisi / 5 August 2015

Merchants of Doubt shows how simple it is for corporations to sell lies to the American people, and how stupid the American people are to believe them.

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‘Tangerines’ Is a Passionate Plea for Diplomacy and Coexistence

Jon Lisi / 31 July 2015

Tangerines highlights the various reasons why people fight, and then shows why these reasons are inadequate.

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The Political Allegory in ‘White God’ Has Quite the Bite

Jon Lisi / 27 July 2015

White God ferociously tells a universal story about the ties that bind us, and the forces that try to tear them apart.

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‘Timbuktu’ Sends a Powerful Message About Jihadism

Jon Lisi / 24 July 2015

Timbuktu isn’t just a film about jihadism. It’s a film about the vibrant cultures jihadism can eradicate if it continues to spread.

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Why Country Music Really Needs Kacey Musgraves

Jon Lisi / 20 July 2015

At a time when mainstream country music is perceived as too pop, Musgraves has the potential to bring it back to the basics -- and in a progressive fashion, too.