Dear Mr. Ebert,
I'd like to start off by wishing you a very wonderful and happy 68th birthday today. It really is amazing that you have been writing reviews for the Chicago Sun Times since 1967 - that's 44 years of reviewing film.
So yes, being one of the longest running and most famous film critics in the world is a true accomplishment, and it is no secret that people trust and respect your opinion more than any other critic today.
But the truth is, it's more than your consistency and skill in reviewing that has made you arguably the most important film critic today. It's the fact that you, along with others, such as the amazing Pauline Kael (I must give credit where credit is due), finally gave a VOICE to criticism. I took a film class first semester in which we read a bunch of reviews for Katharine Hepburn films, from both the time of release and more modern times. The truth is, reviews that came before seemed to have no spirit, no spark that reflects whether the critic had a passion for the film or not. It was either great, good, average or bad.
And then I read your review for Guess Who's Coming for Dinner, which you wrote in your second year of reviewing for the Sun Times, and I was immediately engrossed.
