Roger Ebert

A (Not So) Brief History of Silent Film Influences on Pop Music
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When Taylor Swift dropped the cover for her upcoming album “The Tortured Poets Department,” classic and silent films fans were swirling over the title of one song in particular: “Clara Bow.” Articles sprung up explaining who exactly Bow was (although...
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The Best Legal and Courtroom Dramas
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Movies set in a law or court-based arena are ripe for potent cinematic drama. After all, there’s some sort of conflict—often an actual lawsuit—at the center. But the great films have more than that. First, there is the case at issue,...
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Horror Movies Should Give Up The Final Girl
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The Final Girl needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway: she’ll get what she wants, if she’s holding the knife. Horror movies started relying on intrepid, doe-eyed Final Girls to round out their posters long before Professor Carol J. Clover...
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We’ll Be Together: A Personal Reflection of Bob Marley: One Love
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“Bob Marley: One Love” by “King Richard” and “Monsters and Men” director Reinaldo Marcus Green hit the big screen on February 14th, 2024. The film is about the legacy of Bob Marley and his groundbreaking music, and also highlights his...
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Cabrini
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There is a terrific scene late in the powerful and old-fashioned epic “Cabrini,” on the eponymous Italian Catholic missionary nun who not only founded a peerless orphanage in New York at the turn of the 20th century (and gave her...
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#479 March 5, 2024
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Matt writes: It was on February 28th, 2014, that RogerEbert.com publisher Chaz Ebert gave me the green light to publicly announce that I had been hired to join her team. My initial job title was Assistant Editor at Ebert Publishing,...
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Introduction to Women Writers Week 2024
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When Chaz Ebert invited me to become an editor at rogerebert.com, she said it was her plan to have at least half of the reviews and articles on the site written by women. I was thrilled to be a part...
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Vote for Neuro(diversity): On the 20th Anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite
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I revisited Dustin Hoffman’s extraordinary performance as the autistic Raymond in “Rain Man” (1998) and for the first time noticed how many shots are from Raymond’s point of view: the play of light and shadow on a diner floor, the...
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How Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Adapts the Un-Adaptable
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In the lexicon of modern pop culture, few board games have made as many film/TV appearances as Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax and David Arneson’s tabletop roleplaying game. From “Stranger Things” to “Community” to “Futurama,” TV shows have had their...
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Why Closer Still Matters Two Decades After Its Release
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In the mid-2000s, when adult dramas still reigned supreme, director Mike Nichols decided to adapt another play. Back in 1966, he began his career as a Hollywood director with a critically acclaimed adaptation of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia...
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