The Top 100 Project

Halloween Week = extra episodes! Ryan talks by himself here about the 1979 Amityville Horror...and a little about the other Amityville flicks too...all of which are based on a horrific real-life tragedy that led to a (possibly made-up) haunting in that same house. James Brolin and Margot Kidder play newlyweds who move into a place on Long Island with her 3 kids, then it starts messing with all of them...especially Brolin's mind. Chairs rock on their own, furious flies fill a room, fathers get mad and walls bleed...but will the Lutzes listen to what Rod Steiger heard early on and "GET OUT"? In any case, for God's sake, download the 620th edition of Have You Ever Seen as Stuart Rosenberg's fairly-effective horror show is discussed in fairly humorous detail. If you can't sleep in your new house, you might as well start pounding coffee and get some wood-splittin' done. We are sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee and they offer fractured families (and everyone else) a 20% discount just by putting our "HYES" promo code in

We kick off a big week on Have You Ever Seen with our 619th episode, a gab about Tim Burton's (probably) best film. One of the quirkiest directors of all time was actually fairly grounded making this lighthearted biopic. Johnny Depp is troublesome these days, but you can't question his work in Ed Wood as the optimistic, yet stunningly self-unaware title filmmaker. And while the entire cast is right there with him, it's the Oscar-winning Martin Landau who stands out the most as horror icon Bela Lugosi. Ed Wood is also quite sympathetic to Ed's lifestyle, whether it's that he's transgender and hasn't pulled the string on that just yet...or it's simply that he likes to wear women's clothes. In any case, Burton and the team accept the weirdness of this entire crew...and also their lack of talent. So be-vare and take carrrrre as we present a talk about the exploits of the "worst director of all time". Sparkplug Coffee is our sponsor. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and get a onetime 20% discount by using our "HYES"

Most of our choices so far in this year's Scary Movie Month haven't been all that goosebump-inducing. Creature From The Black Lagoon isn't very frightening either, but Jack Arnold's film WAS influential, especially on Guillermo Del Toro and his Oscar-winning The Shape Of Water. The Gill Man in this 1954 Universal Monster flick might look corny now in his creature suit, but the underwater shots the crew got and the stunts they all did down there remain impressive. The most-famous scene is, of course, when the creature yearns for Julie/a Adams as she swims on the surface. Ah, the loneliness of the outcast. But while the title character is violent, you could also say that he's provoked. There's a lot of "bad guy" blame to go around...to Gill AND to the Richards, Carlson & Denning. So set sail on the Rita with our 618th podcast in your ears as we discuss the soggy doings in Creature From The Black Lagoon. Well, Actually: the pronunciation of Ricou Browning DOES seem to be "Rico". Also, the 1975 and 2005 King

Fridays mean Ryan posts monologues on Have You Ever Seen and our 617th episode digs a one-man hole into Pet Sematary. Mary Lambert's 1989 horror show about unholy reanimation keeps on reminding us that "sometimes dead is better". The one who's always saying that, Fred Gwynne, is probably the best actor in this cast, although he's not THAT much better than the underwhelming Dale Midkiff or Denise Crosby. The horror highlights in the last act are excellent though. Pet Sematary also has many links to The Shining, which are 2 of the most-vivid Stephen King books. No, this gore-soaked film isn't close to perfect, but it might chill your blood more than once. So stop listening to the coot who lives across a very dangerous road and start listening to the 617th edition of Have You Ever Seen. Go to "sparkplug.coffee" to discover the coffee gems they offer. One thing they offer is a onetime 20% discount to those who use our "HYES" promo code, so add "/hyes" to the web address to make that happen. Anyone wanting to tell

This is our 31 days of films that have chills & thrills, but Have You Ever Seen's 3rd posting in Scary Movie Month (and our 616th episode overall) is far more funny than it is frightening. Just like Shaun Of The Dead last week, much mirth results from nitwits dealing with reanimated corpses. Mel Brooks' beloved blockbuster is a satire of the classic Universal monster story and he's got his co-writer Gene Wilder leading a fantastic cast. Gene is a riot himself in one of Ryan's Top 10 fave comedies, even if Young Frankenstein turned out to be A LITTLE less of a grin-fest than it's been in the past. The comic highlights remain some of the most-hilarious of all time though, particularly the blind man, "Puttin' On The Ritz" and just about everything Marty Feldman and Madeleine Kahn do. So play some violin to calm Peter Boyle's savage beast as you gulp down this super-duper-like-Gary-Cooper monologue about Young Frankenstein. Holiday or not, you can order from our sponsor, Sparkplug Coffee. Enjoy some with your

