Long ago I bought the thick paperbacks collecting Roger Ebert’s movie reviews, and they’re some of my most cherished possessions. The man won a Pulitzer for a reason: he could (and can) write better than most human beings. His reviews are almost all nearly perfect examples of the very-short-essay format, and the writing, of course, sparkles. (The exception is his review of nearly any Star Trek movie; he is not a trekkie/trekker, and if you are, his reviews of those films will make you tear out your hair in frustration.) If you want the acme of books to keep by the toilet or the tub, any of the older collections of his movie reviews from the eighties and nineties are contenders for that title.
His left-wing politics have become very visible in his writing (especially his online journal) since cancer began destroying him, but I don’t hold that against him, wacky as his views may be on some topics. This Esquire article on Ebert and his life now is worth reading.
As much as his politics may annoy me, I feel sorry for the guy. And it’s a classic example of how fouled up copyright and IP law are here in the U.S.
Jesus. That image isn’t a photoshop, either. *sigh*
His politics were too often on display in his movie reviews for me to bother with him after watching Siskel and Ebert a few timws.