movie Glossary
E.T. Ratio
The more coverage Entertainment Tonight gives to a big stunt (such an the explosions in "Lethal Weapon," "Blown Away," and "The Specialist", the fall in "Terminal Velocity," or any chase scene), the greater the likelihood the stunt will be the only thing in the film worth seeing. MERWYN GROTE, St. Louis, Missouri
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Fired Up (PG-13)
by Roger Ebert
After the screening of "Fired Up!," one of my colleagues grimly observed that "Dead Man" was a better cheerleader movie. That was, you will recall, the 1995 Western starring Johnny Depp, Robert Mitchum, Billy Bob Thornton and Iggy Pop. I would give almost anything to see them on a cheerleader squad. Here is a movie that will do for cheerleading what "Friday the 13th" did for summer camp.
He's Just Not That Into You (PG-13)
by Roger EbertEver noticed how many self-help books are limited to the insight expressed in their titles? You look at the cover, you know everything inside. The rest is just writing. I asked Amazon to "surprise me" with a page from inside the best-seller He's Just Not That Into You, and it jumped me to page 17, where I read: "My belief is that if you have to be the aggressor, if you have to pursue, if you have to do the asking out, nine times out of 10, he's just not that into you."
Academy Awards season is unfolding with alarming speed this year. The nominees were announced Jan. 22, I'm writing less than two weeks later, and here comes the Oscarcast on Feb. 22. One month, start to finish. So we get less time to second-guess ourselves, and buzz has barely reached takeoff speed. Nevertheless, I offer my Oscar predictions in the annual Outguess Ebert contest. Do better than I do, and you'll win the grand prize of a trip to the premiere of the Disney/Pixar film "Up."
Elevating the Oscar winners,
Part 5: Best Supporting Actress
Part #4: Best Supporting Actor
Part #3: Best Leading Actress
Part #2: Best Leading Actor
Q. Has Joaquin Phoenix lost it, or what?
Lisa, a friend of mine, was for many years Variety's correspondent in Paris. In the countdown before the Oscars, I found these observations fascinating.
By Lisa Nesselson
I had a dream the other night here in Paris about being the director of two movies, both of which were contenders in the Best Motion Picture category at the Oscars.
Waking Life (R) (2001)
by Roger EbertIt is hard to say how much of Richard Linklater's "Waking Life" (2001) is a dream. I think all of it is. His hero keeps dreaming that he has awakened. He climbs out of bed, splashes water on his face, walks outside and finds himself dreaming again. But the film isn't one of those surrealist fantasies with pinwheels coming out of the hero's eyes or people being sucked down into the vortex. It's mostly conversational, and the conversation is all intriguing; the dreamer must be intelligent.
by Roger Ebert (1978)Yes, the opening does remind us of Bergman: The static shots, held for a moment's contemplation, of the rooms and possessions of a family. But then people enter the rooms, and their lives and voices have a particularly American animation; Woody Allen is right to say that his drama, Interiors, belongs more in the tradition of Eugene O'Neill than of Ingmar Bergman. But what's this? Here we have a Woody Allen film, and we're talking about O'Neill and Bergman and traditions and influences? Yes, and correctly. Allen, whose comedies have been among the cheerful tonics of recent years, is astonishingly assured in his first drama.
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Gene Siskel and I were like tuning forks. Strike one, and the other would pick up the same frequency. When we were in a group together, we were always intensely aware of one another. Sometimes this took the form of camaraderie, sometimes shared opinions, sometimes hostility. But we were aware. If something happened that we both thought was funny but weren't supposed to, God help us if one caught the other's eye. We almost always thought the same things were funny. That may be the best sign of intellectual communion.
Every time I see a dog in a movie, I think the same thing: I want that dog. I see Skip or Lucy or Shiloh and for a moment I can't even think about the movie's plot. I can only think about the dog. I want to hold it, pet it, take it for walks, and tell it what a good dog it is. I want to love it, and I want it to love me. I have an empty space inside myself that can only be filled by a dog.
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