The Top 100 Project

  • Autor: Vários
  • Narrador: Vários
  • Editor: Podcast
  • Duración: 521:39:09
  • Mas informaciones

Informações:

Sinopsis

Ryan and Bev Ellis are partners in film nerdery who share their often humorous musings on the AFI's 1998 & 2007 lists of the greatest 100 American films ever made. But we finished with that in December 2015, so now we just review anything we feel like!

Episodios

  • The Poseidon Adventure

    26/12/2022 Duración: 53min

    We wrap up 2022 and we also end a long era of calling ourselves the "Top 100 Project" with this thorough gab about one of the most-successful disaster pictures ever made. When the topic of game-changing '70s blockbusters comes up, The Poseidon Adventure often gets lost in the shuffle...partly because it came out before most of them. It has a B-movie story, but its big budget allowed the filmmakers to afford great production values and to cast several award-winning actors. The picture is loud, wet and fiery. And that's just Ernest Borgnine's performance. Okay, none of the actors are marvelous in this (are they, "sis"?), but they ARE focused and the taut story they're in is exciting. The Poseidon Adventure has plenty of religious undertones too---sometimes overtones---as Gene Hackman questions God's actions...or occasional lack of action. So as we get close to New Year's Eve, dial up our chat about a NYE-set disaster flick where a classy old boat goes head to head with a huge wave. And now it's promotion time!

  • The Shop Around The Corner: You've Got Snail Mail

    23/12/2022 Duración: 23min

    Bonus episode! As the holiday season envelops us all and the end of 2022 draws near, Ryan turns his eye to an 82-year-old (supposed) Christmas movie starring Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart. The 2 Hungarian shop-workers spend most of the 100 minutes of Ernst Lubitsch's rom-com fussing and feuding, not knowing they're also pen pals who are actually crazy about each other. Yup, this was You've Got Mail before Tom and Meg were even born. The Shop Around The Corner is pleasant and winning, but it's a shame that the com isn't as effective as the rom...which has its failings too. The hook in this episode is commercialization and the love of money more than the love of Christmas or even...well, love. So grab a blanket and curl up by the fireplace this weekend with Ryan's latest oral essay that breaks down a touch of Lubitsch and his movie about "I hate you in person, but I love you on paper".   Tweet either of us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and/or send us a Christmas card of sorts via email (top100projec

  • Jackie Brown

    19/12/2022 Duración: 01h25s

    The dark comedy and intricate heist film that is Jackie Brown got lost in the late-December movie rush when it came out a quarter of a century ago, particularly because of the frenzy over Titanic. Still, Quentin Tarantino made what remains his most-mature movie and he even showed uncharacteristic restraint about some brutal violence. Pam Grier sizzles in the title role and Samuel L. Jackson does what he always does when he works with QT: hit grand-slam home runs. The rest of the cast does good or great work too, but the 2 leads in QT's homage to '70s Blaxploitation are at the very top of their game. So as Christmas draws near and you want to listen to a full hour of movie chat while you wrap presents and prepare to face relatives, then booyah, fire up the 471st Ellises' Analysis to hear our dissection of another QT classic.   Sparkplug Coffee can help you complete your last-minute holiday shopping. Go to sparkplug.coffee and use our promo code ("top100project") to save 20%. Also, hang out with us on Twitter (

  • Meet Me In St. Louis

    12/12/2022 Duración: 36min

    Believe it or not, the best-reviewed Christmas movie on Rotten Tomatoes is this Judy Garland musical about love, family and home. As sweet and fun as Meet Me In St. Louis is though, making it wasn't always a joyful experience for the cast and crew. Garland, who met director Vincente Minnelli---one of her future husbands---while making it, was in rough shape while shooting. That started a discussion between us about child stars and how they're treated by show business. For every Garland or Margaret O'Brien who succeeds and even wins the now-defunct Juvenile Oscar, there's a story about putting young people in unfair or even dangerous situations. Sometimes even stars like Garland suffered just to stay on top. But this chat mostly focused on this light and lovely family film that's so similar to Little Women that you could almost call this "Little Smiths". So as your trolley clang, clang, clangs for the 470th Ellises' Analysis, we hope you'll have yourself a merry holiday/Christmas and enjoy our little tongue-wa

  • An Officer And A Gentleman: And A Drill Instructor

    09/12/2022 Duración: 31min

    Bonus episode! This time, Ryan tries to figure out what the real love story is in An Officer And A Gentleman. Sure, Richard Gere and Debra Winger are hot for each other in this famously passionate boot camp movie, but what about the wild card in this love-fest...namely, Louis Gossett Jr? Okay, yes, the drill instructor is also a much-needed father figure to dreamboat Gere, even if the D.I. is one who will train, torture and karate-kick the future jet-flier, whether the tough guy is unforgettable or not. This remains a much-loved drama that's full of effective love-vs-war contrasts that director Taylor Hackford balances beautifully. And---40 years later---that finale still carries a lot of water...and also 1 factory worker. So let love lift you up as this one-man oral essay breaks down the many goods and the occasional bads in AAAAG.   Also, why not tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and/or email us (top100projectpodcast@gmail.com)

