The announcement that Roger Ebert is reviving At The Movies comes as welcome news to anyone who likes the idea of media criticism on TV. Ebert, working with his co-producer and wife Chaz Ebert, has created what looks like a promising format. The main critics moving their thumbs up and down will be NPR movie critic and master of the slicing sound-bite Elvis Mitchell and The Associated Press’ film critic Christy Lamire.
Ebert, who lost his lower jaw to cancer, will weigh in with reviews and recommendations as well. He’ll do it through a combination of his own vivid writing, his expressive enthusiasm, and technology. You can see how this will be accomplished in this clip, about four minutes in:
The other very smart addition to Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies is the presence of Kim Morgan, whose blog Sunset Gun is a constantly entertaining, surprising, and enlightening look at older movies. She’s exceptionally strong on the subjects of film noir, auteur directors, and what she prefers to call “women’s pictures.” For Roger Ebert At The Movies, her assessments will have you filling up your DVR or Netflix queue with solid recommendations. (Full disclosure: Morgan wrote some DVD reviews for EW when I was the DVD editor here.)
All in all, the new show, premiering January 2011, looks promising, don’t you think?
For more: Roger Ebert will revive At The Movies
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roger ebert is amazing!
Meh!
Meh??? Seriously? What an odd person you must be around your house.
I’ll miss Michael Phillips and AO Scott quite a bit, but I’m willing to give this a chance.
I agree. I feel that Phillips and Scott weren’t really given a chance after the whole Ben debacle. But if Roger Ebert is involved I’ll definitely be tuning in every week. Most times I find his reviews better written and more entertaining than the actual film.
I’m not sure why they need new hosts. It took them a few tries to finally get a good team. I’m with you, I miss them and I’d prefer to see them come back.
Totally agree- both of them reliably provided insightful analysis in their reviews and they shared a very fun chemistry. Still, it’s good to see the format being revived and I’m very glad that this new show is bringing back the badly-missed balcony as a set piece
I liked Scott and Phillips a lot. The only problem I had with their format was that they introduced so many gimmicks like the “over/under”. They generally didn’t pay enough attention to indies or limited release movies. One of the main reasons to watch Siskel and Ebert was to hear about a small gem of film-making.
I agree. I miss AO Scott and Michael Philips. And I liked their “Rent It” category. That said, I will give this new incarnation a shot.
Yes! Why not give Phillips and Scott a chance. They were quite good.
I like this update. I like it even more knowing it will be on PBS. I think this type of show will fit in better without commercial breaks. Can’t wait to see a full episode.
Huh, what happened to Roeper?
He’s on STARZ! now or something, either way he still has his own website were you can read his reviews and a youtube channels where he posts them.
He quit a few years after Ebert left. He said it wasn’t the same without him. He does reviews on Starz. Check out richardroeper.com
I’ll watch this show but I prefer Tony Scott and Michael Phillips.
Same here — I thought those two had decent chemistry and were fun to watch.
Okay, I know this is a bit shallow but when I heard the computerized voice I thought, he’s like the Stephen Hawking of movie reviews!
Yeah, it sounds less like his voice than I was expecting. He was such an energetic speaker, with a lot of modulation in tone and pitch, and the computerized voice doesn’t capture that very well.
They should bring back Siskel for a special episode. His career really took a nose-dive when he left “At The Movies”. And I’m very glad they didn’t give Owen “everything’s a B no matter what my review said” Gleiberman a spot on the show.
I hope you’re kidding.
At The Movies with Ebert and Siskel’s Ghost!
Who is going to perform the ritual to raise Gene Siskel from the dead? Perhaps this is a job for Harry Potter…
I miss this person, I miss that person; blah, blah, blah! Roger Ebert was the original on this show and all the others were just wannabe’s It was roger ebert and gene siskel that made the show great! If you tuned into it after they were there, you missed the boat!
Yes Skel and Ebert together were the best. But Ebert and Roeper were pretty good too and the most recent pairing of AO Scott and Michael Phillips was fine. It was the Bens that killed this show. And here in NYC it was often hard to find the show as it was always being bumped or joined in progress because of baseball or some other sporting event.
Nice to see him back. I wish he was bringing Aroma the Wonder Skunk (am I the only one to remember?) with him.
Wow, I’m very enthused over the reviving of a great review program. Richard Roeper always represents his opinion honestly and valiantly. I enjoy his movie reviews and like him I am a fan of originality. I.E. INCEPTION
Never understood the need for TV programs with movie critics, even less so for the existence of movie critics.
Aren’t people capable of making their own opinions?
Or these shows are for the chit-chat value?
Mitchell is terrible in front of the camera. I just don’t understand the choice. Lamire might grow on me but Elvis should leave the building!
People are capable of forming their own opinions, but often don’t. Movie critics are there to present their own educated opinions about the films. As often stated on this site, those who don’t want to read the reviews should avoid them.
Got it! Thanks a lot again for hlenpig me out!
Aisha Tyler and Roeper were my favorite pairing after Siskel left. I assumed she was a film critic at a newspaper or on local TV news–smart, charming, great take on the movies. Scott and Phillips were also very good.
I’ll watch it.
Same here. This is fantastic news.
I gotta say, the vibe seems cool. I miss Ebert on TV and glad he’s brave enough to return. His reviews are always the ones I’ve responded to the most over the years. At the Movies lost its mojo for me when the 2 Bens took over and I really enjoyed seeing the Phillips and Scott version – but it had lost too much steam by then I guess. This seems like a strong revival effort. I’ll definitely have it on my TiVo.