I didn't know that he had cancer until yesterday. It's odd bc I even told my brother about this just last night.
Sadness! Even earlier this year I was looking for his reviews when on the fence about movies. If there was something worthwhile in a film, he had a great way of finding it and boiling it down. And of course, when a movie sucked... he could shoot straight. His smack-down on Brown Bunny is still a classic. Something like: "I can work on being thin some day, but the director will always have made the Brown Bunny." :grin:
His last blog post seemed to imply he didn't feel he was in immediate danger. I would not be surprised if this was a heart attack or stroke. PS, His opinion on video games not being art is easily the most ignorant thing he ever said.
Yeah, I just read that last blog post of his (written only two days ago). He was talking about all the new things he was planning on doing in the time ahead: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html I'm very saddened by his passing. As far as I'm concerned there was no better critic. I didn't always agree with him, but he always got to the heart of the matter and gave good reasons for his views, and managed to express things about films that most people just don't have the vision or the talent to convey. Some of his reviews themselves were poetry. It's going to be very weird with no Ebert around. I often go to RottenTomatoes for reviews of movies I haven't seen, but for me it was always Ebert's opinion and then everyone else's. I not sure anyone can replace him.
ultimate obit: Roger Ebert Hails Human Existence As 'A Triumph' CHICAGO—Calling the overall human experience “poignant,” “thought-provoking,” and a “complete tour de force,” film critic Roger Ebert praised existence Thursday as “an audacious and thrilling triumph.” “While not without its flaws, life, from birth to death, is a masterwork, and an uplifting journey that both touches the heart and challenges the mind,” said Ebert, adding that while the totality of all humankind is sometimes “a mess in places,” it strives to be a magnum opus and, according to Ebert, largely succeeds at this goal. “At times brutally sad, yet surprisingly funny, and always completely honest, I wholeheartedly recommend existence. If you haven’t experienced it yet, then what are you waiting for? It is not to be missed.” Ebert later said that while human existence’s running time was “a little on the long side,” it could have gone on much, much longer and he would have been perfectly happy.
Siskel and Ebert was one of the greatest shows ever. Two intelligent people debating is always good TV. RIP http://siskelandebert.org
Great quotes, and so true. I didn't always agree with him, which is hardly surprising to any film fan, and I grew up going to the movies two or three times a week, the entire time I was growing up, due to my Dad being a film junkie, so I think I qualify as a film fan, but that's part and parcel to being a film critic, and Ebert was one of the best. I hope he went peacefully, with a movie playing on a big screen in front of his bed. Something like Lawrence of Arabia, which he loved, and no doubt saw numerous times, as have I.
works created with obscene amounts of money, high levels of skills and talent, doesn't necessarily make it art.
Doesn't necessarily make them not, either. At the end of the day, I contend that anyone who can play Journey by Thatgamecompany and say it's not art is... well, a very closed-minded person.
I don't pay much attention to movie reviews in general but I enjoyed his writings outside of that. Definitely a talented writer. His video game comment always stuck with me though, and I decided to revisit that today. I didn't realize he wrote an 'apology' of some sorts, and while not conceding his point totally, he was objective in saying he was shortsighted and there were plenty of faults in his initial article. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html
