Roger Ebert Reviews

D.H. Lawrence’s novel does not start with plot points or scene-setting. Oh, no. In the opening paragraph, Lawrence bellows into a megaphone: “Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new […]

The Fabelmans are a middle-class Jewish family living in various cities in the middle of the 20th century. Steven Spielberg’s film about them centers on the conflict between artistic drive and personal responsibility. And the mysteries of genius and happiness, or, more accurately, what those words mean. The matriarch, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), is a former classical pianist who

The adage that holds “the personal is the political” has been batted around for decades, and it’s certainly one worth considering in the wake of, say, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. It’s certainly not a universally accepted sentiment; the late critic Terry Teachout objected strongly to it: “It all goes

The best bits in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” are the ones you won’t read about in this review (and hopefully won’t hear about before you see the movie). But rest assured that they are plentiful, and they’re scattered generously throughout Rian Johnson’s uproarious if slightly inferior sequel. The clever details, amusing name-drops, and

How we define an activist is at the heart of director J.D. Dillard’s “Devotion.” Adapted from Adam Makos’ book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice, Dillard’s latest film tells a civil rights story centered on Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), a groundbreaking Black naval pilot and Korean War hero. But Brown isn’t your prototypical

There are no cool vampires in “Blood Relatives,” a good-natured horror comedy about Francis, a leather-jacket-wearing bloodsucker who reunites with his estranged, half-human teenage daughter.  Character actor turned writer/director Noah Segan introduces us to Francis (also Segan) by showing us his vintage muscle car, a Barracuda, as it pulls into Texas and immediately breaks down.

Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” reminded audiences how much we love murder mysteries with lots of unpleasant suspects, a brilliant if quirky detective, and a fabulous setting. It was the kind of puzzle that made us think back for the pleasure of understanding what we missed.  Johnson has done it again with its sequel, “Glass Onion: A Knives

Matt writes: RogerEbert.com publisher Chaz Ebert’s grandson, Joseph London Smith, was killed this past August at age 30. She paid tribute to him in a powerful, picture-filled essay which can be read in full here. Below are the first few paragraphs of her article… The day after hip hop artist Takeoff of the Grammy award-winning

The following table of contents links to each of 2022’s overlooked films spotlighted by our writers Simon Abrams, Carlos Aguilar, Robert Daniels, Isaac Feldberg, Marya Gates, Christy Lemire, Nell Minow, Katie Rife, Peyton Robinson and Clint Worthington. The African Desperate selected by Peyton Robinson Aftershock selected by Robert Daniels  After Yang selected by Christy Lemire Beba

Fate beckoned filmmaker J.D. Dillard when it came to delivering the true-life story of war hero Jesse Brown to the big screen. Long before his filmmaking career took flight, Dillard grew up a Navy brat. His father Bruce Dillard served as a Naval flight officer for the Blue Angels and was the second African American