Roger Ebert

HBO’s True Detective: Night Country is a Haunting, Riveting Return to Form
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Previous seasons of “True Detective” have played with supernatural elements, a flirtation with the idea that there is evil in the world that defies mortal categorization, but none have leaned into an atmosphere of nearly biblical dread like the excellent 6-episode...
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Mean Girls
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The 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls,” written by Tina Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes, has become a millennial cult classic in the twenty years since its release. Although part of the key demographic...
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Lift
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“Lift” is as generic and forgettable as its title, the kind of glossy, empty action picture that Netflix just keeps pumping out, whether we need it or not. It’s not as aggressively glib as “Red Notice,” for example, but rather...
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Role Play
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Emma (Kaley Cuoco) lives a double life. She has a loving husband, Dave (David Oyelowo), and two beautiful children, but she also moonlights as a secret assassin. Her frequent “business trips” lead to emotional and physical distance from her family,...
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The Settlers
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"Here beyond men’s judgements all covenants were brittle."—Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian The word "settle," typically a cozy verb, should probably be retired, at least when it comes to "settling" land. "Settling" is hostile. "Settling" is murderous. Words matter. Language can clarify, but...
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Destroy All Neighbors
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A few names stand out during the opening credits for “Destroy All Neighbors,” a neurotic horror-comedy about annoying neighbors and a self-described “serial manslaughterer.” There’s Rich Zim, who animated the trippy opening credits sequence, which sends viewers barreling down a...
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Driving Madeleine
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Actor and filmmaker Dany Boon is one of contemporary French cinema’s most prominent portrayers of the everyman, and when we see him in the driver’s seat of a taxi emerging from a car wash in the opening scene of this...
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The Iron Claw
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“The Iron Claw” inadvertently shares a lot in common with the professional wrestling world it depicts. A lot of energy and passion clearly went into it, and there’s a drive to entertain and thrill, but it ultimately ends up feeling...
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The Great Performances of 2023
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What a great year for the form of acting. The truth is that there were just too many performances to choose from when it came to our annual look at some of our favorites. Every year, the extended staff of...
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Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians is Nice, Safe, and Fun
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Disney+’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is a nice way to explore Greek mythology with the kiddos, in a form that parents may not get into on their own. Based on the book series of the same name, it opens...
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