September 16, 2024 2:38 pm

Roger Ebert Reviews

Hocus Pocus 2

The 1993 Disney movie “Hocus Pocus” is the story of three witch sisters who were executed in Salem in 1693 and returned to create havoc 300 years later on Halloween. It is more than a classic; it is a cultural touchstone. Moderately successful on its first release, it became a phenomenon on home video and

Hocus Pocus 2 Read More »

#442 September 27, 2022

Matt writes: Louise Fletcher, the brilliant actress whose timeless portrayal of Nurse Ratched in Milos Forman’s 1975 classic “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” brought her cinematic immortality, died this past Friday at age 88. Be sure to read Dan Callahan’s obit, as well as Roger Ebert’s Great Movies essay on “Cuckoo’s Nest,” which is excerpted

#442 September 27, 2022 Read More »

Hulu Adds Tawdry Steam to Their Scandal-Lite Series Reasonable Doubt

“Scandal”’s Olivia Pope became a pop culture icon for a reason: Played with irrepressible ferocity by Kerry Washington, the DC fixer ingested red wine by the bottleful and spat powerful invective right back out, charming her way into households across America for six seasons of bodice-ripping romance and antiheroic intrigue. Is it any surprise, then,

Hulu Adds Tawdry Steam to Their Scandal-Lite Series Reasonable Doubt Read More »

Smile

When the horror histories of the 2010s are written, the decade will be associated with trauma metaphors the way the ‘80s are with slasher movies. And although it comes on the cusp of a new decade, the new Paramount wide-release horror movie “Smile” fits right in with its PTSD-induced kin. The difference here is that the

Smile Read More »

Nothing Compares

We expect a lot from our celebrities. We want them to edgy enough to make us feel special. But we don’t want them to be so edgy that they offend someone. And if, God forbid, they do offend someone, we are quick to cancel them. Until we un-cancel them. The cheekily offensive Sex Pistols was

Nothing Compares Read More »

Catherine Called Birdy

Set in the 13th century, “Catherine Called Birdy” is a labor of love for writer/director Lena Dunham, who first read Karen Cushman’s 1994 Newberry-winning novel of the same name when she was just ten years old. But this incredibly loose adaptation leans a little too heavily into Dunham’s economically oblivious feminism, stripping the novel of

Catherine Called Birdy Read More »