Siskel & Ebert/Roeper/At The Movies

Note: This was the second episode with Guest Critic, Tom Shales from "The Washington Post" & "NPR’s Morning Edition". Filmed about a week before the passing of Film Critic, Gene Siskel. As a result, these films were already released two weeks ago. Roger Ebert & Guest Critic, Tom Shales reviews "8MM" (A Dark Mature Suspenseful Thriller from "Se7en" writer, Andrew Kevin Walker and Director, Joel Schumacher. Starring: Nicholas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, Catherine Keener and Peter Stormare.); "The Other Sister" (Both Ebert and Shales gave a distasteful and offensive review in which I found it totally disdained. They really missed the boat and so were other critics at the time. This was and still is a heartwarming Romantic Drama about an autistic sister of the three daughters who wants to find a new life, love, live on her own and having to deal with her overprotective parents in her rational behavior. Juliette Lewis gives her remarkable performance as "Carla" along with Giovanni Ribisi as her boyfriend. Also stars Diane Keaton, Tom Skerritt, Sarah Paxton, Poppy Montgomery and Hector Elizondo. From director, Garry Marshall.); "Just The Ticket" (Rather decent Romantic Drama with Andy Garcia and Andie MacDowell.); "200 Cigarettes" (A Retro 80s Style "New Year's Eve" Comedy set in New York City with an All-Star Cast including Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, Janeane Garofalo, Martha Plimpton, Paul Rudd, Courtney Love and Dave Chappelle. Directed By: Risa Bramon Garcia.) and "Eight Days a Week" (A Very Underrated Summer "Girl Next Door" Comedy that came out in smaller cities before it finally reach home video months later considering it was made in 1997. It was releasing by Legacy Releasing. With "Felicity's" Keri Russell in her sexy performance as "Erica" and Josh Shaver as a shy High School student, "Peter" who spends the entire Summer camping in her house before making love! Written and Directed By "Shoot Em' Up's", Michael Davis.) Video Pick of the Week: Ebert's pick is "There’s Something About Mary" (An Outrageously Hilarious Raunchy Comedy from The Farrelly Brothers! Starring: Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillion, Keith David, Markie Post and Harland Williams.) Ebert’s Movie Picks: "Office Space", "The 24 Hour Woman" and "October Sky". & Ebert's Video Picks: "What Dreams May Come", "Ronin" and "One True Thing". And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper reviews "The Pledge" (I have to agree with Roeper, I found it to be a disappointment coming from Jack Nicholson in his comeback role and writer/director, Sean Penn who both collaborated with "The Crossing Guard". A much better film than this. It was boring, shallow, insufferable, insulting and the ending was dreadful! It's all about a retired cop making a pledge to go undercover to catch a killer going after little kids! Ebert just being totally generous as usual giving a Thumbs Up and praising Jack and the tone of the film!); "The Amati Girls" (Very lame!); "Panic" (Was also reviewed with Joyce Kulhawik in 2000 when it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and wasn't release until December as limited until it was wide in January. This is the second review and both gave it a strong recommendation!) and "Snatch" (Basically a great follow-up to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and I love this heist film with a Brilliant Cast including Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro and Vinnie Jones. Written By: Matthew Vaughn and Directed By: Guy Ritchie. Yes, I agree with Roeper and not with Ebert.) "Memo to the Academy": Both Ebert & Roeper each pick some Academy Award nominations to let every member vote their choices and recognition. The list are "You Can Count on Me", "Requiem for a Dream", "Best in Show", "Pollock", "The Claim", "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", "Wonder Boys, "State and Main", "Almost Famous" and "Cast Away". And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: Fixed the audio and inserted the first tiny beginning part of "Monkeybone" review from Larry Koehn's video. The buzzing noise is still there on the commercials though and most of the audio from the show does have some hissing. Plus, a better upgrade quality! Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper reviews "3000 Miles to Graceland" (What could have been a slick, clever plot device and a fun heist action comedy in the style of "Ocean's 11", with a touch of Tarantino, Carpenter and a wild dose of Elvis turns out to be a major disappointment! And that's too bad because I love Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Christian Slater and the rest of the cast and they would have done better. Roeper at least enjoy it more than Ebert did, but mentioning "Natural Born Killers" even as a reference is still a horrible movie!); "The Caveman's Valentine" (A underrated gem with Samuel L. Jackson in his excellent role from director, Kasi Lemmons!"; "Monkeybone" (Oh boy, now this one gave me horrible memories watching it in theatres! I almost could have walked out during the scene with Chris Kattan as a dead gymnast awaking from a coma with Brendan Fraser as a Cartoonist went inside his body to stop his own body taking over from his alter-ego, Monkeybone whose voice by John Turturro in a helium obnoxious voice. While his organs, liver and kidney falls out in a hot-air balloon chase and the doctors catching it! Gross! Very sad that an animator and director, Henry Selick did this even though it wasn't his fault after his successful Stop-Motion animated features with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach". Thank goodness, he went on to do "Coraline" in 2009. And a waste of a talented cast of Rose McGowan, Giancarlo Esposito, Bridget Fonda, Bob Odenkirk, Dave Foley and Whoopi Goldberg.) and "The Widow of St. Pierre". Video Pick of the Week: Ebert & Roeper are each selecting films based on the 2001 Academy Award nominees with "Silkwood", "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "Kwaidan", "Rollerball" and "Salvador". And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper reviews "Freddy Got Fingered" (Ah yes, the infamous ground zero of horrible gross-out, dark, raunchy and edgy comedies and this one features Tom Green doing his stony, obnoxious impression all with his disgusting insane gags and stunts! Now, I do have a confession. I love the guy in the comedy, "Road Trip" and his MTV show but this film I couldn't handle any longer, makes "Monkeybone", "Tomcats" and other mean-spirited ones look like the geek show!); "The Body" (One of those forgettable religious and mysterious type of thrillers with Antonio Banderas and Olivia Williams.); "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" (While it was great to see Paul Hogan reprises his role as the original handsome heroic Aussie Crocodile Hunter (Besides Steve Irwin) from Down Under and stay at the Big Apple from the first two films that I love! This final third installment after 13 years is a major disappointment. He's now a family man, has a son and they go out to the City of Angels for the usual Action and other gags. It was lame. BTW, I heard a new 4K UHD release in Australia of the original will be censored. I feared for an American release. Thank goodness, I owned the first two on Blu-ray uncut!); "The Center of the World" and "Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale". Another Look: Roeper takes a special return on "The Claim" where it finally receives a general wide release after a limited opening in December, 2000. (Michael Winterbottom's Western Romantic Drama Based on Thomas Hardy's Novel: "The Mayor of Casterbridge" with Peter Mullen, Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, Sarah Polley and Nastassja Kinski. I just picked up the 2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray release and the film is terrific! First saw it on IFC back in 2008 and recorded it on DVD-R. And yes, it originally had the United Artists "UA PaperClip 2000" Placeholder logo before it got plastered by the 2001 "Metallic UA Swoosh II" logo that's on the Blu-ray. Luckily, the original theatrical trailer had it!) Movie Answer Man: Ebert talks about the audience analyzation of "Memento" (Christopher Nolan's Best Psychological Thriller about a psychological thriller about an insurance investigator with short term memory loss trying to figure it out a mystery. Starring: Guy Pearce, Stephen Tobolowsky, Carrie Anne-Moss and Joe Pantoliano (Both were in "The Matrix"). Note: They shot this movie in my area! Such as "The Travel Inn" in Tujunga, CA; "The Grinder" (Now "Glendale Federal Union") in Glendale and most scenes in Long Beach, Burbank and Pasadena. I have the Sony Blu-ray release of this film.) And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: What a memorable episode! Siskel changed his opinion on "Broken Arrow" (I wish he didn't), told Ebert to be wrong about "Cop & a Half" and walked out of "Black Sheep". Sorry, the video is a bit dark. Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert reviews "Broken Arrow" (A Fun Action Flick from director, John Woo. Starring: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis (Their third film collaboration after "Pump of the Volume" and "FernGully: The Last Rainforest"), Bob Gunton, Howie Long and Kurtwood Smith.); "Black Sheep" (Personally for a SNL comic duo, I find it more inferior to "Tommy Boy" but comes across as a decent time waster of a political comedy from director, Penelope Spheeris. Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole and Gary Busey.); "Beautiful Girls"; "A Midwinter's Tale" and "Antonia's Line". Video Pick of the Week: A Tribute to the Legendary Actor, Singer and Dancer, Gene Kelly. Ebert picks are "Singin' In The Rain" (One of the Greatest Musicals Ever Made!); "The Pirate" and "An American in Paris". And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: Had to improve and imported the audio from Larry's Video as Don Gorelick's ("Oakley Tapes") recording broadcast had no sound (Due to a technical fault). Plus, I've stitch a few missing parts together using his video and remove the commercials except one at the end. Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper each pick their top 10 lists on the Best Films of 2000. Ebert's List: 1. "Almost Famous" 2. "Wonder Boys" 3. "You Can Count on Me" 4. "Traffic" 5. "George Washington" 6. "The Cell" 7. "High Fidelity" 8. "Pollock" 9. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" 10. "Requiem For A Dream" Roeper's List: 1. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" 2. "Traffic" 3. "The Claim" 4. "The Contender" 5. "Wonder Boys" 6. "Finding Forrester" 7. "You Can Count On Me" 8. "Sunshine" 9. "Cast Away" 10. "Almost Famous" Now, here is my top 10 list for the Best Films of 2000. (via "Letterboxd".) 1. "Gladiator" (I don't care what Ebert thinks, it's still the best film Ridley Scott has ever directed and it was an awesome Roman Empire Action Drama with Russell Crowe in his brilliant Oscar Winning Performance as "Maximus!" Way better than the lousy unnecessary sequel with Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.) 2. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" 3. "The Patriot" 4. "Cast Away" 5. "Fantasia 2000" 6. "Almost Famous" 7. "Bring It On!" 8. "Titan A.E." 9. "American Psycho" 10. "Requiem For A Dream". Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon without Commercials except one.

Note: Using the quote from Mr. Ebert himself, "We Hated, Hated, Hated These Movies!" Well, I hate, hate, hate to say it, but this special "Worst Of..." episode was very lousy! Some of the picks on this show were actually good movies like "The Grinch", "Road Trip", "Mission: Impossible 2" and even "Little Nicky". But at least the real stinkers like "Battlefield Earth", "What Lies Beneath", "The Next Best Thing" and "Miss Congeniality" are on there and well deserved. There were other ones that should have been there like "Gossip", "The Skulls", "Dungeons & Dragons", "Supernova", "Mission to Mars", "Hangin' Up" come to mind. *sigh* Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper both each pick their top 6 worst films of 2000! Roger's List: 1. "What Lies Beneath" (Truly the most disappointing Horror thriller from director, Robert Zemeckis! The twist was a dead giveaway!) 2. "Isn't She Great" 3. "Scream 3" (Seriously, Ebert? That was the last good "Scream" sequel that should have ended! Better than the other ones that follow including the new ones with Jenna Ortega.) 4. "Battlefield Earth" (The real worst film of the year and truly a horrendous mess in John Travolta's film career!) 5. "Ready to Rumble" (I actually had fun with this comedy!) 6. "What Planet Are Your From?". (Very underrated comedy with Garry Shandling!) Roeper's List: 1. "Gone in 60 Seconds" 2. "The Next Best Thing" 3. "Mission: Impossible 2" (Roeper was full of crap! This was an awesome continuation of the "Mission: Impossible" film franchise!) 4. "The Grinch" (Now, this proves why Roeper has lousy tastes! This doesn't belong on the list nor does he cares! Still, it's the most hilarious Christmas adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book. Better than the trainwreck, "The Cat in the Hat" (2003) film adaptation!) 5. "Road Trip" (I still rather watch this comedy than Tom Green's follow-up, "Freddy Got Fingered".) 6. "Beautiful". Now, here's my top 10 Worst List of 2000 (and a better list than both of them!) (via "Letterboxd"). 