Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000 [Paperback]

Roger Ebert (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Roger Ebert collects the past few years of his reviews along with interviews, essays, and "Ask the Movie Answer Man" into one sturdy volume--Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000. The reviews, of course, are the main feature of the book, and they bear the hallmark of a man who no longer worries about censoring himself. (On Robin Williams in Father's Day: "He's getting to be like the goofy uncle who knows one corny parlor trick and insists on performing it at every family gathering.") He also clearly loves movies enough to be vastly irritated when they are poorly or lazily made. (On The Wedding Singer: "Did anybody, at any stage, give the story the slightest thought?") But Ebert does not have the snooty tastes of the stereotypical film critic--he gives the deliriously sleazy Wild Things an enthusiastic review because it is so incandescently trashy that in its own way it becomes a thing of beauty. Ebert is also not afraid to go out on a limb, boldly naming the box-office failure Dark City the best movie of 1998, and taking the risk of being the only audience member to blast an ultrahip entry at the Toronto Film Festival for being racist. And of course the book functions as a valuable browser's read and video-store companion, providing a list of recent movies and a quick answer to the does-it-suck-or-not question. --Ali Davis

Product Details

• Paperback: 923 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740700278
• ISBN-13: 978-0740700279
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, wise, and thorough, November 18, 1999

By 

B. W. Fairbanks "Brian W. Fairbanks" (Lakewood, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000 (Paperback)

Film critics generate hostility among some filmmakers who apparently consider the expression of an honest opinion the ultimate act of arrogance. "How dare they tell people they have no right to like (insert a title here)," Burt Reynolds once said on Entertainment Tonight. Of course, everyone who states an opinion ("I like it," "I don't like it") is playing the role of critic, including Reynolds, and the best critics do not tell people what they have a right to like. They tell you what THEY like and why. The professional film critic who does his job right is simply a more thoughtful member of the audience who takes the time and possesses the wisdom to explain why a film hits the target or fails to do so. Roger Ebert takes the time and has wisdom to spare. The fact that the Pulitzer Prize winning Chicagoan is America's most popular critic is probably a happy accident owing less to his skill than to TV exposure (there was a time when Gene Shalit and gossip-monger Rona Barrett were probably the two most popular "critics" thanks to their gigs on morning television), but Ebert's status is richly deserved. He genuinely loves movies, and that love is evident throughout his various collections of film reviews, including the excellent Movie Yearbook. He is smart without being pompous, funny without being cruel, and wise without being pedantic. He is also thorough, seeing and writing reviews of even the most obscure movies, including those that may be deemed unworthy of attention by other critics at big city newspapers. You may not always agree with him, but it's doubtful you'll ever read one of his reviews without being enlightened, amused, or, best of all, encouraged to see something you may have otherwise missed. Anyone for whom movies are more than mere entertainment but an art form with the potential to change the way the audience looks at life, should find a place on their bookshelves for Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Biggest and the Best, December 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000 (Paperback)

Mr. Ebert is clearly the best working film critic today, and his beautifully written reviews prove it. His depth and genuine love for movies shines in every one of his reviews, even the bad ones. He is my favorite critic--we almost always agree on movies--and his writing is down-to-earth, yet also wonderfully put. Among my favorite of his reviews is that of "Cries and Whispers"--so poignant and beautiful. I buy his book every year and relish everything he writes because you can tell he loves it so much.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE man who knew too much., July 13, 2000

By 

Mister Chris (Peekskill, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000 (Paperback)

For better or for worse, film critic Roger Ebert will be best remembered as the...er... "larger one" of the legendary (and sorely missed) Siskel and Ebert duo. But Ebert has boasted a Pulitzer Prize and for good reason- he's a superlative writer. Unlike others who have cloned Pauline Kael's visceral gymnastics and wisecraking sneer, Ebert's tone is refreshingly populist and conversational. He clearly loves movies. With each review he strives to find why the images on screen are worth our attention while retaining a highly personal vantage point. The man's only drawback is a tendency to fall all over escapist fare like THE KARATE KID as if they were classic moments in world cinema; 3 1/2 - 4 star reviews seem to abound more in his books than, say, Leonard Maltin's TV MOVIES. But when Ebert smells a stinker he's as good at firing bullets as anyone else in the critical game. Thus, with Ebert's MOVIE YEARBOOK 2000, along with his previous massive review books, you'll actually feel like the late Gene Siskel as you are arguing, agreeing, and laughing with a good friend.