  • The Bishop's Wife

    05/12/2022 Duración: 39min

    The 469th Ellises' Analysis and our first episode in December has us asking you to appreciate the irony of an atheist and an agnostic discussing a Christmas movie about a religious man and an angel. Cary Grant plays that divine being in The Bishop's Wife and he's given the job of trying to fix Loretta Young and David Niven's struggling marriage. It's a tricky story to tell because Young has to have romantic chemistry with Grant, but not too much. Bev doesn't think they walked that tightrope very well, nor was Grant given a role where he could truly excel. We both acknowledge Henry Koster's movie is fun though, even if the laughs didn't tickle us the way they probably made audiences guffaw 75 years ago. Actually, The Bishop's Wife has a layer of sadness to it, as many Christmas classics do. But you have no reason to be sad if you drink coffee. Maybe you can get some Sparkplug Coffee as a stocking stuffer. You'll enjoy get a one-time 20% discount if you use our promo code ("top100project"). Want to contact us?

  • The Bourne Identity

    28/11/2022 Duración: 45min

    Doug Liman wasn't the obvious person to direct The Bourne Identity and Matt Damon was an even less-obvious choice to play an assassin with a brutal case of amnesia, but their underdog thriller kicked off what became a beloved franchise. The incredible action scenes got even more kinetic in the sequels and the post-9/11 political subtext was more a factor in those ones too, so this first Bourne stands out for being a fairly-quiet action film for people don't usually like that sort of thing. It's also funny to think that during this same year, there was yet another in a series where a handsome, government-trained killer goes by the initials "JB". 007 had been making a mint on the big screen for decades, but along came Jason Bourne to one-up James Bond. However, none of that would mean very much if not for the soulful work of Franka Potente, who's one of the best co-stars Damon has ever had. So buckle up as the 468th Ellises' Analysis zips you expertly around the streets of Paris and tries hard not to forget wha

  • Bambi: The Unbearable Hypocrisy Of Meat-Eating

    25/11/2022 Duración: 18min

    Bonus episode! It's become a habit to release a "one Ryan show" on or around holidays, so how about some incendiary thoughts about what people put on their plates during Epic Eating Season? It took some re-releases to get there, but Bambi has become one of Disney's biggest hits ever and is beloved by many fans, but this review doesn't join all those people in the gush parade. Not that the movie doesn't look great and there certainly are interesting themes in this nature-loving subject matter. There are also many favourable comparisons to The Lion King. Still, this episode is a rip-fest. So as America enjoys/dreads spending several days with family during the Thanksgiving weekend, settle in with a brief solo gab that has a thorn in its hoof about Bambi.   If you want to shoot us some tweets or just follow what we type out on Twitter, we're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Emails are also cool (top100projectpodcast@gmail.com).

  • Basic Instinct

    21/11/2022 Duración: 51min

    There was a time when Michael Douglas and sex thrillers went together like ice and picks, but Paul Verhoeven's steamy whodunnit belongs to Sharon Stone. She's an ultra-wealthy, often-naked, mystery novelist in Basic Instinct, a dangerous combination of beauty and brains. She also just might have a thirst for committing bloody murder. Still, we had sympathy for what might be the devil because when a character is this much better than all the dupes around her, sometimes you just have to put all your chips on evil. So don't be a detective who doesn't think to take DNA samples or fingerprints...or even see what's right in front of him. Just insert the 467th Ellises' Analysis into the appropriate holes in your body (that's your ears, weirdo) as we try to piece together Basic Instinct. But what goes better with difficult police investigations than great coffee? We're sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee, who continue to offer a 20% discount if you use our promo code ("top100project"). We're also open to being chatted up o

  • Throne Of Blood

    14/11/2022 Duración: 35min

    Whether you call it the Scottish play or whether you just call it Macbeth (because you don't worry about silliness like believing saying words is bad luck), this notorious Shakespeare work has been turned into a movie many different times. Outside of the Joel Coen version last year, nobody ever did it as well as and certainly not any better than Japanese master Akira Kurosawa did in Throne Of Blood. Big, bold Toshiro Mifune is the samurai warrior who doesn't handle it very well when he gets to be in man in power while his lady (Isuzu Yamada) schemes, manipulates and then just can't get that spot out. From the incredible set design to the deliberately contrasting styles of acting to the inevitable tragedy of the foretold ending, Throne Of Blood is the kind of production that sucks you in while also never letting you relax. So speak in ghostly metaphors while prophesizing someone's future as the Ellises' Analysis chats at you for the 466th time.   An order (or many orders) of Sparkplug Coffee is a fine accompan

