Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert died at age 70 in Chicago on Thursday, just one day after posting an update about his health scare and career plans online.

The Chicago Sun-Times, the publication for which Ebert wrote his movie reviews, posted news of his death and a detailed obituary. Ebert had been battling thyroid and salivary gland cancers in recent years and, in 2006, lost some of his jaw and consequently his speaking abilities. He penned one more piece — titled “My Leave of Presence” — on April 3.

This is sad news. This week’s theme seems to be about death for me…

Joe Darnell is joined by Clark Douglas to discuss Pixar announcing production of ‘Finding Dory’, the much-anticipated sequel of ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003) scheduled for release in 2015. How has Pixar weathered major changes since they were acquired by Disney? How has Disney’s animated films been influenced by Pixar’s reputation? Clark analyzes from the audiences standpoint what movie flops like ‘Brave’ represent for the studios, and animated films at large. What might we expect to see in ‘Monster’s University’, Disney’s ‘Planes’ and beyond?

I don’t think I need to remind you that I am greatly looking forward to this film. And apparently the studio is making a big deal out of this film as well because, wow, I can’t remember the last time I have seen so much promotional material coming out for a film. That can either man this film is really good or really bad and the studio is trying to compensate for it. I choose to believe the former.

The director also directed TRON: Legacy so that gives me great hope for the film because I really liked Legacy.

I’m not going to spoil it for you, but I think I have a good portion of the…

WooHoo! We will see the first trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in just ten days and I’m thrilled to hear that. I enjoyed the first film very much — I rated it 4 of 5 stars in my review. And I enjoyed the book series for the most part and am actually hoping the film series can improve upon some of the weaknesses of the books that crept in (mostly in the last book). Either way, it should be a good ride and I’m looking forward to it.

And below is the teaser trailer announcement teaser. I know Joe hates these, but I find them fun and engaging and a great way to generate buzz so I’m…

Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I’m taking what I like to call “a leave of presence.”

What in the world is a leave of presence? It means I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers handpicked and greatly admired by me. What’s more, I’ll be able at…

Love her or hate her, Ellen DeGeneres is Dory from Finding Nemo. The character just wouldn’t be the same without her. And apparently Ellen has been pushing for a sequel for years. I don’t follow Ellen at all so I didn’t know it, but the video she put together below is pretty funny in showing that.

I just have a couple things to say about all this.

Firstly, I’m starting to worry about Pixar cranking out all these sequels. Well I have mixed feelings on it actually because they’ve cranked out some really good sequels — Toy Story 3 for instance may be one of their best films. At the same…

If you are looking for the missing link between Buffy and Twilight, this looks like it might be your thing. I don’t know anything about this series other than what I have seen in the trailers. It could be fun, or it could go horribly wrong.

But one thing is sure, there is no lack of films centered on the paranormal lately.

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After…

Tim Burton is going to direct Big Eyes, starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams.

Waltz, who’s coming off another Oscar turn in Django Unchained, and Adams, nominated for The Master, will play Margaret and Walter Keane, whose paintings of large eyed children became one of the first mass marketed art sensations in the 50s and 60s. Those prints sold in gas stations and every five and dime store across the country. While Walter was the marketing genius, he also took the bows for doing the brush work. He was a full fledged celebrity, a regular on the TV talk show circuit. His shy wife was the…

If you aren’t in the loop, here is where you can catch up on all the upcoming Marvel movies. “Phase Two” as the studio is calling it, continues the adventures of the quintessential Avengers and introduces new super-heroes to cinemas, like Ant-man, and this suspicious-looking, gun-carrying raccoon. If my guess is right, the animal is a character in Guardians of the Galaxy, and I haven’t the faintest idea what that story is about besides what it implies.

Ant-Man comes to theaters November 6th, 2015. The film is directed by Edgar Wright.

Iron Man 3 comes to theaters May 3rd, 2013 and…