The Top 100 Project

As Easter weekend comes to an end, Ryan posts a solo show about another intense blood-feud here in Revenge Month. Leonardo DiCaprio went through hell and finally won his Oscar while auteur Alejandro G. Iñárritu won his 4th in 2 years for their work on The Revenant, a violent, gory, grueling and beautifully-photographed survival story. There's a running theme of racism against Native Americans in here too, who are on their own vengeance quest. Tom Hardy is fantastic as Leo's antagonist, who earns the enmity of a man nearly killed by a bear after he kills that man's son. And the hunt is on. So grab your musket & your knife and eat some raw fish & even some raw liver as this lengthy monologue about The Revenant represents Have You Ever Seen #660. We're sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee. They offer our listeners a 20% discount. Our "HYES" promo code will achieve that. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Rate and review our podcast in your favourite app (subscribe too), but also seek us out on YouTube ("@h

Posting a podcast about Munich on Easter Weekend wasn't a deliberately provocative choice. Posting this mostly-effective "you'll pay for that" procedural during Revenge Month WAS intentional. Episode #659 of Have You Ever Seen is a Ryan monologue about Palestinian terrorists kidnapping and then assassinating Jewish athletes at the 1972 Olympics...and then the Israelis siccing a hit squad on those who planned it. Upbeat blockbuster filmmaker Steven Spielberg isn't squeamish about showing viciousness and bloodshed when he makes an Important Movie. Trouble is, he gets so heavy-handed in the last half-hour, as Eric Bana struggles with the moral ramifications (and blowback) after what he & his team have done. A pre-stardom Daniel Craig is part of that team, as are Geoffrey Rush & Ciaran Hinds. There's no quibble with their performances. It's just the 9/11 parallels and the politics of the unending conflict in the Middle East that repeatedly smack you in the face. In any case, there's much to discuss about

We reach the mid-point of Revenge Month with a French crime classic that features one of the greatest heist scenes in cinema history. Which has arguably never been topped, with its use of clever thieving techniques, intricate teamwork between the 4 main characters…and silence. Rififi is violent, many people die, it even has a drug addict and it has that brilliant break-in sequence where our "heroes" steal a lot of diamonds. Jules Dassin had been blacklisted by Hollywood during the Red Scare nonsense in the '50s, so he went over to Europe and directed Jean Servais and many (not well-known) international actors. There's a lot going on here, especially the subtext about Dassin's treatment by Hollywood, but the centerpiece break-in is the highlight. So get your handgun locked & loaded to get revenge on the gangster who made it personal as we post episode #658 of Have You Ever Seen, a back-and-forth about Rififi. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors this podcast. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and then use our "HYES" pr

The blood-soaked Blood Simple represents the debuts of not only auteurs Joel & Ethan Coen, but also their star (and Joel's future wife) Frances McDormand. They don't seem to agree though with the widely-shared view that their first film was an expertly-plotted noir. It's one of their best movies, in fact. When the Coen Brothers go down to Texas to shoot a nihilistic movie about death and contract killings, classics like this and No Country For Old Men result. And considering it was an independent production without any stars, it was quite a hit. The brilliant highlight sequence is John Getz covering up what he thinks is the murder of Dan Hedaya, the man he's cuckolded. So enjoy episode #2 in Revenge Month and our 657th episode overall as we, yes ARE having a good time in our yellow suit and hat while we review Blood Simple. Well, Actually: the Sundance film festival (the "Utah/US Film Festival" as it was known at first) got its start in 1978, while the Toronto International Film Festival got its start in

Have You Ever Seen's 656th podcast begins our 3rd (Annual, probably?) Revenge Month and Oldboy's plot o' vengeance is particularly sinister. Park Chan-wook's sadistic South Korean thriller has several unforgettable moments, including the one-take hallway hammer fight and the shocking, blood-soaked climax. Choi Min-sik is quite terrific in the lead role, an ordinary man who's forced to live in the solitude of a private prison for 15 years, not even knowing why. He loses his freedom, his family and nearly his mind. Once he's unexpectedly let out, he goes on a vicious rampage as he tries to figure out who locked him up and why...only to finally learn the reason in an "I never saw THAT coming" twist. So get your fried dumplings and live octopus ready to eat while you also try to avoid various forms of mouth trauma as Ryan solos on a podcast about Oldboy. Sparkplug Coffee is our sponsor. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Using that "HYES" discount code will result in a onetime savings of 20%. Rate and review

