Siskel & Ebert (1987) - Wall Street, Throw Momma From The Train, Broadcast News & Empire Of The Sun

[@guidosanchez5695]

And I just remembered that I saw all of these films in the theater. Good times.

[@richardr2961]

Empire of the Sun is in my top 5 Spielberg. Just a beautiful masterpiece.

[@jonnybirchyboy1560]

The argument between Siskel and Ebert about Wall Street was great

[@rmu11el]

One of the few times I agreed with Ebert over Siskel. I thought Michael Douglas and his performance in "Wallstreet" was great. Still one of my favorite movies.

[@jesperschultz2727]

I'm more suprprised, that you would agree more with Siskel than Ebert in general.

[@TheLolapuff]

He won the Oscar.

[@trrr16]

What about the Silence of the lambs?

[@ralphus44]

Throw Momma From the Train was VERY funny. I'm surprised neither Gene nor Roger agreed.

[@thekingofmovies193]

It was funny in parts. I liked it, but I don't think that there's really much to say about it or put it on the same-level as other dark comedies like Fargo and Bad Santa. But on the positive side, this showed Danny DeVito's chops as a director and not to mention Anne Ramsey's performance which was so good that it even got an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

[@ZoolGatekeeper]

I watched the third time last weekend and it IS funny and I like Danny DeVito as a director. He has that (delibarate) HItchcock style in this. And it's a dark (or damp) comedy...

[@zetetick395]

They were often a bit shaky when it comes to Dark Comedies, (and Throw Momma excels at being that) particularly Gene always preferred the sweeter humoured comedy flicks iirc - Back in the day I remember I would confuse this one with 'Stop or my Mom will shoot' (yeesh) 🥺 and 'Don't tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead' (they all came out within a year or so of each other, I think) - But Throw Momma is definitely the best of the bunch, I just love DeVito in pretty much everything he does! 👍

[@andrewcuevas1958]

Throw mama from the train is one of my favorite comedy’s of all time .. use to rent it all the time at blockbuster

[@twmax6525]

I disagree with both of them, Empire of the Sun showed the pure terror of war that a child had no choice but to find a way to survive, on a different front that’s barely ever talked about or taught too. I think it’s a significant movie and had a great acting and emotion too!

[@footofjuniper8212]

Nobody here is praising Throw Momma from the Train? It's a brilliant comedy! For a brief time in the early 90s I think, McDonald's was selling VHS tapes: Throw Momma from the Train, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Babes in Toyland (starring Keanu Reeves). We enthusiastically bought the first three because they were already favorites.

[@dr.roberts4508]

Bill Harris movie review of throw mama from the train. Harris is a hack

[@lisashapiro4714]

Terrible when pawparty lies yet does send a women into operation flood ransack ,and put the fatty on a train to get tortured. Norma knows

[@chrisfrantz2158]

Also got “dances with wolves” from McDonald’s around that time! I remember being impressed that they fit it on a single tape as opposed to two like before. This version only had the teepees on the cover and none of the actors faces

[@ilovebrandnewcarpets]

Ebert spot on with Wall Street imo

[@Paul77ozee]

I know empire was a bit cheesy. But it deserves 2 thumbs up 👍🏼.

[@hevyonez97]

Broadcast News was great...👍🏿⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@zetetick395]

Wow what a great week for movies! whatever you pick down the cinema you're getting a goodun!

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

I agree with Siskel about "Wall Street".

[@retrotero76]

They really didn’t understand Emoire of the Sun. They didn’t even know that it takes place in China.

[@guidosanchez5695]

I liked all of these films. A great week for cinema.

[@bryansarracino8623]

Man Roger schooled Gene on Wall Street!

[@danroenna9948]

How does Siskel not know enough about the reality of Vietnam in 1987?

[@doddsino]

The more I watch Siskel's 'reasons' for not liking a movie, the more I'm kind of glad he's dead.

[@noramitchell9327]

What does that have to do with these movies?

[@kyloren3693]

He was an intellect, and a scholar type. And most people who live those types of lives can control what they are exposed to over the course of their lives. I assume he was busy studying, and from his film reviews he never liked grisly violence, so I assume he never exposed himself to it.

[@Jbaxter85]

Seen Broadcast News & Wall Street & I like them 👍🌟🌟🌟

[@reneedennis2011]

Wall Street is good.

