Let the Sunshine In
The film’s confidence comes in part from the acceptance of the things that can’t be known.
Peter Jackson
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
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Director, Screenplay
Sheila O'Malley -
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
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Director, Screenplay
Sheila O'Malley -
The Lovely Bones (2010)
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Directed by
Roger Ebert -
King Kong (2005)
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Directed by, Written by
Roger Ebert -
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
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Produced by
Roger Ebert -
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
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Directed by, Written by
Roger Ebert -
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
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Directed by
Roger Ebert -
The Frighteners (1996)
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Directed by
Roger Ebert -
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
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Directed by
Roger Ebert
* This filmography is not intended to be a comprehensive list of this artist’s work. Instead it reflects the films this person has been involved with that have been reviewed on this site.
Greta Gerwig Joins Short Legacy of Female Best Director Nominees
Greta Gerwig is the fifth woman to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Director.
The History of Hollywood's Difficult Women
Difficult is a gendered term fueled by the Hollywood machine and maintained by the belief that actresses aren’t responsible for the achievement of their films.
“Middle-earth: Shadow of War” Transports Players to World of Orcs and Hobbits
A review of "Middle-earth: Shadow of War," a game heavily influenced by fiction, film, and other games.
Things Have Changed a Great Deal Since Your Time: A Reappraisal of the “Alien” Sequels
May Contain Spoilers
A look at the entire "Alien" franchise, and a reappraisal of its unloved installments.
Cannes 2016: Steven Spielberg Adapts "The BFG"
Steven Spielberg's "The BFG" has its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Thumbnails 10/26/15
Guillermo del Toro's key theme; Silent frame rates and DCP; Exciting news from Sheila O'Malley; New "Star Wars" music; Unsinkable Effie Brown.
Who's Who In Reviews: Brian Tallerico
The movie questionnaire and 2015 reviews of RogerEbert.com editor Brian Tallerico.
Christopher Lee: 1922-2015
An obituary for the great Christopher Lee.
Two-and-a-Half-Star Reviews of 2015
A list of the two-and-a-half-star reviews so far posted on RogerEbert.com this year.
Thumbnails 5/1/15
How Hollywood keeps out women; Why color correction matters; Spike Lee on digital film viewing; All things shining in "The Tree of Life"; Togetherness in "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
Sundance 2015 Interview: Saoirse Ronan on "Brooklyn"
An interview with Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, who came to Sundance this year with two films, "Stockholm, PA" and "Brooklyn."
The Magic of MAGI: Douglas Trumbull’s Quest to Explore a “New Planet of Cinematic Potential”
An interview with Douglas Trumbull.
Comic-Con 2014: Highlights From the Pressroom
Highlights from the 2014 Comic-Con, including "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Book of Life," "The Boxtrolls," "Hitman: Agent 47," and more.
New York Film Critics Circle and National Board of Review Start the Oscar Race
Erik Childress looks at the first awards of the season and their possible impact on the Oscar race.
Traditions of Quality: Mark Cousins' "The Story of Film: An Odyssey"
Brian Doan wonders if Mark Cousins' "The Story of Film," showing over 15 weeks on TCM this fall, deserves all the praise it has received.
Thumbnails 8/23/2013
What Antoinette Tuff's courage and compassion teaches us; James Cameron says all 3D is inevitable; Peter Jackson may direct a "Dr. Who" episode; the Hollywood feminism of "Tootsie"; a film about the 2011 Chile student riots; introducing Chelsea Manning; real film radicals.
#171 June 12, 2013
Marie writes: Welcome to "Good Books", an online bookseller based in New Zealand. Every time you buy a book through them, 100% of the retail profit goes directly to fund projects in partnership with Oxfam; projects which provide clean water, sanitation, develop sustainable agriculture and create access to education for communities in need. To increase awareness of Good Books' efforts to raise money for Oxfam, String Theory (New Zeland based agency) teamed up with collaborative design production comany "Buck" to create the first of three videos in a digital campaign called Good Books Great Writers. Behold the award winning animated Good Books Metamorphosis.
My homages to Ray Harryhausen: age 9 to 19
Ray Harryhausen told us, time and again, the story of how he saw the original "King Kong" (1933) on the big screen when he was just a kid, of how he was inspired by Willis O'Brien's pioneering special effects, and of how that led him to his grand career in the field of stop-motion animation. In some sense, Harryhausen inspired me in the same way that O'Brien did him. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he changed my life.
Did more people hate "Speed 2" than saw it?
