The Top 100 Project

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

For episode #600 of Have You Ever Seen, we're completing the Quentin Quest. With this, we have reviewed everything Tarantino has directed (well, discounting Four Rooms). Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is the man's most-emotional film and it's his most-personal too. The outstanding cast is headlined by the hilarious Leonardo Di Caprio, the gruff (and Oscar-winning) Brad Pitt and the sweet-as-honey Margot Robbie. She doesn't get as much to do as the guys do, but her lovely performance always brings one of us to tears. This film is funny, it's heartfelt, it's tense and QT gets back into "revisionist history" territory when Leo & Pitt's fictional characters cross paths with the very-real Manson maniacs. Bring on the ultra-violence...and bring on the laughs! This movie about movie-making (and television-making) isn't Tarantino's #1 film, but it deepens with meaning every time we see it. So enjoy this fairy tale that often feels as real as a donut because we're talking about Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Well,

The French New Wave was headlined by names like Truffaut & Godard, but Agnes Varda was a vital writer/director in the movement too. Her Cleo From 5 To 7 is set in in Paris and plays out in real time (90 minutes, though, not 2 hours). The beautiful and compelling Corinne Marchand wanders around the city, killing time until she will find out whether or not she has cancer. Cleo is a little aloof, which is partly the point, especially since she's a vain singer. Being that closed off though is partly why we didn't fall in love with Varda's opus the way Sight & Sound voters did in 2022, but we definitely have great appreciation for this B&W classic. So live in the moment as episode #599 of Have You Ever Seen has us hashing out one of the foremost of the (we think overrated) French New Wave. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors this podcast. Our "HYES" promo code will snag you a onetime 20% discount. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Tell us what you think of our thoughts. Our email address is "haveyoueversee

Have You Ever Seen doesn't post listicles or Top 10 lists very often, but for episode #598 on a holiday in our home and native land, that's exactly what you're getting on Canada Day. We each talked about 5 different directors and the most-underrated movie each of them has made, with an unintentional theme of twins and doppelgangers coming up again and again. Big names like Fincher, Soderbergh, Cronenberg, Reitman and Ridley Scott were amongst our 10 directors, so can you guess what we think is the film each of them made that not enough people have raved about? Play along as we count 'em down. We also opened the emailbag at the end of the podcast and responded to some recent listener feedback. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors our show every week, even when we post special episodes. Use our "HYES" promo code and save 20% off your next order. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Contact us the way some of our listeners did during this episode. Our email is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". Our Twi-X handles are @m

We post our last episode in June (#597 overall) and wrap up this month of joyful movies by yapping about the hilariously quotable This Is Spinal Tap. Director and co-writer Rob Reiner and the Guest/McKean/Shearer trio lead a team of funny people through 82 minutes of improv, providing us with so many classic lines. This is the greatest mockumentary of all time, a genre that Guest made his bread and butter as a director in the decades that followed. Still, while Tap's high points are gut-busters, there are more not-so-funny sequences than you might remember. This does bog down in the middle. Nevertheless, we laughed hard at the best parts. So smell a glove or two, dance around a tiny monument and be lukewarm water as you crank it to 11 while the Ellises offer you some grins in our chat about This Is Spinal Tap. While you give some real thought to becoming a haberdasher, look up Sparkplug Coffee. Their website is "sparkplug.coffee". Add "/HYES" and look for the appropriate box to use that "HYES" promo code. Tha

American Fiction is more of a dramedy or a clever satire than a true comedy, but few movies in recent years have been funnier than this is. Writer/director Cord Jefferson crafted a remarkable film, even though he balances maybe a few too many plots in his big-screen debut (racial strife, white guilt, difficult family issues, money troubles, inability to connect with people). The actors are always terrific in American Fiction though. Jeffrey Wright is especially wonderful in the leading role and he has chemistry with the entire cast, particularly with Tracee Ellis Ross. We really like this laugh-generator filled with secrets and lies, so take just a few days to write an entire book called "My Pafology" (then later call it...something else) and then settle in with the 596th edition of Have You Ever Seen. You can get Sparkplug Coffee sent to your Boston-area beach house...or to any part of the U.S. and Canada. Use our "HYES" promo code and get a onetime 20% discount. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Let us know wh

