Great Movies
Festivals & Awards
TIFF 2023: Finestkind, Ezra, One Life
On three disappointing dramas from TIFF with star-studded casts.
On three disappointing dramas from TIFF with star-studded casts.
A review of the fifth Disney+ original Marvel series, starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld.
An interview with author Barry Gifford and actor Lili Taylor about their new film, Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago, directed by Rob Christopher.
Who and what you should nominate for Emmys this year.
A review of new films from Paolo Sorrentino and Jason Reitman.
The best of the 2016-17 TV season in Emmy ballot form.
Reflections on the women-directed films released over the course of the 25th anniversary of Sony Pictures Classics.
A TV critic's picks for the best TV of 2015-16.
A comparison of Frank Costello in The Departed and Whitey Bulger in Black Mass reveals weaknesses in the latter.
A fest dispatch on three films from late in TIFF, including "Stonewall " and the closing night of Midnight Madness, "The Final Girls".
What should be nominated for Emmys this year? Let us guide the way.
Picks for the best of the 2013-14 television season, in the form of a Dream Emmy ballot.
LIbby Hill examines how A&E's Bates Motel has reimagined the history and impact of Norma Bates on her legendary son.
Three new or returning shows center on serial killers—"Hannibal", "Bates Motel" and "Those Who Kill"—with varying degrees of success.
Marie writes: I've been watching a lot of old movies lately, dissatisfied in general with the poverty of imagination currently on display at local cinemas. As anyone can blow something up with CGI - it takes no skill whatsoever and imo, is the default mode of every hack working in Hollywood these days. Whereas making a funny political satire in the United States about a Russian submarine running aground on a sandbank near a small island town off the coast of New England in 1966 during the height of the Cold War - and having local townsfolk help them escape in the end via a convoy of small boats, thereby protecting them from US Navy planes until they're safely out to sea? Now that's creative and in a wonderfully subversive way....
Marie writes: Holy crap! THE KRAKEN IS REAL!" Humankind has been looking for the giant squid (Architeuthis) since we first started taking pictures underwater. But the elusive deep-sea predator could never be caught on film. Oceanographer and inventor Edith Widder shares the key insight - and the teamwork - that helped to capture the squid on camera for the first time, in the following clip taken from her recent TED talk." And to read more about the story, visit Researchers have captured the first-ever video footage of a live giant squid at i09.com
This is a free sample of the Newsletter members receive each week. It contains content gathered from recent past issues and reflects the growing diversity of what's inside the club. To join and become a member, visit Roger's Invitation From the Ebert Club.
Marie writes: Not too long ago, Monaco's Oceanographic Museum held an exhibition combining contemporary art and science, in the shape of a huge installation by renowned Franco-Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping, in addition to a selection of films, interviews and a ballet of Aurelia jellyfish.The sculpture was inspired by the sea, and reflects upon maritime catastrophes caused by Man. Huang Yong Ping chose the name "Wu Zei"because it represents far more than just a giant octopus. By naming his installation "Wu Zei," Huang added ambiguity to the work. 'Wu Zei' is Chinese for cuttlefish, but the ideogram 'Wu' is also the color black - while 'Zei' conveys the idea of spoiling, corrupting or betraying. Huang Yong Ping was playing with the double meaning of marine ink and black tide, and also on corruption and renewal. By drawing attention to the dangers facing the Mediterranean, the exhibition aimed to amaze the public, while raising their awareness and encouraging them to take action to protect the sea.
Marie writes: Kudos to fellow art buddy Siri Arnet for sharing the following; a truly unique hotel just outside Nairobi, Kenya: welcome to Giraffe Manor.
