Roger Ebert, the first film critic to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, has passed away. Ebert bravely battled cancer for years, continuing to use the Internet to write and discuss movies. His website and Twitter accounts were active until the very end, and he even wrote a post yesterday, explaining how his medical condition was going to require him to cut back and take a “leave of presence.” But even while explaining his medical limitations, in that post he promoted the April 9 launch of a redesigned website. So even though he has not hosted a TV show in a long time, we will miss his presence in our everyday lives.
For many of us growing up in the 1970s, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel taught us how to think about and discuss movies on a deep level. While we may not have always agreed with Ebert and/or Siskel, who passed away in 1999, they always made us think, which is the best thing a critic can do. I loved their shows Sneak Previews and At the Movies, and in later years I loved reading Ebert’s articles online. His well-written books on The Great Movies led me to discover a number of classic films, not alone, but with the guidance of a trained master. A year ago, he provoked discussion when he wrote an article about his rankings of the top ten movies of all time, some of which I had discovered through his earlier writings.
In the video below, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel review one of the classics, Goodfellas (1990).
Ebert closed his final post with his sign off, “I’ll see you at the movies.” I will miss his movie reviews, but the truth is that having seen and read so many of his reviews, his intelligent voice already affects the way we watch any movie today, tomorrow, and in the future. So we will still be seeing him at the movies, where we will give him two big thumbs up.
What is your favorite Roger Ebert review? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 2004, I discovered the debut self-titled album from country singer Julie Roberts. It’s traditional sound stood apart from much of the mediocre music that comes out of Nashville. I particularly liked her version of “Break Down Here,” and it is one of my favorite country songs of the last decade.
I liked the album so much that when her next album, Men and Mascara (2006) came out two years later, I picked it up when I saw it at a Tower Records going out of business. While it never grabbed me as much as her debut album, it was a solid sophomore effort, and I particularly liked the title track.
While Roberts generally recorded songs from other artists on her first two albums, she showed a good taste for music and a talent for interpretation, choosing songs by people such as the talented Julie Miller. The first album, Julie Roberts, had good sales and reviews, leading to national TV show appearances and nominations from the Academy of Country Music and a CMT Awards breakthrough artist nomination.
Her follow-up CD, Men and Mascara, did moderately well but was not as successful. It was a rough time for the music industry overall, and a few years later her record company Mercury Records dropped her. While I had wondered what had happened to Roberts, I did not know until being surprised while watching an episode of The Voice this week.
The years since her breakthrough debut album have not been kind to Julie Roberts. She has failed to surpass or even reclaim the success of her first album, even though she self-released another try in 2010. A 2010 flood in Nashville ruined her home and belongings. And then she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while she was making her second album.
Which brings us to this week on The Voice, where Roberts hoped for a second chance in her career, much like the winner of season three, Cassadee Pope, did when she auditioned. While it was great to see Roberts again, she appeared not as a guest performer but as a contestant, singing for the four judges who face away from contestants and only opt to turn around if they choose to keep the singer on the show as part of their team.
Roberts selected a song by one of the judges she knew during better times, Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You.” As she sang, she hoped Shelton or at least one of the judges would hit the button on their chair to give her and her career a new chance. [2016 Update: Unfortunately, The Voice video segment with Julie Roberts is no longer available.]
Ultimately, none of the judges turned their chair around for Roberts, and Blake Shelton felt especially bad after he recognized the singer he had just rejected. Roberts probably made a mistake singing a song recorded by one of the judges because the judges can be more picky when they think a contestant is trying to win them over with the song selection, especially when it is a song with personal meaning to the judge.
Roberts does much better on other songs. And she probably would have been selected had she sang a song like “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” which is available along with other stripped down “Naked” recordings on her website.
This week, Julie Roberts released a statement on her website about her experience on The Voice. In it, she notes that the rejection “was heartbreaking for me on many levels but I believe with all my heart that God has other plans for my life that He is working on behind the scenes for me right now.” The good news is that she plans to record new music and head back out on the road. We wish her well with her life, her health, and her career.
[July 2013 Update: After her TV appearance, Julie Roberts signed a record contract with Sun Records and will release an album in October 2013.]
What is your favorite Julie Roberts song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Last night, as The Tonight Show went into Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, viewers were treated to a duet by Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon. Amid all the rumors about Jimmy Fallon replacing Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, the two hosts got together via phone to address the issue by singing a variation on “Tonight” from West Side Story.
[February 2014 Update: The video of the entire duet is no longer available from NBC, so below is a story about the segment that features a short clip of the duet.]
Reportedly, Fallon came up with the idea and after Leno agreed to do the bit, some of the Late Night staff flew to California to tape the Jay Leno part.
April 3, 2013 Update: NBC has confirmed that Jimmy Fallon will replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show starting after the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Who is your favorite late night host? Leave your two cents in the comments.
CBS Sunday Morning recently featured a story about singer-songwriter-actor Glen Hansard. In the segment, Hansard talks about his life, his time busking on the streets of Dublin, and his success with the movie Once (2006), which is now a Broadway play.
The segment features both touching moments — such as Hansard discussing his former relationship with his Once co-star Markéta Irglová — and funny touches, like a scene in a Dublin pub where Hansard’s grade school principal discusses telling a 13-year-old Hansard it was okay to drop out of school to pursue his music career. 2016 Update: The video is no longer available for embedding, but you may watch some of the segment on YouTube.
Below is another clip of an interview with Hansard that was done for The Busking Project.
What is your favorite song by Glen Hansard? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Ricky Gervais recently reprised his portrayal of David Brent from the original U.K. “The Office” in a new short, The Return of Brent. He created the video for a U.K. telethon that is sponsored by Comic Relief called Red Nose Day. Although the special that ended the series was a perfect ending to the tale of David Brent, I guess I don’t mind too much finding out what happened to him, which includes pursuing a music career and selling cleaning supplies. It’s not too surprising to hear him describe the time since working at Wernham Hogg as “the best ten years” of his life. Check it out.
In the video, Brent mentions that he is working with rapper Dom Johnson, and you can see the “result” of their collaboration in this video for “Equality Street.”
The new David Brent videos are related to a new Ricky Gervais YouTube channel. The new channel will feature sketches, podcasts, and clips related to the making of the new Muppets sequel that stars Gervais.
What do you think of David Brent’s return? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Roger Ebert, the first film critic to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, has passed away. Ebert bravely battled cancer for years, continuing to use the Internet to write and discuss movies. His website and Twitter accounts were active until the very end, and he even wrote a post yesterday, explaining how his medical condition was going to require him to cut back and take a “leave of presence.” But even while explaining his medical limitations, in that post he promoted the April 9 launch of a redesigned website. So even though he has not hosted a TV show in a long time, we will miss his presence in our everyday lives.
