The trials of Roger Ebert
Great Esquire profile on the League’s favorite film critic.
Will
Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.
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I feel obliged to point out that, although I definitely like Ebert, I trust A.O. Scott more.Report
As the article says, his criticism has seemed to be a little less harsh and on point the last few years. I read him for observations more than overall reviews at this point. But if that’s the tradeoff for his online journal being what it is, I think it is a good one.Report
I find Ebert’s mode of living admirable. The great thing about his writing is that his way of dealing with the world comes through in his prose. I don’t think I could say that about any other critic, even though there are several whose reviews I find more useful in figuring out whether or not I’ll like a movie.Report
I hadn’t seen a picture of him since the surgery. For some reason, I figured that they put some sort of prosthetic jaw in or something. Nothing he could use, but for aesthetic reasons.Report
I’ve come to like his reviews quite a bit, but I had to get used to the way he writes them with the audience in mind. For instance, if he reviews a horror movie, Ebert will try to figure out if the horror audience will like it or not. It’s a different approach than someone like Pauline Kael took, but I’ve come to read him as well for the observations instead of the overall review. He’s actually a fantastic writer, which is always a treat to discover.Report