re: Roger Ebert has passed away

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Roger Ebert was one of my two favorite critics, and I read his stuff all the time. I thought he was a fantastic writer,

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He really was.

I of course grew up with him and Siskel...both of their shows...and used them as crutches..."Mom/Dad can we see this movie tonight; Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs up!"

It's hard to fathom now with the gluttony of reviews out there ala RT but back then - that was as close to authority as you were going to get because they were basically the only game in town - nothwithstanding critics no one liked (Rex Reed) or thought highly of (Gene Shalit)...but after you started to have more options, you grew older and Siskel died...I stopped paying attention.

Until last decade with Ebert's blog...where he really came into his own - sharing his knowledge and illustrating his writing. Great pieces he wrote...not just reviews...but essays on film and his experiences and the ever-evolving idea of what makes a movie great (including the subjective perspective/age/life experience of the moviegoer and how he had changed his opinion about certain movies over time) What's more, his blog opened up the rest of us to other people's love for movies through their thoughts as his blog and comment sections seemed to attract serious moviegoers and became a pretty good forum. He encouraged and counseled contributors on their own writing and film critiques.

I think for those of us growing up in the 80's - we'll always remember the thumbs up and maybe some us thought he was too easy to please some of the time...but his writing revealed he was a lot more thoughtful in rendering his take than I ever once thought. As I got older, my opinion of him changed...from a movie critic who gave the casual stamp of approval - to a lover of movies who was eager to share and often implore you to experience them as well. If he loved a film, he didn't just recommended it - he urged you to see it...through his long knowledge and snob-free writing. As long as you saw the films, that was good enough to make up your own mind...because critical cinema appreciation was for everyone.

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he will not be missed unlike ryan dunn

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no one gives a frick about ryan dunn. He wasn't even the star of a now irrelevant show/movie. Dumbass.

I see I have created madness in this thread. Cant we all just get along for Ebert's sake

"Siskel and Ebert at the Movies" was a regular routine for my wife and me so long ago... In the days before the web they were quite a valuable resource... each week they would introduce us to five or six coming films that we should pay to watch or avoid. They educated us about movies, actors, directors... new and old... were articulate, sophisticated, and yet not so high brow as someone like Rex Reed. They felt like friends.

Not to change the subject, but I'm such a sucker for obituary cartoons. As a Bugs fanatic, this one when Mel Blanc died tore me up:

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he was a film critic. i never read anything he ever wrote because i like to judge movies for myself. I don't need some critics review to tell me that a movie is good or bad. we obviously have different opinions.

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Your loss. He was a wonderful writer and his reviews were a great place to start a dialog about movies. I actually wouldn't read his reviews until after I saw the movie. It was like talking to a friend. Or, what we do here.

Critical thinking and quality writing are two things I value highly. It's why Ebert was such a hero of mine. He brought those things to me when I was a little kid, and was there for my entire life.

Not so sure about those cartoons, though I enjoyed their show. The reality is they didn't like each other much at all.

S & E outtakes.


Honestly I kind of lost interest in Ebert after Siskel died. Siskel was a better match to my tastes but it sucks that they are both gone now.

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Not so sure about those cartoons, though I enjoyed their show. The reality is they didn't like each other much at all.

S & E outtakes.

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They liked fricking with each other, and sure they couldn't stand each other sometimes, but they had more of a love/hate relationship. Roger was clearly devastated when Gene died.