Living Deadpan

I like to go to www.atthemoviestv.com to watch old Siskel & Ebert reviews. Upon my visit tonight, I'm pleased to see that Ben Lyons & Joseph Mankiewicz(sp?) are being replaced, by A.O. Scott & Michael Phillips. Any thoughts? (Anyone care?) I haven't any opinion on A.O. Scott but I thought Phillips did a good job when he filled in for Ebert in 2008 (and I tended to find him much more agreeable than Roeper: case in point, their review of The Happening http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/bue...bsec=Happening

Anyway, their new intro video is up on the site.

jfoobar

A little late on this. This was announced a month or so ago. I think there are two threads about it; one here and one in TV Talk.

JumpCutz

AICN interviews the duo...

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/42255

Goldberg74

I'll give these guys a serious shot.

The Bens were just a ploy to make it hip. Epic Fail!

jfoobar

Just got done watching Phillips and Scott in their first episode. I posted my reaction over in the TV Talk thread:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/536...nounced-4.html

ken_572002

You couldn't be more wrong...the Bens were the best thing on TV reviewing films. VERY sorry to see them being replaced.

jfoobar

You appear to be a part of a very, very small group who has anything positive to say about Ben Lyons on that television show. He was a pompous weenie, a very poor critic and, personally, I am very happy to see him go.

Mankiewicz wasn't too bad. Paired with someone like Phillips he might have kept his job.

JumpCutz

jfoobar

He may not actually be wrong. What other choices were there? That Rotten Tomatoes show is painfully bad.

Of course, "best on TV" != "good."

JumpCutz

You have a point. There definitely is a dearth of these type of shows.
I actually only had an aversion to Lyons on ATM.

Looking forward to the new hosts.

hapgilmore

It doesn't matter who hosts this show, NOBODY can ever replace the awesomeness that was Gene Siskel.

Seriously, Siskel was not afraid to argue and rip up Ebert. And vice versa. He was the ultimate heel film critic, and damn it, thats what we need. Roeper was a terrible replacement. Why? Because he never had the balls to insult and disrespect Ebert's opinion. Thats what made Siskel and Ebert great. They were ruthless towards each other. These new critics are too damn nice, and because of this, its very lame. The Ben's sucked for this same reason.

calhoun07

What is this TV you speak of?

Good point. I wonder who's fault it is more...the critics themselves or the producers telling them to play nice?

jfoobar

OK, just got done watching the second episode featuring Scott and Phillips in the immortal theater seats and I have to say that my initial reservations over the new casting, in particular with Scott, is starting to wane rapidly. It was a good show.

I was concerned that Scott was a better writer than a television personality, and I still feel that way, but he is doing a good job in front of the camera. I was also concerned that this tastes (and the manner in which he defends them), if his newspaper columns are a fair indication, are just a tad on the snooty side for the intended audience. I am not seeing any indication of that on the show at all thus far.

Those seeking the clash of personalities between the co-hosts, as with the old Siskel and Ebert days, will continue to be disappointed. Phillips and Scott have been very genuinely friendly to one another so far, or are putting on a very convincing act. More conflict will undoubtedly come as these two men grow into their new roles, but what they are giving off so far is working, at least for me.

Kind of a ballsy statement at the end of the show from Scott. When Phillips chose David Mamet's Homicide (1991) as his DVD pick, Scott described Mamet as "one of the most egregiously overrated figures in American literature and culture" and credited him with writing only 2 1/2 good plays and directing only 2 1/2 good movies. I am not entirely sure which 2 1/2 he was referring to (and perhaps he has previously published that list elsewhere) but it sounds like fodder for a good debate.

As it happens I agree with his general assessment of Mamet's directorial work. I am still upset about the two hours of my life I lost watching that ridiculous piece of crap Redbelt.

Patman

I was flabberghasted when both of these guys gave New Moon a "See It". I mean, OMG, WTF?!?!

Daytripper

Yeah, I thought the same thing. It was kind of weird when they said they got into it once they slipped into teenage girl mode. Or something like that. Ick!

Patman

And then both gave "The Blind Side" a "Skip it". Really, not even a "rent it"? W...T...F....!!!

Daytripper

It was a strange episode. Right down to A.O. naming a European television mini-series as one of the best movies of the decade (!?)

Supermallet

I'm surprised people still watch these type of shows anymore. With Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic allowing you a wealth of opinions, complete with aggregate score, the need to see two individuals talk generically about movies seems rather archaic.

OldBoy

i still love watching this show and the new two aren't bad. i always think Phillips is going to spit food out his mouth when he talks though.

Perkinsun Dzees

Looks like it's "The End" for At The Movies.

Thumbs down to Disney.

Long-running review show 'At the Movies' canceled

The balcony is closed.

This is the last season of "At the Movies," the long-running syndicated review show made into a hit in the 1980s by dueling Chicago critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

The show's roots go back to 1975's "Sneak Previews."

Here's a statement from distributor Disney-ABC Domestic TV:
After 24 seasons with us in national syndication, the highly regarded movie review show "At the Movies" (formerly known as "Siskel & Ebert" and "Ebert & Roeper") will air its last original broadcast the weekend of August 14, 2010.
This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program's rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable. We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of the program's current co-hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips and top-notch production staff, and it is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend very special thanks to the two brilliant, visionary and incomparable critics that started it all, Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel.

Online reviews and aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have made finding knowledgeable opinions movies easier than ever for fans, yet have also evolved the consumption of criticism in such a way that made the half-hour review show seem dated. "At the Movies" also never again found a critic pairing with the chemistry that matched the breakout pairing of Siskel and Ebert.

Tweeted Ebert: "RIP At the Movies."

Franchot

Too bad. I thought the new hosts were doing a good job and I regularly watched the show...that is until the local station switched their time from 6:30 on Sunday to 4:00 on Saturday.

(Yeah, I know I could have recorded it, but...)

dx23

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/571...anceled-2.html

riley_dude

I started watching again with these hosts. I liked them.

jfoobar

That's a frigging shame. The new hosts were very good.

TGM

I just saw this on the Reel channel, and they were reviewing Iron Man 2. Is this show cancelled or not?