The first episode in Scary Movie Month 2024 that the Ellises are doing together gets into the second leg of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. We covered Hot Fuzz a few years ago, but this one that put the Englishman on the map is—-to one of us—-funnier...and is his best film. As always with Wright and Simon Pegg, the flick is jammed with clever references to other movies. And in their zombie rom-com, they found the perfect pace while also finding ways to eek humour out of frightening or disgusting or even stupid situations. Nick Frost plays a horrible friend, but he's a grin-getter. Pegg is the funniest one in the cast though. So, pickle, head to the shop for an ice cream & a Coke, then make amends with your mum, your stepdad and also your girlfriend as you run the 615th edition of Have You Ever Seen under a cold tap. Sparkplug Coffee can't be purchased in jolly ol' England, but Canadians & Americans can get in on this. And they will get a 20% discount by using our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.c

Bob Clark made his name directing popular comedies in the '80s like Porky's and A Christmas Story, but his 1974 horror flick about a home-invading murderer has become a classic too. And that's good because Scary Movie Month 2024 is here! The ending of Black Christmas is one of the best in the history of horror...even if it also has MANY flaws. Ryan's one-man show gets into that, but also talks about how this film just might be better than ever. Clark's direction and his use of the camera are dynamite. Leading ladies and sorority sisters Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder are lovely, but this is not a nudity-drenched slash-'em-up. And in the annals of the "final girl", Hussey in Black Christmas is one of the greatest. So hang up the phone, be pro-choice and avoid the unseen killer in your attic as you take in Have You Ever Seen episode #614. "Billy" is a madman who could have had a shot at NOT being such a lunatic if he could just have bought Sparkplug Coffee. He---and you---can save 20% off your next order by us

We're hours away from Scary Movie Month and---while Nightcrawler doesn't exactly qualify as frightening---it IS intense. Jake Gyllenhaal is certainly at his Taxi Driver weirdest. He's also just about at his best in Dan Gilroy's investigation of capitalism-at-any-cost. Rough stuff, but it's also quite funny. Gyllenhaal plays an amoral "stringer" (a freelance videographer) who knows that ratings equals money and "if it bleeds, it leads". He'll do absolutely anything to get the shot...and then we discover the gory results. Rene Russo, Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed are effective too, but this film belongs to the worm in the lead role. So doll up to look your best before you go on the air to glorify crime scenes and put a scare in your viewers as the 613rd episode of Have You Ever Seen gets deep into the scummy world of Nightcrawler. If you're going to stay up all night, put some Sparkplug Coffee in your cup. They give our listeners a one-time 20% discount. Just use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.cof

Scarlett Johansson playing a cold, indifferent alien probably wasn't something her fans expected from her. She was an A-lister who was a key figure in all those Marvel movies, but here she was in Under The Skin, the only actor of note in a detached art film. The movie star even gets nude a lot in her role as a succubus who learns how to feel empathy. Jonathan Glazer's strangest film to date is Kubrickian (and Lynchian) in its style and also its themes of gender roles, sexual assault...and even meat-eating. So Under The Skin isn't perfect, but there are shots that really stay with you. Plus, it's interesting...and we mean that in a good way. This 612th podcast on the Have You Ever Seen channel tries to figure out what's going on in Glazer's 3rd motion picture (perhaps unsuccessfully), so tell us if you think we're onto something...or if ou think we're way off. Well, Actually: Gemma Arterton's first name is in fact pronounced with a hard "J" sound, not a soft "G" sound. Assuming YOU are able to eat cake at a di

In The Thin Man, William Powell and Myrna Loy are 2 married, childless adults living in the big city...and they like to drink. It's the Ellis Story! Well, no, but the 611th episode of Have You Ever Seen features those 2 comedic tipplers Nick & Nora trying to solve a murder (which is really more his job than it is "theirs"). But is this acclaimed yucks-fest actually funny enough to be so revered for its comedy scenes? Perhaps not. This film is really more effective as a whodunnit than as a laugher anyway. One thing that can't be questioned though is that Powell & Loy were a marvelous team in all the Thin Man movies, starting with this saucy original that was released in the early days of the production code. It's a Fridays, so this is a one-Ryan show. Light up the monologue! When you're not sucking down martinis, try gulping down some Sparkplug Coffee. They'll give our listeners a 20% discount just by applying our "HYES" in the right place. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Contact us with your o

