“This movie feels like it was funded with the promise that it would entertain and uplift children without disturbing them,” writes @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social about ANIMAL FARM.

For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I spoke to Adam Scott & Damian McCarthy about HOKUM. We talked its secret Washington origins (it involves Weezer), merging American cinema of old and Irish folk horror, comedy vs. horror, finding the ending, and more 📽️ Read that here: www.rogerebert.com/interviews/h...

“Everytime I watch it, I expect to see it fizzle the way so many before me have, but I’m riveted each time. Do with that what thou wilt." @honorszombie.bsky.social returns with his latest THE UNLOVED video essay, this time discussing the doubly punctuated OH… ROSALINDA!!

"You can’t stay here; you do have to participate in your own rescue." @eclectichutch.bsky.social spoke with Adam Scott and Damian McCarthy about HOKUM, crafting the auditory nightmares, & the central existential challenge about finding a meaningful end to a macabre story:

“This an existential story that is a less bleak and more scenic version of Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT, a psychological journey about connection, regret, memory, and meaning,” writes @nellminow.bsky.social about THE LAST ONE FOR THE ROAD.

“The main characters in this film are mostly disasters … but they all have redeeming qualities, and their brokenness makes them impossible to hate,” writes @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social about TWO PIANOS.

"Structural quibbles aside, NUESTRA TIERRA is a powerful work of reclamation and advocacy for native peoples who have long been disenfranchised and dehumanized by systemic forces in colonial Argentina,” writes @clintworthing.bsky.social.

"The personal and the political intertwine in this moving, fantastic series, a reminder that Debra Granik is a filmmaker who deserves to be mentioned alongside the best working today,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social about CONBODY VS. EVERYBODY.

"I wish we could see that longer version of this [story], if only to enjoy the fullest expression of this partly ambitious, but mostly staid programmer,” writes @simonsaybrams.bsky.social about ONE SPOON OF CHOCOLATE.

“It earns its viewing time for trying its very best at putting a new spin on a familiar story,” writes @zacharylee.bsky.social about SWAPPED.

“It is not that it is a bad movie (which it is), but it’s a gratingly familiar one that doesn’t have a single point of interest to call its own,” writes @petersob13.bsky.social about DEEP WATER.

For this month’s Home Entertainment Guide, @briantallerico.bsky.social previews titles worth the pick-up for your physical media collection, from Nia DaCosta’s unhinged 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, a 4K release of INNERSPACE, a Criterion release of POINT BLANK, and more:

“It isn't a slow burn, but one of its strengths is how it slides in and out of shocking images and dread-filled atmosphere,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social in his 3.5/4 star review of HOKUM. In theaters now:

"Throughout its seven-episode run, I couldn’t help but wonder why this adaptation was made into a series, rather than a film,” writes Kaiya Shunyata about MAN ON FIRE.

"The film’s naïve 'good billionaire' angle aside, it’s nice to reunite with old characters that we love, witness a healthy dose of fan servicing … but you can’t help but wish that this edition of the story was a bit more groundbreaking,” writes @tomilaffly.bsky.social about THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2.

"While the industry at large is in flux, it’s inspiring to see what’s possible when countries invest in the cinematic arts, fostering compassion that is so desperately needed,” writes Cortlyn Kelly in her reflection on the Chicago Latino Film Festival.

"There’s truly something for everyone this year. See you there,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social as he previews the 13th Annual Chicago Critics Film Festival:

"This pristine box set is an imperative tribute to one of cinema’s great, paradigm-shifting directors,” writes @812filmreviews.com about Criterion’s release of John Singleton’s Hood Trilogy, which includes BOYZ N THE HOOD, POETIC JUSTICE, & BABY BOY.

"For male filmmakers, female pop stars are the closest thing we have to angels in our midst.” In light of MOTHER MARY, @@timgrierson.bsky.social wrote about male directors continue to be fixated on making movies about female pop stars:

"Roger’s core idea is that the world doesn’t begin and end with you. Other people exist, and you should care about them, even if you’ve never met them." @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social offers reflections on criticism, Roger, and the final Ebertfest:

“We are taking these texts, these words on a page, & turning them into images that need to have sound and emotion to them that would never exist in textual form.” For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I spoke w/ MOTHER MARY’s David Lowery abt transubstantiation, the feminine divine, & the T-1000:

For @ebertvoices.bsky.social, I wrote about MOTHER MARY and why male directors continue to be fixated on making movies about female pop stars.

“It remains a deeply moving and satisfying story in its own right, and a strong example of the ambitious content the streaming era once promised us. It’s nice to know it still can,” writes @lacymb.bsky.social about Prime Video’s THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS.

