Richard Roeper Leaving "Ebert + Roeper"
07-24-08 | 07:49 AM
#51
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Ben Lyons is a suck up. He will give a few bad reviews but not to the extent that it will interfere with him getting into the good parties... 
Maybe that'll change when he gets off the E! network or wherever he is that caters to celebrity lifestyle. But I don't have my hopes up for him and it's obvious they are going with a younger person to cater to that demo. Mankiewicz I like, though. He is awesome on TCM.
Maybe that'll change when he gets off the E! network or wherever he is that caters to celebrity lifestyle. But I don't have my hopes up for him and it's obvious they are going with a younger person to cater to that demo. Mankiewicz I like, though. He is awesome on TCM.
07-24-08 | 09:34 AM
#52
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From Ty Burr, the Boston Globe movie critic:
And the new hosts of the Disney/ABC syndicated show "At the Movies" are... Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz.
Lyons and Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz and Lyons. Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue like "Siskel and Ebert" once did.
All right, now that Roger and Richard have taken their thumbs and gone home, who are these guys? Lyons (above left) is the son of TV film critic Jeffrey Lyons and did stuff for "Hip-Hop Nation" and MTV's "Your Movie Show" before installing himself as E!'s resident "movie dude" on the "Daily 10" show. He reviews movies on the show but the "Lyon's Den" website indicates why Disney wants him on "At the Movies": he's young, cute as a button, and has a propensity for interviewing Big Hollywood Stars that puts him squarely within the studio marketing machinery. Not exactly where a critic should be positioned, but look who owns the show.
Mankiewicz (above right) was a host of the left-wing radio/internet show "The Young Turks," bounced to sleazy gossip show "TMZ on TV," and continues to hold down a weekend daytime hosting spot introducing old movies on Turner Classics. Sounds a bit bipolar, no? And he's the grandson of "Citizen Kane" writer Herman Mankiewicz and the great-nephew of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz ("All About Eve," among many others).
So we have one empty infotainment zygote with a cute punim and one prematurely grizzled journeyman pundit. There are DNA bona fides on both sides, but not, interestingly from the worlds of print criticism or real movie scholarship; clearly, such things no longer matter. Yet Ebert and Siskel were (and are) dyed-in-the-wool newspapermen and film fanatics whose knowledge of cinema ran broad and deep. They could knowledgeably discuss the latest blockbuster and the boutique indie, yes, but also the miniscule labor of love, the Iranian drama, the obscure off-Hollywood oldie, the Japanese horror flick, and they knew why such things mattered. "At the Movies" popularized thinking about movies, but it also broached the notion of thinking about -- and enjoying -- different kinds of movies, and that, I fear, is what will get lost as Disney's hip young film dudes take the show in the direction of hyping whatever's in the marketplace this week.
But I could be wrong. Prove it to me, guys.
Originally Posted by At the Movies with... who?
And the new hosts of the Disney/ABC syndicated show "At the Movies" are... Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz.
Lyons and Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz and Lyons. Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue like "Siskel and Ebert" once did.
All right, now that Roger and Richard have taken their thumbs and gone home, who are these guys? Lyons (above left) is the son of TV film critic Jeffrey Lyons and did stuff for "Hip-Hop Nation" and MTV's "Your Movie Show" before installing himself as E!'s resident "movie dude" on the "Daily 10" show. He reviews movies on the show but the "Lyon's Den" website indicates why Disney wants him on "At the Movies": he's young, cute as a button, and has a propensity for interviewing Big Hollywood Stars that puts him squarely within the studio marketing machinery. Not exactly where a critic should be positioned, but look who owns the show.
Mankiewicz (above right) was a host of the left-wing radio/internet show "The Young Turks," bounced to sleazy gossip show "TMZ on TV," and continues to hold down a weekend daytime hosting spot introducing old movies on Turner Classics. Sounds a bit bipolar, no? And he's the grandson of "Citizen Kane" writer Herman Mankiewicz and the great-nephew of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz ("All About Eve," among many others).
So we have one empty infotainment zygote with a cute punim and one prematurely grizzled journeyman pundit. There are DNA bona fides on both sides, but not, interestingly from the worlds of print criticism or real movie scholarship; clearly, such things no longer matter. Yet Ebert and Siskel were (and are) dyed-in-the-wool newspapermen and film fanatics whose knowledge of cinema ran broad and deep. They could knowledgeably discuss the latest blockbuster and the boutique indie, yes, but also the miniscule labor of love, the Iranian drama, the obscure off-Hollywood oldie, the Japanese horror flick, and they knew why such things mattered. "At the Movies" popularized thinking about movies, but it also broached the notion of thinking about -- and enjoying -- different kinds of movies, and that, I fear, is what will get lost as Disney's hip young film dudes take the show in the direction of hyping whatever's in the marketplace this week.
But I could be wrong. Prove it to me, guys.
