The Top 100 Project

We cover a lot of movies about movies on this channel. For the 437th Ellises' Analysis, we're digging into what Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas and friends are up to in The Bad And The Beautiful. The story paints Douglas' studio boss as a charismatic devil, but Ryan has sympathy for said devil (yet again) because the bad man is just not bad enough. Perhaps Vincente Minnelli or his actors or even MGM pulled their punches so they wouldn't alienate powerful people in Hollywood. Still, the workaholic David Selznick stand-in who steps on plenty of people never goes into full-on prick mode. And what do we owe people who helped get us where we are, especially after they've betrayed us? We discuss. So fire up the lights and roll the camera as we hash out this hugely entertaining '50s classic. Meantime, get a 20% discount when you buy stuff at Sparkplug Coffee (promo code: "top100project"), chat us up on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or email us (top100projectpodcast@gmail.com) and check out Ryan's other podcas

Pete Docter has directed four of Pixar's very-best films, including Up and Inside Out. Soul makes him 4 for 4, even though it's just a step or two behind those other 2 masterpieces. It's hard to dispute that Docter & Kemp Powers helmed the best animation and design in Pixar's recent history, although we wondered if kids liked Soul as much as adults probably did when it came out. Were they interested in seeing a grumpy jazz teacher going through a bizarre, near-death day, even though there are some goofy pratfalls and body-switching? They probably DID enjoy all the "jazzing" and the sequence that leaves Jamie Foxx's Joe Gardner "mostly dead". Plus, you'd have to be a hideous, purple beast not to enjoy movie-stealer Tina Fey just killing it as 22. So keep your hat and glasses on your head no matter what tragedies befall you as we discuss the movie about keys (piano, maple) in our 436th Ellises' Analysis. Oh, and buy piles of Sparkplug Coffee (get a 20% discount by using our promo code of "top100project"), a

Bonus episode! So what happened at the Oscars? Did people win awards for these mediocre movies while the Twitter-verse crapped all over everything and then the movie stars just happily & quietly went home? Well, of course not. Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock because of a joke and that cast a pall over the rest of what was otherwise an inclusive and fairly-funny show. We kicked this episode off by doing the obvious thing and breaking down the Smith/Rock brouhaha, but we also discussed pretty much everything else about the lonnnnnng broadcast too. Tweet us your own thoughts about these zany Academy Awards. We're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. 

Fittingly, the day after a passably uplifting film wins Best Picture of 2021, we post a chat about The Lost Weekend. Billy Wilder was a genius at tragi-comedy, so he isn't at his best directing something like this. Still, his Oscars-sweeper remains an effective effort. Most of Wilder's legendary films were ahead in the '50s, but his Oscar-festooned 1945 "drinking'll wreck ya" drama is a vivid forerunner of desperate alcoholism. Yes, Leaving Las Vegas, Young Adult and others did it better, but this was revolutionary for its time. Ray Milland took home a trophy for Best Actor (despite the thick-laying he's doing) and Jane Wyman is underused, but the cast is still pretty authentic. So pour 1 (or 100) out to the demons and also to the saints as the 435th Ellises' Analysis concludes Oscar Month with a chat about Wilder's Weekend.   Well, Actually: Alcoholics Anonymous got its start 10 years earlier in 1935. Also, I.A.L. Diamond became Wilder's writing partner in 1957 when they co-wrote Love In The Afternoon. Also

The 94th Academy Awards are only days away and for the first time in many years, we weren't big fans of a lot of the nominees. For that matter, we weren't huge fans of most of the 2021 movies in general. Judging by what many respected critics are saying, the Ellises are the outliers. Well, groupthink is dull anyway, right? We'll be tweeting live on the big night (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) as Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall host the most controversial Oscars in years, especially considering ABC's baffling edict to cut a slew of the awards presentations to speed up the live broadcast. As for what you're in for in the 434th Ellises' Analysis, we discussed all the candidates for Best Picture, Best Director, the 2 writing categories and all 4 acting categories. By the way, if you're looking to catch up on all the (mediocre) 2021 flicks that you haven't yet seen, most of the major nominees are now available on one streaming service or another. Anyway, give our hour's worth of nay-saying a listen, b

