Roger Ebert Reviews

Before we even start the interview proper, writer/director/stars Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are already breathlessly recounting the story of a bizarre visit to Estonia years prior. There, they followed some strangers back to their place for drinks and conversation; at the end of it, in walks an animal they can only describe as “a […]

The first time we see Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), she’s trying to check into a hotel in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city. The year is 2001 but the exchange we witness surely could happen in exactly the same way in today’s Iran. When the desk clerk realizes the Tehran-based reporter is a single female traveling

When Shana Feste and her team feel like they’re cutting loose in “Run Sweetheart Run,” the film obtains a campy momentum that can be thrilling. It’s ultimately one of those pieces that waffles in tone a bit too much—trying to be a few too many movies at once will do that—and almost feels like it

Fans of B-movies, rubber monsters, and back issues of Weird War Tales will want to check out “The Lair,” a good enough horror/action hybrid that sics a ravenous monster on a group of British and American soldiers stationed in modern-day Afghanistan. “The Lair” checks off some genre fans’ qualitative boxes, thanks in part to co-writer/director Neil

The first season of “The White Lotus” was a critical and commercial success for HBO and Mike White, landing a stunning 10 Emmy wins and widespread acclaim. It’s a tough act to follow, and the second adventure for a show that will move locations and (most of its) cast every season will likely struggle to escape

Whenever a Black child is slain in America, the first person we see or hear from is their mother. “Mommie, Mama, Madea, Mom … “—whatever you call the first woman to look into your eyes with unconditional love, this is a bond solidified for eternity. Nothing can sever the connection between a mother and her

It’s August 1968. Joy (Elizabeth Banks) accompanies her lawyer husband Will (Chris Messina) to a swanky partner’s dinner and is drawn outside by the sounds of a violent protest. Joy hovers behind a line of policemen, in a stand-off with the yippies, all of whom scream in unison, “The whole world is watching!” Joy, protected

A deep understanding of film history melds with the passion of a true lover of the form in the excellent documentary “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” which shapes the history of Black cinema up to and through one of its most vital chapters in the 1970s. New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell wrote, narrated,

In “Armageddon Time,” people keep trying to wake up 11-year-old Paul Graff (a sensitive performance by Michael Banks Repeta). Paul is a slight, dreamy sixth grader in 1980 Queens, New York. Over the span of two months, from the first day of school until the family watches the returns of the Presidential election in November, we repeatedly

Henry Selick is back, and animation really missed him. With LAIKA on a long hiatus, Pixar struggling in its current phase, and Studio Ghibli quiet until Miyazaki finishes his final film, it’s been a little dire out there in the world of family entertainment. And so the creator of “A Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Coraline”