Starring – Harry Knowles (The Faculty, The Ghosts of Mars), Jarrell Knowles (The Faculty), and Danny Boyle (28 Days Later)
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 4/5
In the world of horror, sci-fi, comics, and everything nerdy and geeky, one man has rose to the top to become the self-proclaimed “head geek.” That man is Harry Knowles who has become an icon for his film reviews. The man is a legend and one of the few people that inspired me to start writing reviews.
Anyway, over the summer I was browsing YouTube when I discovered that Knowles had created a web-series. I binge watched every fucking episode that night and then did it again in the morning. The show was so much fucking fun and took me back to a time when television shows had sets that was just as fun as the show itself. Everyone remembers Peewee’s Playhouse and MonsterVision once Job Bob Briggs took over and this put me in mind of that.
I did a little looking and discovered that Knowles ran a successful crowd funding campaign for a second season but nothing had come of it yet…until I received an email that season 2 was debuting on PBS in Austin. I was lucky enough to get a link to an online screener for the first episode of the season. Talk about being excited!
**Spoiler Alert**This debut episode follows Harry as he tells the viewer about his favorite director, Michael Curtiz, and why he is his favorite director. He then compares Curtiz to modern director Danny Boyle who then appears in the crystal ball.
The two then start discussing Boyle’s films like 28 Days Later, Shallow Graves, Trance, and many more. They discuss the different aspect of his films, as well as, upcoming releases and possible future films. Boyle leaves the set and then we have a small conversation between Harry and Boiler.**Spoiler Alert**
I typically hate talk shows. I have no interest watching someone I don’t care about interviewing someone else I don’t care about. They just bore the shit out of me and the only exception to this is the Talking Dead and that is only if they get a genre icon on the show as the guest. I never watch the show when they have cast members and so forth on it because I honestly don’t give a damn. However, when Nicotero and other genre icons are on I will definitely tune in.
However, Ain’t it Cool with Harry Knowles gives us interviews with people we actually care about discussing topics we also care about. The way they discuss their topics draws the viewer in. They use so much energy that it is almost impossible not to watch and the debut episode did just that. Most movie goers and fans may like noir and noir type films but watching other people talk about it is boring as hell. However, that is the charm of AiCwHK. They can pull you in while talking about anything.
The first episode also hit with a bang when he interviews the talented Danny Boyle who is known for his work in so many genres especially horror. This does worry me as a fan. AiCwHK either started the show with a bang only to give us less interesting guests or Danny Boyle is just the tip of the iceberg.
Finally, the series returns to the set that I came to enjoy in the first season. Sadly, he did not utilize it as much as I would have liked but when Danny Boyle is guest you want to spend as much time as possible picking his brain. Overall, Ain’t is Cool with Harry Knowles started off on the right foot. We were given a great interview with legendary director Danny Boyle and we get that amazing set I keep talking about. When this show airs be sure to check it out!
I tried to give this a watch but only got about 8 minutes in. It was awful. Knowles is well and truly obsessed with himself. Also, it seemed like the show utilized footage that was shot YEARS ago. It was disjointed, amateurish, and most certainly does not hit “with a bang.” I get that he’s going for a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse thing, but instead of being quirky and weird, he just comes off as pathetic, creepy and repulsive. Knowles has all the charisma of a particularly boring jar of lard. His voice is incredibly high-pitched and unpleasant. If he took his own massive ego out of the equation, he might realize that this show would be infinitely better with someone else in the star’s chair. That will never, ever happen, though, because Knowles is Knowles.
“We are given a great interview with legendary actor Danny Boyle.”
No wonder you enjoyed this, you’re as sloppy as Harry.
So you are trolling this place now? You are disgusting.
Not trolling, commenting on sloppy writing, which is evocative of the review subject’s infamous writing skills.
trolling
ErnestRister is one of AICN’s more persistent trolls.
I like you, you can come over and fuck my sister!
Me, me, me… This is about Harry period. Some of the cutting was amateur-ish at best. Where did all the Kickstarter money go if all the interviews were already shot (years ago it seems)? I felt bad for “actor” Danny Boyle and the upcoming guests.
Anyone who reads AICN knew that Knowles is lazy, childish and has a tendency to embellish everything (or outright lie about it). I guess we can add “shitty educational television host” to that list.
So, overall a positive review.
Much different than the handful of hate-spammers that constantly fill his AICN articles with bile who spent endless hours and months of their lives hating and posting completely useless crap that amounted to nothing. Harry isn’t going to jail. Hell, Harry isn’t even going to be investigated.
