Confused Matthew Recommends: Harlan Ellison

[FrontAlleyBoys]

You make it sound like he did like the prequel films and BTTF II

[charlesvan13]

It's not a radical view to not like Star Wars.

But liking the prequels is a different matter. Those are really garbage excuses for movies.

[HConstantine]

Star War and Back to the Future must have been two of the most awful pieces of Hollywood commercial product ever created. There is no sense in which they can even be called film.

[gearsofshock]

ok so i have a personal question? are you an atheist, i dont know if you've ever outright said it, but thats what it sounds like

[ShoeUnited]

It takes a special someone to live with that man. To get locked naked outside the house on the street by that man. And to love him and laugh about it later.

I love Harlan Ellison, but I'd never be able to put up with him. :)

[MirrorMatterMatt]

I've been reading Ellison since I was 14 years old... way back in the early 80's when THE GLASS TEAT was re-issued. You want harsh television/cultural criticism, checked out that collection. It changed my life.

[TheConnord12]

matthew, its been killing me. what did you think of the 2003 hulk? i personally loved it.

[Killermike2178]

@confusedmatthew What's your opinion of Netflix's rates going up?

[laserwolf65]

Just watched it. I have to say that it would have worked better as a fifteen minute short film. Spending an hour and a half with that man was simply too much. This film was nothing more than a soapbox for Mr. Ellison to complain, whine, and brag to anyone who'll listen. Harlan, Buzz Lightyear put it best when he said "you are a sad, strange little man, and I pity you."

[BrotherJosephus]

"Star Wars is adolsecent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist drivel; 'Star Trek' can turn your brains to puree of bat guano; and the greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up!" - Harlan Ellison at the World Science Fiction Convention ("Introducing DOCTOR WHO - amenities performed by HARLAN ELLISON" in 'Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen', American print)

[tardisbuff]

@BrotherJosephus I'm a Doctor Who fan, and I'm appalled that he would go anywhere near Revenge of the Cybermen.

[BrotherJosephus]

@tardisbuff It was just an introduction in the American print of the novelisation. I think it was in the "Genesis of the Daleks" one as well.

[tardisbuff]

@BrotherJosephus Thank God.

[tardisbuff]

@tardisbuff Good taste, that man.

[someone332]

Why is it that writing geniuses are also complete maniacs? Lawrence Miles comes to mind...

[kreigaffenumber10]

"A cheese quesadilla and my autograph are not awesome." One of the best quotes in that documentary.

[confusedmatthew]

@kreigaffenumber10 True, but I disagree. Cheese quesadillas are awesome as fuck!

[underthepale]

But Harlan IS a hot-tempered grump, card carrying. Don't get me wrong, I have read and enjoyed much of the man's work. But dear god I've never liked his attitude.

... that said, "Phoenix Without Ashes" makes me wonder what "Starlost" could have been...

[Eldeecue]

Hrmmm....newfound respect for you, CM. : ) Sharp Teeth is great. I'd think his actual fiction go as higher recommended than his nonfiction. I Have No Mouth, Deathbird Stories....

Read the fucking books! MORONS! As he would say.

[Kachukeland]

you're like my Oprah, suggesting books and movies, lol

You sold me with the clip at the end, i'm intrigued.

[theendofconfusion]

I'm lucky I just signed up for a trial of Netflix. Thanks for the recommendation.

[AirCanMaster]

I think it's interesting when a Science Fiction enthusiasts battles the contentions of the likes of Star Wars. Rocky,? not so interesting, but I'm sure there's a field for cynics for it, and I'm sure he's not excluded.

[flatbunny]

I actually read Watching not long after I saw your 2001 review and so wanted to tell you about Harlan's book and his 2001 review in particular. How ever I'm glad to see you already found it.

If you have not read The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat I can not recommend them enough. They are a collection reviews on TV shows he did in the late 1960's and early 1970's and give a lot of insight into popular entertainment, news bias and the politics of the era. Grab them if you can.