Play your flame guitar as you cue up the 655th edition of Have You Ever Seen to hear us jaw about the loner known as Max Rockatansky, but stay for the Imperator known as Furiosa. George Miller's 6-time Oscar-winner was the 4th in a series that already featured one of the greatest stunt movies ever made (The Road Warrior), but then he and his team managed to easily top it with Fury Road. And just as it was with the earlier pre-CGI films, most of the remarkable and dangerous stuff was done practically! Tom Hardy is solid casting in taking over the role that made Mad Mel Gibson a star, but this movie belongs to Charlize Theron as Furiosa. She, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough and the other fantastic female characters are the standouts in a surprisingly feminist film. So drive out, then drive back home as we head over to Australia (well, Namibia, really) and wrap up another Oscar Month with a detailed chat about Mad Max: Fury Road. Well, Actually: we said that it's unlikely Miller will get to make more films in this

Note: this episode might be listed as "E" on your app, but there's no bad language in this one. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of our 13th year of podcasting, so we end #12 with another one-Ryan show...this time about a 7-time Oscar-winner. Along with a slew of technical awards, Out Of Africa won Best Picture and Sydney Pollack was rewarded for his direction. His romantic epic, with all those scenic vistas, was also a mega-hit. Yet not everyone loved the story about Karen Blixen, partly because it's really long and arguably too slow. It's also easy to be bothered that Kenyans & their land are just a backdrop for a love triangle between 3 white people. Coffee farmer Meryl Streep and great white hunter Robert Redford DO sell the love in this "based on real events" flick...even if he doesn't feel as authentic as she does. So enjoy the early days of spring listening to the 654th edition of Have You Ever Seen, the one about Out Of Africa. Well, Actually: to be very anal about this, the Ellis' honeymoon was o

Many boxing movies have surpassed what Robert Wise and Paul Newman brought to the screen in Somebody Up There Likes Me, but their biopic DID win 2 technical Oscars. Newman is not at his best playing Rocky Graziano, an angry young delinquent who turned a life spent in various forms of trouble into a championship boxing career. He was still new to movies though and wasn't to be laconic and cool as he get to be in other roles. This was clearly a huge influence on the most-famous fictional boxer, Sly Stallone's Rocky Balboa. Ryan had fun with that comparison in this solo show, which is the 653rd edition of Have You Ever Seen. So step into the ring and take advantage of your hate as we ring in the spring this Oscar Month with a monologue about Somebody Up There Likes Me. Well, Actually: the content in the 3rd trivia question is inaccurate: Newman had 10 Oscar nominations in total, 9 for acting and 1 for producing (plus, Denzel Washington has 10 in total too because he was nominated for producing Fences). Also, to

It’s St. Patrick's Day, so Have You Ever Seen #652 gets into an IRA frame of mind, puts on some green and talks about John Ford's The Informer. The legendary director and leading man Victor McLaglen won Oscars, but the set-bound film itself lost out to the epic grandeur of Mutiny On The Bounty for Best Picture. McLaglen plays a pathetic liar who betrays and rats out a fellow Irishman to British authorities...and deals with his guilt (badly) by blowing all his blood money as soon as possible. So pour a Guinness, boyos & girlos and prepare for another Ryan monologue here in Oscar Month as the 90-year-old The Informer is on deck. Pour some Irish whiskey into your Sparkplug Coffee. Or don't. Have You Ever Seen listeners can use our "HYES" promo code and get a 20% discount. The website if "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Don't forget to rate this podcast and write a review. And subscribe! Feeding back to us can be achieved in a number of ways. Try email: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. Try Bluesky: "ryan-ellis"

Oscar Month continues! Bev's couple of weeks off begins! She's not here to talk about The King's Speech, which is a classy movie that ended up being a huge hit, even though it's about a group of people that Ryan has never liked: the royals? A monarchy? In a democracy? Yet, credit where it's due, Tom Hooper does an admirable job of making a non-fan care about the king of England and his enunciation---and also Nazi-related---troubles. Colin Firth won gold for his work as the stuttering Prince Albert/King George VI who gets a job he never wanted while his supportive wife (Helena Bonham Carter) and unorthodox speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) are just about his only support system. The King's Speech is often quite touching and it's even inspirational, showing a privileged man have to deal with confidence issues, loneliness, his uncaring fellow royals and duty to his country. So don't storm off in anger. Just tune into the 651st episode of Have You Ever Seen and listen to one man's speech...about a speech. Well, Ac

