Robert Daniels

Chicago

Film Critic at Freelance

Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com

Associate Editor at RogerEbert • Contributor: The New York Times • Screen Daily • Reverse Shot •

Articles

Cannes 2025: Resurrection, Honey Don't

1 week ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

After my last dispatch's uncommon thematic synergy, I've come back with two films that on their face couldn't be any more different in style and tone. One is a far-reaching work from a Chinese filmmaker already known for his transportive, otherworldly style. The other is a deeply American filmmaker known for his biting sense of humor. Having set up this dichotomy, there are a couple of tangible threads between them.
Cannes 2025: Sentimental Value, RomerĂa, The History of Sound

2 weeks ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

If you've been following along, you'll notice that most of these capsules have been grab bags that aren't necessarily linked by their festival placement or even themes. But this one is different. Every film here not only played as part of the Main Competition. They also premiered on the same day.
Cannes 2025: Exit 8, Eleanor the Great, Fuori

2 weeks ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

It's getting late in Cannes, and I'm still waiting to write a dispatch in which I like all three movies. My predicament, however, isn't indicative of the quality of the festival this year, which is brimming with incredible auteurs and rising filmmakers. On my end, it's just the luck of the draw. Still, there is one film among these three that I found to be quite inventive. Surprisingly, it came from the midnight section.
Cannes 2025: Renoir, Sons of the Neon Night, Orwell: 2+2=5

2 weeks ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

Having time to formulate your thoughts is a luxury you're unlikely to find at a festival like Cannes. Nevertheless, this dispatch features three films I've taken time to mull over, reconsider, and chew through. Even the biggest miss among the three ("Sons of the Neon Demon") required a bit of thought before I dismissed it.
Cannes 2025: My Father's Shadow, Enzo, Dalloway

2 weeks ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

Normally, for these dispatches, we try to pair films within their respective sections. But Cannes is such a massive undertaking that it feels more apropos to jump from section to section in the same way many critics do. As such, this dispatch includes a selection from Un Certain Regard, Directors' Fortnight, and Midnight-all about losses of some kind. A thousand hopes reside in " My Father's Shadow," the crushingly personal semi-autobiographical film by director Akinola Davies set in 1993 Nigeria.
How Ken Burns' "Shadow Ball" Connects Baseball's Past to Our Uncertain Future

2 months ago | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

Rarely does it matter that Ken Burns' "Baseball," an immersive ten-part docuseries about the history of America's pastime, is built on frustrating inaccuracies, fetishizes an East Coast narrative, or runs out of steam once you get to the modern game.
‎‘Mickey 17’ review by Robert Daniels • Letterboxd

Mar 6, 2025 | letterboxd.com | Robert Daniels

★★★★½ Bong Joon ho’s “Mickey 17” is a spiritual remake of Chaplin’s “Modern Times.” So of course it slaps.
True/False 2025: The Track, Writing Hawa, Make It Look Real

Mar 2, 2025 | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

This third and final dispatch from True/False is one of those where the theme among the three chosen titles is quite explicit. These deeply personal works are all defined by the dogged, hopeful pursuit of dreams: sports, education, and aspirations-that feel especially heartening right now. Luge is a winter sport. So it's sort of odd to see it warm your heart.
True/False 2025: WTO/99, Family Album, Land With No Rider

Mar 1, 2025 | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

Yesterday was unseasonably warm at True/False. Today, with the temperature, I am reminded that it is only March and l am still in the Midwest. Even so, the documentaries are still coming hot and heavy in Columbia, Missouri, and this second dispatch offers an idea of just how diverse the stories and styles are here: a searing political archival documentary, a fond trans biography, and a vérité slice of life are just some of the available films. Some documentaries just feel like a sock to the mouth.
True/False 2025: Seeds, River of Grass, How Deep Is Your Love

Feb 28, 2025 | rogerebert.com | Robert Daniels

Here at True/False Film Festival, documentary as a form reigns supreme. Located in the Midwestern college town of Columbia, Missouri, True/False always brings an assortment of non-fiction films world premiering at the festival, joined by others hailing from Sundance other prestige doc fests. This first dispatch is a replica of that formula, covering three films guided by a curiosity with man's relationship to the nature, whether by farming, destroying or mining.