The Top 100 Project

Light up a cigarette (or many cigarettes) and kickstart your existential crisis as you gulp down the 418th Ellises’ Analysis. Joel & Ethan Coen followed up their run of hysterical ’90s comedies with this black & white sorta-comedy. This might seem like an odd film, but it’s actually got more depth and enjoyably offbeat ideas than most of their previous work. Oh and fear not. The Man Who Wasn’t There is quite certainly funny. You also can’t argue with the casting of Billy Bob Thornton (who’s perfecto in the lead role), although Bev was just as enamoured with the work of Frances McDormand. So don’t look at the facts. Instead, look at the meaning of the facts (which have no meaning) as they cut the hair and we chat about The Man Who Wasn’t There. Well, Actually: Frances McDormand has 4 Oscars (3 for acting, 1 for producing). Also, Surviving Christmas came out even before Halloween (not in mid-November), which is in fact awfully early for a movie about the holly jolly season. Know what goes great with cig

Minari didn’t rake in bucks at the box office earlier in this weird year and having to read pesky subtitles still turns a lot of people off, but this movie is very worth your time. It’s simply a charm offensive. Lee Isaac Chung’s beautiful and relatable family film is even more relatable if you’ve ever struggled to make ends meet while also trying to live your (maybe impossible) dream. Chung’s entire cast is remarkable, but the outstanding work done by Yuh-Jung Youn and Alan Kim as grandma & grandson is the key to the entire project. We just love that kid! So pop the 417th Ellises’ Analysis into your device while you spend at least a little time keeping flammable objects away from your livelihood as we talk about a Korean-turned-American slice of life in the heartland. When you’re desperate for water for your crops, coffee probably isn’t a priority. However, YOU aren’t likely in a desperate bid to grow food, so load up on the beans! You can also do yourself a favour by going to our sponsor’s website (Spar

Niki Caro was making only her 2nd movie when she wrote and directed Whale Rider, so she showed the world her skills really early on. This sweet story aimed directly at kids (despite its absurd PG rating) is all about an ordinary (yet also magical) girl from New Zealand who loves her grandfather to pieces, but the maddening gramps is a slave to the patriarchy and blames his granddaughter for every problem in the village. It takes him so very long to realize that…she’s The One. Keisha Castle-Hughes made her debut here and she is tremendous, as are all the key players in the cast. This remains a delightful and emotional motion picture all these years later, even if Rawiri Paratene’s cruel grandpa is hard to like for almost the entire running time. The word “hate” was thrown around. Anyway, don’t sulk in bed because life threw a few rocks your way. Just curl up with the 416th Ellises’ Analysis and accept (and for the love of Paikea return) the love offered to you by the awesomest people in your life, whether they

Terry Gilliam’s tragicomic The Fisher King packs in a lot of themes, but a big one is kindness. This is a movie all about empathy and acceptance. Also, how often do Hollywood movies show much of the plight of homeless people? Or deal with depression and suicide? Or show our indifference to the suffering of others AND to blend all that serious material with absurdity and humour? Gilliam likes his weirdos and underdogs too. Oh, and he loves to dirty up his movie stars, all of whom are pretty awesome in this. Mercedes Ruehl won an Oscar while Robin Williams was nominated for one, but Jeff Bridges and Amanda Plummer do strong work of their own. Actually, you could argue that the women have more interesting characters to play than the men do. So acknowledge that you ARE responsible for what you say and how you treat others while you waltz through a train station with the 415th Ellises’ Analysis trilling in your ears. Sparkplug Coffee has been our sponsor for a very long time and we love to promote their groovy gro

He was a big star before it, but Eddie Murphy became galactic after Beverly Hills Cop came out in 1984. His blockbuster hit remains funny all these years later even though it deals with some deadly serious subject matter like death and so much destruction. Martin Brest directed a tremendous action comedy, but his picture is even more impressive when you consider they were apparently winging it a lot of the time. Eddie has always been a brilliant improviser and he & his co-stars did a lot of that here. Eddie’s Axel Foley is also pretty much a genius detective, expertly stirring up the rule-followers John Ashton & Judge Reinhold. So don’t be stupid. Just spend a bit of your day with the fish-in-water 414th Ellises’ Analysis as we do the neutron dance and dig into The Eddie Murphy Show. You’ll find it easier to be a supercop if you pump some great caffeine into your system, so load up on Sparkplug Coffee. When you’re ready to pay the tab, apply our promo code (“top100project”) into the right place and sa