Box-office hit Argo was well-loved and won some top prizes at the Oscars a decade ago. In a year that also featured the likes of Amour, Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty, was it worthy of winning Best Picture? Well, let’s just say that Bev was not kind to Ben Affleck’s crowning achievement. It doesn’t help that the director (mis)cast himself in the lead role, which whitewashed the real CIA operative he’s playing. Also, as dangerous as the Iranians siege on the American embassy was and the worry that the 6 who escaped might not survive, a lot of the story is fabricated. Yup, this real movie about a fake movie resorted to faking a lot of the drama! Still, Affleck’s film is well-made and it remains taut. So learn your lines, practice your Canadian accent and get comfortable living in someone else’s house because you might be there a while as the 433rd Ellises’ Analysis breaks down Argo…yourself. Sparkplug Coffee continues to sponsor our podcast. No, they aren’t able to get their beans into Iran for those of

Let’s take a trip to Germany in the early 1930s and check into the Grand Hotel along with MGM’s all-star cast. It wasn’t as common then as it is now to cast so many big names like Garbo, Crawford, Beery and the Barrymores in the same movie, but it paid off. This was a hit and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Edmund Goulding’s interwoven-character study represents the very first time in nearly 9 years of podcasting that we’ve covered Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford or John Barrymore. Their real (okay, real-adjacent) performances were the keys of this stylish production. So don’t steal from your fancy schmancy floormates as people come and people go. Just do normal-people things like drive to work, wash the dishes or fold the laundry as the 432nd Ellises’ Analysis yips in your ear about the Grand (Berlin) Hotel. They didn’t have Sparkplug Coffee back in the early ’30s, which was their immense loss. Maybe it would’ve made all these unhappy people feel better. Anyway, we have it now and we suggest you get a

We are thrilled to report that Call Me By Your Name remains a deeply moving film. It might have been even more effective this time than it was back in 2017. Armie Hammer’s real-life controversies have caused many people to sour hard on him and his career is probably in jeopardy, but truth is truth: the dreamboat has more chemistry with Timothee Chalamet in this than you’ll see in an episode of Breaking Bad. As great as those 2 stars are though, their age difference (both the characters and the actual people) was enough for us to question casting Hammer at all. That troubling aspect got discussed for a long time in this 431st Ellises’ Analysis, which should tell you how lovely Luca Guadagnino’s movie since we still like it so much anyway. So grab a peach and listen to the advice of your caring parents, then feel your feelings as we wax on about Call Me By Your Name. Well, Actually: The proper phrasing of Mandrake’s line in Dr. Strangelove is “…the court of inquiry on this will give you such a pranging…”. Also,

The “Month Of Strange Love” goes to extremely trippy places in the 430th Ellises’ Analysis as we try our best to decipher what’s going on in Lost Highway. The American original David Lynch is a wonderful enigma who often gets big-name actors to go to strange places in his baffling art films that don’t always make obvious sense. Look closer though and you also might notice that even this auteur often repeats themes in his most-noteworthy titles like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and this. In this outing, Bill Pullman/Balthazar Getty (Billthazar Pully?) is a shockingly unreliable narrator and you just can’t trust any of the juicy story the character is…well, narrating. Patricia Arquette is at her badass best in almost every way in this sexy escapade. Wow. She's so good. So let guilt shatter your freaky fantasy because you’ll…never…have…me, but you just might have a fulfilling time listening to our layer-peeling of Lost Highway. Well, Actually: Ryan’s nutshell isn’t entirely accurate because Pete clearly DOES ch

I suppose you’d be wise to spend some of your Valentine’s Day hearing us warble about Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent and friends do mighty good work in Away From Her. The 2 leads are quiet dynamite, but Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy and Kristen Thomson are a fair bit of gentle TNT themselves. Sarah Polley’s debut as both a writer and director is a sensitive, lovely film about senior citizens. What’s especially impressive is that Polley was only 27 years old when she made it. So don’t disappear. Just learn to accept that your life is changing (maybe not for the better) as the 429th Ellises’ Analysis sorts through the beautiful, but devastating angles of this lyrical opus to aging and Alzheimer’s. Sparkplug Coffee is not going to prevent dementia, but it CAN help a grown-up of any age get their day started deliciously. A 20% discount will be your reward if you use our promo code (“top100project”) at check-out. We tweet out thoughts on occasion: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website remains top100projec