07-24-08 | 05:53 PM
#53
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Here is a heartfelt but sad commentary from Roger Ebert on the whole show:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008...is-closed.html
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008...is-closed.html
07-24-08 | 06:08 PM
#54
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From: Bellefontaine, Ohio
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07-25-08 | 02:00 AM
#56
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I read what Roger posted today. It's sad to think that this is the end of what Siskel and Ebert started. But it could be good to have a fresh start. I hope someone picks up the new show and lets Roger and Richard do what they want to do with it. I hope that they don't hold Roger's heath against him. I get the feeling still that there is more to this story. I know that Roeper has said that there is. I give the new At The Movies one season and it's done for. the people I've talked to won't watch it at if they are going to turn it into another ET type show. It's going to be funny the first time that Lyons shoots down an art house film for a more mainstream film like I am Legend. I will be watching whatever new show Ebert and Roeper come up with.
07-26-08 | 10:01 PM
#57
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I'll be taping tonight's episode at 1:30am (wondering if Roeper will address the show's situation).
I would love to see Roger make an appearance on the last show the weekend of August 16/17. Even if he hasn't the ability to speak it'd be great to see him hold up a "The Balcony Is Closed" sign and give us one last thumbs up on His At The Movies show before it is ruined by the 2 Bens. If he doesn't make an appearance I would hope he would write something to be read by Roeper on the series finale.
I would love to see Roger make an appearance on the last show the weekend of August 16/17. Even if he hasn't the ability to speak it'd be great to see him hold up a "The Balcony Is Closed" sign and give us one last thumbs up on His At The Movies show before it is ruined by the 2 Bens. If he doesn't make an appearance I would hope he would write something to be read by Roeper on the series finale.
08-17-08 | 03:58 PM
#58
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I would love to see Roger make an appearance on the last show the weekend of August 16/17. Even if he hasn't the ability to speak it'd be great to see him hold up a "The Balcony Is Closed" sign and give us one last thumbs up on His At The Movies show before it is ruined by the 2 Bens. If he doesn't make an appearance I would hope he would write something to be read by Roeper on the series finale.
08-17-08 | 04:06 PM
#59
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08-17-08 | 04:21 PM
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From: "Are any of us really anywhere?"
08-17-08 | 08:49 PM
#61
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Taped it (comes on here at 1:30am) and watched it. Taped over it already. Very disappointed that there wasn't some mention of the end of an era.
09-06-08 | 01:47 PM
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From: "Are any of us really anywhere?"
anyone know when the new show is supposed to air? i had it in my Directv listing that the season premiere was supposed to be today with new movies and all, but the 2:30pm show was a repeat.
what gives?
what gives?
09-07-08 | 02:02 PM
#64
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The new show played this weekend. Call up your local affliate and ask them what the deal is.
09-07-08 | 04:04 PM
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And yes, the new show is dreadful. For now, I've switched to Reel Talk. It's not great either, but at least it "feels" like a review show, rather than a cheap tabloid TV product.
09-08-08 | 12:54 AM
#68
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Only watched occasionally after Siskel, was never again as good
09-08-08 | 11:59 AM
#71
Richard Roeper is supposed to have his new show (rumor has it that he's involved with Ebert again, but who knows), and THAT's the show I'm sticking with, should it happen.
The new show with Jeffrey Lyons' son is HORRIBLE. Gene Siskel would rape those two new clowns and eat their remains for breakfast.
The new show with Jeffrey Lyons' son is HORRIBLE. Gene Siskel would rape those two new clowns and eat their remains for breakfast.
09-08-08 | 02:54 PM
#72
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I tried watching the new show and turned it off after 5 minutes. Ben Manhoweveryouspellit was better than expected, but Ben Lyons grated my every nerve and was the reason why I shut it off.
09-08-08 | 04:04 PM
#73
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I watched it with some dread and ended up finding it not as horrendous as I expected. Sure, the Lyons kid is a bit of a smarmy tool who has profited from nepotism, but he isn't as bad as most of those grinning, robotic imbeciles on the nightly entertainment tabloid shows. To me, Mankiewicz isn't much better as a critic or authoritative onscreen presence, and the extra panel of critics is useless, not necessarily through any fault of theirs but because they are given so little time to speak.
The reviews are about as insightful as blurbs, but they were never all that in-depth even in Siskel & Ebert's time. To its credit, at least the show has stuck to the review format and not gone to an interview and paparazzi theme as I had feared.
Sure, the show is a step down from its traditional quality, but I'll continue watching for the time being simply because there are so few other programs of its kind.
The reviews are about as insightful as blurbs, but they were never all that in-depth even in Siskel & Ebert's time. To its credit, at least the show has stuck to the review format and not gone to an interview and paparazzi theme as I had feared.
Sure, the show is a step down from its traditional quality, but I'll continue watching for the time being simply because there are so few other programs of its kind.
09-11-08 | 06:39 PM
#74
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09-11-08 | 06:59 PM
#75
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