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I'm kind of surprised at all the adulation for Roger Ebert upon his passing. Well, not surprised by the adulation generally speaking, but more by praise for him as a brilliant critic. It seems to me he was very good at what he did, certainly prolific, and something of a pioneer in TV film criticism. Apparently he also utilized social media well. Part of the outpouring is because he was by all accounts a nice guy, a good guy. And he dealt nobly with cancer.

Personally, I thought his reviews were decent and fairly interesting, though a little heavy on recounting plot points. I asked my film critic friend Jeff what he thought. He said that he had mixed feelings about him. "I don't think he was a great writer at all," Jeff said, "but he did draw attention to a lot of films that needed support. He kind of raised things up and dumbed things down at the same time." Which is a lot more than most popular media figures can claim. Without a doubt, Roger Ebert will be missed and, regardless of my mild ambivalence, I'm glad his voice was part of our culture.