The greatest movie critic we have is Roger Ebert. Here is his page. You’ll see why I think so by checking an old, old post I did on him. It is wholly worthwhile absolutely critical that you check in with him before seeing anything. Dude knows his stuff. And here are his ratings of the movies which were either new yesterday or added in the last month or so but which I missed because I’ve been such a bad moviegoer ever since law school started.
THE WRESTLER: 4 STARS
THE READER: 3.5 STARS
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON: 2.5 STARS
MARLEY & ME: 3 STARS
BEDTIME STORIES: 2.5 STARS
THE SPIRIT: 1 STAR
VALKYRIE: 3 STARS
GRAN TURINO: 3.5 STARS
And here’s my own little Ebert review awards. Take them for what they’re worth.
Biggest surprise: Benjamin Button, for sure. The way people talked about this movie, you’d think not a single person in the world would dare give it less than an Oscar upon its opening. But Ebert says he became convinced throughout the film that the premise was “simply wrong.” Hmm. We’ll have to see it and find out if he’s right. Although he usually is.
Most obvious call: The Wrestler. I have to see this one. And it looks like one that Ebert would love: Aronofsky flick (Ebert was one of the few critics who LOVED The Fountain), Mickey Rourke, beat-down characters and brokenness all around. Gotta see it.
Contempt-off: Sometimes it’s gorgeously obvious when Ebert hated a movie. This time, it was The Spirit. Money quote:
I know I will be pilloried if I dare end this review without mentioning the name of the artist who created the original comic books. I would hate for that to happen. Will Eisner.
Personal reality check: Which of the films he presents will I, in the greatest likelihood considering my life circumstances (i.e., married, law student, living in the suburbs, surrounded by multiplexes, movie-watching with family members, etc., etc.), be seeing? Either Marley & Me (a lot of family whispering campaigns about this one during yule-tide festivities yesterday) or Valkyrie (a surprising front-runner from my always-surprising in-laws). So, according to Ebert, either is not bad. Good to hear.
1 Comment
December 27, 2008 at 4:52 pm
It makes me sad when one person can ruin the comic book for people who’ve never read it (i.e. the 300, sin city, and now the spirit guy). This makes me nervous for the upcoming Watchmen, which the 300 guy also had his mangy paws on.