roger ebert movie reviews 2021

Bob Odenkirk takes an unexpected turn in Ilya Naishuller 's "Nobody," a clever action flick that repositions the star of "Better Call Saul" as someone closer to Liam Neeson 's action heroes. While imagining one of the brilliant minds behind "Mr. Show" as an action hero may seem like a stretch, it turns out to be a stroke of genius as Odenkirk grounds his violent protagonist with a very special set of skills in a way that other actors would have missed. He's great as a man who has tried to leave a violent past behind, but movies have taught us for generations that that's easier said than done.

"Nobody" opens with a montage of the mundanity of Hutch Mansell's daily existence. Every day, he scans the same transit card; every week, he misses the trash man by mere seconds. Life is a series of routines, which has eaten away at his marriage to Becca ( Connie Nielsen ) while providing a relatively happy home for his kids, Blake ( Gage Munroe ) and Abby ( Paisley Cadorath ). Hutch works at a manufacturing company owned by his father-in-law Eddie ( Michael Ironside ) and dominated by his alpha brother-in-law Charlie ( Billy MacLellan ). Luckily, writer Derek Kolstad doesn't waste too much time on Hutch's normie suburban existence, thrusting viewers into the action of "Nobody" almost immediately.

It starts with a home invasion, in which two bottom-level criminals rob the Mansells of some spending money and a few trinkets. Hutch has the drop on one of them, golf club raised in the air, but he doesn't take the chance at elevating the violence, much to the disappointment of his son and disdain of his dude-bro male neighbor. When it looks like the invaders may have taken poor Abby's kitty-kat bracelet, Hutch snaps, tracking them down to retrieve it.

However, "Nobody" is not really a "Death Wish"-esque story of an average guy turned vigilante. There are hints very early on that Hutch isn't just a normal suburbanite. Even his man cave seems laid out to hint at a different background than your neighbor, including a radio through which he speaks to his brother Harry (RZA), who is in hiding. Why? And what's up with the box of fake IDs and money that Hutch's father David ( Christopher Lloyd ) has been storing away? When the bracelet retrieval job goes a little sideways, Hutch is on a bus heading home when he encounters a group of obnoxious drunks harassing a woman who's on her own. He takes it upon himself to protect her and essentially starts a violent war with a Russian crime lord named Yulian ( Aleksey Serebryakov ).

The bus scene that initiates the real action of "Nobody" is the kind of action choreography work of art that will have devoted audiences applauding at screenings for years to come. It's a clever piece of filmmaking that starts with Hutch throwing himself into a few awkward exchanges with his new enemies and continues to elevate, almost as if this encounter is awakening his skill set one punch at a time. Choreographed by the team behind " John Wick ," it's the type of action scene that people will be mentioning with a smile for a long time, and a reminder of the adrenalin that a film can get from a creatively crafted action scene.

Other than a scene that sets up Yulian as a psychopathic villain that runs a bit too long, Naishuller is smart enough to use the momentum from the bus scene to push through the rest of the story. "Nobody" is an incredibly quick film, an experience that feels nowhere near as long as its 92-minute runtime. One could argue that the movie could have used a bit more prologue that would make Becca and their children into characters instead of functions for the plot, but there's a tightness to "Nobody" that's often lacking in modern films, one that's reminiscent of the economy of the "John Wick" flicks, which is one of that trilogy's greatest strengths.

Then there's Odenkirk. Watching "Nobody" a second time made it easier to appreciate how much he brings to a role that someone could have easily sleepwalked through for a paycheck (this would be a much lesser movie with the current king of the Paycheck Performance, Bruce Willis , for example). Odenkirk deftly sells both halves of Hutch, making both his current family life and his violent past believable. It's a smart performance, which should come as no surprise to fans of his work on "Breaking Bad" and "Saul," but it's also a wonderfully physical one in that he makes the stunt work and fight choreography genuine. The supporting cast is strong—particularly RZA and Lloyd, both of whom know exactly what to bring to this project—but it's Odenkirk's film through and through, and he nails it.

