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Roger Ebert Quotes

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I walked into my local video store today. (Ya I know, that's so 20th century!) They had a section of movies devoted to Roger Ebert with short quotes for each one. The fun part was that some of them were movies he had given a "thumbs down" to.

 

Valentine's Day: "Valentine's Day is being marketed as a Date Movie. I think of it as more of a First-Date Movie. If your date likes it, do not date that person again. And if you like it, there may not be a second date."

 

Pearl Harbor: "Pearl Harbor is a two hour movie squeezed into three hours."

 

Witness:Armageddon: "The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense, and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they are charging to get in, it's worth more to get out."

 

 

Of course Ebert wasn't just a master of the thumbs down put down. He displayed a great sense of insight and empathy and used his reviews as a springboard to touch on many subjects.

 

"We are put on the planet only once and to limit ourselves to the familiar is a crime against our minds."

 

"Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you."

 

"What I believe is that all clear-minded people should remain two things throughout their lifetimes: curious and teachable."

 

"I began to realize that I had tended to avoid some people because of my instant conclusions about who they were and what they would have to say. I discovered that everyone, speaking honestly and openly, had important things to tell me."

 

"I believe empathy is the most important quality of civilization."

 

"The problem with being sure God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change his."

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My favourite Ebert review in recent years was for Battle: Los Angeles, which started and ended like this:

 

"Battle: Los Angeles" is noisy, violent, ugly and stupid.

...

Young men: If you attend this crap with friends who admire it, tactfully inform them they are idiots. Young women: If your date likes this movie, tell him you've been thinking it over, and you think you should consider spending some time apart.

 

In the last few years he'd been writing some deeply personal reflections on is blog and I found some of it quite moving. I could recognize a lot of what he was saying. If you read that stuff, you got to feel like you really knew the guy, at least a bit.

 

He'll be missed.

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Valentine's Day: "Valentine's Day is being marketed as a Date Movie. I think of it as more of a First-Date Movie. If your date likes it, do not date that person again. And if you like it, there may not be a second date."

 

Originally Posted by Roger Ebert

"Battle: Los Angeles" is noisy, violent, ugly and stupid.

...

Young men: If you attend this crap with friends who admire it, tactfully inform them they are idiots. Young women: If your date likes this movie, tell him you've been thinking it over, and you think you should consider spending some time apart.

 

 

Looks like I should have titled this thread "Roger Ebert's Dating Advice" lol It's very good advice.

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Armageddon, 1998

"No matter what they're charging to get in, it's worth more to get out."

 

Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles, 2001

"I've seen audits that were more thrilling."

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