Everybody cut (everybody cut) in the 1984 version of Footloose. The story takes us to a repressed middle-American town where dancing is outlawed until Kevin Bacon rages against that particular machine. He's the city slicker with fast feet who pushes back on John Lithgow's religious father figureness. They both do very good work here and so does the rebellious Lori Singer, but Chris(topher) Penn steals the entire film, especially when the brawny farmer learns the joy of dancing. Herbert Ross' movie also has an excellent soundtrack to help him balance the light side with the serious side. And since it's Ross, Footloose is even a musical of sorts. So don't angry dance at your workplace. Instead put our 595th episode into your '80s-era headphones and release the iron grip you have on your small town so the kids can just enjoy the prom. Well, Actually: the mill is out of Bomont's jurisdiction because it's across COUNTY lines, not state lines. Also, the kids being terrorized by the brick through the window are Ren'

There were a few keystone movies about Generation X that came out around 30 years ago, but Reality Bites is one of the red-letter titles. Ben Stiller was making his directorial debut and he also plays the third part of a love triangle with Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. Ryder was at her peak in this time frame while Hawke---who was at least doing something different than he had been doing up until then---is insufferable. Not that Winona's character isn't often a putz in Reality Bites too. What these college grads would call selling out is what mature people learn to call being able to compromise. Anyway, the soundtrack is phenomenal and both Ryder & Janene Garofalo are really good in Stiller's dated rom-com. So do what people don't do so much anymore and light up a lot of cigarettes as these unremarkable people get up In Your Face in the 594th episode of Have You Ever Seen. If you're going to smoke, you might as well drink coffee too. And we have a sponsor that sells such things: Sparkplug Coffee. Our "HYE

Bogie and Bacall's first movie together was directed by Howard Hawks and was based on a book by Ernest Hemingway, so that's some serious cache. Of course, Hawks barely used anything from his friend's To Have And Have Not novel other than the title, even though the screenplay is filled with snappy lines. This is "Casablanca In The Caribbean" and it's set during the early days of World War II, but all of that is a backdrop for Bacall's star-making performance...which was also her debut. She and Bogart were married for real not too long after filming was finished, building on the sexual and romantic chemistry they have in the film. While To Have And Have Not is far from perfect, it has more than just "Steve" and "Slim", even though it doesn't need much more than them. So put your lips together and light up a cigarette (and also blow) as Ryan rides solo in this 593rd episode. Sparkplug Coffee can't be bought by people who live in Martinique, but Canadians and Americans can nab a 20% discount (onetime only) by usi

Memorial Day is a good time to talk about a war movie, even if the intense Edge Of Tomorrow is almost as witty as it is heart-pounding. The one that's better known as "Live Die Repeat" has a Groundhog Day-esque hook as military hype man Tom Cruise restarts a day every time he dies. Emily Blunt is in "keep up with me" badass mode while Cruise uncharacteristically plays a coward who doesn't have all the answers, but eventually learns (most of) them. Director Doug Liman has built an excellent resume these past 3 decades and he's just about at his best guiding the Edge Of Tomorrow cast and crew through their "let's do it again" paces. Our 592nd episode is ready to airdrop onto the beach to take on the vicious aliens who are determined to take over the planet, so pop your buds into your ears and celebrate the holiday hearing us yap about how the Mimics and the humans of Earth fight in France...over and over again. Well, Actually: the UDF is the "United Defense Force". Also, for the record, A Quiet Place Day One co

After 3 weeks off, Bev returns to the podcast to chat about Alfred Hitchcock's chamber piece. His Dial M For Murder stars a few very talented liars. Well, the characters are, not the actors. The best of those is Ray Milland, who's tremendous in this as one of Hitchcock's most-diabolical villains. His wife was unfaithful and he has a coldblooded plan to get revenge...and to get her money too. Grace Kelly is that wife and she's not at her best here, although the writing doesn't help her character be much more than a plot device. Otherwise, Frederick Knott's script (based on his own play) is dynamite. Dial M For Murder was also part of the early-'50s fad of being shot in 3D, although it was rarely shown that way. And it didn't need it. When Hitch and his team are cooking, they don't need gimmicks. So get cozy in your small English flat as a stranger gears up to strangle you in this 591st edition of Have You Ever Seen, which makes the call to talk about Dial M For Murder. Look for great java by checking out "spar