The Top 100 Project

Addict yourself to war and to the Next 137 Project by defusing bombs in Baghdad and by listening to us talk about that dicey topic. The huge Oscar success of 10 years ago might be the best picture ever made about the Iraq War and it even upset the mega-hit Avatar at the Academy Awards, so there's that. The movie has also lost some zing in the past decade. One Ellis has antipathy to it and especially towards cocky Jeremy Renner while the other Ellis just doesn't enjoy the film's thrills the same way a decade later. We also discuss Kathryn Bigelow's career as a female director, but of mostly macho flicks. It's a complicated 'cast. To acquire some great hot drinks, go to Sparkplug Coffee and don't forget to use our promo code "top100project" to enjoy a 10% discount when you head to the check-out. Tweet us @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. We might even respond.

Hail, the Next 136 Project! Hail! We’ve got a super-duper-sized episode this week, one that takes us into the shattered heart of a family in demonic crisis. This is another insta-classic frightfest in this New Age Of Horror. So many modern scary movies—Hereditary might be the pinnacle of this—have more subtext than text, more atmosphere than the planet and more great performances than this genre is used to having. Toni Collette is award-worthy (although this movie was ignored in all the Oscar categories), but we shouldn’t sleep on Alex Wolff’s Method work either. This movie improves with repeated viewings and, somehow, feels even more unsettling than the first-time experience did. To help you get through this 67-minute extravaganza, order yourself some Sparkplug Coffee. We're on the Twits (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), so shout at us that way. You can also still nail a 10% discount by applying the promo code “top100project” once you're ready to go to the check-out.

Activate Joey mode! The Next 135 Project takes us to Tinytown Indiana as we delve into what makes a staggeringly good man return to his vicious mobster roots. Viggo Mortensen was just hitting his stride at this point in his career (as he was nearing 50 years old) and he leads a terrific cast. Maria Bello, Ed Harrisand William Hurt are all right on point. David Cronenberg’s pictures can be hit or miss, but this pseudo-western is on the short list of his best ever. For a healthy dose of java, go to Sparkplug Coffee and order up what you need/want/crave. Use “top100project” as your promo code and you’ll save 10% off your first order.

The 30-year-old satire about high-school bullying is our 134th Next 100 Project episode as we begin the 4th Annual Month O’ Bev. A very young Winona Ryder is impressively self-possessed in one of her many stand-out performances. Her co-stars (including Christian Slater, in a break-out piece of Nicholson-esque work of his own) all do fine too, but this picture never really comes together…for one of us, at least. The other thinks there was—and still is—nothing like it. Guess which one of us feels which way! We continue to be sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee. That 10% discount is still gettable, if you use the “top100project” code at check-out.

Joyous Christmas Eve and such from the Elliseseseses as we explore Will Ferrell with his comedy phasers set on hilarious in this Next 133 Project podcast. This is a textbook example of an actor doing great work in a role that few others could even play at all. Despite some third-act problems and a miscast (and possibly disinterested) James Caan, Elf is a true Christmas classic. It’s sweet, consistently entertaining and deliciously quotable. We discuss Buddy’s superhuman talents, whether or not Walter truly is the jerk he first appears to be, and the controversy about “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. Oh, and order up some Sparkplug Coffee and nail that 10% discount by entering “top100project” as the promo code at check-out. Thanks for another fun year, gang. See you in 2019!

It's the one about Sharry Bobbins! The Next 132 Project gets into all of our complaints about this over-long and plot-flimsy Disney favourite. We just don't have the same enthusiasm critics and crowds do. You can't argue though that it's a beloved musical with top-shelf songs and a lovely debut performance by Julie Andrews. Bev has thoughts about how this movie commits the sin of crossing class lines (horrors!) and she's also got some wacky drug theories. Although maybe it's not so wacky...this WAS the '60s. So gear up for Mary Poppins Returns later this week spit spot by ordering some Sparkplug Coffee and listening to our gibby gab. If you want a discount from Sparkplug, enter "top100project" at check-out to save yourself 10% on the order.