[@5andup]

I concur... 1. Broadcast News 👍👍 2. Wall Street 👍👍 3. Empire of the Sun - lacks dramatic inertia to push the story into engaging direction. Christian Bale and Allen Daviau's cinematography are the best thing in this Spielberg labour-of-love 👎

[@jr-zo9gi]

Empire of the Sun is a great film. They were both wrong.

[@FreshSpecimens]

5:28 I agree that Charlie Sheen is the weak link here. I have never been able to figure out if he was simply a terrible actor or if he was brilliantly playing a complete and utter d-bag.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

Broadcast News is one of my personal top ten films of all time. Very funny, hits you emotionally in places most films don't bother to go for, and has a message that applies beyond television. It has the snap and the pacing of quality Simpsons, too!

[@john2001plus]

I saw this episode back in 1987, so I did not go see Empire of the Sun. For 35 years I thought that it was a bad movie. I just watched it twice, once with my parents, and we think that it is wonderful. It has a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I watched Throw Mama from the Train maybe 30 years ago and I enjoyed it. It has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[@Mr.Goodkat]

Empire of the Sun is fantastic from the first frame to the last, it's brilliant on every level, you should rethink other movies you put off because of these two and give them a go because this may not be the only time you missed out on a classic.

[@patrickc3419]

They were both wrong with Throw Momma From the Train. It was hysterical.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

The movie is funny but the construction of the story is weak.

[@drumtum]

Hysterical? That i don´t know. But i always liked this movie.

[@patrickc3419]

@@drumtum The “Cousin Patty” scene?? 🤣🤣

[@terrygracy8345]

His writing class is hysterical.

[@terrygracy8345]

The opening scene with the creative writing class. The lady who writes a submarine story and doesn’t know anything about a sub???? That kills me. Or the guy writing a coffee table book about women he would like to bang!! 😂

[@alexagaba]

Pretty good line-up

[@doddsino]

"The second feature from director James L. Brooks, his first, the Oscar winner....'Yours, Add the Flavor of Cheddar Cheese'!"

[@kali3665]

Who knew that the kid from Empire of the Sun would grow up to be BATMAN!

[@Nominay]

It was a great performance, especially for a subpar film.

[@Mr.Goodkat]

@@Nominay The film is wonderful, much better than any batman film could ever hope to be.

[@Mr.Goodkat]

Hope & Glory is one of the most episodic movies I've ever seen yet Gene claims it's much better than Empire of the Sun while criticising the latter for being episodic, why does EOTS need a goal but H&G doesn't? Schindler's List was episodic and Colour purple had no direction but they loved both those movies besides EOTS did have a clear goal survive the war and get back home, that's much more than H&G did. Empire of the sun is brilliant by the way if someone reading this hasn't seen it.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

I love Empire of the Sun, it really puts a degree of surrealism into war which, for those living at the time, it indeed was. I also love to see a director stepping outside their comfort zone, and he cast some of my favourite actors against type as well with Leslie Phillips in a straight role, for a long time he had been sidelined as a broad TV comedian. That being said I think I might prefer Hope & Glory by just a shade, as it captures that time so well and indeed the episodic nature of war. I'm not a fan of Boorman's other movies, but Hope & Glory really feels true to me and an exploration of genuine memories. Odd though how Siskel completely misinterprets the Malkovich character who is very much when the adventure is stripped away is something of a shallow, self-serving, callous man. A lot of critics seemed to get Empire wrong at the time though.

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Charlie Sheen is such a good actor. Too bad the media is more focused on him being a weirdo.

[@genki2genki]

Such a good actor. He and about 3 million other guys.

[@JorgeTorres17-2]

@@genki2genki yea but excluding the black ones, they can’t smoke crack like he can

[@Hellraiser0601]

Was Siskel ever right? 🤣 He almost always got everything wrong, and Ebert always destroyed his arguments without even breaking a sweat.

[@danwroy]

More right than Ebert, alas

[@Goldenwhatever]

You can find just as many videos where Siskel is right in regards to a film that would go onto stand the test of time, so to speak, with the flip side of these comments to go along with them. They’re both right. They’re both wrong. They’re both greatly missed.

[@drumtum]

Home Alone 3?

[@JorgeTorres17-2]

He was the only critic to the give The Thing a positive review back in 82.

[@samdash4706]

Yet again, we see what a contrarian Siskel could be. He pans Michael Douglas' performance in Wall Street; Ebert praises it. And, of course, Douglas ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

[@Windupchronic]

Siskel also panned Anthony Hopkins' performance in Silence of the Lambs in his original review. I believed he accused Hopkins of hamming it up.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Roger forgot that Strangers on a Train was based on a novel.

