Siskel & Ebert Classics - 6/17/87 - Full Metal Jacket, Spaceballs *GREATEST EPISODE EVER?*

[@Mikeman-kt4nr]

"No, boredom! No, boredom! Boredom with Benji running!"

[@blodgettshouseofinsanity]

So great

[@l5k6]

"This is the show where you give Benji The Hunted a positive review and not to a Kubrick film". Now that was a cheap shot and a hilarous one!

[@andyfilm5785]

Yes I think if there's a "definitive" episode of S&E to show someone, it HAS to be this one for that reason!

[@anaximander66]

I thought that Ebert contraindicated himself. He was comparing other Kubrick films so Gene returned the favor by comparing "Benji." Ebert then wanted contextualization. Well he didn't want that when comparing "Benji." Lol it may still be a cheap shot though. Man I miss these two guys!

[@brianc3761]

He should be ashamed of himself. "No, I'm not."

[@hobbes4583]

But what if Kubrick had directed the Benji movie...

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

@@anaximander66 "Boredom! Boredom with Benji running!"

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

Full Metal Jacket has indeed stood the test of time😮

[@paulvoorhies8821]

I like it better than Platoon.

[@slink1964]

I'm a veteran and platoon was much more realistic

[@vigilante8374]

@@slink1964 Um, 'realism' wasn't exactly Kubrick's goal. In *any* of his movies.

[@trorisk]

I don't know why we compare the 2 films? For me they are completely different. Platoon it's Oliver Stone talking about his experience of Vietnam from a human point of view. FMJ is much more political. If we want to compare to Oliver Stone's works we have to compare FMJ to his trilogy on Vietnam with Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth.

[@gaba-goo3733]

​@paulvoorhies8821 the first 40 minutes of Full metal jacket ALMOST beat platoon, but platoon overall has the better action. FMJ gets worse and worse after the 40 minutes of training scenes...

[@playerthirteen9695]

"Look at your thumb over the weekend." 🤣

[@turkfiles]

I was born and raised in Chicago. Started reading both Ebert and Siskel’s columns in the Sun Times and Tribune. Then, started following them once their program started on WTTW PBS TV station. I have to say that I always preferred Siskel to Ebert. However, it is sad that we have lost both of them.

[@Anarchist86ed]

Yet... With voice cloning we could have them back easily.

[@nedwart]

@@Anarchist86ed That would be utterly shameful. I hope nobody with any real power ever has an idea as awful as that one.

[@Ravenscroft82]

@@Anarchist86ed they were a heck of a lot more than voices; they were heart and passion and intellect. NEVER to be recaptured, sadly.

[@vigilante8374]

@@Ravenscroft82 Heart and passion, yeah sure. But intellect? Hah. Well... Ebert, at least, (I haven't read as many Siskel reviews) was a relentlessly self-aggrandizing blowhard who would bend over backwards to justify his tremendous pretentiousness and his tiresomely cliche political opinions. He actually said that a naked dead woman in The General's Daughter would've been just fine and dandy had he been watching some artsy and pretentious independent film, but it was in very bad taste to let the unwashed masses see such a thing. I've caught several similar statements in other reviews--he has a completely different set of "quality" and "tasteful" meters that he trots out only for *real* movies made for *real* connoisseurs like himself. He gave Team America one star despite apparently finding much of it funny, in part because he ironically couldn't understand the purpose of the satire that was saying "maybe actors aren't the most important people in the universe. Maybe we shouldn't listen to their political opinions". And I am NOT exaggerating, he very explicitly said that he didn't understand the point in mocking actor activists despite most of the movie being dedicated to talking about the power and importance of acting in absurdly hyperbolic terms. The other reason why it got one is is because the filmmakers actually had the audacity to say that--while we've obviously messed up a lot in the world--not everything America did was pure evil. He gave Fight Club a bad review because blah blah fascism, he gave The Hitcher a bad review (along with Siskell, sadly) because he lives in such a candyland limosine-liberal bubble that he couldn't recognize a darker coming of age story even when it was slapping him in his pudgy face and thought that someone fighting evil was obviously tantamount to becoming evil (he also tried to claim it was because of the gore, which is ludicrous as it's probably the least gory slasher movie I've ever seen.) And he gave The Deer Hunter four stars while giving Full Metal Jacket just two stars. The Deer Hunter, FFS.... the only example of I've ever seen of a movie doing one tremendously powerful scene early on and then spending the rest of the movie undermining, debasing and parodying that scene in the stupidest possible fashion until it had no meaning any longer. (And then topping it off by having all of the characters spontaneously sing "God Bless America", just in case we somehow failed to notice that there was some slight political undertones to the whole thing.)

