Roger Ebert Reviews

In honor of Ebertfest’s 25th anniversary this year, we have compiled excerpts from some of the most memorable screenings at our film festival over the years. Click on each bolded title and you will be directed to the full article. And if you have any special memories of Ebertfest between 1999 and 2023, please send them […]

For nearly a quarter century, the Chicago Palestine Film Festival has showcased film gems by or about Palestinians. One of the largest global populations of Palestinians lives in Chicago, concentrating in southwest suburban Bridgeview, also known as “Little Palestine.” After a narrow vote, Chicago became the largest American city calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Andy Kaufman doesn’t want you to watch his biopic. At the start of “Man on the Moon,” Kaufman (played by Jim Carrey) appears on screen, addressing us directly, using the squiggly voice he’d wield on stage and on “Taxi.” “I would like to thank you for coming to my movie,” he says before admitting, “I

Matthew Modine has been acting in movies for over 40 years. He started out in the ’80s and ’90s in a string of memorable films, including “Vision Quest,” Alan Parker‘s “Birdy” (opposite another talented unknown named Nicolas Cage), Stanley Kubrick‘s “Full Metal Jacket,” and two Robert Altman ensemble dramas, “Streamers” and “Short Cuts.” At 65, after a solid quarter-century

Set in 1992 in the northernmost United States, where criminals run drugs and guns over the border with Canada, “Blood for Dust” is a hard, nasty crime thriller about hard, nasty men. Directed by Rod Blackhurst from a script by David Ebeltoft, it tells you what kind of movie it is from its gruesome opening image and

“Dusk for a Hitman” is a husk of a great film. Director Raymond St-Jean has a sturdy central character—though the crime drama is based on the real life of Montreal fixer Donald Lavoie, much of it is fictional—made stronger through a deft ability to conjure a grim atmosphere around an actor capable of landing emotional

Say what you will about “Stress Positions,” the new indie comedy that marks the feature debut of writer-director-costar Theda Hammel: it’s not overly consumed with coming across as likable to potential viewers. Not only does it take us back to the early days of COVID-19 (an era that many audiences may not feel particularly inclined

Minhal Baig’s “We Grown Now” is a film masterfully tied to the emotive potential of place. A period piece centered in Cabrini-Green in the early ’90s, the film is as Chicago born and bred as the characters it loves throughout its runtime. Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) are two young boys,

Will there ever be a version of “Rebel Moon—Part 2: The Scargiver” that makes the movie and its franchise seem essential? Director and co-writer Zack Snyder has already tried to whip up his fanbase by teasing “R-rated” versions of the first two entries in his ongoing “Star Wars” ripoff cycle, a lifeless homage to that

It’s hard to think of a contemporary mainstream male filmmaker who consistently writes better female characters than Alex Garland. Before his directorial career began, he primarily focused on stories about men: his novel The Beach (which was adapted for the Leonardo DiCaprio film) and the screenplays to “28 Days Later,” “Sunshine” and “Dredd.” It certainly