Roger Ebert Home

Far Flungers

Far Flungers

A Tarantinian Bank Job

One of the best things that can happen to a moviegoer is showing up expecting a standard genre film and ending up seeing something better. This was my experience with Roger Donaldson's "The Bank Job" which at first sight seemed…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

Serpico, the cop who wouldn't take money

In contemporary Hollywood, when a young actor becomes successful, he immediately tries to convert fame into power and money, investing his time in formulaic projects that guarantee great results at the box office and, thus, his ascension in the industry.…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

Days and nights of bottles

In the biochemistry class during my naive undergraduate years, the professor jokingly said the capability of metabolizing alcohol depends on our genetic makeup. Thanks to the variations in the genes, some people can produce more enzymes or more active enzymes…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

Why video games are indeed Art

A few days ago, I was one of many critics who panned the film SUCKER PUNCH. Though I hadn't written my own, I advocated several reviews that I felt reflected my sentiments. Though I agreed in their disapproval, two words…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

They should have sent a poet

Absolute silence while the Warner logo, the name of the production company and the title of the movie are displayed on the screen. Suddenly, we see ourselves orbiting the Earth while a cacophony of radio and television transmissions confuses us…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

An Evening with Frankenstein

So exactly what is National Theatre LIVE anyway, you may be wondering? Simply put, it's a program run by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live performances of their productions via satellite, to movie theaters, cinemas and arts…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

Man as a lesser species

One of my earliest and most memorable movie going experiences was Franklin Schaffner's 1968's "Planet of the Apes". It was presented in my grade school's Cine Club (sort of a small film festival that played one different, semi-recent movie every…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

He's his mother's right arm. And her left.

I have a small childhood memory indirectly associated with Alejandro Jodorowsky's "Santa Sangre"(1989). I remember well about how it drew the attention of people when it was introduced in South Korea in 1994. One tagline was simple brutal honesty that…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

But didn't they just now meet?

In "Certified Copy," his most recent movie, director Abbas Kiarostami adopts an intriguing and surprisingly efficient narrative strategy: after structuring the first half of the film emphasizing the realism and naturalism of the situation and of the dynamic between the…

May contain spoilers

Far Flungers

The "Shawshank" Greatness

Is Frank Darabont's "The Shawshank Redemption" the best motion-picture of all time? According to Internet Movie Database users, that is exactly the case. The advent of the internet likely brought together the largest congregation of movie fans in history, ready…

May contain spoilers