[@CorbCorbin]

@@vigilante8374 Meanwhile… He basically lived at the Playboy Mansion, getting laid off his celebrity, for two decades. 😆 I can’t believe Roxanne is what they seemed most excited about. Ever called it the most original story? I swear they just go dumb sometimes, as it’s the _most_ derivative; being just a modern Cyrano movie. They act like there weren’t other Cyrano movies in the 80’s. Steve Martin is the only reason that movie was bearable back then, and it still wasn’t good.

[@newenglisharchitecture1012]

The funny thing is, people ARE still talking about Full Metal Jacket 30 years later.

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

I just watched it. It was quite compelling.

[@ghostwolf1435]

Full Metal Jacket is Iconic Kubrick was an absolute master of getting such striking imagery Is it my favorite of Kubrick no but it’s still a great film

[@mirkomustapic3883]

Kubrick is like Tarantino.Master of making some memorable scenes but when they need to make whole movie great they have a lot of problems that why i dont like them.The same thing is with Coen brothers except Fargo which is masterpiece from beginning to end.

[@Mr.Goodkat]

@@mirkomustapic3883 Tarantino has made tons of films which are great the whole way through and Kubrick made some too.

[@randycunningham7318]

Yeah. Spaceballs, too. One of Mel Brooks most beloved films.

[@greghughes6098]

Ful metal Jacket is always rewatchable, can't say the same about Platoon.

[@robinfriday]

What a superbly entertaining episode they really did get stuck into each other. Can’t agree with Egbert on Full Metal Jacket, to me it’s a stone cold classic. I wish we could have had these two broadcast in the uk back then I think British audiences would have lapped it up.

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

"Do you like being called private snowball?" 😂😂😂

[@ConradSpoke]

I'm so glad you posted this! I remember this episode when it first aired. Absolutely ferocious. But they came back next week and had more civil disagreements all over again.

[@aaronmarrazzo5888]

Ebert out to lunch in this episode. Full Metal Jacket is incredible.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

Absolutely agreed. And I usually agree with him. More so than Siskel, anyway.

[@BethPaige]

He makes the mistake of comparing it to another movie instead of just critiquing it for its own merits. Just 'cause both movies are based in Vietnam War does not mean they're the same thing. I've seen both.

[@ilovebrandnewcarpets]

I know I’ll catch hell for this but the second half of full metal jacket is mediocre

[@wet-read]

​@@ilovebrandnewcarpets I feel the same. The first part, the training, is mesmerizing. Everything else seems pedestrian by contrast.

[@bobhuber8480]

Siskel is spot on with his opinion of Dr. Strangelove. I love it the most even though it has so much less going on than 2001, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon. Stanley Kubrick has shot the best performances of many an actor, even Tom Cruise.

[@DS8379]

21:24 "consider your thumb!" LOl. I believe Roger was the better critic but Siskel was a comic genius!

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

"Boredom! Boredom with Benji running!"

[@adamchrysler5847]

I love their disagreement over Full Metal Jacket - what makes 'em sooo classic!

[@kkampy4052]

The first hour or so of FMJ is epic.

[@FUGP72]

Roger was right. IT was 10 years after the original Star Wars. By then, no one was ever going to care about Star Wars ever again. Star Wars was a product of the late 70s and early 80s. It would never hold up beyond then .

[@limey7066]

Have absolutely no clue what Ebert's problem was with FMJ. As Siskel pointed out this is a different part of the war and comparing it to Platoon was nonsense. It was a brilliant movie then and still is today. How he gave it a thumbs down (as well as Spaceballs) is almost criminal!!!