We put the finishing touches on this year’s “Scary Movie Month” with a gab about a dynamite zombie flick from South Korea. Train To Busan is just as much an action movie as it is a horror movie. Director Yeon Sang-ho keeps up the intense pace by having his frenzied film play out almost in real time. He also hits most of the usual zombie beats by layering in class issues and the fear of your fellow fellows. In fact, the “they might be infected, so stay away from them” plotline hits awfully close to home the past year and a half. So wrap your wrists in tape and punch your way through a zombie horde with the 413th Ellises’ Analysis ringing through your ears. Or through your braaaaaains…braaaaaains… Well, Actually: One Cut Of The Dead is Japanese and we highly recommended seeking it out. Staying away from the running dead would be a lot easier if you caffeined up, so we strongly suggest that you buy loads of Sparkplug Coffee. They’ll even give you a 20% discount if you drop our promo code (“top100project”) into t

The 412th Ellises’ Analysis has us gabbing about ghosts as we continue with Scary Movie Month. The Others isn’t truly frightening (especially once you’ve seen it a few times), but writer/director Alejandro Amenabar certainly knows how to make a moody chiller with a killer climax. This is a throwback to classic tension-builders from long ago that focuses on what you don’t see. Amenabar lets terrific performances be his special effects. Nicole Kidman is the worrisome mom of the mansion, but the young actors playing her kids (particularly Alakina Mann) give arguably even better performances than the in-her-prime movie star does. So obey God’s will (or something) and don’t let a wartime tragedy throw you into a twist. Just get comfortable and we will begin talking about The Others. Our spooky sponsor is Sparkplug Coffee and they would love to provide you a 20% discount on your next order of java juice. You merely have to use our promo code (“top100project”) and you’ll save those bucks. Da tweets? Yup: @moviefiend

Scary Movie Month is officially here! We start it with one of the landmark slasher flicks of the ’90s, perhaps one of the greats of all time. Shockmaster director Wes Craven knew better than almost anyone how to make something like Scream work. His movie has a high body count and gallons of gore, sure, but it’s also meta up the nose and it remains pretty funny. Craven also gives us one of the great opening scenes ever. Ironically, we discussed how with all those red herrings, it’s almost as much a mystery film as it is a horror picture. Who killed Casey and who’s now menacing Sidney? So, yeah, Scream’s still got the goods. Don’t bow to peer pressure or make your parents so mad at you. Just pop some corn, crack open a few cold ones and listen to the 411th Ellises’ Analysis warble on about high-school snarksters and their Ghostface Killah. Before you grab your voice manipulator and don your cloak to taunt and/or torture your classmates, you should load up on caffeine by going to the Sparkplug Coffee website. Us

The 1931 version of Dracula was the first Universal Monster movie and it stars perhaps the most famous vampire actor of all time. Bela Lugosi was certainly committed to the part and this is obviously his trademark role. You’ll just have to work hard to overlook his almost funny schtick. Is Lugosi any good as the Count though? Well, is anyone in this cast any good? Maybe one guy (Dwight Frye) nails it by going deliriously over the top. Yeah, it’s fair to say we didn’t have much lust for Tod Browning’s picture. His direction is creaky and stilted and if his film was scary to audiences 90 years ago, it certainly isn’t anymore. However, the sexual subtext and the theme of a Transylvanian visitor representing a foreign plague are effective, just as they were in Bram Stoker’s classic book. So go to bed in your trusty coffin just as home invaders have come to kill you, but before you lay down, cue up the 410th Ellises’ Analysis to hear us yack about Drac. You can’t get a discount on superb coffee if you like to add

Making a sequel to a beloved classic was always going to be tough sledding, but the talented writer/director Mike Flanagan simply couldn’t make a great movie out of Stephen King’s follow-up to The Shining. Maybe the failure with Doctor Sleep mostly lies with King’s overly detailed book and all of its subplots. Maybe it’s that we get far too much of the top-hatted Rebecca Ferguson and her fellow steam-sniffing pseudo-vampires. Or maybe it’s that there just aren’t very many real scares in this horror show. We couldn't sneer at Ewan McGregor’s work though because he does a terrific job playing grown-up alcoholic Danny Torrance. We also liked the finale at the Overlook more than most people did. Some ups, many downs. In any case, don’t let our overall disappointment ruin your enjoyment of the 409th Ellises’ Analysis. Just crank up an omnipresent heartbeat sound effect and stuff your demons in a mind-box as we dabble in the redrum of Doctor Sleep. Well, Actually: On second thought, Abra’s mother Lucy might be the