  • A Few Good Men: Sympathy For The Jessup

    11/11/2022 Duración: 31min

    Bonus episode! On this Veteran's Day (or Remembrance Day, if you're a fellow Canadian), Ryan offers up another unexpected vocal essay, this time about a marine who's killed during a hazing that goes terribly wrong. Everybody in Rob Reiner's cast---led by an enthusiastic and charismatic Tom Cruise---is good or at least solid in this film, but A Few Good Men belongs to Jack Nicholson. His uber-famous "you can't handle the truth" monologue has a lot more going for it than just being a classic movie rant. The point of this episode is to dig deeper into that speech and to look past his reputation as a great villain to see the shades of grey in not only him, but in the two young men he ordered to "train" a substandard marine. So don't let a jarhead give you a Code Red. Just be crystal clear about my orders and download this one-man show about A Few Good Men. Oh, and to share your thoughts about this or any other podcast we've ever done, tweet me or Bev while that's still an option (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis)

  • The Candidate

    07/11/2022 Duración: 39min

    It's one thing to be an underdog who isn't expected to win when running for political office, but what if your increasingly-bland message wins over more people than your idealistic views ever did? Well, if you're Robert Redford, Michael Ritchie and Oscar-winning screenwriter Jeremy Larner, you make a sly comedy about it.  The Candidate pokes clever fun at the California senatorial race back when satire wasn't as common a genre as it is now. It also identifies the political parties by name, brings up hot-button issues that are somehow STILL hot-button issues today and then even makes you wonder if you should actually be rooting for Redford's character to win. Yup, The Candidate is a perhaps-forgotten gem that's very worthy of a rediscovering. So on the day before America votes legitimately for perhaps the last time, go the better way and stuff 40 minutes of the surprisingly-calm 465th Ellises' Analysis into your life. As for what do we drink now, that should be Sparkplug Coffee. They dole out 20% discounts to

  • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

    31/10/2022 Duración: 52min

    This is the rare time we've ever posted an episode on Halloween, so to put an appropriately freaky bow on Scary Movie Month, we've chosen to discuss a film that's always frightened at least one of us. David Lynch has been the master of unsettling horror (BOB!) amidst everyday settings since his career kicked off 45 years ago. That talent might be epitomized in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. This eerie prequel to the ground-breaking TV series certainly can make a person's skin crawl. Sheryl Lee is almost operatic, but she's also extraordinary playing one of Lynch's many tragic blondes. The psychotic break Laura Palmer suffers became a running theme in so much of Lynch's work and Lee nails it just as effectively as Watts or Dern or Pullman did. Okay, maybe not quite as good as Watts. The original Twin Peaks series and the 2017 follow-up miniseries came up a lot during this episode, so be prepared to hear about TV almost as much as film. Indisputably, this brand has staying power with its diehard fans and you'll

  • Halloween

    30/10/2022 Duración: 21min

    Bonus episode! In addition to the 4 horror pictures that we chose to discuss during Scary Movie Month, Ryan got inspired to sit down alone and produce more October talky time by looking back at Halloween the day before Halloween. Which version of Halloween though? Inquire within! Most of the entries in this 13-picture series came up at one point or another, so this 22-minuter is an in-the-know look at what Michael Myers and Laurie Strode have been up to for a good chunk of the past 44 years. So to gear up for the spookiest day of the year, check out this one-man show that takes you to Haddonfield and talks about the un-speaking, mask-wearing, teenager-stalking, knife-brandisher who likes to end people's lives on a night intended for candy-begging.   You can tweet Ryan (and Bev, for that matter): @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Email is also a communications option: top100projectpodcast@gmail.com. And come back to this channel on Halloween itself to hear the Ellises analyze Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

  • Freaks

    24/10/2022 Duración: 37min

    Step up, step up to hear our chat about a movie that focuses on the, let's say, more unusual circus performers...although Freaks isn't actually about the show the public gets to see. In fact, Tod Browning's revenge story focuses almost entirely on the humdrum lives (and sometimes maniacal actions) of the sideshow characters in this traveling caravan. Just don't cross one of these so-called freaks because if you mess with one, you mess with all of them. The title characters have layers though and there's not a lot of black and white in this film, even though it's literally a black-and-white film. So learn to accept that you're one of us (one of us!) as the 463rd Ellises' Analysis yammers in your ear about the 90-year-old Freaks. Just don't let anyone spike your cup of coffee with anything that'll harm you... and make that unspiked beverage Sparkplug Coffee. Do you like 20% discounts? You'll get one if you use our promo code ("top100project") at checkout. Also, tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), email

