Life Itself (2014)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Dreadfully Boring

Brilliant and touching

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

In 2013, a bright light went out in the world. Someone who very early on inspired me to not only enjoy watching movies, but to be excited by them. Someone who taught me that nearly anyone could participate in film analysis and pass some amount of judgment (good or bad) about the films I watch. He was Roger Ebert.I loved to see him spar with Richard Roeper in the early 2000's on movies as inconsequential as Death to Smoochy. Clearly, Ebert put his heart on his sleeve when it came to most films and it offended him the most when a film wasted his time. On the other hand, when he adored a film, his praise was simply poetic. He had a way with words, man.. and he knew a good film when he saw one. If Ebert said to go see it, I would usually follow suit. His criticism was astute, meaningful and 9 times out of ten, summed up what he just watched in the most precise way.Life Itself honors him in the way he should've always been honored. Someone far beyond your average, pompous film critic. An average midwestern guy who loves a good flick, but smart enough to have received a Pulitzer Prize. Such a common man's film critic, he might as well have stood on a soapbox outside the theater he attended in Chicago to profess his feelings. Life Itself articulates the anger we all felt when he lost the ability to speak. We see Roger struggle to live any kind of peaceful life, having to constantly go to the hospital for physical therapy. Filmed just a few months prior to his death, it is difficult and angering to watch him suffer. One must wonder, had Roger been able to speak, what would he say? Had his life turned into one of those bad movies he's reviewed in his lifetime?But what will never change from Ebert is his profound affect on the film industry and how fellow filmmakers revered him, even though he may have maligned their films when he felt it was necessary. There's really something to be said about that. Thumbs way, way up.

Crafted with care, told with affection & paying a heartfelt tribute to the life & career of arguably the most celebrated film critic of all time, Life Itself is both an informative documentary & a captivating biopic that offers an interesting insight into the life of Roger Ebert whose passion & love for cinema made him an iconic figure not only in film criticism but the whole film culture.Interspersed with archive footages, interviews with colleagues, friends & family, snippets from his famous TV show with Gene Siskel, images from few of the lesser-known flicks he gave his voice to, and also including live sessions with Roger Ebert himself when he was battling cancer, Life Itself is an expertly assembled documentary that sensibly explores the remarkable legacy he left behind.Directed by Steve James, Life Itself attempts to find a fine balance between Ebert's personal life & work but ends up being more about Ebert the man than Ebert the legendary critic, which definitely isn't a complaint for whatever moments did make its way into the final picture is highly fascinating. The film glances at both the positive & negative aspects of Ebert in equal measure but never with a judging eye.It is amusing when discussing Beyond the Valley of the Dolls which was written by Ebert himself, is painful when showing his fight with cancer & the resulting physical disability, is emotionally moving in the most unexpected moments but the best part of Life Itself is the Ebert & Siskel segment for it ingeniously captures their often contrasting opinions, their endless disputes, their initial contempt yet tremendous respect for each other and the lifelong friendship that was born from it.One an overall scale, Life Itself is a touching, entertaining, inspiring, heartwarming & heartbreaking cinema that emits a deep sense of warmth throughout its runtime. Filmmakers filming a biopic such as this often have the tendency to get a little carried away but it's good to see James not mourning over Ebert's death and instead celebrating his life & the profound impact he had on so many lives. Brimming with passion, love & endearment from beginning to end, Life Itself is a must-watch for all. Two-thumbs way up!

I was familiar with Roger Ebert from his various review programs and prolific writing, but I knew little about his life and history before watching this film. What a story!His struggles and weaknesses and life-experiences clearly did much to shape his worldview and now, in retrospect, I can see how all those things impacted his writing and reporting on film.This film does a great job of following Mr. Ebert's journey through life and the unflinching way it captures his battle at the end, facing death, was astonishing, painful, and ultimately inspiring.Two thumbs up, indeed!

For me this movie gets a 10/10 for being about "life itself".Yes, this movie is so, so hard to watch, especially since my thoughts and feelings about Roger Ebert have changed so much over the years.When the PBS show "Sneak Previews" began I watched as much as I could. I loved the show and seemed to agree more with Roger than Gene who I thought was callous and kind of cold, although occasionally on some movies the feeling reversed and I sided with Gene and felt that Roger was a big to soft and sappy.Then sadly Gene died, and Roger was left alone with a series of other people or different shows. I can still think of the theme song to "Sneak Previews" and I really appreciated that show and learned about so many movies and things in life that I never thought of or knew existed, particularly documentaries and foreign movies.Over the years I am not sure what happened but I started to feel that to make a living Roger had to sell the movies he reviewed. He was occasionally allowed to pan one or two movies, but there were a few movies that I thought he gave a 5 to, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, that made me sick to my stomach. After seeing so many good things from this man to see him reduced to the relentless positivism that nauseates me so these days ... I just could not watch him anymore.Years went by, and now I heard that Roger was sick, and seeing him and what he had to live with in his last years just brings tears to my eyes. This is a true exploitation film, but he is right, it shows us something we do not see very often. I feel so sorry for Roger, and the compromises he made in his life, and what he ended up with.The movie is good in that it tells us about the good stuff Roger did in his life, his trials and tribulations, his triumphs and failures ... really about life itself. Roger lived a good life. I don't know I can say that I liked him or admired him, but there is a little bit of all that and some respect, but mostly thanks for the good parts of him that were transmitted through PBS, the media and the Internet to me so I could learn and grow, so how could I not be thankful and grateful and respectful of that.Here is a guy I would never have known in a million years who had a real personal, and yet non-toxic effect on my life and I am sure many others. There is a lot to be admired and respected in that, even if he was hard to work with or did write softballs reviews in his waning years.I'm sorry Roger is gone, and I feel terrible that he had to go through all of that. I know I would not want to, and probably could not afford to anyway. Thanks Rog. 10/10.