Roger Ebert Reviews

I’ve found that at this year’s SXSW, it’s easier to spot the thematic throughlines that exist across projects. It’s a testament to the programmers for creating a line-up of where the films feel in conversation with each other. Where else do you get films like “Together” and “Friendship,”–both of which explore the physical and mental […]

Director Mark Anthony Green’s “Opus” is a cautionary tale for an increasingly online world that conflates obsession with genuine connection. The film focuses on a legendary pop star, Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), who announces to the world that he will release a new album after years of silence. For fans everywhere, this arrival is akin

Man, Brian Tyree Henry can do anything. The star of “Atlanta,” “Causeway,” “Widows,” and “The Fire Inside” has become legitimately one of the best actors of his generation, and he furthers that kind of hyperbole with what is arguably his most demanding role to date in Apple’s “Dope Thief,” an adaptation of the novel of

Filmmakers often underestimate how important it can be to feel their love for their characters. When a writer/director sees the people on-screen as three-dimensional people with hopes, dreams, and fears instead of just cogs in the machine of their plot, it’s much easier for us to do the same. For example, Richard Linklater loves Jesse

A lot of films have tried to do their own version of the plot of 1993’s “Groundhog Day,” the first Hollywood feature that combined videogame-play rules (the hero is stuck in a time loop, and if the clock runs out or he dies, he starts over) with earnest fantasies of self-improvement (he learns from his

Since its first season debuted in 2021, Prime Video’s “The Wheel of Time” has suffered from bloated storytelling and worldbuilding that has confused even the most fervent fantasy consumers. Despite reports that it is one of the streamer’s most popular series, it hasn’t fully garnered the attention of general audiences and the respect of devoted

A film finally hit this year’s relatively down SXSW like a bolt of lightning, producing multiple in-film applause breaks and a standing ovation at the end. Andrew Patterson’s “The Rivals of Amziah King” is a crowd-pleasing wonder, a new classic of the American South that hums with earnest adoration for the people of this region,

The Oscar-nominated live-action short “A Lien,” directed by David and Sam Cutler-Kreutz, is a cry for help. Not just from the characters. Not just from the filmmakers. It represents a truth about our immigration system that leaves many innocent people feeling helpless, afraid and separated from anyone who can lend a hand in the situation.

Developer Hazelight Studios has made a name for itself by strictly making co-op games, a genre where two people have to play simultaneously. The studio won the coveted Game of the Year category at The Game Awards 2021 for “It Takes Two.” Now, Hazelight is back with its newest co-op outing, “Split Fiction.” While its