Roland Joffe is not a director who's been beloved by critics over the years, but most seem to agree that his magnum opus is the Oscar-winning The Killing Fields. Sam Waterston plays an American journalist in war-torn Cambodia in the aftermath of the Vietnam war, when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge went on a run of violence---especially against their fellow Cambodians---that was chilling. Haing S. Ngor won the Supporting Actor Oscar as Waterston's interpreter and compatriot who goes through horrors...and manages to make it out alive in this real-life tale of fear, friendship and politics. The Killing Fields is a terrific achievement. It just has to deal with the fact that other films have done similar things in the 40 years since this came out. But don't leave a man behind in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Just dial up our 610th episode, which happens to be a Ryan solo show. Our sponsor is Sparkplug Coffee. Use our "HYES" promo code and save 20% off your next order. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". We post a

Some film shoots (like the one for Apocalypse Now) seem to last 12 years, but here's a movie with a production schedule that was DELIBERATELY that long. Although gimmick aside, Boyhood is Richard Linklater's lauded attempt to show the slow growth of a fractured family, with the focus on Ellar Coltrane going from 6 to 18. Linklater's daughter Lorelei plays Coltrane's older sister and their divorced parents are Ethan Hawke & Patricia Arquette. The adults are terrific---Arquette won an Oscar for her work as the put-upon mom who keeps finding romance with bad men---but the kids just aren't the actors that she and Hawke are. In any case, it's fascinating to see this arc in a family's life and the (mostly white) people they meet along the way. Our impressions of the exploits of the Evans clan down in Texas is the 609th chat on the Have You Ever Seen podcast channel, so snap some pictures and see what we thought of Boyhood. Well, Actually: Jean-Pierre Leaud repeatedly played "Antoine Doinel" in Francois Truffaut

Ryan's first Friday show in 3 months tries to be extraordinary and also to seize a day or two in this monologue about Dead Poets Society. Robin Williams' performance as an inspirational poetry teacher at a posh prep school was up for an Oscar, but some critics thought his impressions of famous people was out of place. He IS funny, but his serious scenes are far more effective ("thank you, boys, thank you"). Robert Sean Leonard, a very-young Ethan Hawke and others are taught to think for themselves and to yawp barbarically in Dead Poets Society. They also learn about friendship, love and loyalty. Those topics and so many more come up in this 608th edition of Have You Ever Seen. So lock in for a ramble about an emotional melodrama where the boys learn a lot more about Walt Whitman than anyone thought possible. Sparkplug Coffee contributes a verse to the world of great beans. They give our listeners a onetime 20% discount. Just use our "HYES" promo code to get that. The website is "sparkplug.coffee", then add "/

We continue our summertime trend of posting listicles on holidays as we exchange 10 (or perhaps a few more) theatrical experiences that stuck with us. Many of these are about laughing at funny movies with enthusiastic audiences, but sometimes the experience was seat-grippingly scary...or it might have even been an angry time at the flicks. Documentary festivals and just being in legendary theatres were themes too. So labour through our mere 30-minute chat about (mostly) excellent times we've had watching stuff in rooms with other people in this 607th edition of Have You Ever Seen. Just because it's Labour Day doesn't mean you can't get on a device and look up "sparkplug.coffee". Use our "HYES" promo code and you can enjoy a onetime 20% discount. For that, it's "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Give us a buzz on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or find Bev on Threads with that same moniker. Email us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). And look for us you YouTube (@hyesellis in your browser). Subscribe to us the

2023 was the year of Barbenheimer, but it was the movie about serious science that went on to win 7 Academy Awards this past spring. Oppenheimer was also an absolute blockbuster, which is par for Christopher Nolan's course. He always just goes around making monster hits that also get critical acclaim. Although while the spectacle in this film wowed millions of people last summer, one of us hated it from the start and the other has mixed feelings about it...and about Nolan's filmmaking style in general. We talked about the issues of communism and treason, not to mention the morality of dropping nuclear bombs on people. Cillian Murphy won an Oscar for playing a man smart enough to create this weapon, but then has guilt about it. Our 606th episode also spends plenty of time yapping about the work of Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr, and many of the others in this enormous cast. So don't throw a genius under several busses for your own petty reasons as Have You Ever Seen gets into the real-l