Jan de Bont's "Speed 2: Cruise Control" is one of the most maligned movies of all time, earning the wrath of critics and audiences alike. It has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of two percent and an average IMDB grade of 3.5--levels usually reserved for such monstrosities as The Village People's "Can't Stop the Music" (8/ 3.7) and the insult to all things good and decent that is Adam Sandler's "That's my Boy" (21/ 5.5). Judging from its box office performance, more people hated "Speed 2" than actually saw it. Yet I have to admit that after watching it on its opening weekend in 1997, I left the theater more than happy and was not surprised by the thumbs-ups it received from Siskel & Ebert. Then all hell broke loose. When I dis a movie a friend likes, all he has to do is bring up "Speed 2."
#146 December 12, 2012
Marie writes: For those unaware, it seems our intrepid leader, the Grand Poobah, has been struck by some dirty rotten luck..."This will be boring. I'll make it short. I have a slight and nearly invisible hairline fracture involving my left femur. I didn't fall. I didn't break it. It just sort of...happened to itself." - Roger
(Click to enlarge)
#144 November 28, 2012
Marie writes: Behold a living jewel; a dragonfly covered in dew as seen through the macro-lens of French photographer David Chambon. And who has shot a stunning series of photos featuring insects covered in tiny water droplets. To view others in addition to these, visit here.
(click images to enlarge)
One of the most disgusting horror films ever made
Some horror movies have mercy on uninformed audiences who have no idea about what they will get. The opening sequence of New Zealand horror film "Dead Alive" (1992), which is also known as "Braindead", is a good example because it kindly gives the audiences a very clear idea of what it about and how it is about. As the hero escapes from the natives of Skull Island (Southwest of Sumatra) with a mysterious creature dreaded by the natives, he accidentally gets bitten by the animal, hidden in a wooden crate. He says he's all right, but his local employees are suddenly frightened about that.
#135 September 26, 2012
Marie writes: It's no secret that most Corporations are evil - or at the very least, suck big time. And while I have no actual proof, I'm fairly certain there is a special level of Dante's Hell reserved just for them. (Map of Dante's Hell.)That being the case, when my younger brother Paul wrote me about a cool project sponsored by Volkswagen, I was understandably wary and ready to denounce it sight-unseen as self-serving Corporate shyte. As luck would have it however, I was blessed at birth with curiosity and which got the better of me and why I took a look. For what I found was nothing less than extraordinary....
Larry Sanders: Changing television and changing lives
August, 2012, marks the 20th anniversary of the debut of "The Larry Sanders Show," episodes of which are available on Netflix Instant, Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD. This is the third and final part of Edward Copeland's extensive tribute to the show, including interviews with many of those involved in creating one of the best-loved comedies in television history. Part 1 (Ten Best Episodes) is here and Part 2 (The show behind the show) is here.
A related article about Bob Odenkirk and his characters, Stevie Grant and Saul Goodman (on "Breaking Bad"), is here.
by Edward Copeland
"It was an amazing experience," said Jeffrey Tambor. "I come from the theater and it was very, very much approached like theater. It was rehearsed and Garry took a long, long time in casting and putting that particular unit together." In a phone interview, Tambor talked about how Garry Shandling and his behind-the-scenes team selected the performers to play the characters, regulars and guest stars, on "The Larry Sanders Show" when it debuted 20 years ago. Shandling chose well throughout the series' run and -- from the veteran to the novice, the theater-trained acting teacher and character actor to the comedy troupe star in his most subtle role -- they all tend to feel the way Tambor does: "It changed my career. It changed my life."
The great movies (almost) nobody voted for
OK, this is where it really gets interesting. Forget the consensus Top 50 Greatest Movies of All Time; let's get personal. Sight & Sound has now published the top 250 titles in its 2012 international critics poll, the full list of more than 2,000 movies mentioned, and all the individual lists of the 845 participating critics, academics, archivists and programmers, along with any accompanying remarks they submitted. I find this to be the most captivating aspect of the survey, because it reminds us of so many terrific movies we may have forgotten about, or never even heard of. If you want to seek out surprising, rewarding movies, this is a terrific place to start looking. For the past few days I've been taking various slices at the "data" trying to find statistical patterns, and to glean from the wealth of titles some treasures I'd like to heartily recommend -- and either re-watch or catch up with myself.
I know we're supposed to consider the S&S poll a feature film "canon" -- a historically influential decennial event since 1952, but just one of many. I don't disagree with Greg Ferrara at TCM's Movie Morlocks ("Ranking the Greats: Please Make it Stop") when he says that limiting ballots to ten all-time "best" (or "favorite," "significant," "influential" titles is incredibly limiting. That's why I think perusing at the critics' personal lists, the Top 250 (cited by seven critics or more) and the full list of 2,045 films mentioned is more enjoyable pastime.
It's wise to remember that, although the top of the poll may at first glance look relatively conservative or traditional, there's a tremendous diversity in the individual lists. Even the top vote-getter, "Vertigo," was chosen by less than one quarter of the participants.