[@samweisberg3673]

they don't talk at ALL about R. Lee Ermey and how the first half of the film just BLOWS the second half away. Still blows me away 25 years after watching it. I think they both went in with too much "Platoon" on the brain, which to me is a whole other universe of Vietnam films, and they laser focused on how effective the war footage is..to me the film's fatal flaw is that the first half feels disconnected from the first, which is why i can't believe they barely discuss the first half

[@knownpleasures]

Ebert clearly left the theatre with only the weak second half in his head. Their disagreement of the movie is fundamentally serious. You can bet they had arguments behind the scenes on the film 🎥

[@jonassimonsen6607]

I completely disagree about the first part blowing the second away, I really enjoy the second half too and I think it compliments the first half extremely well exactly because they feel disconnected. It highlights how the orderly fashion and preparation of the first half completely goes out of the window once you actually arive at the chaos of vietnam. These trained ''killers'' who we have spent the entire first half of the film being disciplined, now run around thinking they are badass killers when in reality nothing can compare them to the true reality of war. (as is clearly demonstrated in the sniper sequence where three soldiers die and they struggle greatly to overcome just one 12 year old girl)

[@samweisberg3673]

@@jonassimonsen6607 I will give it another try, that’s really interesting what you wrote. It’s been a long time!

[@monkeyballs512]

It is almost two films in one, and the first half is better, tho the second half is also quite well done. The basic training sequence is funny, ironic, and ultimately terrifying. It is a commentary on the loss of individualism and humanity in the armed forces. I never forgot it, and it made it clear to me from a young age that the military wasn’t the path for me

[@redadamearth]

You have to understand, this was a 20 minute show (with commercials added); they had about a minute to discuss each movie together. This isn't long-form movie critiquing that exists on KZbin today. The more "long-form" reviews then were in their full reviews in the newspaper.

[@jonathanstevens679]

Such a great nostalgic episode! Transported me back immediately!

[@indyj16]

I watched Benji The Hunted over and over again as a kid. Loved it!

[@mccallosone4903]

i remember watching this episode at my friends house, mostly because i was amazed they made another benji movie

[@Jbaxter85]

I agree, Roxanne is a charming classic comedy love story 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@SpeccyHorace]

I wish I'd have been able to grow up with these two on TV in the UK. Great entertainment and insightful views on film.

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

Full Metal Jacket is excellent. Ebert is wrong, way off (again). I am surprised by how much I agree with Siskel.

[@colonelkilling2425]

Wow! This was a great episode of S&E! They were on fire!

[@Dr.Thirteen-bb1ub]

Apparently Gene and Robert used to argue so much when the show started that it would take eight days to film a 30 minute episode.

[@matthewsmith5374]

Roger that.

[@flmlvr]

This is the perfect episode to show just how devicive Stanley Kubrick movies were during his lifetime. You should have heard the audience coming out of "2001: A Space Odyssey" where one would say "Wasn't that GREAT?" and the other say "You gotta be kidding!!! What in hell was THAT about?" I only LEANED towards Ebert when I first saw the film - That first 40 minutes with the drill sergeant was so intense that the war scenes seemed like nothing. But watching it later, I give it a slightly higher rating - because I realize now the film was telling TWO separate stories. And when you know that, you pay attention to certain things and then you, well, get it. I think Ebert in time would have felt the same. But from this review, he sure made it clear he was not a fan of this film. And for the record, Kubrick's last 3 films were basically hated upon release, but have been reevaluated since. So yes, he was ahead of his time. And damn, I miss the guy.........

[@jessegpresley]

Gene was 100% the whole episode.

[@aerojockey]

I usually end agreeing with Ebert more often than Siskel, but I've noticed that when they really get into it I tend to be on Siskel's side. (Maybe it's because Siskel seems to be more willing to credit imperfect movies for what they do?) Ebert is right that Full Metal Jacket is not Kubrick's best but he was way too dismissive, also I remember seeing Benji the Hunted and was super surprised how entertained I was (though I was a 10-year-old boy so I pretty much hated everything going in). But Gene wins this episode.

[@wet-read]

Did you know Siskel didn't like Apocalypse Now? I actually agree with him, but that movie was huge and considered excellent by many.

[@johnwibbels4678]

Full metal jacket is like two movies in one 1️⃣ If you are guy this is a movie you can watch over and over again!

