Out of the dozens of questions I got doing interviews for my Siskel & Ebert book, this was the hardest: “What do you think of the state of film criticism today? Do you have any advice for aspiring film critics?” You want to know the extremely intricate history of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert’s various television … Read more
Ridley Scott isn’t taking too kindly of French critics blasting his latest film, Napoleon, saying “they don’t even like themselves.” Ridley Scott has never been one to take kindly to harsh criticism. Now, Ridley Scott is defending his latest film, Napoleon, from Bonaparte’s home country, France. In response to the apparent wealth of French critics … Read more
Disney’s Wish is the long-running animation studio’s latest feature — and the movie it is releasing right as the company commemorates its 100th anniversary. As such it comes with a certain amount of weight, as it’s being called upon to be the movie to sum up what the past 100 years of films has been about, and what … Read more
If you use Rotten Tomatoes to decide whether to see a movie —and especially if you use it primarily by glancing at films’ ratings without digging deeper into what the individual reviews that make up that rating say — there is a new article out that you definitely should read. Called “The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes,” it … Read more
Movie public relations company Bunker 15 has been accused of paying off critics for fresh Rotten Tomatoes scores. A recent article by Vulture, titled The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes, claims that Bunker 15 deliberately manipulated the Rotten Tomatoes score for Ophelia, a 2018 Hamlet retelling starring Daisy Ridley. According to Vulture’s report, Ophelia received a … Read more
Rotten Tomatoes critics, including our own Chris Bumbray, have picked the best movies of the last 25 years. Some might say it’s impossible to craft a best movie list that everyone agrees with, but that doesn’t stop us from reading them and letting everyone know how wrong they are. In celebration of their 25th anniversary, … Read more
Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan knew that critics would despise the movies but appreciates that the fans loved them. The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy grossed $1.3 billion worldwide but each film was absolutely trashed by critics, and that’s something Jamie Dornan knew was coming. While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy … Read more
Chaz Ebert Chaz is the CEO of several Ebert enterprises, including the President of The Ebert Company Ltd, and of Ebert Digital LLC, Publisher of RogerEbert.com, President of Ebert Productions and Chairman of the Board of The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation, and Co- Founder and Producer of Ebertfest, the film festival now in its … Read more
FRIDAY, MAY 5th 7PM: “BLACKBERRY” (includes Q&A with star/writer/director Matt Johnson) Johnson paces “Blackberry” like that rocket. It moves quickly without being overly stylized, clicking through dialogue and character instead of cheap tricks. We’ve seen a lot of movies about tech nostalgia lately (the far-inferior “Tetris” premiered across town at the same fest), but Johnson … Read more
“The Mundanes” Shorts Program #1 (Saturday, May 6, 11:45 am) opens with Nicole Daddona and Adam Wilder’s “The Mundanes,” a truly bizarre PSA that seems influenced by Joe Dante’s “Twilight Zone – The Movie” segment, as well as the “Eerie, Indiana” TV series. Here, a faceless suburban American family is depicted as the ideal life, … Read more