With this 131st Next 100 Project episode, we dig into what at least one of us thinks is Sam Raimi’s best work. Bill Paxton was never better and Billy Bob Thornton & Bridget Fonda are terrific too in this “what would you do?” movie. These immensely relatable characters are doomed from the start by a twist of fate and Scott Smith’s tight screenplay makes all the ensuing darkness seem so logical. We also spent a few minutes of this episode jawing about the Henry Fonda “lynching is wrong” classic, The Ox-Bow Incident. To better enjoy all that content, zip over to Sparkplug Coffee and order up some beans. Your 10% discount awaits when you punch in “top100project” at checkout.

The Next 130 Project takes us back to post-WWII Italy as we gaze at director Vittorio De Sica's piece de resistance. The amateur actors (Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola) are just as good as any longtime pros. Good God, their well-earned pathos! We're treated to many shades of emotion (desperation, shame, loyalty and love) as our heroes battle to maintain their dignity...always dignity. The Ellises debate the movie's title ("thief" v "thieves") and compare bikes to the days when horses were an even more vital mode of transportation. It's a short episode, but we cover a lot of docudrama-ish ground. Buy some grounds of coffee from Sparkplug Coffee. Don't forget to apply your 10% discount at check-out by using the promo code "top100project".

The Next 129 Project marks 275 episodes in total for the Elliseseseses (although we’re getting close to 300 overall on this channel) and this one looks back at The Old Coots & The Kid Up At The Lake. Hank Fonda & Kate Hepburn are wonderful together in what proved to be his final film and one of her last. Jane Fonda is as good as ever in her small—but vital—role. Also applause is due for director Mark Rydell & writer Ernest Thompson, but this is a textbook example of an actors film. This nostalgia-drenched picture has enough bite that it even won over our cynical old hearts. So take a listen with a mug of Sparkplug Coffee at your side. Our 10% discount still applies if you use the promo code “top100project” when you head to the check-out.

Next 100 Project ep #128 gives us a nice turn on the "they went looking for America and instead found themselves" angle. Albert Brooks' yuks riot slips in clever commentary on the entitlement of people who want to chuck it all, but only if they have a nice camper and a really big nest egg. Just don't say "nest" or "egg!" Oh, and don't rely on 22, 22, 22! Julie Hagerty & Brooks are a delightful comic couple in this road movie that provides belly laughs from start to that gut-busting finish. To keep you awake on that drive from Arizona to Manhattan, buy some Sparkplug Coffee. You will score a nice little 10% discount by typing in our promo code "top100project" at checkout.

Episode 127 in the Next 100 Project focuses on another comedy, this time EGOT winner Mel Brooks’ crass comedy classic. Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder are loud (especially Mostel) and their characters are thieving scumbags, but they make for a good ha-ha combo. While weren’t in total agreement about the strengths of this movie, it’s hard to deny that certain things haven’t aged very well and come across as tone-deaf in our woke times. But “Springtime For Hitler”, offensive as it should be, just remains wonderful. Sparkplug Coffee remains our sponsor. Go get yourself some java and a 10% discount by typing in “top100project” at check-out.

This is something, piece of cake! It’s a day before the mid-terms, so it’s time for the Next 126 Project to get all political again. Actually, the vitriol is pretty muted this time. We focus on the funny. And Wag The Dog is that. Dustin Hoffman is hysterical, Anne Heche is at her best and Robert De Niro wisely plays the closest thing to a straight man as there is in Barry Levinson’s flick. Our gibby gab about this perhaps dated film bites into the media, sex scandals, fixers and phony patriotism. It's a very solid satire. You know you need some Sparkplug Coffee deep down in your belly and when you buy some, make sure to enter the promo code “top100project” for a 10% discount.

The Next 125 Project is our final choice in Scary Movie Month and it’s got us yapping about the big bad red guy for the 2nd week in a row. While Ruth Gordon’s Oscar-winning work feels a little silly now, Mia Farrow gives the performance of her life. Controversial writer/director Roman Polanski’s red-letter moments are worth the hype, but what about the movie as a whole (especially as a horror picture)? Enhh, we've got mixed feelings. And what’s with witches and devils always following rules & obeying contracts? That was a theme in this month's horror flicks. We get into all that, but you gotta get into Sparkplug Coffee and win a 10% discount when you use our promo code “top100project”.