“But…but…but…what about the Hollywood Reporter article saying he owed $300,000 in unpaid taxes?”
You mean the one if you read it all the way through that on page 4 it actually says, “The site continues to fight its way back to profitability; earlier in March, Knowles was able to pay himself for the first time since last summer.” And this was PRIOR to his Kickstarter campaign, geniuses.
“But…but…but…we hate-spammers have driven away all the visitors to the site and we’ve burned it to the ground!”
Really? Because in that same Hollywood Reporter article they all love to quote so much says that the site gets “…300,000 unique monthly visitors.” That’s roughly 10,000 unique visitors per day. That sure sounds like a site that’s about to close to me…
“But…but…but…he got all that extra corporate sponsorship money from all those companies at the beginning of his video! Scam!”
You simpletons really don’t understand how PBS Corporate Sponsorships work, do you? That money goes to the PBS station to pay for the overhead of running a television station. None of that went to Harry or AICN, you dolts.
A bunch of willing adults donated small amounts of cash to a Kickstarter campaign with poorly defined parameters, but they did so willingly. If those morons failed to do any due diligence into the person they were donating money to, then they got what they deserved. Caveat emptor.
And all of you impotent, angry little hate-spammers can’t take it because it’s been revealed that despite all of your hours, months and over a year of endless effort…you have been proven meaningless. Absolutely meaningless.
HA!
Hahahaha…hahahahahaha!!!
Still defending a site that banned you for being a boring nobody. So funny. So sad.
I talked to some folks over there and they might let you back in if you cry hard enough. Shall I put in a good word for you?
You just love to get shit on don’t ya little fella. It’s hilarious that you obviously still read AICN and yet have to cry and post your stupid, dull shit regarding AICN elsewhere. Fucking pathetic coward.
You were banned from AICN and you still defend them? Oh, and with your same full-of-holes drivel that has been disproved more times than bigfoot?
You’re still a ranting, sad little man.
you could do with a good banning
Mr. eBob, have you had a chance to watch it yourself? It’s excruciatingly awful.
I did. As unwatchable as season 1.
I’d say it’s even worse than season 1. Without the foul language, it’s even less interesting.
Amazing that adults read the Kickstarter terms, saw Harry’s first season, read his super vague write up but as adults chose to voluntarily donate regardless. They got every small amount of money’s worth they all donated.
How much of the Kickstarter funds went to pay you off for this brown nose fake review?
He sent over 1/3 of the kickstarter fund for me to write this. Well worth the money!
So just what is your relationship with Harry Knowles?
Are you Chalupa buddies? does he pay for your drinks?
Or did he write this himself & have you post it like he already has done twice in as many weeks i.e Bret Hart Interview?
Chalupa buddies for sure. take it you like burritos?
Is that you Vincent Zahedi?
So you thought this was a 4 out of 5 star show for just what exactly?
Was it Harry’s clueless understanding of auteur theory?
Maybe it was Harry’s declaration that the bulk of Martin Scorsese’s movies are crime films?
Or could it be that he incorrectly identifies “The Collector” as the film that is used for the flashbacks in “The Limey?
Maybe it was his masterful interview skills with a two year old taped Interview with the back of Danny Boyle’s head?
Was it the ever so charming stammering of Harry trying to form a coherent sentence?
It certainly wasn’t Bret Hart’s piss poor directing, lighting or editing!
Just what the fuck do you think was so goddamn good about this show?
and remember, this will come back to haunt you in the future & if you want to have just one little shred of credibility left, because the internet never forgets.
It’s a terrible show. The only reason to watch it is to see just how terrible a host Harry is. He has nothing to say and is a fountain of misnformation.
I honestly cannot see how anyone over the age of 6 would find this even remotely good. Children might be amused to see the man in the orangutan costume laughing and giggling at the head in the globe but that is about it. Harry is a terrible presenter and Brett Hart’s “direction” (and I use the term in the loosest possible way) is just amateur. Seriously, it is almost as if they set out to deliberately make a lampoon of a badly made web show.
And don’t even get me started on Boiler. I could have made a better prop with $20, some lightbulbs and a few empty boxes of Cornflakes.
Utterly, utterly pathetic.
Someone really needs to tell KLRU what a complete and utter
embarrassment this show is. Apart from all the errors that other people have pointed out were made by Mr Movie Expert, what about the fact that there was not even a mention of Danny Boyle directing Steve Jobs?
Are the comments here now turned off ?
I can’t access this talkback thru the main website now, just the Disqus page for it.
There is a Load Comments button now on all of the posts.
Thanks.
The King Of The Internet Fanobys/Geeks has his very own Internet series ?!