[@gheller2261]

This should have been the rare episode where they gave 2 thumbs up to every film reviewed.

[@indiecinemaster4699]

_Empire of the Sun_ was really good, but it was way too slow...

[@johnpjones182]

I like how they disagree even when they agree!

[@martinmoore2468]

Two movies were given two thumbs up 👍. Two movies were given two thumbs down 👎.

[@doddsino]

Two men reviewed these movies. Four movies were reviewed. One reviewer was named Gene. One reviewer was named Roger. Three of these movies were about adults. One of these movies was a comedy. Zero of these movies were kid's movies. One of these reviewers wears glasses. One of these reviewers does not. One of these reviewers is bald. One of these reviewers is not. One of these reviewers is a chubster. One of these reviewers is not. One of these reviewers had brain cancer. One of these reviewers did not.

[@paulzenco6182]

Oh man, it must have been excruciating to have Siskel spat such nonsense criticism in many of these movie reviews. Michael douglas was the best thing of Wall Street. He does a lot of these self centered ridiculous criticisms to many great movies and performances Siskel, unbelievable.

[@Username55]

I feel bad for those three other movies for being overshadowed by a classic like Throw Momma From the Train.

[@Oof-DahReviews-bf4hv]

Actually, Throw Momma from the Train wasn't a bad film and I thought it was good enough for a marginal thumbs up.

[@asimler45]

Broadcast News 👍 Wall Street 👎👎👎

[@sonnyblack0870]

🤨🤔

[@danorthsidemang3834]

21:25-21:27

[@bryansarracino8623]

Dude Gene Mike won best actor

[@ct0760]

Even though Siskel is recommending wall street he has to give the speech about why it DOESN'T work, why it has flaws... He has to play the nay-sayer, the old fashioned reviewer OH MAN. I came here because of Broadcast news...

[@redadamearth]

"Empire of the Sun" was a masterpiece. Sorry, guys. You didn't get it.

[@RossComptonthe19th]

They’re currently reviewing Kubrick’s new film in the afterlife, I don’t think they care.

[@Littleneddygtw]

Douglas wasn’t good in Wall Street. Hot take Gene lol

[@toddfrank3344]

Let's see..didn't Michael Douglas win the Oscar that year? I think he did. Sorry, Gene..

[@uyeda]

Depressing Steven Spielberg film.

[@blastbeatindustries3191]

I liked it.

[@reneedennis2011]

@@blastbeatindustries3191 I liked it, too. It got Christian Bale noticed.

[@Jbaxter85]

Which movie?

[@uyeda]

@@Jbaxter85 Empire Of The Sun looks more depressing than Always in 1989.

[@jasondouglas152]

I hated Throw momma from a train so much as a kid that i cant even watch a billy crystal film to this day. So fn annoying!!!!! Hes NOT funny

[@ZoolGatekeeper]

But I have to tell you that 'Network' is WAyyy better than Broadcast News...(for comparison Network is Citizen Kane; Broadcast News is... is.. is like the Simpsons and the 'Girly Edition' (21st epiosde in the 9th season).

[@beckigreen]

Wrong. Broadcast news is better.

[@ZoolGatekeeper]

@@beckigreen Well, that is your opinon and I can assure you that 'Broadcast News' is more entertaining than 'Network'.. But I tried to say that 'Network' is more of a serious film, cause it's not about news itself.. it's about an individual seeing "the truth behind it all". For myself, that is more compelling than news as entertainment. It was an argument about the news industry itself, not HOW news are made. But for your information, I do enjoy Broadcasr News to a degree, especially the ending when the truth comes out..

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Network is tremendously overrated. One scene after another of actors chewing scenery. You get the point after the first angry monologue.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

I'm afraid I've got to rate Broadcast News over Network as well. It helps that it's a very funny film, but the messages Broadcast News delivers are more troubling and haunting, and one of those messages is that the people in this world who are slowly destroying institutions are likable people who are happy with themselves, and they cause so much damage because you don't realise what's happening - it's invisible rot, and if you're not careful you become part of that problem. I really like William Hurt 's character in the film, but he's a step down, just as the person who replaces him will be a step down. And thirty years on here we are.

[@natepeace1737]

Hey honey fix the tracking on this videotape would you? Lol

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

Throw mamma is cute but not really funny

[@marcofalzone6469]

It has memerorably comic scenes imo😀but yes as a while is kind of dark.