The Next 124 Project digs very deep into a movie that audiences didn’t appreciate the way film nerds and movie critics did. Beautiful to look at, well-acted (archaic language and all) and dense with meaning, Robert Eggers’ very first motion picture is like delicious butter. The tone, in particular, is pitch perfect. We analyze just when Thomasin became what she became, whether or not the family was eating poisoned corn and we certainly tackle the religious angles. We do have some issues with the all-too-literal ending and suggest how it could have gone differently. Still, though, strong work on the independent horror scene here. To get thou through our talk, drink up Sparkplug Coffee. Use the promo code “top100project” when you check out and you will be rewarded with a 10% discount.

The Next 123 Project flies back 55 years to tackle our 7th Hitchcock thriller. This isn’t Hitch’s finest work (nor his finest hour from a #metoo standpoint) and Tippi Hedren is subpar as one of the last in a long line of Hitchcock Blondes. There are some solid F/X (especially for the time), some effective freak-outs and tense scenes, at least. The movie also gets better as it goes along, with a terrific last 30 minutes. As for the plot, Bev has a theory about who’s really to blame for the bird attacks. She also has a theory about why the work suffers when great filmmakers lose (or toss away) their wives. Sparkplug Coffee deserves your patronage, so check them out and use the promo code “top100project” to enjoy a 10% discount.

The 122nd edition of the Next 100 Project is our 1st of 4 consecutive horror pictures in Scary Movie Month. It's also the 1st episode that was recorded in our new house! You'll definitely notice (and no doubt prefer) the difference in sound quality. Anyway, Maika Monroe is really solid in the lead role of this fascinating & extremely effective freakshow. David Robert Mitchell takes influences from many fright flicks of the past (Halloween, I'm looking at you) and yet still makes this movie completely his own. Just watch out for the tall man, the boy next door and maybe even your own family members! Snag some Sparkplug Coffee and don't neglect to enter "top100project" at check-out to win a one-time 10% discount.

The Newman/Taylor love (well, hate) fest is the order of the day in the Next 121 Project. The Mississippi-living Pollitt family fuss and feud for the entire movie, but Newman’s booze-chugging Brick is their linchpin…for some reason. Burl Ives as Big Daddy actually out-acts his mendacious co-stars, but the script (or maybe it’s Tennessee Williams' play) lets them all down…in Bev’s eyes, at least. Is Brick’s critical character change from play to screen (see: homosexual/not homosexual) an unrecoverable mistake? It sure didn’t help. Only one single way to find out! And just before you stroke that play button, stumble over to Sparkplug Coffee for an order of beans. Use the discount code “top100project” and you’ll receive 10% off.

Tear off your hat and shout “YEEHAW” for the Next 120 Project, an episode which could be subtitled “The Wrath Of Tom”. Maybe he has so much wrath because of all the impossible-to-miss homosexual undertones, which Howard Hawks denied even existed…but he did cast Montgomery Clift, so. Bev didn’t love John Wayne’s career-changing work the way many others did and we both had problems with the craptastic ending (like everyone does), but most of this long ride is a blast. Those westerns. They keep on being home runs. To enjoy much better coffee than what the characters in the flick drink, go to Sparkplug Coffee and tell ’em “top100project” sent ya. That’s your one-time promo code that'll lasso you 10% off.

The Next 119 Project has us spitting nails about the horrendous presidency of George W. Bush, as documented (mostly accurately?) by America’s Provocateur-In-Chief Michael Moore. As dreadful as things are in 2018, it’s easy to forget that the second-most-recent Republican Commander-In-Cluelessness did his best to do the worst. Our outraged liberal leanings are on full display here, so if you can’t stand to hear Junior torn to ribbons (or the current garbage president...or the hypocritical members of the media, for that matter), then just come back next week when the movie is about John Wayne trying to murder people. Lighter material! To gear you up for this very long listen, you must go to Sparkplug Coffee’s website and get some joe in ya. If you use the promo code “top100project”, you’ll even get a one-time 10% discount.

The 3rd and final waste of our time in "Movies We Hate Month" smacks the taste out of one of the biggest box-office successes of all time. Jim Cameron's "save the trees" sci-fi extravaganza is pretty in 3D, but it's also pretty 3dumb. This story has been told many times before---so fair usage for Cameron & crew---but did the screenplay have to be so lazy? And laughable? And just plain dreadful? Not even Sigourney Weaver can save this Sam Worthington/Zoe Saldana-starring crap pile. To help you get through this slog (if, for some reason, you decide to watch it), order some Sparkplug Coffee from our friendly sponsors. You'll get a 10% discount (one-time only) if you use our promo code: "top100project".