Bring film criticism back to the nerds, yeah!

I tend to be slow when it comes to news of great personal importance. If it doesn't air on CNN or show up on the Twitter pages I follow, I have no idea that it happened.

When I read this, I wanted to make a post about this, even if blogs all over the web have already had their say. Being a lifelong fan of At the Movies since the Ebert & Roeper days (and then watching pioneers, Siskel and Ebert battle it out on the web archives), this piece of news interested me greatly.

I made my monthly Internet trip to Stop Ben Lyons! yesterday and nearly died of extreme happiness. Disgraced film critic, Ben Lyons was recently fired from At the Movies, along with his co-host, Ben Mankiewicz.

Lyons is the son of film critic, Jeffrey Lyons. Before his stint on At the Movies, Lyons made frequent guest appearances on his father's film criticism show, Reel Talk, which was canceled earlier this year. Obvious nepotism aside, he eventually became the supposed "movie expert" of E! Entertainment and wrote a column for E! Online called "The Lyons Den." In recent years, he is infamously known as the joke who referred to I Am Legend "the greatest movie ever made."

Last year, ABC hired Lyons and Mankiewicz in hopes of taking the TV icon of film criticism, At the Movies in a new direction, or most importantly, to attract younger viewers. Mankiewicz, grandson of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and grandnephew of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Cleopatra, All About Eve), was previously known from his introductions of classic films and cartoon shorts on Turner Classic Movies and as co-host the talk radio show, The Young Turks.

Ratings for At the Movies dropped by 23% during the 2008-2009 season. Many placed the blame on the new set (instead of the traditional balcony, they had a very un-cinematic high-def TV screen), the lousy music, and the critics' round-up (which I admittedly liked, and was disappointed to see it fizzle out), but mostly, the show's two critics had to carry most of the malicious burden--especially Lyons. Sites and articles criticizing Lyons populated the Internet, such as Stop Ben Lyons!, Criticwatch's Ben Lyons Quote of the Week, and Roger [Ebert's] Little Rule Book.

On August 5th, it was announced that ABC made the wise decision (that they didn't make last year) to replace Lyons and Mankiewicz with A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, both of whom filled in, rather fantastically, as Richard Roeper's co-host during Ebert's absence from the show.

Who said free speech is dead? I'm sure the constant attacks had something to do with the inevitable axing of Lyons.

I'm not someone who likes to see people fail. I was actually hoping that Lyons would become a better film critic as time passed, but it never happened. He constantly had that ridiculous smirk on his face and felt a neccessity to praise the most obscure actors in a movie. It seemed like he never recovered from his controversial decision to place the Twilight trailer on his "3 To See" list earlier in the season. I initially thought it would be fun to watch Lyons week after week making strangely idiotic comments, but I could only suffer so much.

The things that Lyons have been criticized for are things that I might be guilty of doing at one point or another, so I do feel an iota of empathy for him. But then again, I don't get paid for making a fool out of myself on national TV while being considered by some as a legitimate film critic.

The new season is set to air on September 5th. And that is also when I will start watching At the Movies again. Scott and Phillips are both insightful, clever, and witty film critics. These two have the potential to create brilliant banter and I wish them all the best as the new hosts of At the Movies. This partnership has the potential to rival the good ol' days of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Just maybe...

Where's the balcony?

I watched the newly revamped "At the Movies" last night and I thought it was...okay, I guess. I don't want to be too harsh on the show or the two Bens because of how new everything seems to be at the moment, but there were definitely things that bothered me. Surprisingly, I liked a few things as well.

Things I Didn't Like:

• Remember when I discussed Ben Lyons's weird fidget problem? Yeah, the guy couldn't stop moving. At all.
  
• Now that I've addressed Lyons's annoyingly fidgety presence, I'll just go ahead and say it: Lyons was annoying. Period. He sounded like a robot (or cue card reader) who really, really wanted to be enthusiastic. When Lyons spoke about Don Cheadle and how the actor could do no wrong, he asked--in an extremely unnatural, awkward voice--his fellow film critic, Ben Mankiewicz, "Name a bad Don Cheadle movie!" The tone of Mankiewicz's response sounded like, "Why the hell are you asking me this insipidly random question to highlight Cheadle's greatness? He deserves better."
• Why must it take place in front of a lame flatscreen TV? Why? Why? WHY?
• Yellow. Orange. Ugh. The set is so...bright.
• The show felt like a couple of friends discussing the movies they watched the past week, which is actually something I can do with my friends all the time. I don't need to spend thirty minutes of my life (one of Lyons's favorite phrases, I believe) watching that. What I used to love about the old show is that critics like Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, and Richard Roeper (to some extent) had some extensive knowledge about the subject of film and the show just felt somewhat educational.
• They messed up the whole concept of "Three to See." It was supposed to be the ranking of a single critic, not both.
  

Things I Did Like:

• The whole "Critics Round Table" idea is kind of cool. I do hope they change it up a bit with the critics once a while, though.
  
• Ben Mankiewicz seemed fine. Uncomfortable, probably, but fine. Hell, I'd freak out if the guy standing/sitting next to me couldn't stop smirking like an idiot.
  
• Was I being too harsh on Ben Lyons? Possibly. Well, at least he's better-looking than Mankiewicz...?

So what is everyone else's opinion about the new "At the Movies"? Feel free to share.

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There wasn't a "Five Links Friday" last week because (thinking for a good excuse--uh, never mind)...I forgot. I started school last week and the school year got really busy, really fast. I might end up neglecting this little blog throughout the school year, but hopefully, I will find the time to keep it afloat.

At the Movies with...Lyons and Mankiewicz

I know this is old news, but is anyone looking forward to the new season of At the Movies, which starts September 6th?

I watched the most recent episode (which may have been the last new episode) of At the Movies with Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips. The two seem to be finally creating a sort of rapport, similar to the Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert days. Because of this, I will be tremendously disappointed to see Roeper and Phillips go come September.

Roeper and Phillips will be replaced by Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, both young film critics with famous surnames. I've heard of their better-known relatives, just not them specifically. By hiring Lyons and Mankiewicz, Disney is attempting to make At the Movies appealing to a younger demographic. Will it work? Will they lose their dedicated older viewers?

The new season will welcome new graphics, music, and even a new set. But I've always preferred the low-key design of the show. I'd love to see At the Movies keep the simple format, but that doesn't seem like the case: In addition to traditional "cross-talk" reviews, they will be adding "Critics Round-Up," which invities other critics to disucss movies via satellite. I hope the balcony will still be in tact.

Well, I, for one, look forward the new season and will be tuning into the two Bens. Are they good enough to even be involved with a show started by their terrific predecessors? Is the new look of the show any good? I'm curious to see how one of my favorite programs will do in its "new direction."

Of course, Lyons and Mankiewicz are enthusiastic to be the new co-hosts of the show:

"I am incredibly excited to be involved with such a prestigious show," said co-host Ben Lyons. "Reviewing films for a living is a thrill, and now that I will be a critic for 'At the Movies,' it is an honor and huge responsibility that I look forward to.”

“I am thrilled and honored beyond words to be joining the series,” added co-host Ben Mankiewicz. “As a movie fanatic, this is my dream job. Without question, I certainly have very big shoes to fill.”

To read more about Lyons and Mankiewicz, head over to Anne Thompson's blog.