2001 was the year of Puzzle Films and covering Vanilla Sky today means we’ve now tackled the 4 big ones. Memento, Mulholland Drive and Donnie Darko are all definitely better than Cameron Crowe’s attempt to stretch himself and they’re certainly not filled with as many maddening flaws. One big problem is that the casting is all wrong here. Both of Tom Cruise’s love interests are duds and Cruise, although giving his typical 205% effort, is a little all over the place. Bev speculates that Vanilla Sky is basically just about Cruise’s character’s vanity. Cruise and Crowe obviously wouldn’t agree because they’re straining with all their might to be deep. Whether you agree or whether you don't, we've got a full hour of theories in the 408th Ellises' Analysis. So don’t delay your pleasure. You need to hear us talk about the man who had it all and even met his dream woman, then lost everything because of his nightmare woman. Or was it ALL just a dream?! Visit the website of our sponsor (Sparkplug Coffee) and get ready

This is the rare time we’ve ever posted an episode on Labour Day, but this movie DOES star the man who has to do “every dirty job”. Harry Callahan is the quintessential good guy with a gun who has to combat a bad guy with a gun, but Harry is also a reckless vigilante in the Batman mode. This movie is also pretty much just a sadist chasing a sadist around San Francisco. Dirty Harry might be fascist and it might even be dangerous, but that doesn’t take away the flick’s visceral entertainment value. It’s a complicated movie about a complicated issue. Don Siegel directs Clint Eastwood in perhaps his signature role, but are they just pedaling right-wing propaganda in this crime classic? How does the movie play after last year’s #BLM and “Defund The Police” movements took America by storm? We had plenty to say about all that. So enjoy your hour with the 407th Ellises’ Analysis because the world isn’t getting any better and all us punks could use a little escape into fantasy right about now. Well, Actually: Popeye D

“Persona” is Latin for “mask”, which makes this Age Of The Mask we’ve been experiencing for the past year & a half an ideal time to talk about Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece. Well, it’s one of his MANY masterpieces. Dude could direct. This is a trippy art film that gives us plenty to debate and tear apart. It’s also been imitated half to death in the 55 years since it was made, which is perhaps why it feels just a touch dated. Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann are terrific playing characters who deal with issues of identity, grief, guilt and deep emotional pain. But are the 2 women really just 1 woman who’s experiencing a serious mental crisis? Imaginary friend?! See, very influential. So head to your summer beach house (for the last few days of this summer) and let the 406th Ellises’ Analysis pry its way into your earholes during the trip. Well, Actually: John Ford was 8th on the Sight & Sound’s 2002 Critics poll of Top 10 Greatest Directors Of All Time, but surprisingly he wasn’t ranked on the Top 10 as

You know we’re talking about a master filmmaker when this channel has already covered more than half of the man's titles and we’re only now getting to this gritty crime classic. The Killing was early in Stanley Kubrick's career, so he wasn’t yet at the top of his game as he would be for the next 40+ years. Still, there’s plenty of examples of the technical prowess that would come to be trademark Kubrick. Fittingly, the complex plot even resembles a chess game. We weren’t seeing eye to eye about the work of tough-but-sometimes-sweet Sterling Hayden or the ultra-fatal femme fatale Marie Windsor. We DID see eye to eye that the best part of the movie is the last half-hour. So get your listening device ready and make a clean break out to the race track as the 405th Ellises’ Analysis talks about The Killing. Well, Actually: Elisha Cook Jr. is named Mr. Micklas (not “Nicklas”) and is the landlord at the Dakota Building in Rosemary’s Baby. Planning the perfect robbery would go smoother with Sparkplug Coffee in a cup

It’s not every comedy that features 2 of the brilliant stars of the Monty Python troupe, but it’s actually the Americans who stand out. Kevin Kline was known as a serious actor before A Fish Called Wanda and Jamie Lee Curtis was still mostly thought of as the Scream Queen. So when legendary cut-ups like John Cleese and Michael Palin are overshadowed, you know you’re in from something hilarious. Director Charles Crichton’s swan song runs the risk of alienating audiences (33 years ago…and especially now) by daring to make fun of animal death and stutterers. Funny is funny though. So eat your fish & chips (wait, put Wanda back in the bowl, Otto!) and don’t be DISAPPOINTED as you steamroll through the 404th Ellises’ Analysis. A pretty great addition to your fish meal is coffee. Sparkplug Coffee remains our groovy sponsor. They’ll help you out with a 20% discount when you apply our promo code (“top100project”) to your next order. Are we Twitterers? Sure. We are: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website is