[strangejourney101]

Yeah it's important to be able to listen to different opinions. I think by default, most people will say that a conversation was "good" if they were both of the same opinion. But while it might be pleasing to talk to someone like that, it also means that neither one learned anything new, or broadened their horizon.

Anyways, I think there's no reason to be offended at all, as long as we're talking about movies, which are just pasttime anyways.

[jamesedwardclard]

Harlan Ellison while he says things some people may not like and wholeheartedly disagree with, he does so in a entertaining and insightful way, He is very charismatic and funny and you can tell he has a very brilliant mind and as it would happen he has decades of brilliant work to back up his big mouth...unlike some people I know.....

[Hyman74Roth]

WOW! Harlan Elison at the end makes ALL the WWE wrestlers look like wussbags in comparison!

[trlkly]

Here's my question: by paying for this, does any of my money go to this guy? Because, if so, there is no way in hell I would ever buy this stuff. Frankly, if you are a consistent asshole, I believe it overshadows everything you do. As far as I'm concerned, the world would be better off if this man never existed. I would read this book in the same way I would read a book about Lee Harvey Oswald.

His opinions are fine, but his actions are not.

[S1nwar]

what why wouldnt anyone like back to the future

[SagaciousSilence]

Hey Matthew, would you ever consider doing a more frequent program using Netflix? For instance, you can maybe do once-a-week reviews of movies on Netflix or maybe watch a new TV series and give a kind of impressionist-discussion of each episode. I just started reading reviews from a site called MarkWatches where Mark just writes his first-impressions of shows&books. Do you think this sort of thing could work on Youtube?

[MrZingnigga]

Ellison is amazing. My favourite writer.

[Joekitty001]

He was an ass to the guys from Penny Arcade at a convention and got humiliated for it. Also the story where he was hitting on a statuesque blonde woman by saying "What would you say to a little fuck?" She replied "Hello, little fuck."

[lexlinkroy]

poor guy he has to sit though bad movies all his life he has no taste in the opposite way. i wonder if he likes his job because if he does not he should seriously think of a cheer change.

[thegamingvlogger]

Jesus christ wat an angry person

[buc555]

I think he also liked Bttf 2 and 3, could be wrong though.

[excepteuropa]

Just want to mention that Ellison wrote possibly the best episode of Star Trek produced. City on the Edge of Forever.

[Retardretroguy]

I can totally understand why someone wouldn't like Star Wars and it's kin. It's a silly movie with no substance and a plot that hardly stays intact. It's simply likeable, and it doesn't take but a hint of cynicism to dislike it.

[depaderico]

matthew, you should read pauline kael.

[Foebane72]

Yaaayyy, gotta love Ellison's involvement with Babylon 5!

[petrino]

do more of these please.

[Firelordzerien]

just curious have you read his "I have no mouth and must scream" I'm kind of surprised it hasn't been made into a movie to be honest

[elite01171]

oh god I hope he liked the lion king

[ErnilEnNaur]

@elite01171 If he liked a film as bad as The Lion King, that kind of discredits all of his opinions, doesn't it.

[tardisbuff]

@ErnilEnNaur Rock on :).

[elite01171]

@ErnilEnNaur lion king wasnt bad

[ZeldaWolf2000]

lol "please don't sew me" hehe :D

[maynardyorke]

"if you are offended by atheism" - what? thats not offensive- thats an odd line, i dunno its a little off putting, but im really interested into reading more about this fellow

[Ocarina654]

Its the things like what you said about being able to listen to other people's opinions that prove how much of a scholar and gentleman you really are. A sometimes angry and abrasive one, for sure, but a scholar nonetheless.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll definitely be checking these out.

Keep up the great work!

[TheCriticalTwins]

Harlan Ellison is a very good writer and an intelligent man, but you have to take everything he said with a grain of salt. On a personal level, he's also an insufferable asshole. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he actually sued Matthew (and me for posting this). That said, there's plenty of professional sci-fi writers who see Star Wars and Back to the Future as nothing but vapid entertainment. In that respect Ellison's opinion is rather mainstream.