Unsurprisingly from the director of the insanity that is " Hardcore Henry ," Naishuller has a habit of overplaying his stylistic hand every now and then with slo-mo montages set to unusual music choices. And there's a version of the film that feels like it has higher stakes—no one ever really feels in jeopardy here (at least "John Wick" had the dog). But Naishuller ultimately gets what matters here right, giving a talented actor an unexpected vehicle to drive really fast with just enough bloodshed for action fans, and not too much gore for average audiences. It's the rare modern action film that makes me hope it does well enough to produce a sequel. (I also think there's potential for a crossover "John Wick vs. Nobody" project that would make roughly a gajillion dollars worldwide.)

"Nobody" works because it values scene construction and action choreography above all else, leaving behind pretension and the overplotting that's been common in the genre in recent years. It doesn't break any molds so much as present a really good time within a familiar structure. After a year with too few action movies because of the shelving of the blockbuster, "Nobody" gives viewers an adrenalin rush that almost feels new again.

Only in theaters tomorrow, March 26th.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell
Connie Nielsen as Becca Mansell
Gage Munroe as Blake Mansell
RZA as Harry Mansell
Aleksey Serebryakov as Yulian Kuznetsov
Christopher Lloyd as David Mansell
David Buckley
Derek Kolstad
Evan Schiff
William Yeh
Ilya Naishuller

Cinematographer

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Roger Ebert

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10 Underrated Movies Recommended By Roger Ebert

It’s hard to find a film where a critic of any kind is portrayed in a positive light. No matter if it’s a horror, drama or comedy, critics are often portrayed as some sort of villains who destroy the main character’s life. Maybe they could have made a narrative fictionalized version of “Life Itself” to change that, a wonderful documentary and a lovely tribute to Roger Ebert.

If you’re a movie fanatic or interested in film criticism, you more or less know why he was so popular and beloved. His reviews helped many young directors to become bigger names; he championed European and Asian arthouse cinema in the United States; and he was generous with his ratings because he wasn’t always high-brow, he understood that every kind of film can be special, regardless of genre and target audience. Speaking of his generosity with ratings, he didn’t shy away from giving four stars to whatever he truly liked. Here we’ll look at 10 of those great films that Roger loved and gave his highest rating, but yet we don’t hear about too often.

10. Last Summer (1969)

Two teenagers, Peter and Dan, spend their summer vacation on Fire Island. On the beach, the boys meet a girl named Sandy, who is tending to an injured seagull. They remove the bone from the bird’s neck. Peter, Dan and Sandy quickly become friends and spend quality time together. They go swimming, take a boat out to sea, smoke marijuana, and discover their awakening sexuality after a visit to the cinema.

It’s better to see this movie uncut to get the full effect, and it’s better to watch in the context of the year it was released to get a better sense of what this movie meant for its time and why Ebert was so impressed by it. The movie prefers to be nonjudgmental about its adolescent experiences. This provocative and melancholic film is also noted for great performances, especially from Catherine Burns, who got an Oscar nomination for her performance.

Ebert was full of praise for its portrayal of adolescence: “There are good movies about other people’s lives, but rarely a movie that recalls, if only for a scene or two, the sense and flavor of life the way you remember it.” But he believed that it’s a movie that doesn’t need to be talked about much if you haven’t seen it, because your experience seeing it for the first time can get diminished, but he dedicated the last paragraph to praising the performances. Since its release, we got films that were probably better at exploring sexual curiosity and its darker sides as well, but “Last Summer” remains an interesting film to watch and discuss.

9. Tex (1982)

Francis Ford Coppola made two hits back to back based on S.E. Hinton novels – “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish” – but the star of those two films, Matt Dillon, already appeared in a successful but now mostly forgotten teen drama based on a Hinton novel. Dillon and Jim Metzler play brothers who struggle after their mother dies and their father walks out on them.

It’s not as dark as other Hinton adaptations, but surprisingly, despite being produced by Walt Disney Studios, they didn’t tone down the book that much. The dynamics between the lead characters are complex and interesting enough to keep you engaged; their problems, such as how they deal with their mother’s death, running out of money, and other things are portrayed with an honest and believable tone. The story is not set in a way that you’d predict where it will go easily.

