Great film critics often take a bare-knuckle approach while reviewing what Hollywood has presented for consumption. was no different. When he didn’t like a movie, he often said it using the most interesting choice of words. He didn't care whether a lot of people liked the new release. He’d rate a movie two stars or below, or simply refuse to give it any score, if he felt it didn’t pass the quality test.

Some of Ebert’s most brutal takes came in the . By this decade, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic had been a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times for close to 30 years, hence he understood exactly what a good movie should look like. Ebert adored ‘90s hits like Pulp Fiction and Schindler’s List but hated many other popular big-screen offerings that came out in that era for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the notable films that made him bang at his keyboard while writing his reviews.

In , teen Max Dennison (Omri Katz) Now it’s up to him, his sister, his crush, and an immortal talking cat to stop the trio from stealing the souls of children to keep them young.

Hocus Pocus didn’t create much buzz when it was released, but it became a sleeper hit, partly because of the annual airings on Disney Channel and Freeform. It has since spawned a franchise. The film is visually stylish and has numerous comical moments However, Roger Ebert found nothing to smile about. Like the Salem Witch Trials judges, he was mean, describing the picture as He also felt the witches lacked personality.

The late 1990s were packed with rumors that the world would end, so came at just the right time and became one of Michael Bay’s highest-grossing movies. In the movie, They plan to plant a bomb inside it and blow it up. But it won’t be as easy as they believe.

Michael Bay’s tension-packed, provocative allegory on human fears is undeniably long at 150 minutes, but it is still fascinating to watch. The fun comes from the will-they-won’t-they narrative. And… explosions? Bay is the master of that. Despite Armageddon’s awesomeness, Roger Ebert named it the worst movie of 1998, calling it He hated how noisy it was, and the fact that it lacked a solid plot. Interestingly, his buddy Gene Siskel loved it.

starts as a sad tale about weakness and oppression, then morphs into something closer to full blown sports drama, while still examining, via the man character, how this brutal, cynical world treats the kind among us. The story is about When he joins a rival team, he discovers his talent for tackling and goes on to become a star.

A majestic, opulent sports chronicle filmed in glowing widescreen color, The Waterboy is considered a genre classic, thanks to the tour-de-force use of 360-degree crane views and sophisticatedly serpentine camerawork, with Bobby’s woes framed by silly background activity. Most people were impressed, except Ebert. he asked himself in his review, arguing that he tries to and that But this one? He just didn’t like it.

British music group, the Spice Girls, top off a lifetime of sexiness with fun, perfectly calibrated moments in . The pop stars One of their major quagmires comes in the form of an overzealous newspaper CEO eager to destroy their reputation.

Roger Ebert tore into the pop stars for their poor acting, claiming that they and that Later on, in Gene Siskel's film critique show Siskel & Ebert, he called the movieSure, the film is poorly acted and is the kind that is more suited to hardcore fans than casual fans. Besides, costume and set designers can learn a thing or two from the film.

David Fincher’s, concerns the friendship between an unnamed insomniac office worker (Edward Norton) and a soap salesman (Brad Pitt). The two decide to But things are hardly as straightforward as they might appear. The film has a psychological element that reveals itself later on.

Fight Club is loved for the fight scenes, and because of how sufficiently it explores themes like nihilism and emasculation. It has been praised by many parties, including Guy Ritchie, but not Ebert. The critic acknowledged this years later, writing that the film was In his initial review, he called it concluding that it was “a thrill ride masquerading as philosophy."

Kint (Kevin Spacey) fromis a hoodlum He says the man roped him and his four buddies into a multi-million-dollar heist that culminated in an explosion. The feds are skeptical, but a few future events will make them see things differently.

Melding kitchen-sink realism with gripping sequences that dramatize Kint's reveries, the film put actor Kevin Spacey and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie on the map. The latter won an Oscar for Best Screenplay while the former got Best Supporting Actor. The Writers Guild of America ranked The Usual Suspects as having the 35th-greatest screenplay of all time. Ebert hated the lack of straightforwardness, claiming the crime thriller was confusing

finds Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) , and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), a who is using toxins to manipulate others. Aiding the heroes is Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), a new, driven member of the Bat-family.

Roger Ebert noted that the Joel Schumacher film was but felt that it hadBatman & Robin is generally considered one of the worst superhero movies, so Ebert wasn’t off in his assessment. However, it has its glittering elements, One of them is Alicia Silverstone, whose guiltless charm and girlish mien are on glorious display.

In , the titular character (portrayed by Elijah Wood) is sad because he is constantly ignored by his busy parents. A mysterious man (Bruce Willis), who appears in his life occasionally, Unfortunately, most of the people he meets aren’t any better.

This heady drama tackles parenting questions head-on, but with a pronounced undercurrent of controversy. How ethical is it for a stranger to influence a child against their parents? Ebert famously ranted, adding that it was An abridged version of the review became the title of his 2000 bestselling book, I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, Other critics also considered North a surprise low point for director Rob Reiner, who had just come off hits like A Few Good Men and Misery.

follows the dimwitted Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley), who But a clash looms with his new stepmother, Beverly (Bo Derek), who keeps insisting on cashing out.

Rober Ebert was brutal in his assessment, writing that:"Tommy Boy is one of those movies that plays like an explosion down at the screenplay factory. You can almost picture a bewildered office boy, his face smudged with soot, wandering through the ruins and rescuing pages at random. Too bad they didn't mail them to the insurance company instead of filming them.” But don’t be discouraged. The buddy comedy, featuring a few SNL cast members, overflows with fun moments, and is now considered a cult classic.

The Beverly Hillbillies is about the Clampetts, who move to Beverly Hills after striking oil on their rural land. They struggle to adjust to their new surroundings and are also pitted against a nefarious banker who intends to swindle them. Luckily, the banker's assistant has a soft spot for the Clampetts.

This resplendently goofy, intermittently intriguing romp features some of the finest country music tunes you'll ever hear. The kind of humor used here isn’t for everyone, but it works more often than not. Ebert was one of the people who weren’t impressed, He expressed his disappointment at how director Penelope Spheeris followed up the brilliant Wayne’s World with this low-quality film. He further claimed that he “watched in mounting gloom, feeling as if stones were being piled on my chest.”