February is our "Month Of Strange Love” and the 1st of 4 unusual sex and/or romance films we've chosen is the one about the Spade-ist and the Magg-osist. The 2 lead performances in Steven Shainberg’s Secretary are the main event. Slinky sexy James Spader has been in other perverse pictures like this and he’s always convincingly saucy. Maggie Gyllenhaal, on other hand, was not the obvious choice, although it’s one of many risky roles she’s sought out. Like her brother Jake, she’s willing to take chances that many actors won’t. In this case, it’s BDSM with her boss…although this movie is about so much more than just that. So don’t dig a sharp object into your leg. Just eat a couple peas before you gulp down a lot of ice cream as the 428th Elllises’ Analysis delves into the goings-on in Secretary. If you’ve been ordered to sit at your boss’ desk for days on end, you should bring a straw and a lot of Sparkplug Coffee. They still want to give you a 20% discount on your very next order. You just have to put our “to

One of the greatest technically creative directors of comedies has got to be Edgar Wright. We love his enthusiasm, his warmth and his talent…although we don’t actually love a lot of his movies. Well, hold on, one of us thinks Shaun Of The Dead is hysterical and the other thinks Wright's peak of greatness is Hot Fuzz. Both yuck-fests are jammed with homages and references and also a lot of cartoonish (yet also quite gory) violence. And they’re so rewatchable! In Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg plays against type as a pedantic, by-the-book London policeman officer banished to a small town to make friends with the good-natured lug Nick Frost. Oh, and Pegg has to deal with some sinister forces, including the brilliantly funny Timothy Dalton. All in a day’s (paper)work. Listening to the 427th Ellises’ Analysis is for the greater good (the greater good), so stay back or the ginger nut (not to mention all that riff raff) will get it. A Follow-Up: We’ve seen Last Night In Soho since we recorded this episode. As always, much res

Many movies made outside Hollywood are among the best of any given year, but the Brazilian-made City Of God remains a revered classic of this entire century. That’s how several critics groups and Best Of lists feel about it, at least. It’s not so simple for us. The slightly dated filmmaking techniques are a little much (especially the frenzied editing) and it’s A LOT much to have to look at 2 hours of children toting around guns, guns, guns. So much killing. That doesn’t mean we can’t admire the visuals and the soundscape in Fernando Meirelles’ opus about kids & teenagers running wild in the favelas in Rio. So try putting aside your handgun and instead putting a camera in your hands as you hear the 426th Ellises’ Analysis rocket through Cidade De Deus. Well, Actually: The girl in The Ring is Daveigh Chase. Also, Kill Bill V1 was released in 2003, not Kill Bill V2. Also also, “Children Of Men TV series” at the 32:40 mark should of course have been the “City Of Men TV series”. If you’re keeping crazy hours

We tackle a Michael Moore documentary for the 3rd time on this channel in this 425th Ellises’ Analysis and this movie is about as politically divisive as anything the funny activist has ever made. The man has been remarkably influential from the beginning of his career, but especially after this highly successful documentary came out and asked if America is full of gun nuts...or are they just nuts. Why IS America so cuckoo for guns and, worse, tend to use them so often on their fellow Americans? Of course, we agree with Moore’s views and his message in Bowling For Columbine, but unfortunately his execution is messy, especially in the unsatisfying ending with Charlton Heston. So the picture is far from perfect, but the issue is too…and it’s become an even bigger problem than it was 20 years ago. So deliver your speech to rich movie stars at lavish ceremonies despite boos raining down on you as we dole out the dealio in Bowling For Columbine. Political movies inspire the need for a good beverage more than almos

Todd Solondz has been a master of “cringe cinema” for more than 25 years and Welcome To The Dollhouse is the misanthropic director at his peak. He understands what real children and real teenagers go through better than most filmmakers do and he certainly understands the effects of bullying. Heather Matarazzo’s take on Dawn Wiener is nicely complex too because she isn’t just a sweet victim of the jerks at school or a victim of her own indifferent family. She’s awkward and out of touch with the kids at school, but she also has no trouble paying that abuse forward to younger kids. So show your fingers to your unattainable crush before the dangerous boy who likes you threatens to do terrible things, but first inhale the 424th Ellises’ Analysis as we try our best to get into a good school while we break down this movie. Well, Actually: It’s actually Robert Wisdom in that infamous sex scene with Selma Blair in Storytelling, not Keith David. If you feel guilty about your missing sister and have to trek to the big c