1. "Battlefield Earth" 2. "Dungeons & Dragons" 3. "Supernova" 4. "Mission to Mars" 5. "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" (Yep, I recall Roeper loves this one! Such as poorly made cash-in on the original "The Blair Witch Project") 6. "Highlander: Endgame" 7. "Model Behavior" (Timberlake Alert!! His very first movie on the "Disney Channel" and it's drenchfully lame!) 8. "Whipped" 9. "The Ladies Man" 10. "Charlie's Angels" (I'm amazed both Ebert & Roeper didn't put this on the list as they called it "Eye Candy for the Blind". I hated it as well!) Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: Just the perfect time, I'm turning 40 on May 2nd of this year just like Bruce Willis' character, "Russell Duritz" in "Disney's The Kid", which will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary on July 7th. Which is my Brother, Jason's Birthday who will be 39! Also, this was the last time a temporary short-lived full intro to "Roger Ebert & The Movies" was shown. Due to an announcement of Richard Roeper becoming a new permanently co-host of the series, the following episode went back to the same graphic afterwards since the beginning of the fall 1999 season. The next season on September, 2000 would be renamed "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies". Roger Ebert & Guest Critic, Richard Roeper reviews "Disney's The Kid" (A Terrific Family Film with Bruce Willis as a 40 year-old successful image consultant who suddenly mysteriously meets his inner 8 year-old self, Rusty (Spencer Breslin). Also stars Lily Tomlin, Emily Mortimer Chi McBride and Jean Smart. From director, Jon Turteltaub.); "Blood Simple: The Director’s Cut" (A Brilliant Neo-Noir Crime Film from The Coen Brothers' Ethan and Joel Coen that made its debut in 1984 and 15 1/2 years later, finally released a director's cut! Starring: M. Emmett Walsh, Dan Hedaya, Frances McDormand and John Getz.), "But I’m a Cheerleader" (A Kitchy John Waters-esque Comedy about a Young Teenager trying to find her true identity. Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Cathy Moriarty, Richard Moll and Mink Stole; "Scary Movie" (A Hilarious Spoof of all Teen Slasher Films such as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer?" and Action Films like "The Matrix". It had since became a franchise. Starring: Marlon & Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Carmen Electra and Regina King. Directed By: Keenan Ivory Wayans.) and "Shower". Video Pick of the Week: Ebert's picks are "An Evening with Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon", "The Woman in Green", "Terror by Night" and "Dressed to Kill". And a recap of Today's program. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: This is a rerun of "Siskel & Ebert" dating back to 1989 that aired due to Gene Siskel's undergoing Surgery at the time. So both of them had to take a two-week break with two specials including "Jim Carrey, Class Clown". Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert are taking a look back at classic and modern films with a unique medium chroma texture known as Black & White instead of traditional color such as "Citizen Kane", "Psycho", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Rumble Fish", "Raging Bull" and more. Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.

Note: One of the two final episodes with legendary Chicago Sun-Times Film Critic who was hosting the show since 1975. Because of his diagnosis with Thyroid Cancer, he went back to the hospital for undergoing Surgery throughout the entire months of the year and sadly, lost his voice. Therefore, this was a rerun from the original televised broadcast (July 8, 2006) and the following episode with Roeper would be the rotating guests starting with Jay Leno on August 5th. Plus, this is essentially a clip show going back to the previous months of movie review. I have yet to find "The Worst Movies of the Year...So Far" episode and many others. BTW, the video quality has plenty of tracking flicking going on and some pixelation. Plus, I fixed the audio from going out-of-sync. On this Special Show, Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper goes back to pick on some of the Best Films of the early to mid' months of 2006. With "Cars"; 'The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"; "Game 6"; "United 93"; "A Prairie Home Companion"; "Thank You For Smoking"; "The Proposition", "Bubble" and "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story". Recorded on KATU ABC 2 in Portland, Oregon with Commercials intact.