[@JontyMaster]

15:43 I love how Gene tries to get his words in. "Roger-"

[@MosEisleySpacePort1138]

There are so many times I disagreed with Siskel and agreed with Ebert. This though is gorgeous. It’s ridiculous for Ebert to tell people not to see FMJ. It’s a classic and was definitely more than a simple Vietnam movie. I applaud Siskel looking out for the public here.

[@suzamanentertainment9083]

You know Gene doesn't get enough love but I tell you what, he absolutely gets a lot of movies right. They end up even each other out. So many classics Gene liked but Roger didn't including, Die Hard, Tim Burtons Batman, John Carpenters, The Thing, Starship Troopers.

[@bobthebear1246]

Gene was definitely right about _Full Metal Jacket_ and _Spaceballs._

[@kellybrincks]

Look at your thumb over the weekend. Priceless

[@redadamearth]

While the second half of the film is often criticized, even by some who love the movie, as not as sharply defined, I've grown to appreciate it.

[@stevenpyron3406]

Still cant believe Roger compares Full Metal Jacket to Platoon. The only thing those two have in common is the setting. Other than that, they are two completely different flicks.

[@jusgarrison24]

He clearly never went to Marine boot camp. My DIs talked like that all the time.

[@Rary.0]

well i mean the 'actor' if you want to call him one was an actual sergeant

[@danieljosleary]

"Spaceballs is Mel Brooks' new comedy" Good enough. Read it, save it, air it.

[@Robotron2084psn]

Gene: "No I'm not." Outstanding episode!

[@rickr8173]

Roger was right. Full Metal Jacket isn't very good

[@chadcollins6068]

This video title, unlike most videos on youtube is accurate. They are hilariously animated in every heated exchange. When two highly respected wordsmith's get into a battle of words, a verbal argument is like watching an MMA fight. Loved it! 😄

[@chadcollins6068]

By the way Ebert's criticism of 'Full Metal Jacket' is well founded. It's a decent but not great movie. However giving it a thumb's down was going too far to make his point.

[@pronkb000]

@@chadcollins6068He's definitely right about Vietnam itself--it looks bad. I don't mean bad like in a war zone, but bad as in "this is obviously a soundstage in London because Kubrick gonna Kubrick." I don't necessarily demand realistic on-location filming but for what's supposed to be a hard-hitting war picture, give me a *sense* of verisimilitude, please.

[@chadcollins6068]

@@pronkb000 Totally. I remember watching it and being confused as to the setting. It didn't look like South Asia one bit. Turns out Kubrick was being lazy and didn't want to fly anywhere.

[@JordanElliottMcClure]

Great Episode! Love it! ❤

[@todds.6028]

15:15 This sums up why I loved Roger so much more than Gene. Roger had a much larger capacity for "just relax and enjoy the movie for what it IS" (His opinion of Full Metal Jacket notwithstanding--Even he had his misses). Gene was often way more nitpicky.

[@philipcohen7192]

I really believed they were going to start fighting on this episode

[@Oof-DahReviews-bf4hv]

I agree with Gene on Full Metal Jacket (although I think Platoon was better). But agreed with Ebert on Spaceballs, just not quite enough laughs to recommend. Whole-heartedly agree with both on Roxanne. I'm indifferent on Benji, which I would never go to see. The low blows from Gene, ehh.

[@humanice2]

Great episode

[@stevenstrickland5159]

I saw F. M. J. when it hit video, and apart from having just given away my age I can say for myself that R. Lee Ermy's performance if best understood by a comparison to Ermy in "The Boys in Company C". He is a D. I. but a face to face showdown with a disgruntled recruit in Company C we get why Ermy is tough. Of course Uuu do not need to believe me check out Ermy in Company C.....

[@PaulJackson729]

I have seen Benji The Hunted as a kid, not when it cane out but much later on. I was bored. Nothing really excited me at all with that movie. Full Metal Jakcet is by far the better movie, and it's not even close. I'm with Siskel all the way.

[@ronaldshank7589]

There towards the last of this particular show, I thought that these two were gonna literally fight! Roger told Gene off so severely, that I'm surprised that Roger didn't get a black eye for his efforts! Oh, well... that's show biz!

