While Roger Ebert notoriously argued that video games weren’t art, he was also famously enraptured by a film based on one of the form’s most popular franchises. Twenty-two years ago, he wrote about “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”: “I have a love of astonishing sights, of films that show me landscapes and cityscapes that exist…
Last summer, Tom Cruise was given credit for saving the theatrical experience with the widely beloved “Top Gun: Maverick.” One of our last true movie stars returns over a year later as the blockbuster experience seems to be fading with high-budget Hollywood endeavors like “The Flash” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” falling short of…
“20 Days in Mariupol,” about the first 20 days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spares no one’s sensibilities. It goes on a short list of great documentaries that the viewer will never want to watch again and likely won’t need to because some of the images are so gruesome and the context so upsetting that they’ll be…
“The mansion is the star of the movie. We are mere chess pieces within it.” Disney has unveiled a series of promo videos for the Haunted Mansion movie, based on the beloved theme park attraction. It’s opening in a few weeks, hence the big final marketing push launching now. The movie is directed by Justin…
If you moved in the same elite comedy and show business circles as George Schlatter, chances are you’d run into him at a party, where you could corner him for stories from his more than 60-year career. I, for one, do not, so the next best thing was to read his new memoir, Still Laughing:…
“The Afterparty” wasn’t just a big hit for Apple TV+ when it premiered in 2022; it was the crystallization of an impressive but imperfect new comedic formula. Once again, creators Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (but mostly writer/director Miller) had cracked a storytelling mystery: How to make a winking comedy series based on genres, tropes, and…
“I’m not very good with temptation…” Blue Fox Entertainment has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror film titled The Mistress, from filmmaker Greg Pritikin. This premiered at a couple of regional film festivals last year, and will be getting a VOD release at the end of July this summer. Newlyweds move into their…
The fangs of the offbeat, quirky, and queer vampires of Staten Island—Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch)—and human familiar (or so we think) Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) are still sharp as ever. Five seasons deep into “What We Do in the Shadows,” these buoyant batty vamps might return…
Since last year, when I attended Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) for the first time, I’ve dreamt about coming back. The festival is not just a one-stop shop for most Eastern European cinema, particularly of the Czech variety, but works from Cannes Film Festival, Berlinale, SXSW, and Sundance also make their way to the…
“Everybody’s looking for someone else to do it, but we gotta be the change that we want to see.” An official trailer is out for a documentary film titled For The Animals, made by the filmmakers Sadhvi Siddhali Shree & Sadhvi Anubhuti, both Jain monks and animal activists themselves. It will be out in select…
I am happy to announce that Mack Bates, a contributor to Black Writers Week at RogerEbert.com, is starring in the Lake Country Playhouse’s production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” in Hartland, Wisconsin. He’s portraying the role of Frank Gibbs, a small town doctor, in the show, which is a period piece set in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners,…
“Some people go out and rediscover their roots… but sometimes roots just come and get you.” Rock on with a band unlike any other!! An official trailer is available for a new music documentary titled Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, about the band Gogol Bordello and its lead singer, a Ukrainian punk…
In my previous dispatch about Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), I talked about how it’s difficult to spot patterns in the programming this early in the festival. The sample size just hasn’t been big enough, at least on my part, to find the parallels in the scheduling or the films that seem to be in…
Whether you still know every word to “Wham Rap!” four decades later or only remember the British pop duo as “George Michael and that other guy,” you’ll find everything you want in the Netflix documentary “Wham!” Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonFull disclosure up front: I am very much in the former…
Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno) gets ready for work on the first day of her new job at the Uni-Globe plant in Fast Food Nation. Attribution link: http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2006/fast_food_nation.htm Becoming a vegetarian was actually easier than I thought it would be. I never cared for fatty meat. There’s nothing worse than enjoying your tasty and supposedly lean…
“I don’t have to go to work anymore? Yatta!!!!” Netflix has revealed the first look teaser trailer for a live-action adaptation of a popular Japanese manga called Zom 100. The Continue Reading ›
The name Stuart Rosenberg will never be forgotten by a certain breed of film lover. To others, he may never gain any kind of a foothold at all. Rosenberg was a solid craftsman of sturdy dramatic work but he was also a crucial crafter of some of the most important parts of Paul Newman’s legend. He directed him…
To impact two different generations for two completely disparate films takes a remarkable actor. Alan Arkin was that kind of actor. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonGrowing up, I watched the 1982 animated film “The Last Unicorn” obsessively, but not for the reason you might think. It was for Arkin’s voice performance…
“They’re wierdos. And I love ’em.” Greenwich Ent. has revealed the trailer for an indie documentary about an indie rock music scene, titled The Elephant 6 Recording Co. This premiered at the fests DOC NYC and CPH:DOX and will be out to watch in theaters this August. The inside story of the 1990s psychedelic rock…
“You can overcome most obstacles in multiple ways. Use your wits and your brains. Experiment. If you think something might be possible to do, it probably is.” Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThese words pop up often in Frictional Games’ “Amnesia: The Bunker,” a new horror video game experience that seems simple…
“Didn’t think I needed you… And I don’t need you to replace mum.” Picturehouse in the UK has revealed an official trailer for an acclaimed indie film titled Scrapper, marking the feature directorial debut of British filmmaker Charlotte Regan. This first premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it also played…