Roger Ebert

What Remains
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For the first 15 minutes of “What Remains,” we follow around a Scandinavian man named Mads Lake (Gustav Skarsgård), formerly Sigge Storm. Bearded, grizzled, timid, always wearing a Rukka outdoor coat — Lake is looking to start a new life...
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She Rises Up
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Documentary filmmaker Maureen Castle Tusty’s newest film, “She Rises Up,” is a dossier about the international economy and a trio of women trying to carve their space within it. Focusing on the stories of Magatte from Senegal, Gladys from Peru,...
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Hummingbirds
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It feels limiting or a disservice to call "Hummingbirds" simply a documentary. This quiet gem from best friends and first-time filmmakers Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras is so much more than that. A glowing self-portrait of their...
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Trigger Warning
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Beginning with a wonky opening chase sequence, “Trigger Warning” lacks urgency. Beginning in Syria’s Badiyat al-Sham Desert, an elite squad led by Parker (Jessica Alba) zip after potential terrorists in CGI trucks that look like Lego vehicles riding across the...
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The Exorcism
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In Joshua John Miller's "The Exorcism," Russell Crowe plays Anthony Miller, an actor and recovering addict who is thrown into a role as a priest beset upon by demons. As Crowe dives into the role, under horrible and unflinching guidance from...
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The Shield vs. The Wire
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A few weeks ago, after a sudden rush of praise invading my timeline on Twitter for Shawn Ryan’s procedural cop drama “"The Shield," I decided that this was as good a time as any to finally get into the show....
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The Bikeriders
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From the very first scene of “The Bikeriders,” director Jeff Nichols is working hard to evoke an era. In an opening deep focus shot through a bar’s door frame, Benny, a biker, sits at the bar with his back to...
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The Growing Exploration of Masculinity and Vulnerability in Media
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For decades, Hollywood upheld and championed a certain its ideal of masculinity. Toxic masculinity permeated our screens with scenes of societal ills like sexual harassment, senseless violence, and blatant bigotry. Even cult classics like “Revenge of the Nerds” are infamous...
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What is the Dune of Your Dreams: Holding Time and Space for Quinta, Ego, Maya, Kristen, Michelle, and Renée
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“We walk into these rooms and we can't just talk about our creativity or our ideas. We have to get through all the cultural baggage first.” –Ava DuVvernay, VICE.com/BET Guest Lecture Series, 2017 One day, while wandering through Instagram, I...
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Producing Visual Anthropology
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I always wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic, but it wasn’t until I was in college that I learned about visual anthropology. Anthropology taught me about foreign histories and cultures, but I also learned about myself and the...
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