I would have never have discovered the George Washingtons, the One False Moves, the Hoop Dreams and the Blood Simples of the film world if it hadn’t been for a syndicated television show from Chicago. I am of course talking about Siskel and Ebert’s At the Movies: I don’t think I’ve enthusiastically looked forward to seeing a thumb appearance than with this show.
Thankfully they had the hindsight to not take their tapings and use them to record useless wedding videos. In this information age where online video content is king, this has become (for about 2 weeks now) a daily source of amusement and cinephile delight for folks like me. The mother-load of sparring matches between film critics Ebert, Siskel and Roeper are classic viewing material – and along with the receding hairlines and waistlines increasing in size the programmers have devised it so that when you watch a review from a film you must wait to see whether the thumbs point northwards or southwards.
I think if you are wrestling with the idea of renting a film or filling up your Netflix list – this serves as a cool guide. And if you still haven’t had the chance to check out the major face uplift over at Ebert & Roeper – then I’d like to steer you in the direction: Here is the review for my favorite film of the 1990's.
