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Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2003

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The 2003 edition of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the sixth I've purchased and it is sure to exceed every one that came before it. Ebert is a fine writer with the uncanny ability to make every review readable, fun and insightful--whether it's his 5th review or his 5,000th. The extras are what makes these books so enjoyable. From the movie glossary to the index of all his reviews (with star ratings), the book is absolutely jam-packed with information.

My personal favorite section is the interviews he does with various directors, actors and movie business people. Ebert always asks the right questions without the usual creampuff fluffery you come to expect from interviews in Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, etc. He pushes their buttons and gets under their skin--and the results are usually pretty entertaining.

Of course, the real value of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the reviews. The book contains all the reviews of the past several years, along with handy notes on cast and crew, and, of course, the star ratings.

If you love movies, this book is a real treasure and a bargain at any price!

Even though I live in Ohio, I read all of Roger Ebert's reviews and columns weekly on the Chicago Sun-Times website. He is such a great critic because he's not afraid to disagree with everyone else, and he's not afraid to bring his personal preferences and feelings into each review. A critic's purpose is not to tell you what to see; it's to help you make a more informed decision. Ebert's reviews help me do that more than any other critics.

I have been getting this book from the library each January since 1998 and reading it cover to cover. Not only does it contain hundreds of reviews, it also has the excellent Movie Answer Man column (which I eagerly anticipate in the Sun-Times every other week), and the hilarious Little Movie Glossary (which, in this edition, I am proud to say, features a submission from yours truly).

I agree with Ebert's conclusions on movies something like 60% of the time. That that's the case, and I still read him weekly, proves the merit of his writing.

The 2003 edition of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the sixth I've purchased and it is sure to exceed every one that came before it. Ebert is a fine writer with the uncanny ability to make every review readable, fun and insightful--whether it's his 5th review or his 5,000th. The extras are what makes these books so enjoyable. From the movie glossary to the index of all his reviews (with star ratings), the book is absolutely jam-packed with information.

My personal favorite section is the interviews he does with various directors, actors and movie business people. Ebert always asks the right questions without the usual creampuff fluffery you come to expect from interviews in Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, etc. He pushes their buttons and gets under their skin--and the results are usually pretty entertaining.

Of course, the real value of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the reviews. The book contains all the reviews of the past several years, along with handy notes on cast and crew, and, of course, the star ratings.

I'm not a very big fan of Roger Ebert. The guy is a talented film critic and can ask thought provoking questions when interviewing someone, but he's also arrogant, egotistical, and pretentious. He seems to look down upon films with mass appeal and herald movies that make no sense whatsoever. When Gene Siskel was still alive I tended to appreciate Siskel's reviews more. Things haven't changed much in the past several years because now that Ebert is the lead man with Richard Roeper, I tend to agree and like Roeper's reviews more than Ebert.

That's not to say ROGER EBERT'S MOVIE YEARBOOK 2003 is a bad book, because it's not. It's a companion piece that just about any film lover will enjoy. The book includes over 600 reviews that Ebert wrote between January 2000 through about July 2002. I will say that Ebert is a better writer than he is a public speaker because his written reviews seem formulated and more thought out than the comments Ebert spews forth when he's on the air. But, the MOVIE YEARBOOK isn't just about reviews. The last fifth of the book or so includes film reports from various film festivals, tributes to entertainment greats, interviews with major stars and filmmakers, various essays discussing things such as Halle Berry's Oscar and Funniest Movie Titles, hundreds of Q&As from Ebert's popular syndicated column, a Ebert movie glossary, and an index about of ratings of all films that have appeared in any of Ebert's HOME COMPANION, VIDEO COMPANION, or MOVIE YEARBOOK books (up until early 2003). The stuff at the end of the book and not the reviews themselves is what makes this book worth owning, especially the interviews and essays. These are the pieces I enjoyed reading the most and are the most entertaining and informative selections in the book.

This is a great gift for any movie buff who enjoys reading.

The 2003 edition of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the sixth I've purchased and it is sure to exceed every one that came before it. Ebert is a fine writer with the uncanny ability to make every review readable, fun and insightful--whether it's his 5th review or his 5,000th. The extras are what makes these books so enjoyable. From the movie glossary to the index of all his reviews (with star ratings), the book is absolutely jam-packed with information.

My personal favorite section is the interviews he does with various directors, actors and movie business people. Ebert always asks the right questions without the usual creampuff fluffery you come to expect from interviews in Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, etc. He pushes their buttons and gets under their skin--and the results are usually pretty entertaining.

Of course, the real value of Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook is the reviews. The book contains all the reviews of the past several years, along with handy notes on cast and crew, and, of course, the star ratings.

Roger Ebert is a Chicago Sun-Times film critic with a nationally syndicated weekly television series he co-hosts with fellow columnist at the Sun-Times Richard Roeper. He's a film critic who has been in the local and national spotlight since at least 1969 and he's hardly ever wrong. I have agreed not only with his ratings, but often his reviews' sentiments for many years now and the only times I've occasionally disagreed is with the place he gives to a movie on his Best Films List -- Monster's Ball and Black Hawk Down in the #1 and 2 spots for 2001 over (#3) In the Bedroom? And how about one of the very best films of last year, a 4-star masterpiece by his own admission, Larry Clark's BULLY getting put in the eleventh place tie as an addendem to his top ten last year? But nevertheless, even when I disagree (rarely), Ebert always makes clear to me and everyone with an attention span of at least a minute that his opinions are genuine and come from a personal place. He's a national treasure.