Even though it's all about dark fantasies, depression and death, Harold And Maude is a cult classic that remains solidly funny half a century later. Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon are a fun/odd romantic couple in this unique love story. Gordon is the manic pixie dream lady who has even bleaker plans than the faux-suicidal Cort. We had a serious discussion about the grim subtext, but we didn't forget that Hal Ashby's movie was and still is wacky and entertaining. There's meat on these bones. So don't be shy. Just live in the now and spend a bit of your day earing up the 403rd Ellises' Analysis. Grab life by the collar and learn to love having a big mug of Sparkplug Coffee on your countertop. They will kindly save you 20% on your next order and all you have to do is use our promo code: top100project. We lay out a tweet from time to time We're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website is top100project.com Ryan also chit chats about sports on Scoring At The Movies

It’s probably safe to listen to the 402nd Ellises’ Analysis…although feel free to ask if it is again. And again. And again. Marathon Man is absolutely filled from start to finish with paranoia, torture and pain. Some of those themes—like the arrogant rich versus the desperate poor—have barely aged. The film’s subtext remains oh so timely even 45 years later. The acting styles of Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier famously clashed hard, but that also brings sizzle to the squirm-inducing scenes they have together. And, yes, the poster isn’t lying. It’s a thriller. So go get that stash of diamonds and don’t fall on your own sleeve-knife in the process, but also just try acting as we feverishly chat about Dusty on the run. Well, Actually: We’ve covered Hoffman in 8 films now, including Kramer vs. Kramer. Also, Hoffman turns 84 later this week (on August 8th). Also also, Hoffman definitely has socks on his feet when the “is it safe” scene first begins. Sparkplug Coffee has been our sponsor for many years and they

The wannabe Ellises are here with our 401st analysis as we jaw-jack about the queen bees of Mean Girls. Lindsay Lohan was at her peak in this era and if you ever doubted her talent (admittedly, it’s easy to forget how good she was because of the messy turns her life took), just take another look at this movie. Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried (in her debut) are also pretty great as the Plastics. In fact, as tremendous as Lohan & McAdams are, the sidekicks Chabert & Seyfried basically steal the movie from them. As for a personal angle, Bev was once the sidekick of a mean girl, so this picture still has some sting for us middle-aged types. So keep an eye out for rampaging school buses as you jot down some vicious insults in your burn book (or, hey, just be nice) while we analyze the glamour, the laughs and even the mathleting in Mean Girls. If you want to make a lot of friends, buy them a few bags of Sparkplug Coffee. A 20% discount will be yours to enjoy on your 1st purchase when you a

Our 400th episode talks about one of the influential films of the French New Wave, which was also Francois Truffaut’s directorial debut. The 400 Blows is famous for all kinds of reasons (especially that freeze frame at the end), but at heart it’s a quiet character study of a young boy who makes bad decisions and has really bad parents. Jean-Pierre Leaud gives one of the great child performances in the history of cinema, whether he’s crammed into a tiny apartment, repeatedly getting in trouble in school, running the streets or getting thrown into juvie. Truffaut shot this hell-raising picture in the streets, often letting his actors improvise and making it feel gritty & real. So party with your young chum, run away from your terrible folks or maybe just go for a stroll along the beach, but make sure to have a podcast in your ears. In fact, make that podcast the 400th Ellises’ Analysis, mes amis. Sparkplug Coffee might not be ideal for kids, but it’s definitely ideal for you. And if you dig a 20% discount,

Who didn’t think George Clooney practicing real estate law in the unglamorous parts of Hawaii and being cuckolded by the lanky guy from Scream would make for a killer comedy? Well, it might not be killer, but it IS a pretty good comedy. Of course, this particular movie star playing a loser is a stretch (even in Alexander Payne’s unique “let’s dump life on the leading character” style) but the Cloon man is quite terrific in The Descendants. Nevertheless, he’s miscast (as is arguably another actor) and that shows how good a job he did to come as close to sinking into the role as he did here. Payne is curiously kind to just about all the characters in this Oscar-winning effort, which we don’t think measures up to his best work. Still Clooney’s crackling chemistry with the outstanding Shailene Woodley carries the film. As for the inheritance/trusteeship subplot, hmmm, not so hot. Anyway, the 399th Ellises’ Analysis won’t lay there comatose in a hospital bed forever, so fire up our back and forth and let’s hope it