Roger Ebert Reviews

In 2018, Obsidian Entertainment was acquired by Microsoft and “Avowed” is its first big AAA game under the Xbox Game Studios banner. The studio is best known for creating sprawling RPGs like “Fallout: New Vegas” and “The Outer Worlds,” where players have many choices on how they want to design their main character, approach quests, […]

After nearly two years, Showtime’s hit series “Yellowjackets” is finally back for its third season. Though Season 1 was critically acclaimed, the second suffered from an unraveling narrative that oftentimes felt too chaotic for the grounded show this once was. (A classic example of a bloated sophomore season that didn’t understand that the languid pace

It’s hard to classify which genre director Scott Derrickson’s “The Gorge” neatly slots into, given that it seamlessly switches between romance, action, horror, and political thriller with harmonious purpose. It follows Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Levi (Miles Teller), elite snipers tasked with standing guard at opposites over a gorge that contains unknown horrors. The two

While the first season of HBO’s award-winning “The White Lotus” offered a fresh spin on the “Upstairs, Downstairs” or “Gosford Park” structure of storytelling between the haves and the have-nots who struggle to keep them happy, subsequent seasons have proven to be arguably even more ambitious, digging deeper into character-driven storytelling than any other show

As disorienting as it is delightful, Matthew Rankin’s “Universal Language” takes its avant-garde filmmaker’s irreverent approach to history—previously on display in “The Twentieth Century,” his ersatz reinterpretation of former Canadian prime minister William Mackenzie King’s rise to power—in feverishly fresh, surprising directions.  Imagining a surreal interzone between Tehran and Winnipeg where the official languages are

California’s sunshiny 70-degree weather set the tone for the 30th Critics Choice Awards held February 7 at Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hanger. In covering the awards for the last ten years, this Chicago-based critic always looks forward to the warm weather, although this year was the best as there was also an electric atmospheric from

Excess is sorely needed in today’s cultural landscape. Maximalism in American cinema today is often regulated to a muted kind of spectacle, rendered in ugly computer-generated action sequences and amorphous color palettes that soften the impact of blockbuster films. There is a distinct absence of the kind of work Joel Schumacher mastered and brought to

Sundance! As a creator, this iconic film festival once felt like an untouchable dream reserved for stars or those who had “made it.” But after boldly attending the Cannes Film Festival years ago, I realized Sundance wasn’t out of reach. With a push from my Chicago filmmaker friends, including Dashawna Wright, Founder of Choppe Productions,