[@jaydibernardo4320]

Best. Episode. Ever.

[@isaacmartinez6904]

I love Roger Ebert but he's in the wrong. Sure Full Metal Jacket was released after the success of Platoon. But the movie has legs and is still one of the best war movies ever made.

[@cadilacdesert]

how about the duality of man quote?

[@ac9559]

The first half of Full Metal Jacket is incredible. The last half is mediocre.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

Did they ever review the movie Hamburger Hill?

[@AquaShibby3000]

Siskel is so on point with Benji, kids deserve better movies.

[@deeboy4378]

I'm pretty sure Mel Brooks was the first one to satire Star wars in a movie. . There may have been some sketches but he was the first one to do that with a movie for sure

[@masonkelley8219]

This dude gave Full Metal Jacket AND Spaceballs thumbs down!? What the hell?

[@steveleeart]

Platoon is definitely the better Vietnam film, vets even say that - although they also say the training sequence in FMJ is excellent.

[@PeterMayer]

Ebert was WRONG about Jacket.

[@kevinrhea7332]

Siskel has better taste than ebert , I love em both and they’re both totally necessary halves of a whole BUT after seeing every review available on KZbin , probably like 500 , genes’ hold up better in general

[@monkeyballs512]

Except when it comes to horror films. Gene was absolutely dismissive of every horror film he reviewed. He didn’t like anything about the genre, even when he was reviewing legitimately good films. It was hilarious to watch him rip apart terrible movies, but he didn’t always spot the legitimately good ones

[@jenkinsljenkinssquire9137]

What's a video cassette?

[@PJVids83]

My take on these films: Full Metal Jacket - 7/10 and that's due largely to the amazing opening act set in basic training. It is masterful just as a short film all on its own. The other half of the film is a big letdown by comparison. Still, nothing to sneer at, it's all very well done on a technical level. Spaceballs - 6/10 I love the cast of oddball characters but they needed better direction. The pacing of the gags is far too slow and somehow not as fresh as you'd expect from a comic genius like Mel Brooks. Roxanne - 8.5/10 I agree wholeheartedly that this is one of the best films of 1987. Loads of wit and charm. I love it! Benji the Hunted - 6/10 I appreciate the nature photography and the thrilling sequences of Benji battling wild animals (oh and wait til you see how he outsmarts a vicious wolf!). The music is a real shame though, it's the worst kind of elevator music.

[@cosplaytimecapsule]

FMJ is about a 6/10, slightly above average. Very overrated.

[@HugoSoup57]

Cosplay Time Capsule Totally disagree, Full Metal Jacket is a near masterpiece imo. It’s probably one of Kubrick’s top 5 films, it’s one of the top war movies of all time for me

[@HugoSoup57]

I really don’t get why so many people are disappointed in the second half of Full Metal Jacket, it’s not exciting as the first half of the film, but it still has a meaningful purpose and subtext

[@aidanevans5239]

agree on full metal jacket, the basic training section would be stronger as a short film i think.

[@zxbc1]

@@HugoSoup57 FMJ is easily one of the weakest Kubrick films for many reasons. For one, it lacked discipline in conveying its message, it meanders throughout the narrative and lingers way too heavily on the exploitative stuff and skips the character development in favor of stylistic riffing (this is more pronounced in the 2nd half). In addition, the editing and pacing was entirely off. Compare it to a masterpiece like Clockwork Orange, or Eyes Wide Shut where there's not a waste shot or transition, FMJ feels more like a beginner director's work than a master auteur's. I understand that it's an entirely different genre than what Kubrick is used to do, but he still could have reigned it in much more. Kubrick made the same kind of mistakes in The Shining, and these two immensely popular films (unsurprisingly) ended up being his weakest artistically.

[@rogue13131313]

Man, Ebery got it so wrong on FMJ....iconic movie

[@centralpete6044]

That year I was 17 and saw Full Metal Jacket in the theater with my older brother who was home on leave from the Marine Corp. To my sensibilities it was great, leaving a lasting impression on me. I saw Spaceballs also with my brother but found it annoying…it made me angry to a point about how lazy it seemed to tell its story. I know many people regard Spaceballs as an all-timer but for me it would have been better if it tried to satirize the entire genre, except just riffing off (ripping off) of one movie franchise. I saw Roxanne as well, although, I wonder why and with who did I see it? I remember enjoying it and generally like Steve Martin.

