A Movie Crossword Puzzle from Roger Ebert
Posted on April 24, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Roger Ebert has posted a crossword puzzle for movie fans from 2007. Enjoy!
Posted on April 24, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Roger Ebert has posted a crossword puzzle for movie fans from 2007. Enjoy!
Posted on January 30, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Roger Ebert says the case is closed on 3D — it can never work. He has some powerful support for his position, a letter from Walter Murch, “the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema.” Murch says that “horizontal movement will strobe much sooner in 3D than it does in 2D. This was true then, and it is still true now. It has something to do with the amount of brain power dedicated to studying the edges of things. The more conscious we are of edges, the earlier strobing kicks in.” He says our brains are not capable of processing 3D movie technology, because “the glasses “gather in” the image — even on a huge Imax screen — and make it seem half the scope of the same image when looked at without the glasses.”
I’m not sure I agree; I expect a glasses-free 3D technology is possible, for one thing. But I do agree with Ebert that there is a much less gimmicky and much more powerful enhancement — Ebert’s counter-recommendation — called Maxivision48.
Movies “move” because we see a series of still pictures so quickly that it fools our eye through something called “persistence of vision.” It’s the same technology as a flip-book, and it hasn’t changed much since it shifted from 16 frames per second to 24 when movies added sound (this is why silent films often seem jerky). Unlike current digital equipment, which replicates the 24 frames per second standard, Maxivision combines digital and film to eliminate wasted space and project at 48 frames per second to give the audience a fresher, clearer, more distinct image.
I love their tagline: “See What You’ve Been Missing.”
Posted on January 25, 2011 at 10:00 am
Ebert Presents, the Chicago Sun-Times and MUBI.com are challenging movie fans and odds-makers everywhere to out-guess Roger Ebert in predicting the winners of this year’s Oscars. The prize is an amazing $100,000.
And entrants have one big advantage over Ebert. He will be submitting his predictions today, right after the announcement of the nominees. You don’t have to submit your entries until just before the Oscars are presented on February 27, so you can study the early indicators like the guild awards and the educated guesses from the trade press.
Get the details for submitting your Oscar predictions here. Good luck!
Posted on January 21, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Roger Ebert’s new show, Ebert Presents At the Movies, debuts this week on PBS stations across the country. The original show was an inspiration and a guide to me and I am honored beyond words to be invited to contribute to the new one. I’ll be tuning in this weekend, and I’ll let you know when I will be on.
Posted on January 14, 2011 at 3:12 pm
For me, the big story of the movie of 2010 was the animated films and the documentaries — we had more great films in both categories than ever before. So I was delighted to see Roger Ebert’s list of the year’s best documentaries. The films he selected demonstrate the astonishing range of modes, moods, topics, and voices working in documentaries today. There is the devastating autopsy of the financial crisis (“Inside Job”) and the mind-bending examination of street art that explores art, commerce, and the gullibility of the celebrity culture in form and content. There is a movie about a serial killer and a movie about a literally colorful guy who waves his jacket at tourists on Chicago’s river boats (I loved that one). And I was delighted to see Roger’s comments on the new film from Errol Morris. It was the review of Errol Morris’ “Gates of Heaven” and “Vernon, Florida” on the Ebert and Siskel show that first got me interested in documentaries, and I have been very grateful to them ever since.
See also the list of top documentaries of 2010 from one of my favorite critic friends, Cynthia Fuchs.