Roger Ebert

Insane Clown Posse's Violent J: "I Feel Like God is Talking Through Me"

Ease into the weekend with this round-up of music writing we've been reading.

Roger Ebert: Why There Can Never Be Another

"The Paperboy Is Great Trash"

So writes Roger Ebert, and he oughta know; he cowrote Beyond The Valley of the Dolls, that 1970 fantasia of drugs, music, and lunacy which is a kitschy coup of kook-culture entertainment (though to me, it's not trash at all; it's pungent satire). And The Paperboy--the Lee Daniels-directed tale of S ... More >>

Furniture Steals The Show at Republican Convention!

The centerpiece of the convention last night was a chair--a perfectly ordinary looking one, mind you--which Clint Eastwood talked to in a bizarre, stammering speech that must have been inspired by the works of Samuel Beckett. The Oscar winning actor/director kept glancing at the empty chair and say ... More >>

"Best Movie Of The Year"? I Saw It At Film Forum!

Roger Ebert called the Iranian melodrama A Separation "the best film of the year." What's more, it won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and it's nominated for two Oscars. And it's indeed remarkable -- a far cry from slick, bloated, soulless Hollywood fare.

Lady Bunny's In A Lather Over Her New Show

Billy Erb​The drag star has new cabaret show, That Ain't No Lady!, at La Escuelita (301 W. 39th Street), 8 PM every Tuesday starting October 4, and more celebs are lining up to give it thumbs up than begged to be in "We Are The World." In fact, Bunny just provided me with this really inspirin ... More >>

Ceci N'est Pas Une Power-Up; Why Video Games Shouldn't Want to be Art

​Each week, Death by Science sends out an all-points bulletin for the latest science and technology news, tracks it down and beats a confession out of it. This week, we examine the Supreme Court's ruling that video games should be considered art and we ask Ruth Bader Ginsburg if she has any ti ... More >>

Roger Ebert Vs. Charlie Sheen!

​This is a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. A ferocious showdown between a highly respected critic and a spiraling TV star. See, I just got this tweet from esteemed film critic Roger Ebert: "Charlie Sheen made fun of my cancer because I dissed him in Wall Street? "Dude, you ain't s ... More >>

Rightbloggers on Atlas Shrugged: It's the Feel-Good, Piece-of-Crap Movie of the Year!

When best-selling books like The DaVinci Code or the Twilight series become movies, their fans take to the internet to share their excitement. They argue over the film's fidelity to their favorite characters and scenes, and revel in their love-object's moment in the cinematic sun. So too it has bee ... More >>

Man Actually Converses With People on New York City Subway [Video]

Filmmaker Luke Rudkowski of We Are Change, aggrieved by lack of human interaction (notwithstanding spaghetti fights) and, really, humanity, on the New York City subway, decided to talk to people to ask them the hard questions, like "Why are you here?" "What motivates you more, fear or love?" and "Wh ... More >>

Watch Das Racist Discuss Whether Or Not Lady Gaga and Katy Perry Are White Devils on Our Show at Santos Party House

​We've talked before about Our Show, Elliot Aronow's live-action, TV Party-reviving talk show conducted first in the basement of Santos Party House and then later on YouTube, where edited clips eventually trickle out. Earlier this year, SOTC pals Das Racist appeared on the show, doing a tore-u ... More >>

The Voice's Steven Thrasher Talks "White America Has Lost Its Mind" on 98.7 KISS FM

​The Voice's own staff writer Steven Thrasher, author of "White America Has Lost Its Mind," appeared on 98.7 KISS FM's show Open Line this Sunday. If you missed it, don't fret: You can listen to him discuss and answer call-in questions about his (Roger Ebert-approved) piece -- which has been s ... More >>

Roger Ebert Gives At the Movies New Life

​After the year Roger Ebert has had, it's no surprise that he's getting a chance to spearhead the comeback of his storied public TV review show At the Movies. In February, a moving Esquire profile chronicled Ebert's struggles with cancer, which resulted in the removal of his jaw and loss of t ... More >>

The Problem With 3-D

On this latest wave of mediocre movies (and the classics that put them to shame)

Study Revealing the Health Benefits of Staring at Boobs Is, Sadly, an Urban Legend

​For some reason this weird German study from 2009 is making the rounds, and it would be irresponsible not to bring it to your attention after reputable sources Roger Ebert and Slate both tweeted out its wisdom. Basically: Research says that staring at women's breasts is good for men's health ... More >>

Harvey Pekar, R.I.P.

​Let's just say that the Perpetual Misery of Cleveland has been in the news again lately, and acknowledge that no one was better at a) articulating it and b) rising above it than Harvey Pekar.

