Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2004 (Paperback)

~ Roger Ebert (Author) "Abandon is a moody, effective thriller for about 90 percent of the way, and then our hands close on air..." (more)
Key Phrases: lesser movie, spoiler warning, spy kids, New York, Los Angeles, Adam Sandler (more...)

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

America's Number one movie fan is back with his annual edition of movies. Roger Ebert is the only movie critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism and was recently awarded a special award from the American Society of Cinematographers. "Roger Ebert has earned the respect and affection of our members because of his integrity and passion for the art form," say Owen Roizman, head of the ASC awards committee. "His reviews are intelligent and insightful. He focuses on films that merit attention rather than just the highest profile studio movies with the biggest stars." Movie buffs everywhere anticipate Roger Ebert's annual yearbook because of the overwhelming cornucopia of movie material it contains. Roger Ebert's annual yearbook 2004 includes every review Ebert wrote from January 2001 to mid-June 2003. It also includes his essays, interviews, film festival reports, and In Memoriams, along with a list and star ratings of all movies previously appearing in a Video Companion or Movie Yearbook. Since 1967, Ebert has been a movie critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. The best-selling author and American institution received an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado, regularly lectures at the University of Chicago, and was name to the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 976 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740738348
• ISBN-13: 978-0740738340
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,198 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 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 (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000 (Roger Eberts 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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like to trash movies? Roger does. And, oh, boy, is he good, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 1999 (Serial) (Paperback)

Movie reviews aren't always going to agree with your personal opinion. Sometimes you will like a movie and somebody like Mr. Ebert may think it isn't worth the celluloid it's printed on. But, when Ebert hates a film, he LOATHES it. The fun of this book is in seeing how he manages to tear down a film completely and so thoroughly in a single line. Who wants to read a glowing review of a film (especially if you thought it was dreck anyway?) But reading Ebert trash "The Jackal" as being the tale of "an over achiever" who would import bugspray from Iran if he were hired to kill a mosquito, is pure literary gold. In a time where most people are content to say a movie was either good or bad, depending on the mood they were in when they saw it, Ebert blows a great breath of fresh air into critical savagery. And if that's not worth the cover price, why do you want a movie review compendium in the first place?

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ebert's big book of movies never disappoints!, October 3, 2002

By	fair_deal_guy "BB" (Prior Lake, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2003 (Paperback)

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!