Franka Potente never became a bonafide movie star after Run Lola Run, but her intensely iconic work in this breakout movie remains awesome 25 years later. Tom Tykwer has had a solid career of his own since writing and directing this video-game-esque flick with the butterfly-effect gimmick. He and future collaborators the Wachowskis were making some of the coolest movies around back then, taking advantage of new technologies, narrative devices and editing techniques. In truth, while Tykwer clearly loves Potente, he doesn't do so right by Moritz Bleibtreu's Manni (and the first part of the man's last name rhymes with "tribe" by the way, not "leeb"). Bleibtreu is a whiny screw-up who needs his dedicated girlfriend to save his life by racing around Germany for 20 minutes to come up with a small fortune. Lather, rinse, repeat. So go ahead and scream so shrilly that you'll break glass as we yap about Run Lola Run in the 605th edition of Have You Ever Seen. Order a whole bunch of stuff from Sparkplug Coffee. They of

For our 604th drop in the Have You Ever Seen bucket, we're highlighting the steamy noir Body Heat. And, hey, what happened to sex thrillers?! Well, not everyone is as good at making them as Lawrence Kasdan was...in his debut as a director, no less. Many stars of these kinds of stories are not often as hot together as William Hurt and newcomer Kathleen Turner were. This movie made her an instant star, especially since she gets to be a lustier version of Barbara Stanwyck's brilliantly wicked character in Double Indemnity. The stars & the supporting cast (including Ted Danson & Mickey Rourke) are all quite terrific in Body Heat and---if you're new to the movie---the twists and turns will be hard to predict. Juicy stuff. So avoid a heatwave and also avoid being blown up as we discuss the many merits of Kasdan's sexy and very sweaty modern noir. Our sponsor remains Sparkplug Coffee. Use our "HYES" discount code and snag 20% off your next order. The website in question is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Respond to

In recent months, holidays have meant an excuse to post listicles on this channel, so here we go again for podcast #603. In this, we give our Hot Takes about a wide range of film topics. They include: self-indulgent Method actors, the problem with directors' cuts, the need for more sex thrillers, whether or not a certain cartoon is sexist and which big-name movie star is actually unappreciated. The merits of sequels & remakes came up too, not to mention the flawed way we measure if a movie is a hit. We also did brief reviews of big-screen films we saw during our vacation in July, such as Longlegs and Kinds Of Kindness. Hit that button to find out just how hot, cold or sometimes lukewarm our opinions are. Sparkplug Coffee is our sponsor. If you apply our "HYES" promo code to the appropriate box, you will save 20% off your next order. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/HYES". Talk back to us. Our email is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". We linger on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis, which she also

If you are what you choose to podcast, then we choose to say a lot of nice things about Brad Bird's debut cartoon. As wonderful as the animation and the voicework are and as touching and emotional as the story is, The Iron Giant somehow failed at the box office. Maybe it wasn't funny or fun enough for people who were used to Disney style 'toons? Maybe it was too reliant on reminding us of other classics like E.T., Superman and Terminator 2? It also sets its scene in the '50s with a major theme of Cold War paranoia, which is heady stuff for kids. We applaud how mature The Iron Giant (usually) is though. One thing that's impossible to find fault with are the voice actors, led by young Eli Marienthal as Hogarth and Vin Diesel, who's perfectly cast as metallic voice of the Giant. In any case, our 602nd episode will do many things---including teach you a few facts about Maine---as we evaluate the goods and the greats about Bird's Iron Giant. Well, Actually: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman are in fact tied

Joel & Ethan Coen's ultra-Jewish film was a project that was very personal to them. Their '60s-set A Serious Man takes a humorous look at the trials of Job in the form of Michael Stuhlbarg, an actor who's done many great things in the past 15 years, but this was his breakout. Stuhlbarg looks for meaning in this often-funny, but often-impenetrable and even stressful movie. While this isn't a classic the way many other Coen Brothers films are, it's as well-made and fascinating as just about anything else they've ever made. We just...might not get it? So let our 601st dose of Have You Ever Seen settle into your ears as we try to figure out what the boys are doing in A Serious Man. Well, Actually: Upon further review, Larry's office is NOT a basement office, so he doesn't have much shelter from the oncoming storm. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors this podcast. Use our "HYES" promo code and you will receive a one-time 20% discount. The website to hit is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Say hi to us and tell us what you think