Rogerebert.com review

Rogerebert.com is the former website of the late Roger Ebert (1942-2013). It is no longer used by Roger Ebert for obvious reasons but is now frequently operated by several other staff members and Mr. Ebert's wife Chaz Ebert.

The site reviews a variety of movies that come out, including mainstream blockbusters and indie films that few have heard of. Movies are both critiqued by their overall quality and have their style analyzed. In the review for Spike Jonze's "Her", Glenn Kenny discusses the positive effect that the film's cinematography has on the quality of the film, rather than simply praising the acting and script (though he does that too). A similar example is Christy Lemire's discussion of black and white used in Alexander Payne's Nebraska. She praises the way that the black and white gives notice to a sense of decay and melancholy in the story, unlike many films where it's meant to be nostalgic.

There is another section on the site dedicated entirely to the blogs of several contributors to the site, including Ebert himself. Ebert's blog is obviously no longer active but one of the most notable posts, "Movies that are made forever", doesn't analyze any particular film, but rather film in general. He discusses how certain movies are like sausages ("Grind up everything that's usable, stuff it into the casing of a marketing campaign, package them six to the weekend, pull them off sale after they begin to spoil") and how other films have a fervent passion and a need to be seen on the big screen, giving a careful examination of movies that are made for profit vs. movies that are made for more complex reasons.

Jim Emerson's blog, Scanners (titled after the David Cronenberg film) has both movie and non-movie discussions. The movie discussions include analysis on how multiple people make the movie. For example, Emerson praises Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained for not simply being a mouth piece for director Quentin Tarantino, which he feels is all too common for Tarantino films. He explains how a great actors can make cliche dialogue sound good and strong direction can create strong performances.

The site even features a question simply titled "Great Movies" which attempts to break down films that are held in high regard. David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. is dissected in an unusual way by Roger Ebert. Ebert not only discusses what  the film could mean, but also the effect that the film has on people. He discusses how nobody has a common consensus on the complex film, how perhaps the creature lurking outside of the diner isn't supposed to be anything but a visual strategy, and how David Lynch's love of archetypes, genres, and obligatory shots shape the film. It's an unusually thoughtful analysis.

Rogerebert.com is a fairly effective site for both hardcore movie buffs and casual viewers. The casual movie fans can enjoy the reviews discussing the quality of the movie while the film buffs can find great appreciation in the inquiries of various motion pictures.