Time is what the depressed and panicked lack. Roger Ebert More Quotes by Roger Ebert More Quotes From Roger Ebert Beguiled by George S. Bush's easy smile and casual indifference to the details, we are on the brink of electing him to office. This isn't choosing a president, it's casting the lead in a sitcom about the presidency. Roger Ebert politics office president I value the kind of prayer when you stand at the edge of the sea, or beneath a tree, or smell a flower, or love someone, or do a good thing. Those prayers validate existence and snatch it away from meaningless routine. Roger Ebert smell flower prayer I was instructed long ago by a wise editor, "If you understand something you can explain it so that almost anyone can understand it. If you don't, you won't be able to understand your own explanation." That is why 90% of academic film theory is bullshit. Jargon is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Roger Ebert long-ago editors wise It's the worst kind of bad film: the kind that gets you all worked up and then lets you down, instead of just being lousy from the first shot. Roger Ebert just-being kind firsts It's like the high school production of something you saw at Steppenwolf, with the most gifted students in drama class playing the John Malkovich and Joan Allen roles. Roger Ebert class drama school The buried code of many American films has become: If I kill you, I have won and you have lost. The instinctive ethical code of traditional Hollywood, the code by which characters like James Stewart, John Wayne and Henry Fonda lived, has been lost. Roger Ebert hollywood film character Sarah Palin lacked the preparation or temperament to be one heartbeat away from the presidency, but what she possessed in abundance was the ability to inflame political passions and energize the John McCain campaign with star quality. Roger Ebert passion political stars Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' is a magnificent science-fiction film, all the more intriguing because it raises questions about the origin of human life and doesn't have the answers. Roger Ebert raises-questions answers fiction It's not often a thriller keeps me wound up as well as 'Headhunters' did. I knew I was being manipulated and didn't care. It was a pleasure to see how well it was being done. Roger Ebert pleasure care done It's funny that there was so much disturbance about having a Catholic in the White House with Kennedy, and when we finally get a religion in the White House that's causing a lot of conflicts, and concerns, and disturbances for a lot of people, it's in the Bush Administration. Roger Ebert white house people I've never found kicks to the groin particularly funny, although recent work in the genre of the buddy movie suggests audience research must prove me wrong. Roger Ebert genre research found Well, you know what, I'm 60 years old, and I've been interested in politics since I was on my daddy's knee. During the 1948 election, we were praying for Truman. I know a lot about politics. Roger Ebert knees daddy years What a terrible thing it would be to be the Pope! What unthinkable responsibilities to fall on your shoulders at an advanced age! No privacy. No seclusion. No sin. Roger Ebert responsibility age fall When we're discussing who to invite to a dinner party, my wife Chaz and I sometimes use the shorthand, 'good value for money,' which indicates guests expected to be entertaining. Roger Ebert wife party use I know aliens from other worlds are required to arrive in New Mexico, but why stay there? Roger Ebert mexico other-worlds aliens No matter what they're charging to get in, it's worth more to get out. Roger Ebert bad-movies charging matter Nicholas Sparks recently went on record as saying he is a greater novelist than Cormac McCarthy. This is true in the same sense that I am a better novelist than William Shakespeare. Roger Ebert sparks records novelists Low self esteem involves imagining the worst that other people can think about you. Roger Ebert self-esteem people thinking What in the world is a leave of presence? It means I am not going away. Roger Ebert going-away mean world Mad Dog Time is the first movie I have seen that does not improve on the sight of a blank screen viewed for the same length of time. Oh, I've seen bad movies before. But they usually made me care about how bad they were. Watching Mad Dog Time is like waiting for the bus in a city where you're not sure they have a bus line. Roger Ebert cities dog sight
