Comments on: Happy birthday, Roger Ebert!

By: chris

chris — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:02:07 +0000

Love this guy and miss him dearly. There is no other critic I trust as much as Rog. I agree with him 95% of the time, and even when I do not, I respect and understand his opinion. He isn’t afraid to give a thumbs up to a film all other critics hate. For example, he took a lot of heat for giving a positive review to Speed 2. He tells it like it is. I have one little problem with Ebert, though, and that is replacing the late great Gene Siskel with Richard “third rate pop culture columnist” Roeper.

By: Jael

Jael — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:21:11 +0000

Ebert and Owen have to be my favorite critics. Rarely have they led me wrong, and those times are out-weighed by the joys they’ve introduced me to.

By: cruzilla

cruzilla — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:34:10 +0000

Wait, I’m confused – why is he getting soft for panning mediocre movies like Wedding Crashers? But anyway – best of luck, Roger!

By: Chaddogg

Chaddogg — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:42:55 +0000

How can we go this long and no one mention Ebert’s awesome feud with Vincent Gallo over Brown Bunny? Ebert wrecked that movie with his review, and Gallo came back and basically said Ebert was fat. Ebert’s response? Channeling Churchill (and forgive me if I mess it up): “I may be fat, but I can lose weight. You will always be the director of Brown Bunny.”
Amazing. Get well soon, Ebert, and happy birthday!

By: kathryn

kathryn — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:34:10 +0000

a big thumbs up from me.i know someone already mentioned it, but i loved how roger ebert was one of the few critics that gave “cop and a half” a good review. ballsy i say.

By: Ned

Ned — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:18:05 +0000

There have been many copycat film review shows, but none have had the staying power of Siskel&Ebert, there was just a chemistry there that no one has been able to match, including Ebert&Roeper.
As for their show being “sound bite” critisism, I don’t buy it, in the limited time they had, they did their best to get across their passion for film, and it came through for me. And if you read the full length reviews that they wrote, that certainly was not “sound bite” critisism.
I don’t always agree with Roger, but we’re not supposed to always agree, what fun would that be?

By: Mia

Mia — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:46:33 +0000

I have been watching Roger Ebert since I was young when he was on PBS. He and Gene taught me about film, debate and film festivals.
When I met Mr. Ebert at Sundance, I could barely speak. Getting my photo with him was truly one of the top ten moments of my life.
Thanks for opening my eyes to independent film!
Hang in there!!!!
Happy Birthday!

By: Lexie

Lexie — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:40:24 +0000

Roger Ebert is amazing. He is the best living critic, not just for his wit and breadth of knowledge, but- like you mentioned- for his heart. The guy genuinely loves movies, as you can tell from his reviews (even the bad ones)! I love him because he is the most humane critic, his writing has a warmth to it and a depth of insight, movies as a mirror to ourselves. I love him! I often rent my movies by his recommendations, and after I see a movie, I’ll look back to see what he thought. Happy birthday to the best critic out there!

By: Evan Semi-Mighty

Evan Semi-Mighty — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:29:43 +0000

It’s unfair to judge a critic on whether he has the same tastes as you. I too had found ole Rog to have gone soft over the past few years. The true test is the use of logic and rationale, and generally I find he’s pretty solid. You have to admire his attitude in dealing with his recent problems.

By: thwarted

thwarted — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:01:12 +0000

I grew up reading his reviews, and I learned so much about movies (and writing) from him. He rocks. Happy bithday, dude.