Roger Ebert - Roger Eberts Movie Yearbook 2009

Roger Eberts
Movie Yearbook
2009

Roger Eberts Movie Yearbook 2009
copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
by Roger Ebert
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
For information write
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC,
an Andrews McMeel Universal company,
1130 Walnut Street,
Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

E-ISBN: 978-0-7407-9216-8

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Author photos by Eileen Ryan
Jacket design by Tim Lynch

All the reviews in this book originally appeared
in the Chicago Sun-Times.

This book is dedicated to Robert Zonka, 1928-1985.

God love ya.

It was a year when animation and comic book movies both reached new heights. Animation, by entering unexpected narrative territory with films like WALL-E. Comic book movies, by finding a new depth in films like The Dark Knight and Iron Manfilms you couldnt so easily keep an ironic distance from.

But the news was not so bright in straight narrative films, where several key indie distributors went out of business, and independent filmmakers found it was more difficult than ever to find sources of financing and distribution. When the windows between theatrical release, cable play, and DVD grew smaller, viewers enjoyed their increased choices but were threatened by the prospect of traditional movie theaters disappearing. The best way to see a movie is in a theater with good projection and sound and a sympathetic audience, and it always will be.

For me, this has been a time of health struggles, beginning with surgery in June 2006, followed by other surgeries and complications. There was no traditional Yearbook 2008, but we bridged the gap with a special anniversary edition titled Roger Eberts Four-Star Reviews19672007.

During my illness I had long periods of recuperation and mobility when I was able to see and review movies, including the past several months, so this 2009 volume contains a respectable cross section of the movies of two years, especially since I doubled back and reviewed some I had missed. It also has the customary Answer Man items, Glossary entries, and something new: Many of the entries I wrote for my new blog on rogerebert.com. The blog was a revelation for me, allowing a new kind of interaction with my readers, who astonished me with their writing, insight, knowledge of movies, and thoughtful comments.

After entries like In Search of Redemption and When a Movie Hurts Too Much, I was moved by the personal revelations and thoughts so many readers shared. I must have a high-quality readership, because after thousands of comments I have not yet received even one example of that classic online riposte You suck!

I find I value movies more than ever these days. They are a lifeline for me. Deprived by necessary surgery of the power of speech, I can no longer appear on television or do many of the things I treasured. But I can still think, see, and review movies, in exactly the same way. And that is a comfort. That, and knowing you are there joining in the dialogue.

R OGER E BERT