All The King's Men is a political movie, so Ryan decided to get very political in this one-man show. In fact, warning: don't listen to the 650th edition of Have You Ever Seen if you're a Trump supporter...because he gets lambasted. As for the movie in question, it's a good one. A man who saw into the future, Robert Rossen, writes and directs a film that's effective at showing a cruel and corrupt governor does business...and how that's connected to the wanton acts of the cruel and corrupt current president. Broderick Crawford plays Huey Long-esque Willie Stark, who's a performer first and foremost, then proves to be a gigantic phony. Rossen's film is complicated though because the man who takes dirty money uses it to build things the state needs. So strap in tight for an episode all about All The King's Men, but also often about the certain loathsome individual who must have seen this and taken notes. Well, Actually: the Danny DeVito line in Heist is "everybody needs money", not "everybody loves money". Also,

The Ellises have a next-day chat about the 97th Academy Awards in our 2025 Oscars Post-View. The year 2024 was not a banner 12 months for film, but, in the end, the voters pointed at independent film Anora the most often, giving it 5 trophies…including Best Picture. Sean Baker set a record by winning 4 Oscars (at least, in the types of categories in which he won), with 2of those being for his screenplay and for his direction. The awards were spread around fairly well beyond that (8 out of 10 Best Picture nominees won at least 1 piece of gold), although the show didn’t wow or move us too much. It was just an okay---and very long---broadcast. Conan O’Brien was funny, as we expected he would be, while the speeches got serious & political at times…as we expected they would. Some people, though, thought they had all night to ramble on up there. In any case, fire up our 33-ish minutes of post-Oscars analysis here on Have You Ever Seen.  Try Sparkplug Coffee. Our listeners can get a onetime 20% discount by usi

One of the most-legendary filmmakers of all time only directed one movie to a Best Picture Oscar…and Rebecca was it. Alfred Hitchcock slickly portrays the brutal treatment of the victimized newlywed Joan Fontaine. She’s a target for everyone in the film, especially a vicious housekeeper played by Judith Anderson and a neglectful and possibly homicidal husband played by Laurence Olivier. But did Hitch enjoy what Fontaine's character goes through...or does he sympathize with her? And just how much of a compromise is the censored version of the unseen title character's fate in this stylish, gothic thriller? So throw the 648th edition of Have You Ever Seen into those holes in the sides of your head as we head to Manderley and whisper about what's going on in Rebecca. Feel free to write as many memos as you want like the control freak David Selznick used to do, but jotting all those notes down would be aided by sipping Sparkplug Coffee. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and get yourself a 20% discount. Review our p

Our 10th Annual Oscars Preview podcast is the 647th chat on Have You Ever Seen...and it's an in-depth look at the controversial 97th Academy Awards. First-time host Conan O'Brien will probably riff on the dirt, but also how this is one of those “who are you people” Oscars. Yeah, it just wasn’t a terrific year for film and the nominations reflect that...particularly in major categories like Best Picture and Best Director. It also seems like people watched 15 or 20 movies all year, then just picked them as nominees in nearly every category. So fire up our show to hear if we think this will be the year of a sex-worker winning all the big prizes. Or will it be the year of a transgender drug lord? Or maybe it’ll be the year of a surly, green witch. Or a brutal artist. Gulp down some Sparkplug Coffee on Sunday night. Our listeners get a onetime 20% discount by using our "HYES" promo code. The website? It's "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Subscribe to our channel, but also rate and review our chats in your podcast app.

As you’ll hear in this 646th dose of Have You Ever Seen, The Postman Always Rings Twice is thought of by many to be the epitome of film noir. Tay Garnett’s sexy thriller based on James M Cain’s book gives us passion, lust, deceit, betrayal and death, so it hits those vital marks to be a key part of this genre. Lana Turner is the lady in white who gets her employee John Garfield to kill for her. She’s the standout between the two of them, but is she really the baddest of all femme fatales? Tune into this one-Ryan show about The Postman Always Rings Twice to find out! Well, Actually: at the 4:35 mark, it should have been "Cora eventually falls hard for drifter Frank", not "drifter Nick".  Go the “sparkplug.coffee/hyes” website and you’ll be on your way to a onetime 20% discount from our friends at Sparkplug.  Subscribe to this podcast. Rate and review it too,  We post our shows on YouTube as well (@hyesellis in the search bar). Comment, like, subscribe, tell your friends. To let us know what you think of