While “Tex” doesn’t try to say something big or remarkable, it’s an affecting tale and told wonderfully. Ebert used to say it’s not what the film is about but how the film is about, so it’s no wonder he liked this one so much. He also praised the performances: “The movie is so accurately acted, especially by Jim Metzler as Mason and Matt Dillon as Tex, that we care more about the characters than about the plot.” And in the same review, he doesn’t forget to give a mention to Dillon’s feature film debut called “Over the Edge” (1979) which is another great film to check out if you haven’t yet.

8. Ruby in Paradise (1993)

Ashley Judd was introduced to wider audiences for her roles in big studio films like “Kiss the Girls,” “Heat” and “A Time to Kill,” but her feature film debut was a beautiful, complex and touching film that was called “Ruby in Paradise,” which was hailed by critics and earned her many awards and accolades including the Best Actress award at the Independent Spirit awards. Judd’s usual strong work lies in independent films in general, such as “Bug” and “Come Early Morning,” but “Ruby” holds a totally special place.

The movie follows Ruby Lee Gissing, a young woman in her 20s and from Tennessee. She moves to a tourist town in Florida to start a new life and we get to witness it. It’s not necessary to talk about plot points as it’s more of a character study. Ebert was blown away by how “life-affirming” the film actually is and also applauded everything else about the film. He praised Judd for bringing “a simplicity and honesty to the performance that is almost startling in its power” and admired how we see “Ruby growing, learning, discovering things about herself” through the whole film. He admits that when you describe the movie like that, it may sound like a boring film set in an everyday world but indeed, the movie is about finding those details in our lives, about our own discoveries and our struggle to understand what makes us happy.

7. Map of the Human Heart (1992)

The arrival of an English cartographer changes the life of an Inuit boy in the Arctic ice. A young boy named Avik falls ill with tuberculosis; cartographer Walter brings him to Montreal where learns the language and also falls in love. We get to witness Avik’s childhood and also adult life through the film, but it’s not a film that only consists of plot details.

Just like the film above, “Map of the Human Heart” is another film that is not too easy to describe to give you a full sense of what kind of a movie it is. The film benefits from a poetic tone and wonderful chemistry between the leads, especially when they were little kids, and you get to see some heartbreaking moments through the movie, but it always remains beautiful and even unique to some degree. The gorgeous cinematography is a treat, but we also get to hear a lot of history lessons from colonialism to the lives of indigenous peoples.

Ebert describes the unpredictability and yet also the beauty of the film with the following words: “One of the best qualities of “Map of the Human Heart” was that I never quite knew where it was going. It is a love story, a war story, a lifetime story, but it manages to traverse all of that familiar terrain without doing the anticipated.” And he concludes that it’s one of the best films of its year.

6. Body Snatchers (1993)

Ebert is no big fan of “King of New York” but he certainly loved “Bad Lieutenant” and also Ferrara’s first and only studio film effort, “Body Snatchers,” a film where his mark and signature is pretty obvious as usual, which means it’s not something that will appeal to many people, but Ebert saw the appeal of it. This is the third adaptation of this story; the first two films of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” were both successful. In fact, they were among the most successful sci-fi horror films of their respective decades. Yet this version is great in its own way. It’s exactly how you imagine Ferrara would tackle such a subject and it works.

The plot is centered around the discovery that people working at a military base in Alabama are being replaced by perfect physical imitations grown from plantlike pods. Thanks to Ferrara’s direction, you don’t only get that paranoid effect but also the movie feels more sinister than previous adaptations. Some said the movie is a warning against rising fascism, while Ebert thought it might be connected with the fear of AIDS. “Most important, for a horror film, there are scenes of genuine terror.” He says and adds that: “Certainly “Body Snatchers” is not the kind of movie that wins festivals: It is a hard-boiled entry in a disreputable genre. But as sheer moviemaking, it is skilled and knowing, and deserves the highest praise you can give a horror film: It works.” Indeed.

3 Replies to “10 Underrated Movies Recommended By Roger Ebert”

Very useful list. Haven’t heard most of these. Thanks.

Van Helsing.

I was hoping Joe Vs The Volcano would make the list, especially since Ebert changed his own mind about it, going from not impressed to calling it one of his favourites.