  • Evil Dead II

    17/10/2022 Duración: 39min

    Deadites and Kandarian demons, we're back after a week off with a PG-rated talk about the extremely R-rated Evil Dead II. Director Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell & their friends were able to pull off a monumental blend of comedy and horror in this landmark sequel. Actually, the laughs outnumber the shrieks. The gore-soaked set pieces and the creativity of the low-budget effects get an A+, but the narrative and some of the performances aren't as excellent. Campbell though, that B-movie legend, has boatloads of charisma and his go-for-broke director was good enough at his craft to go on to become a respected maker of blockbusters. So fire up your chainsaw hand, grab your boomstick and kindly make your easily-swallowed soul available for a possession as the 462nd Ellises' Analysis picks apart the groovy goods & the bloody bads of Evil Dead II. Also, when you're covered in stage blood, the only soothing option is to drink Sparkplug Coffee. Use our promo code ("top100project") and get a 20% discount. And j

  • Poltergeist

    03/10/2022 Duración: 37min

    We begin our 7th Scary Movie Month with this 461st Ellises' Analysis. Poltergeist is a slow-burn horror show with an insane finale as Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg throw a bunch of angry ghosts at the loving Freeling family. The movie also has a sense of humour to balance out at least some of the trauma these little children go through. Full marks to the cast. Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, the novice actors playing their kids and the adults playing the bizarro ghost chasers all keep it real amidst all the pandemonium. We also talked about this movie's supposed curse, about who really directed it and about whether or not it's actually scary to 2 middle-aged podcasters. So don't dig a pool in the back yard if there are vengeful dead people down there, but DO toss your television out into the hall and then GO INTO THE LIGHT (of your cell phone) as we hash out Poltergeist. As for a good way to keep you up at night, so you can battle the spectral kidnappers hiding in your electronics, order Sparkplug Coffee

  • Lady Bird

    26/09/2022 Duración: 45min

    Lady Bird was a perfect way for Greta Gerwig to start her directing career. She got to make a movie based on her own life, set in her home city of Sacramento, with a young woman in the lead role, which succeeded at the box office and was beloved by critics. Mic drop. A huge plus is that Gerwig's caustically funny flick has an atypical ending to a coming-of-age story, contrast to the easy answers these kinds of movies tend to serve up. Saoirse Ronan is tremendous (this is nothing new) as the prickly, Sacramento-hating high-schooler who renamed herself to the dismay of her ultra-passive-aggressive mother. Laurie Metcalf is great as that mother, as is Tracy Letts as Ronan's father. Really, the whole cast in Lady Bird is something else. So don't dive out of a moving vehicle to win a car-gument, but come to understand that sometimes love hurts as we bring you the 460th Ellises' Analysis. By the way, leaving home to go to college is not an easy transition, but it IS easy to buy Sparkplug Coffee wherever that Canadi

  • Boogie Nights

    19/09/2022 Duración: 01h02min

    We haven't covered a Paul Thomas Anderson movie in over 6 years, so it's high time we found out what's up in his funny opus about a makeshift family doing drugs and shooting porn. Burt Reynolds is fantastic and he's so likable in Boogie Nights, but it was Mark Wahlberg who said to Hollywood "hello, I'm a big, bright shining star" after this ode to the '70s burst onto the scene. The entire cast is marvelous and almost all of them (Moore, Cheadle, Reilly, Walters, Hoffman, Graham, etc) play their characters like innocent children. Everything is changing around them, although they themselves don't really change. Yes, it's yet another film about a glorious rise and a brutal fall, but PTA's script and direction find ways to make the story fun (for a while anyway) as he classily films this seedy subject. So don't be a certain kind of idiot (an idiot, an idiot, an idiot...) as the 459th Ellises' Analysis peels back many layers of the one about a delusional family that just happens to make adult films. You can probab

  • 25th Hour

    12/09/2022 Duración: 58min

    Spike Lee has spent most of his long career directing movies about racial strife, but 25th Hour isn't really about that. The terrorist attack on 9/11 wasn't even a year old when they were making this movie, so Lee instead chose to lace those complicated feelings throughout what is otherwise a quiet character study about one man's last day of freedom. Edward Norton is strong (as he always is) in the leading role as an intelligent drug dealer who made bad decisions and has to face the consequences, but the supporting cast is excellent too. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox and Anna Paquin all shine. It's Barry Pepper though who gets to play the character with the most layers. And the heartbreaking ending that evokes a certain 1980s Jesus movie is what makes 25th Hour so memorable. So know that it's all right (even if it probably isn't going to be all right) as the 458th Ellises' Analysis worries about a future in prison while enjoying one last day. To stay awake for 24 hours, guzzle a few mugs o

página 11 de 35