Cinderella is on the shortlist for the most famous fairy tales of 'em all. And, after a rough stretch in the '40s, Walt Disney's genius animators beautifully adapted this legendary story to help bring the struggling studio back into the black. Trouble is, the cutesy mice sidekicks aren't nearly as funny as other Disney sidekicks were (or have been since) and some plot elements border on the stupid. We got into the issues of princess culture, abusive family members and the whirlwind romance Cinderella has with the personality-free prince. So enjoy your impractical footwear and avoid waiting until it's almost midnight as the 645th edition of Have You Ever Seen bats it back and forth about the bibbidi bobbidi cartoon. Well, Actually: the horse (Major) is transformed into the coachman by the Fairy Godmother's magic and the dog (Bruno) is transformed into the footman. Cinderellie, Cinderellie lives (spoiler alert) happily ever after, but she might be able to find a way to be even happier if she could order Sparkpl

No one has to think Love Story is a good movie to acknowledge that it's a beloved romance that made an absolute killing at the box office 55 years ago. The AFI remembers Arthur Hiller's film fondly too. It's just that we Ellises aren't at all sorry to say that we aren't as enamored as millions of other people have been. It feels rushed and story beats aren't allowed to breathe, plus---Oscar nominations or not---the performances certainly weren't award-worthy. The title of the movie is appropriate too because the overly-earnest story is focused on the love between Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw...and absolutely nothing else. In any case, as Valentine's Day approaches, settle in for our 644th episode about the preppy boy and the sassy girl who headline Old Love Month here on Have You Ever Seen. Well, Actually: "after all, tomorrow is another day" from Gone With The Wind is 31st on AFI's Top 100 Quotes. Sparkplug Coffee can ordered by Bostonians, New Yorkers, or anyone from the U.S. and Canada. They'll give our fan

Witness is a tense thriller as much as it is a sweet love story, but Peter Weir's typically sensitive direction balances those elements very well. He also led Harrison Ford to his only Oscar nomination, which seems hard to believe for a guy who's been such a big movie star for such a long time. Lukas Haas plays a young Amish Pennsylvanian who witnesses a vicious murder in the washroom of a train station, then Philly detective Ford has to protect him and his mother (Kelly McGillis) from retribution by the dirty cops who did the deed. And, throughout, Ford & McGillis slowly fall for each other. So stare meaningfully at your crush for 2 hours as we present the 643rd episode on Have You Ever Seen in a way the Amish wouldn't approve of: electronically. Do what the Lapp family and their friends cannot and go on your computer to order Sparkplug Coffee. Our listeners will get a onetime 20% discount. Just use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your pod

1950 was a year in which legendary classics like All About Eve and Sunset Blvd were released, but one of their competitors for the Best Picture Oscar was Vincente Minnelli's light comedy...which is itself a low-key classic. Father Of The Bride is well-written and it has more laughs than most movies that came out in that era, largely because Spencer Tracy knew how to be funny in a dignified way. He's nearly at his best in this as a successful lawyer...and he's also Elizabeth Taylor's dad. He's self-absorbed and unable to accept that his daughter has grown up & ready to get married, but he's lovable all the same. Kudos to Joan Bennett too as the MOTHER Of The Bride. Father Of The Bride may be fluffy, but it packs a bit of a melancholy punch, especially if you happen to be middle-aged like we are. So we begin the shortest month of the year with our first episode in "Old Love Month" on Have You Ever Seen in this 642nd edition. Sparkplug Coffee would be great at a wedding reception. Order some using our "HYES"

While Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass might be dated now, it was certainly controversial 15 years ago. It's jammed with violence and bad language...and many of those naughty words come out of the mouth of an 11-year-old girl. But it's also a story about a young nobody who becomes a star on social media and goes on to save his city from very bad guy. Take away that he DOES become a superhero and this movie IS our current culture. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the title character and he's about as average as he always is, but Chloe Grace Moretz is fantastic as the merciless Hit-Girl. And while Kick-Ass' Big Bad, Mark Strong, is just okay and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is nothing special as Kick-Ass' friend/foil, Nicolas Cage has a phenomenal time playing Moretz's vengeful dad. And even though Vaughn's adaption of the comic book is colourful and often fun as it explores the theme of "what if a regular kid tried to be a superhero", it doesn't really deliver on that promise. This is a pretty long 641st edition of Have You Ev