We begin the 7th Annual Month O’ Bev with a spirited chat about one of her favourite satires. Starship Troopers was a split decision in this 423rd Ellises’ Analysis though because Ryan just doesn’t have a good feeling about Paul Verhoeven’s intergalactic war flick. It’s deliberately campy and it’s lathered in self-aware propaganda, plus the F/X are marvelous, but it also has tonal problems. Casting beautiful young(ish) people like Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and Dina Meyer just so you can put them and so many other people through bloody hell and rip ’em to pieces is a solid idea. Are they up to the challenge of giving good performances though? We debated. Oh, and there’s the big bugs, who are possibly the movie’s scapegoats. Anyway, there’s plenty of meat on this bone (and plenty of meat to get torn right off the bone), so curl up by the fire and enjoy our first episode of 2022. Battling bugs on their home planet would go a lot easier if you were filled up with caffeine. Our sponsor continues to be Spark

Of all the blaxploitation films that were made in the ’70s, Shaft was the most influential and probably the coolest too. It’s even had longevity, as evidenced by all the sequels and remakes. People (including the AFI) haven’t forgotten about Gordon Parks’ private dick flick, which had a fresh take on just what a black hero could be. Richard Roundtree wasn’t righteous and measured like Sidney Poitier always had to be. John Shaft was a bad…uh, mamma jamma. This, however, wasn’t a film we enjoyed as much as others of its type, partly because it’s a little amateurish technically and the man’s sex life is a bit dicey. Still, you can’t overlook how important this movie was and is to people who look like Roundtree and not like us. Anyway, be the only one to understand our final episode of 2021 (well, you and his wuh-huh-man) as we get political, but also laugh a bunch in our 422nd Ellises’ Analysis. Well, Actually: The Godfather was actually NOT one of the 25 movies inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989 (

If you like your Christmas movies—especially the stars of your Christmas movies—to be very big and very loud, Bill Murray’s hard-drinking performance in Scrooged probably feels like your perfect slice of turkey. It's an unpopular opinion, but we weren't Murray fans in this movie, especially in the unearned finale where he just comes across as phony and desperate. He also seems…gulp…miscast? He certainly doesn’t seem like the right man for the job whenever the focus is on the love story with the delightful Karen Allen. It doesn’t help at all that the versatile Richard Donner was apparently a terrible match directing his improvisational star. But, hey, what do we know? This is a beloved holiday comedy, one of the favourites for legions of people. So whether you think you’ll agree with our take or not, put a little podcast in your e-e-ears as the 421st Ellises’ Analysis tears Scrooged a new one. Well, Actually: Joel Murray was indeed in a couple of movies that Bobcat Goldthwait directed (Shakes The Clown and God

There’s no greater way to celebrate episode #420 of The Ellises’ Analysis than to talk about one of the side-splittingest stoner movies ever made. Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle is crass, politically incorrect, gross and often pretty dumb, but it’s also funny to the EXTREEEEEEME! From the hysterical Neil Patrick Harris cameo to the surreal fantasy sequences to the eternal “Hold On” sing-along, Danny Leiner’s pot-n-burgers flick just keeps delivering joy. It’s also got more depth than you might think, partly because of the unusual-at-the-time diverse cast (particularly John Cho & Kal Penn as the leads). So let the universe unfold as it should as you go through a night of hellish fun with your best buddy just so you can stuff sliders down your gullet. Well, Actually: Since recording this episode, we’ve seen both sequels. The Gitmo one is dreadful, but the Christmas one is actually pretty sweet and often measures up to the original. Also, Ryan Reynolds’ 3rd movie released in 2021 was The Hitman’s Wife’s

The holiday season is here and who wouldn’t enjoy a getaway to an apparently gigantic northeastern inn during the Christmas break? Well, one Ellis wouldn’t enjoy that vacation as much as the other. Actually, we agreed that White Christmas is overlong, that there’s too much going on in the erratic screenplay and that the film has one of the worst Idiot Plots of all time. Still, because of all that joyful singing & dancing by Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, the film is more than watchable. Those actors (not to mention Dean Jagger) are the heroes in Michael Curtiz’s musical hit. Logic is not. So let the asbestos snow down as you spend Christmas Eve with your Army buddies and a bunch of strangers. While you’re doing that, we’ll warble our way through the 419th Ellises’ Analysis. I’m dreaming of a cup of coffee, just like the ones I used to drink. Good! Get you some Sparkplug Coffee! If you’re a fan of 20% discounts, using our promo code (“top100project”) when you’re ready to pay up w