Word is that Roger Ebert will be back reviewing movies full time later this month.

This is good news. I've missed the guy who has been This Weekend's movie critic since the New Era started the section back in the mid-1980s.

For the past few years, off and on, Ebert has taken a break from reviewing to recover from a series of surgeries related to the recurrence of cancer of his salivary gland.

It's been a rough road for him. He's lost his ability to speak — and will not be returning to his syndicated TV show — but he still has his voice.

I don't always agree with Ebert, who is based at the Chicago Sun Times, but nobody knows more about movies, nobody loves movies more (even when he hates them) and nobody has more faith that great, life-changing movies are being made and should be celebrated.

A series of writers have been subbing for Ebert, and some are solid critics while others seem to be visiting the land of critics, not quite sure how to do it.

And that is a problem.

See, you want to get to know a movie critic, to tell if you can trust him or not.

I have been reading just about every review Ebert ever wrote for the past 21 years. The New Era's This Weekend section subscribes to his syndicated reviews, essays and interviews.

I know this guy.

No, I've never met him, though I did get on an elevator with him in New York when I was in college. I was way too nervous to say anything, though I kept staring at him, trying to find the courage. He just kind of glared back at me.

Anyway, I do know him. I know his quirks, his loves, his biases.

I know when I'm reading one of his reviews about a movie set in Chicago he's probably going to love it more than he should.

I've come to take his criticism of chick flicks with a grain of salt. He is always a little too hard on them in my opinion.

Because I know him so well, I can read between the lines.

Besides, he's a terrific, articulate and smart writer.

So when this revolving crew of critics took over for him, I was a little lost. There's no reading between the lines with a critic you don't know very well.

You need to build up a relationship with a critic, to read him week in and week out, grumble about the bad movies he convinced you to see or happily remember the ones he convinced you would be good, even if they sounded bad.

Unfortunately, that luxury is fading away. These are tough times for movie critics.

In the past two years, 28 film critics have left their jobs in cities like Tampa, Denver and even New York, where The Village Voice, the New York Daily News and Newsday have all let their movie critics go.

David Ansen, a long-time critic for Newsweek, took a buyout at the magazine. I always trusted Ansen, even when I disagreed with him.  

Yes, newspapers and magazines will still have movie reviews, but they'll rely on stringers and wire services. You won't be looking for the bylines you know.

The Internet is part of the problem, of course. Some people believe it's democracy in action when Joe Schmoe can proclaim his opinions about everything from Steven Spielberg to Warner Herzog.

Except  that we don't know if Joe Schmoe's opinion is worth our time and energy. I'd rather read Roger Ebert any day.

So welcome back, Roger. This movie lover missed you.


Staff writer Jane Holahan can be reached at 481-6016. The Footlights column appears every other Wednesday.