M. Night Shyamalan Keeping His Critical Record Intact! [UPDATED]

​The opening sentence of Roger Ebert's review of M. Night Shyamalan's new movie went off like a shot around Twitter today: "The Last Airbender is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented." Ouch! When I saw that line, I have to admit to ... More >>

Egg-Shaped Japanese Anime Creature Now Enjoying Benefits of Chicago Public Transit

​Following in New York's great tradition of Sad Pandas or Club Animals riding the subway -- and also somehow managing to be one of the more inconspicuous commuters in this city, because, uh, this is New York -- it would appear Chicago's resident Egg-Shaped Japanese Anime Creatures With Ears ar ... More >>

Roger Ebert To Launch New Show

​Film critic extraordinaire Roger Ebert battled Gene Siskel on At The Movies, and then he had to battle Richard Roeper and cancer, but he's not giving up just yet. In an interview with AFTRA magazine, the feistier-than-ever union member reveals:

Father's Day Reading Round-Up: Have a Good Laugh, Cry; Call Your Father, Kiss Your Kids

​ It is a warm and beautiful Sunday where I am sitting. But I am thousands of miles from my dad on this Father's Day and also, I am responsible for doing a bit of blogging. Hopefully you, dear reader, get to this particular online entry after a day spent with your own father, your children or ... More >>

First Bad Review for Toy Story 3 Comes Predictably From Armond White

​Everyone knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time before film criticism's reigning anti- anti- anti- king, Mr. Counterintuitive himself, chimed in. He's "a troll," in the words of Roger Ebert, who once tried to defend Armond White, this peculiar man, only to take it all back. He's "sm ... More >>

Study: Younger Men Older Women = a Match Made in Sexy-Time Heaven

​Interspersed between a lot of Roger Ebert-referencing and The Graduate plot-dissecting, Psychology Today gets to the point and presents an argument in favor of the May-December relationship, with women being the "colder" month in this particular situation. According to researchers from the Un ... More >>

Reality Star Gets Paid Peanuts!

Shooting from the hips about Allen Ginsberg, Ron Galella, and other provocateurs

Paul Krugman Taking This Whole "Rock Star" Thing a Little Too Far

​Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has recently enjoyed his time in the sun for being (A) a 2008 Nobel prize-winner, (B) correct about a bunch of things, (C) smacking down flashy upstart Andrew Ross Sorkin. All of which are beside those times Loudon Wainwr ... More >>

Trending Topic: Internet Week 2010 is Coming

​It's almost Internet Week! And for those of you who found this post by misspelling "weak" in a search on "the Google," it means that for one week, June 7-14, the tech-media circlejerk will tear themselves away from backlit screens to take over this city. But don't worry!

Sex and the City 2 Reviews: The 10 Best Slams

​If you're the kind of person who sometimes asks themselves why some people hate Sex and the City so much, you are either (A) not living in New York or (B) one of the imported creatures or various changes in New York City that Sex and the City is responsible for. Well, in the new movie, Carrie ... More >>

Breasts "Inadequate"? Contemplate Balloons, Peaches, and Peacock Feathers

Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales, and flea markets. I do this for one reason: knowledge is power. ​ Natural Bust Enlargement With Total Mind Power Author:Donald L. Wilson, M.D. ... More >>

John Mellencamp Proposed to Replace Evan Bayh in Senate Race

​Now that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is out of the picture, some people are pushing for John Mellencamp, aka John Cougar, aka John Camp Cougarmellen, to run on the Democratic line for his seat. Mellencamp is from Indiana, where he was born in a small town, and lives in Bloomington, which he a ... More >>

The Decade in Film: A Timeline

A lot can happen in 10 years. Here, the highlights.

John Hughes, 1950-2009

​A lot of folks in their forties will be hauling out their fingerless gloves, vintage hats, taffeta and Simple Minds albums when they hear that John Hughes has died, apparently of a heart attack while walking with his family in New York, at 59. As a director, writer, and producer Hughes create ... More >>

(Kenneth) Anger Management, at Anthology

Screening the latest as the film and art worlds compete for his star

More Michael Jackson Reactions

In death, Michael Jackson gets Baba Booeyed. Jeremiah's Vanishing New York eases on down the road of The Wiz: "As is well known, Michael Jackson was most happy in his fantasy lands -- and the New York of The Wiz is pure fantasy. The city that inspired it is gone. Michael Jackson is gone. Roger E ... More >>

Roger Ebert, John Updike, and the Lost Scrolls of Music Criticism

It’s Campaign Season, So Here’s Our 2-Point Plan To Save Gaming News

It's a matter of trust

Persona Grata

Meet the last great RPG for PlayStation 2

Friday 7/21

Rack Focus

Jump Shots, Not Crack Rock in 'Hoop Dreams'

Attack of the Puppet People

Team America's critical mess: How reviewers misread the year's most potent political satire

NY Mirror

Horoscope

My Bunny Valentine

Vincent Gallo at Cannes: A Blow-by-Blow Account

Woo Tang

Faking the Grade

Après, le Déluge

DVD Commentary, You Stole My Gal

Good Pill Hunting

Stocking up at the Toronto Film Festival

Northern Exposure

Stocking Up at the Toronto Film Festival

The Wild Bunch

When bad behavior masquerades as bravery