For Roger Ebert,
it's a prayer that made him "more alert to the awe of existence." For Rober Koehler,
it's a kitschy New Age con. For Richard Brody, it perfectly captures the essence of a generation by depicting a character thinking
"back to the musings and fantasies of childhood, which are the product of a wondrous and fantastic view of science formed by popular-science books for children and by the commercial artists whose illustrations adorned them." For Stephanie Zacharek, it's
"a gargantuan work of pretension." For Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, it's
"a creation myth in the guise of a crypto-autobiography" that invents a universe of its own only to destroy it. For J. Hoberman, it's lifeless and dull,
"essentially a religious work and, as such, may please the director's devotees, cultists, and apologists." It spent thirty years in development,
three in editing and, yes,
it contains dinosaurs.
The Tree of Life, written and directed by
famously reclusive Zoolander fan and
"JD Salinger of American movies" Terrence Malick , won the
Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Tomorrow,
it comes out in the United States.
[more inside]
posted by alexoscar
on May 26, 2011 -
64 comments
Roger Ebert is returning to television: "'This is the rebirth of a dream,' said Ebert, who partnered in recent years with Richard Roeper before cancer robbed him of the ability to speak. He said he will act as co-producer and employ a computer voice to appear on every episode with segments titled Roger's Office devoted to classic, overlooked and new films." (
Ebert, previously on MeFi.)
posted by jbickers
on Sep 10, 2010 -
22 comments
Lorenzo Semple, 84, has been a screenwriter for more than 50 years; his credits include "Papillion," "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor." Marcia Nasatir, 81, is a longtime agent and production executive, was the first female VP of production at United Artists, and produced films like "The Big Chill" and "Hamburger Hill." Together, they are the "
Reel Geezers," offering irresistible film reviews on YouTube. To wit:
Superbad,
Iron Man,
Sex and the City,
Lars and the Real Girl,
No Country for Old Men,
There Will Be Blood.
[more inside]
posted by jbickers
on Jun 11, 2008 -
27 comments
SPOILER ALERT: There's a movie out now that, like
The Crying Game, depends for much of its impact on a plot twist. Are critics honor-bound not to blab that development to readers?
(More Inside, including, duh, spoilers)
posted by soyjoy
on Feb 8, 2005 -
65 comments
The Bottom Feeders. Are these truly the 5 worst movie critics in America? Personally, Ebert gives me migraines and Joel Siegel makes me want to claw out my eyes. Who's your most hated movie critic?
posted by tankboy
on Mar 29, 2002 -
30 comments
As to be expected the dumb critics are ripping Lara Croft to shreds; I mean
really tearing it a new orifice. Which means of course I must see
this film. Major argument against? A hack plot designed only to engender scenes of mindless violence. Duh. It's not supposed to have
emotional impact. It's just supposed to be fun. Did any of these critics actually play the game? What frightens me though is that
Roger Ebert enjoyed it...
I'm so torn...
posted by ZachsMind
on Jun 16, 2001 -
50 comments