[@bligamerplayer3299]

I wonder what they gave “Hamburger Hill” (1987 Movie) that came out back in August 28th, 1987???

[@hipnotyq]

Damn, Ebert was so wrong about FMJ. Ebert was wrong about Spaceballs. Siskel was the real G of this duo. Ebert just trying to be an elitist.

[@emmagrove6491]

I was taken to see Benji the Hunted as a kid and me and my siblings were never so bored in our life. There's something about Platoon that makes me have zero interest in ever seeing it, but I've seen Full Metal Jacket a dozen times at least. It makes me feel the absolute hell these guys were in.

[@monkeyballs512]

See platoon. It’s terrific and only moderately related to Full Metal Jacket, which is also wonderful. Ebert was wrong to make it seem as if they were so comparable. They really were very different films examining very different elements of the war and the military generally

[@odiousmortem9896]

Yea, you should definitely see Platoon, there’s a reason why it won best picture.

[@CJODell12]

20:29.

[@derronhall495]

FMJ good Spaceballs crap. Roxanne was fun and a good couples movie.

[@Harkness78]

I think Full Metal Jacket is one of Kubrik's weaker films, and yeah is not as good as Platoon, but it is still an amazing film and easily one of the best of 1987. Ebert is crazy to thumbs down it.

[@TheJPSouza]

That's his opinion

[@Harkness78]

@@TheJPSouza Ok, and I am saying it is a crazy, off base opinion. I hope Ebert changed his view on the film as the years went on.

[@TheJPSouza]

@@Harkness78 according to his website, as he did second reviews of some films, he haven't changed his review of Full Metal Jacket.

[@PeterMayer]

It's better than Platoon

[@zxbc1]

@@PeterMayer It's definitely better than Platoon, but it's still one of the weakest Kubrick films.

[@kevint1719]

Ironically the split the other way over another Vietnam classic, Apocalypse Now. That one Roger saw as a masterpiece but Gene gave a thumbs down.

[@nickgagnon3626]

Really have to disagree with Ebert here. Full Metal Jacket and Spaceballs are great.

[@ryanrogers7452]

Siskel wrecks Ebert every time lol

[@christopherumpton3975]

I think the issue most miss with Full Metal Jacket is that it is not just a general war movie but more of a take on the US Marine Corps, in both the training portion and the combat scenes. What do you think leathernecks? In my opinion Ebert was leading too much.

[@jusgarrison24]

I mean they literally played fmj when I went through boot camp. I think it's a pretty accurate take on the Marine Corp and from talking to buddies in the Army them too.

[@joesimon2018]

I usually agreed with Siskel far more often than Ebert. Ebert is often way off base and here he is trashing Kubrick.

[@bugsycline3798]

Man there was def something wrong with Ebert's thumb on this one.

[@lorekinyin]

Full metal jacket is not just of the best war movies ever it’s one of the best ever

[@jgg75]

Steve Martin in his prime.

[@markbraverman9622]

He's wrong about full metal jacket and spaceballs

[@michaelmagic988]

ebert doesnt have a clue. siskel should have had his own show

[@kyloren3693]

Ebert really shit the bed here. He missed everything that made Kubrick's film amazing... which is in essence why Ebert needed Siskel. Ebert got caught up sometimes on star power, or action expectations.... he would see a big star and expect a Hollywood film not a subtle film, and same idea with his action film choices... sometimes promoting for big action block busters. Siskel went for top notch directing, actors pouring themselves into a role.... and when films really did something different and blew him away. S MUCH AS I dislike Siskel hating violence and horror in films, it's the ones in these genres he liked that tend to be extremely good. Like Candyman, Full Metal Jacket, Betrayed, Blue Velvet, Reanimator, Pulp Fiction, Halloween, People Under the Stairs... Siskel in a way grounded Eberts excitement about everything.

[@markjohnson5876]

turns out Full Metal Jacket has stood the test of time and Platoon hasn't. Platoon isn't even in the same class as this movie.

