Roger Ebert is on FIRE!

Consider these snippets from recent reviews, and the whole "Has he gone crazy?" weirdness from that creationist satire post melts away.

From NOBEL SON:
I am reminded of the day I called my mother to tell her I had won the Pulitzer, and she said, "Oh, honey, does it pay anything?" She meant well. She just didn't see how I could make a living just ... going to the movies...

Danny DeVito is a "recovering obsessive-compulsive" gardener, which is just as well, because imagine how often you'd want to wash your hands in that line of work...

Assume these actors have not chosen this screenplay as a waste of their time. That would be "Four Christmases."

From THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (read the whole review, it is DELIGHTFUL!):
The message of the 2008 version is that we should have voted for Al Gore. This didn't require Klaatu and Gort. That's what I'm here for.

From BEAUTY IN TROUBLE:
Most of the Czech films I've seen seem to sidestep plot, ideology, message and genre in order to celebrate people who have personalities peculiar to themselves. Some are funny, some gloomy, some eccentric, some sweet, but all very, very individual. There could not be a Czech action hero because he would be too whimsical. That's why Prague is the Mecca for so many action heroes from elsewhere. You can't just leave the Charles Bridge sitting there. Someone has to be machine-gunned on it.

This is the kind of film that achieves one simple but difficult thing: It pleases you. It has no particular insights, no truth to convey, no sure-fire gimmick to sell tickets, no stars you've heard of (although they are big in the not inconsiderable Czech film industry). You can safely attend dinner parties not having seen it. But for two hours you feel you have chosen wisely and not wasted your time, and you smile a lot.


I heart Roger's insights and his fluffy soul.