If someone decides to make a list of the most influential film reviewers, there’s no way that Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wouldn’t be near the top.  When I was growing up, he and Gene Siskel were the only reviewers that I knew of who’s reviews actually could be called entertaining in and of themselves.

But Roger Ebert is special because of his lack of pretense.  When he reviewed a film he didn’t feel the need to add a lot of big words when shorter, pithier ones would serve just as well.  Then there was his love of genre film.  Before him, too many reviewers would hate a film just because it was a horror film, or a superhero film.  Roger Ebert tended to see films primarily based upon a simple criteria:  Was it entertaining?  Did it make sense from a narrative perspective?  Was it well-acted?  How well was it written?

If a film met those benchmarks, it didn’t matter how gory or unusual it was, he tended to give it good reviews.

I have never met Roger Ebert, but watching his review for years when I was younger makes me at least think that, if I had, that we would have got along really well.

So Happy Birthday, Roger Ebert, and may you have many more!