Who Enjoys Killing Time?

Just when you thought the Internet had run out of ways to distract you from accomplishing anything important in life, it gives us this. It's a new feature on the "Ebert and Roeper" website that allows you to watch all the reviews done on the program (including, of course, it's previous incarnation as "Siskel and Ebert") over the last 20 years. I've found it to be a seemingly endless treasure of joy.

For all the channels that now exist I've always loved this program because it's essentially bullshit-free movie talk. It doesn't delve into the stars' personal lives, it doesn't focus on the box office totals, it's just a couple of guys weighing in on the week's releases. I've had a real blast watching a lot of the "vintage" reviews. When I see Gene Siskel praise HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN I'm reminded of just why I miss him so. It's also quite a hoot to watch Ebert give thumbs down to the original DIE HARD and then watch as he not only gives thumbs up to DIE HARD 2 and WITH A VENGEANCE, but also ups his digit for both UNDER SIEGE films and SUDDEN DEATH.

Hopefully Ebert will make a miracle recovery from his current health problems and rejoin the program. I'm not a Roeper-hater as much as most movie geeks (So he didn't like FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, get over it dorks) but it's just not the same without Ebert around. The fill-in hosts have ranged from decent to stunningly awful. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the appearance of John "Cougar" Mellencamp as a guest host. I doubt he's ever seen a film he disliked.

Oh, and before you try searching the website for the show's review of PHAT BEACH I'll save you some time and advise you not to bother. I guess it was never screened for critics.