Season 1 of “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” has wrapped and it is top shelf Tracy Morgan. Amazingly, episode 1 might be its weakest, but it only gets stronger from there. @briantallerico.bsky.social review in @ebertvoices.bsky.social www.rogerebert.com/streaming/th...

"I’ve been trying to take a feeling and give it form." @zacharylee.bsky.social spoke w/ David Lowery about MOTHER MARY, making the film nearly man-free, creativity as an act of transubstantiation, & TERMINATOR 2’s influence:

"It may lack in true authorship—there aren’t branching narratives or moral choices, for example—but you truly feel like you’re in control of this interstellar warrior, one who’s going to die if you do something wrong,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social about Sony’s SAROS.

David Mackenzie's frustrating but compelling FUZE is in theaters today. I reviewed it back at TIFF for @ebertvoices.bsky.social:

I’ve lots of writing to share today! First up: I reviewed Rashad Frett’s RICKY, a film I was very mixed on at Sundance but liked a bit more upon rewatch. Mostly because of Stephan James’ fantastic performance. My review via @ebertvoices.bsky.social

I loved Sho Miyake’s TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS when I watched it at Locarno. It’s the latest in an incredible run by the Japanese auteur that should see him far more widely celebrated. My review via @ebertvoices.bsky.social

"In addition to serving up heaping helpings of suspense and action, “Fuze” abounds in twists,” writes @glennkenny.bsky.social about FUZE.

“Most of the best portions of RICKY are hard-earned enough to look past moments of inconsistent tone and approach. Because when this character study hits, it can often feel divine,” writes @812filmreviews.com.

“TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS might be him at his best,” writes @812filmreviews.com in his 4/4 star review about Sho Miyake’s film.

“This offers a more realistic depiction of what contemporary athletes must endure in their hopes of scoring on the world stage,” writes @petersob13.bsky.social about AGON.

"The movie’s jagged tone and cheesy sensibility will likely trip up anyone looking to understand why a modern remake of a lost silent movie is set in the 1970s,” writes @simonsaybrams.bsky.social about A BLIND BARGAIN.

“John Magaro carries the movie with confidence. There’s another movie, probably much bleaker, happening behind his eyes,” writes @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social about OMAHA.

"Not all of the big swings in WIDOW’S BAY turn into home runs, but it’s never anything less than ambitious. In a time when it feels like everything wants to be BIG LITTLE LIES, it’s so refreshing to see something that’s this hard to explain in a simple review,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social.

“Thoughtful and sympathetic, John Davidson’s life is the subject of the sensitive, heartwarming I SWEAR,” writes @nellminow.bsky.social.

“Prioritizing white-knuckle thrills over excessive emotion and explaining is one of the most refreshing qualities of this gorgeously shot picture about survival and fortitude,” writes @tomilaffly.bsky.social about APEX.

“Thanks to Kate Hudson’s performance as the likable but deeply flawed and self-centered Isla, and the crisp writing that serves up steady laughs in each episode, this show seems poised to stay in contention for multiple seasons to come,” writes Richard Roeper about RUNNING POINT S2.

"Every chance to do something inventive and interesting in this show is ignored for lazy fan-fic writing, slack plotting, and inconsistent characters,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social about STRANGER THINGS: TALES FROM ’85:

To give you a sense of what’s about to unfold during DOC10, @briantallerico.bsky.social has gather some quotes from our coverage and links to read more about the films in the program that have been covered:

“If the film’s biggest problem is balancing the brutality with the humanity, director Jorma Taccone at least deserves some credit for how gleefully he stages the former,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social about OVER YOUR DEAD BODY. In theaters now:

I took the chance to combine my love for sports and TV for a rare Tallerico listicle.

"Its depiction of the ramifications of unchecked rage in a man and his victims is a brilliant and discomfiting six-hour horror film,” writes Nandini Balial in her 4/4 star review of HALF MAN.

"By and large, the most interesting UNTOLD episodes have lived up to the meaning of that word,” writes @briantallerico.bsky.social who recommends eight of the best ones.

Let me be straight with you: MICHAEL is horrid. My review via @ebertvoices.bsky.social

"Volume 6 of UNTOLD isn’t an outright whiff, but it’s hardly one of the compelling seasons in the series to date,” writes Richard Roeper in his review of all four episodes.

The 80th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will run from July 3-11. @812filmreviews.com previews some of the retrospectives and tributes to expect from the festival:

“This isn’t a movie. It’s a filmed playlist in search of a story,” writes @812filmreviews.com about MICHAEL.

The Columbine massacre was on this date in 1999. Instead of energizing our country to get gun violence under control, it kicked off a new normal. One of the best explanations ever of journalism's destructive impact on mass shootings came from Roger Ebert in his review of Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant.”