Great Movies
Chaz's Journal
Two Thumbs Up to Roger Ebert and the Movies
An introduction to our month of celebrating the contributions of Roger Ebert.
An introduction to our month of celebrating the contributions of Roger Ebert.
Charlize Theron loves the action genre when the characters are flawed and complicated. "Our strengths come from our faults and mistakes and our petty and our vulnerabilities and our madness. Those are the things that make us interesting."
An annotated table of contents including content both new and republished featured on RogerEbert.com in allegiance with the Black Lives Matter movement.
An article about The Fugitive returning to Chicago's Music Box Theatre for the venue's 90th anniversary.
A review of Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Ben Kingsley, Jacki Weaver, and Jimmi Simpson.
With FilmStruck gone and no real alternative filling the void at present, Amazon is in a prime position to grab up fans of classic movies.
A tribute to the late actor Michael Parks.
A.C.L.U. cites bias against women; Confessions of a location scout; Cate Blanchett on "Carol"; Uganda's Tarantino; How "Mad Men" will end.
The state of female directors in Hollywood; Legacy of "Goodfellas"; "Year of women" at box office; What Dogme 95 did for women directors; Chuck Norris vs. Communism.
Our most anticipated films of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
A recap of the 2014 Melbourne International Film Festival with a focus on what it says about the state of Australian film.
An appreciation of the life and work of the legendary producer Menahem Golan.
"Speed" vs. "True Lies"; 50 Most Underrated Films; What Our Blockbusters Get Wrong About Women; Louis C.K.'s e-mails; 100 Directors' Rules of Filmmaking.
Released in the summer of 1985 to critical scorn and near-total commercial indifference, the sci-fi/horror hybrid "Lifeforce" has spent most of the following 28 years languishing in obscurity. If it was remembered at all, it was either because of its massive financial failure--which helped doom the futures of both its producing company and its director--or because of its status as one of the all-time favorite films of Mr. Skin, that beloved repository of on-screen nudity.
Ben Affleck's "Argo" (2012) is a unique specimen. On the one hand, it is an exciting, suspenseful rescue story. It is his best film, though as a central character he seems to keep directing himself as a mostly expressionless central character. It is, without doubt, thrilling from start to finish. On the other hand, it is a crass cheerleading of ethnocentrism, recalling Menahem Golan's "Delta Force" (1986). As I watched "Argo," part of me was absorbed in the suspense, as though I was wide eyed, with my hand covering my open mouth. Another part of me was thinking that the timing of its release was a bit too perfect, as though I was scratching my head, thinking "Seriously? You're stooping that low?" Still, the film seems to even take that point as a subtle comment about global cinema culture.
This is a free edited sample of the Christmas Newsletter.
For Roger's invitation to the Club, go here.
From the Grand Poobah and Mrs. Poobah:
Seasons Greetings Everyone!
From the Poobah: Chaz and Roger Ebert wish you Peace in the New Year!
Here I was all set to go Elitist on the country singer Lee Greenwood, and I pulled the rug out from under myself. I shared Rachel Maddow's incredulity that the limping duck George W. Bush had appointed Greenwood to the National Council of the Arts. I even had my first two sentences written in my head: "Remember how the Bush takeover squad at the White House complained the Clintonites had unplugged all the PCs on their way out the door? As he steadfastly marches toward his own sunset, it is Bush himself who seems unplugged."
Zing! Totally unfair, but snappy, Bush had two vacancies to fill on the NCA, one for three years, one for six. Greenwood got the six-year term. He'll be the gift that keeps on giving every day during Obama's first term. The Council's job is to advise the National Endowment for the Arts on how to spend its money. I assume Greenwood will support the endowment's Shakespeare in American Communities Initiative, but you can never be sure about those things.
Da-ding! I was just getting warmed up. I was going to sympathize with Bush because fate has set a limited table for conservatives in the arts department. Liberals get Paul Newman, conservatives get Chuck Norris. We get Bruce Springsteen, they get Cousin Brucie. Does such a thing as a conservative dancer even exist? To be sure, Greenwood was a member of a dance ensemble, but that was when he was nine. Look at Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democratic party, who was a philosopher, author, architect, violinist , inventor, sketch artist and culinary expert, and still found the time to found another branch of the family. JFK told an assembly of U.S. Nobel Prize winners: "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House -- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." I imagine George whispering to Laura: "Why didn't anyone want to eat with him?"
CANNES, FRANCE - After a thorough and impartial search of the beaches, hotel lobbies and screens of the 35th annual Cannes Film Festival, I am pleased to announce my selection of the 1982 Cannes Sex Symbol of the Year. Previous winners have included Edy Williams, who rode naked atop a convertible through the old marketplace of this once sleepy little fishing village; Barbara Ferrera, who told me she would rather play a scene with a jaguar than with a man, and Bo Derek, who did not even need to attend the festival to win the honor.
CANNES, FRANCE - After a thorough and impartial search of the beaches, hotel lobbies and screens of the 35th annual Cannes Film Festival, I am pleased to announce my selection of the 1982 Cannes Sex Symbol of the Year. Previous winners have included Edy Williams, who rode naked atop a convertible through the old marketplace of this once sleepy little fishing village; Barbara Ferrera, who told me she would rather play a scene with a jaguar than with a man, and Bo Derek, who did not even need to attend the festival to win the honor.
