The Ebert Great Movies Project

As a kid, Roger Ebert didn’t particularly resonate with me. With only a minimal interest in movies, Ebert was little more than the heavyset component of the tandem that used its thumbs to grade new cinematic releases. For a long stretch of my life, I only had two vivid memories of him. One was the cameo appearance he and Gene Siskel made on an episode of the short-lived animated series, The Critic. The other was finding his 1986 movie yearbook on one of my mom’s bookshelf. It was through that book that I learned of this apparently deplorable revenge film I Spit on Your Grave.

When my interest in film swelled in my latter high school years, Ebert was still something of an enigma to me. Even into my early college years, I didn’t recognize him as much more than the guy who gave the horrendous Van Helsing THREE stars.

It wasn’t until I bought Citizen Kane on DVD and listened to Ebert’s fascinating audio commentary that I started to get hip to the guy’s wealth of cinematic knowledge. Not long after, I came across the first volume of collected Great Movies reviews. After browsing several entries, I realized how powerful this knowledge was. The reviews were nearly scholarly in nature. They not only informed and provoked thought, but also made me want to drop the book and find several of the movies on DVD as quickly as I could.

For the uninitiated, Ebert’s Great Movies reviews are reserved for, wait for it, great movies. This elite collection of reviews has few criteria. It includes modern films, blockbusters, silent films, foreign films, and animated films, to name a few. As you might expect, the film in question need only be “great” in the eyes of Roger Ebert.

So what is The Ebert Great Movies Project? It’s my own stab at expounding on a number of the films Ebert has smacked with the Great Movies stamp. In the coming months, I’ll select entries from his Great Movies cannon and examine them myself, using his review of the film as a sort of secondary source.

The indefinite project has two objectives:

1) To conduct my own dissection of films from the Great Movies collection

2) To elaborate on elements of Ebert’s review that I agree or disagree with

To me, the second objective is the most enticing. Part of the joy that comes from superb cinema is the discourse that it breeds. This includes contrasting viewpoints, which can exist even when the overall opinion of the film is the same.

In the interim, get yourself acquainted with the wealth of information available in Ebert’s Great Movies online database.

Swagger comes with Ease

It’s after midnight. Even though there’s a hip-hop album release party happening inside White’s Bar of Saginaw, I’m in a parked car outside.

SVSU student Seth Patrick is in the front seat scanning a CD of musical samples with Saginaw producer Keyante Price, the person who created the soundscapes. Patrick, a local rapper, is searching for beats that will compliment his breakneck delivery of his lyrics. Midway through the CD, he comes across a bass-heavy snippet. He’s found the one.

Even though he’s just taken a few nips of Vodka, the Midland native lays down a freestyle rap with effortless fluidity over a beat he’s hearing for the first time.

“I’m all about the bars,” he says, referring to the musical unit of measure. “I can spit for hours.”

Just an evening with Patrick, who goes by the stage handle Ill Ease, shows how he differs from his fellow local emcees.

Most of the performing acts at this release party spend the time before and after their sets wandering around the cramped bar. Patrick, meanwhile, retreats to his car several times to listen to unfinished beats and artists who inspire him, such as Aesop Rock.

At one point, he plays a series of his own beats to gauge Price’s opinion. Watching Patrick’s reaction to each piece as it progresses, it’s clear he’s structured everything so that each element serves a purpose.

If your observation skills are lacking, Patrick is readily willing to differentiate himself from the other artists at the show.

“I’m the best here,” he says. “What it boils down to is talent.”

Saginaw-based emcee Ill Ease

At a time when the production side of hip-hop has taken precedence over lyrical ability, Patrick remains focused on strong verbal content.

Notebooks of lyrics are spread across the back seat of his car. He has a CD case filled with discs featuring rappers with a similar emphasize on lyrical talent. Patrick, who describes his music as sounding like “harps dipped in honey,” has made a name for himself on the local hip-hop circuit through dedication and what he says is his “first nature” ability to rap.

Though the cavalcade of hip-hop acts at White’s Bar on this night is to celebrate the release of local rapper The Alphabetics’ latest album, Patrick is chosen to close out the show. After his set, it’s clear why.

His set, though brief, brings to life a small crowd that has given tepid reactions to the majority of the evening’s acts.

Currently unsigned, Patrick is nevertheless in the process of putting together his first full-length album. Before and after his set, he hands out CDs with a sample of what’s to come with the unfinished album.

Until then, Patrick continues to hone his craft, whether it’s at a local bar or in the front seat of his car. This includes listening to other underground acts that share a similar dedication for lyrical content.

“I’m obsessed. People will sometimes say they can’t understand what this rapper or that rapper is saying,” Patrick says, as a song blasts over the car stereo. “But I understand it all. I’m like a bee in their nectar.”

Originally published in the 11.23.09 edition of The Valley Vanguard.