[@Rary.0]

i wouldnt say that. both great movies. full metal jacket a bit better

[@Rary.0]

For instance if you just want to base it off of AFIS top 100 - platoon is on there, full metal jacket is not. IMO it should be. but to say it hasnt stood the test of time is incorrect

[@WaitingtoHit]

I love Roger Ebert, but he was really off his game in this episode.

[@ilovebrandnewcarpets]

I don’t know if it’s the best episode, but it might be Roger’s worst episode. FML and Space Balls are classics.

[@ArthurCSchaperMR]

Wow! They really went off on "Full Mental Jacket"!

[@seancole22]

I often disagreed with Ebert as with Full Metal Jacket but he was a genuinely nice guy and I always enjoyed his reviews even if I thought he was crazy. His passing greatly saddened me.

[@knownpleasures]

Lee Harvey Oswald could only have killed JFK coz he was well trained. Way to go Marines 🥳🤨

[@rayfroklage3994]

I’m with Ebert on Full Metal Jacket

[@Mario_N64]

I completely get what Ebert means regarding Full Metal Jacket. The sets in England with decaying torn down real buildings are simply not believable. The palm trees look limp and dry.

[@amjoshuaf]

I'd say you're missing the point if you think Kubrick was going for realism.

[@Mario_N64]

@@amjoshuaf I'm not talking about realism. I'm talking about suspension of disbelief, something he achieved in "The Shining".

[@amjoshuaf]

@@Mario_N64 Again, I'm not sure that's the point of the film. Kubrick spends a lot of time making references to other hollywood films to intentionally draw your attention to the artificiality of what you're seeing. For example, the interview scenes take place in front of a theater playing John Wayne's Red River. Mario, you have to get your head out of the green pipe, my good man. Just a little Mario joke there.

[@PeterMayer]

Wrong

[@zxbc1]

I like how people who love the film immediately come to defend flaws and frame them as "intended brilliance". It's okay to like a flawed film (most films are flawed, in fact), and still acknowledge the flaws.

[@ryanrogers7452]

Ebert stinks? kinda. a lot of the time

[@joed9491]

Can you imagine a movie made by Roger Ebert? It would probably be on the same level of The English Patient where you just wished he would stop telling his story and just die so you can go home.

[@bobbyokeefe4285]

Yet another example why,Ebert was one of the most overrated critics ever!I bet you if he was a critic in 1963,he would've disliked Dr Strangelove.

[@annonymously331]

Yeah about that. He was one of the only critics who liked 2001 a space odyssey when it first came out

[@wet-read]

Look, you aren't always gonna agree with movie critics. So what. I disagree strongly with some things Ebert has said, but I don't let that detract from the stuff he's said I consider great.

[@AndreAndre-yd5gw]

I never liked these guys. They must have known people in high places to keep their jobs, because they were not there for their knowledge and vision. They continuously gave thumbs down to great films and thumbs up to real crap. They got the worst track record. Time is the proof of that.

[@geronimus-prime]

"This from the man who liked _Benji: The Hunted_ ?" "Hey! You liked _Carnosaur_ !" "Well, I bet you'll like this:" ( _Ka-POW!_ ) kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ-lfJt8nr15qdU

[@PeterMayer]

Pizza the hut? Unfunny and dated. And I loved blazing saddles, young Frankenstein.

[@JeroenZM]

Pizza the Hut is such a bad 'Dad joke' that it almost becomes funny again

[@vigilante8374]

One big problem with Space Balls is we're had forty years of Star Wars parodies since then. It might've seemed somewhat clever to jab at the merchandising back then, given that Star Wars was one of the very first movies to ever do aggressive merchandising on that scale (along with Planet of the Apes), but now... meh. Although not quite as good as Young Frankenstein, I always thought that Dracula: Dead and Loving It was just criminally underrated.

[@wet-read]

Blazing Saddles pisses me off to no end for the way it headed into the ending.

[@PeterMayer]

These guys wanna talk about cliches? Space balls is not funny. Maybe the Schwartz be with you ? It's tired.

[@zxbc1]

Ebert thumbed it down, and was entirely correct. Maybe Gene just liked Mel Brookes too much to be objective.

[@Chris_Picklepants]

No doubt Ebert whiffed on Full Metal Jacket. Clearly a fine film.