Gladiator/Up at the Villa/Committed/I Dreamed of Africa/The Virgin Suicides

Roger Ebert - Host: Even though "Gladiator" was directed by Ridley Scott, who's famous for his special effects, the film has a murky look, and the coliseum, partially created by computer animation, looks especially unconvincing. The actors do what they can, but the dialogue undermines them, and sometimes the parallels with the World Wrestling Federation seem almost deliberate, as when a tribune announces: "Caesar is happy to present the only undefeated champion in Roman history: The legendary Titus!" Give me a break. One other thing: "Gladiator" thinks that when the Romans wanted somebody to live, they signaled with thumbs up. Actually, live was signaled with a thumb inside the fist. An extended thumb in any direction meant death. But, nobody in this movie knows this, and that's good for Maximus.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: You know, who cares? I don't think it matters. I don't even know where to begin here. I thought this was one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Roger Ebert - Host: Really?

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: I thought this was one of the best movies of the year.

Roger Ebert - Host: You've EVER seen?

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: And you make this film sound...

Roger Ebert - Host: Of the YEAR?

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: Of the year, easily. You make it sound frivolous.

Roger Ebert - Host: It IS.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: There's nothing frivolous about this movie.

Roger Ebert - Host: This doesn't have any depth, this doesn't have any juice.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: This is eloquent, the story grabs you...

Roger Ebert - Host: Oh come on.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: ...From the beginning, it has, it is visualized in a way that Ridley Scott is known for. He reinvented the future in "Blade Runner", he gives us an authentic, fresh take on the past.

Roger Ebert - Host: You know, my...

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: It is NOT murky, and wherever it IS murky, it serves the battle sequences.

Roger Ebert - Host: It is VERY, very dark.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: Russell Crowe, a, an actor of tremendous, charismatic, towering power. He has a kind of intensity and eloquence that we haven't seen, I think, since Richard Burton, he also reminds me of Anthony Hopkins. And the characters here? Joaquin Pheonix, Commodus, the complexity of this character, the man is a monster, he's the monster...

Roger Ebert - Host: That is, now come on, let me talk.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: His father is going to become, but...

Roger Ebert - Host: It's my turn, it's my turn.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: We, we feel...

Roger Ebert - Host: Commodus is absolutely transparent compared to somebody like...

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: ...Sympathy for him.

Roger Ebert - Host: ...Nero in "Quo Vadis", played by Peter Ustinov.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: My heart broke for him. This film succeeds in every way on every level, and I have to say, I'm shocked at what you have to say about it.

Roger Ebert - Host: Absolutely doesn't. Did you see "Titus"?

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: Yes. I saw "Titus"...

Roger Ebert - Host: "Titus" SHAMES this movie. Let me talk. "Titus" shames this movie. It shames it. It shames it in the look, in the drama, in the characterizations, in the performances, in the depth. THIS movie is basically just a gladiator movie.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: I'm very familiar with Julie Taymor's "Titus", and her work, as a matter of fact. It is a very unique vision, but it certainly wasn't as dramatic or compelling as this, and the characters didn't have this kind of complexity. The language here? You cannot make fun of the language. It was extraordinarily...

Roger Ebert - Host: I actually prefer Shakespeare's language.

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: ...Within the first five minutes, I was writing things down, because it was...

Roger Ebert - Host: Oh, you've got to make fun...

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: This is no technicolor toga party held on some Hollywod backlot. This is a fine...

Roger Ebert - Host: Ah, we have a major disappointment, and...

Joyce Kulhawik - Guest Co-Host: We have a major disagreement, too. We certainly do.