[TOK150]

For some reason he reminds me of Cave Johnson.^^

[junkypoet]

True story: I was reading "I have no mouth and I must scream" when I stumbled on this review. 10 pages of pure Ellison i highly recommend. This is the guy who was the inspiration for the Terminator series, i believe. Was that what he was talking about at around 4:18?

[SuperLowlander]

@junkypoet People working on the newest Battlestar Galactica wanted Ellison's approval to put his interviews regarding the show on the DVD box set, to which he replied "Only if you pay me", they said no, and he rants on about how he deserved it or something similar.

[SuperLowlander]

@junkypoet Pardon me, it was Babylon 5.

[666deadman1988]

I have but one thing to say about Harlan Ellison: 'City On The Edge Of Forever' is the most overrated Star Trek episode EVER!

[Eldeecue]

@666deadman1988

Compared to which original Trek eps, exactly? Be specific.

[666deadman1988]

@Eldeecue I'm not saying that it's a bad episode per se, but I don't think it's the best by any means, and it's been unfairly promoted as a better episode than it actually is. I prefer such episodes as 'Space Seed', 'The Enemy Within', 'Amok Time', 'Court Martial', 'Mirror, Mirror', 'The Menagerie', 'The Tholian Web', 'The Trouble With Tribbles' and so on. That's just my personal taste, feel free to disagree of course.

[MrTARDISreviews]

Matthew, have you ever considered releasing your own book about the reviews you've done? Kinda like Roger Ebert's books ('Your Movie Sucks' and 'I hated hated hated this movie')

[someone332]

@MrTARDISreviews Hallo, Mr. TARDIS. Fancy seeing you around here.

[FoolsGil]

...His rant at the end...He does make you like a kitten and it was only 20 seconds.

[Jaegar19Ultima]

If I remember from what I've researched and watched of harlan he says that starwars seemed too juvenile and I agree lucas did start off the story originally for the films in the middle which contributed to it's lack of a fully fleshed out story. I think the point with reviewers is not to hate their opinion but to understand it. Like your opinions matthew on No Country etc.

[ie727]

He seems too hard headed to be tolerable for my liking, plus he's judgmental as hell towards fandoms. To hell with him, even CM couldn't make me look into him.

[gomu269]

I might just get my friend into this as he's hard-headed when it comes to listening to other opinions and accepting them for what they are no matter how different from their own it might be.

[Glennzorz2]

if you think hes bad what about vincent canby he didnt like Rocky, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Jaws, Patton, Night of the Living Dead, Chinatown, Rain Man, The Exorcist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,The Godfather Part II or Alien. Dont get me started on armond white !!!

[confusedmatthew]

@Glennzorz2 Or John Simon.

[kreigaffenumber10]

@confusedmatthew I actually like John Simon's style of review, no matter if he didn't like it or if he did, it's still entertaining, just like your reviews.

[Hyman74Roth]

@Glennzorz2 WTF he didn't like The Godfather part 2??

[Glennzorz2]

@Hyman74Roth yep check it out on rotten tomatoes he's the one and only critic to dislike it !!

[videogamenostalgia]

I have no book and I must read...

[jeevesthepunk]

I need to buy this. I'm not exactly critical of films myself, but trying to argue with some of my friends that Star Wars wasn't good will be a truly entertaining.

[CiMBoMTurkiye93]

i have a big penis

[AntonyBlalock]

@CiMBoMTurkiye93 ...good for you

[korwinblue]

The frak? He didn't like Star Wars??? And BttF?...why?

I'm getting this book. I just can't understand...

[confusedmatthew]

@korwinblue That's exactly what I said and exactly why I bought the book!

[255ad]

@confusedmatthew 3:35 I wish I could do that

[VerwirrterTurnschuh]

@korwinblue Hey, I don't like this merchandise-bullshit of a movie trilogy either. That's why I have to read this book...

[VerwirrterTurnschuh]

@VerwirrterTurnschuh SW that is. Not BTTF as such.

[legodarknight101]

Sounds like you. :-)

[thittdc]

fuck ya netflix