Recently we didn't just lose a film critic, we lost a legend. We lost someone who inspired us. Roger Ebert, easily one of the best critics ever, died after his battle against cancer. He was 70 years old.

If you guys don't know who he is, Roger Ebert was, and still is, one of the most inspirational film critics in history. He wasn't just a critic, he was THE film critic. He is most famous for the invention of the Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating.

I am writing this letter because he is an inspiration to me. This was one of the guys who made me become what I am today: a movie critic. Every time I wrote a review, I would look at one of his to get a sense of what to talk about. I would think, “What would Ebert do?”

The main reason he was one of my ­inspirations was his passion for movies. He didn't just talk about movies or review them. Roger Ebert BREATHED movies. So, it made me feel that discussing movies was okay. It was always fun watching him because he had passion which inspired me to put passion into my reviews, whether good or bad. Because, as Ebert showed us, if you love movies, show it. Never do a ­review that doesn't have passion.
So here's to you, Roger Ebert. Roger Ebert is not only Awesometacular, but he deserves TWO THUMBS UP.