Author: Roger Ebert

The first images are spellbinding. In close-up, thick fingers make the final stitches in a roughly humanoid little rag doll, and binocular eyes are added. This creature comes to life, walks on tottering legs, and ventures fearfully into the devastation of a bombed-out cityscape. This visionary world was first created as a short subject by…

After the screening of “Fired Up,” one of my colleagues grimly observed that “Dead Man” was a better cheerleader movie. That was, you might recall, the 1995 Western starring Johnny Depp, Robert Mitchum, Billy Bob Thornton and Iggy Pop. I would give almost anything to see them on a cheerleader squad. Here is a movie…

“Bedtime Stories” was not my cup of tea, or even the saucer. Fairness requires me to report, however, that it may appeal to, as they say, “kids of all ages.” I am not a kid of any age, but this is a harmless and pleasant Disney comedy and one of only three family movies (along…

A-“THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS”Cast: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Vera FarmigaDirector: Mark HermanPlaying at: Cinemark, TinseltownRated: PG-13 (for some mature thematic material involving the Holocaust)Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutesMark Herman’s “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” depends for its powerful impact on why, and when, it transfers the film’s point of view. For…

Ahappy-go-luckyCast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel RoukinDirector: Mike LeighPlaying at: Kimball’sRated: R (for language)Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutesMike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” is the story of a good woman. As simple as that.We first see Poppy pedaling her bike through London and smiling all the time to herself. She stops at a book shop…

If you’re going to make a film about Hollywood greed, hypocrisy and lust, you have to be willing to burn your bridges.Art Linson is an A-list producer (“Fight Club,” “Into the Wild”) who wrote this screenplay based on his memoir, subtitled “Bitter Hollywood Tales From the Front Line.” He knows where the bodies are buried…

“Rough Road” is putting it lightly, Black Forest residents say about a section of Shoup Road. The potholes have gotten so bad that sarcastic words were painted on the signs, and one resident spray-painted orange circles around the potholes. Photo by (JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE)