The Top 100 Project

Blaxploitation movies were very popular with audiences 50 years ago. Jack Hill's Foxy Brown is a classic largely because of Pam Grier, who was not only a staggering beauty with 12/10 sex appeal, but she also plays a badass you could root for. And her sublime performance in Jackie Brown happened largely because of how much QT liked this flick. Ryan's monologue tackles the story, of course, but also speculates about what a modern remake might look like. The possibilities are fascinating. So wear a series of terrific outfits and avenge your boyfriend as this one-man talk---our 581st episode and our second in Revenge Month---takes Have You Ever Seen into the gritty world of Foxy Brown. A programming note: a review of Batman will air on April 29th, while April 19th won't be a talk about Death Wish after all. It will actually be a funny "revenge" movie in that slot. Sparkplug Coffee is our sponsor. They offer our listeners a onetime 20% discount. Use our "HYES" promo code to get that. So it's "sparkplug.coffee/hyes

Gone Girl begins our 2nd (Probably) Annual Revenge Month as Rosamund Pike plays a narcissistic sadist who wants vengeance on her lazy, cheating husband. Ben Affleck plays that husband, a very-flawed man who has to deal with tabloid "journalists" as he tries to figure out why his wife is missing...and possibly dead. David Fincher's mystery movie has its faults, but it's well-made (of course) and it shows off the savage determination of Pike's Amy Dunne, especially in the last 20 or 30 minutes. We tried to sort through Gone Girl's confusing climax, although that section also has some of the funniest things you'll see in any thriller. So put on your baseball cap (we didn't even bring up THAT silly Fincher/Affleck stalemate!) and mope your way through a charmed life as two people hate each other, but they find a way to make us enjoy all that in this 580th episode of Have You Ever Seen. Well, Actually: the proper pronunciation of Gillian Flynn's first name is a hard G, similar to "gone" and "girl". Also, the edito

This 579th edition of Have You Ever Seen wraps up our 9th Annual Oscar Month on the very day that also happens to be this podcast's 11th anniversary. Jojo Rabbit is one of the funniest movies of recent years and it's also one of the best. The tone is remarkable and it's consistent, especially considering something as deadly serious as Hitler, Nazis and the Holocaust are made so funny here. Credit to writer/director Taika Waititi and his cast for pulling that off. Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell are terrific, but child actors Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie and Archie Yates are the keys. They give some of the best child performances we've ever seen...and they're hilarious when they're not being touching. So goof around with your imaginary friend while learning to care about your real best friend as we tie our own shoes and have a great time discussing Jojo Rabbit. Johannes and his best friends aren't old enough to be coffee drinkers, but if you sip the stuff, then take a look at "sparkplug.coffee".

Jimmy Stewart wasn't a big star yet when he worked with Frank Capra for the first time in this picture. No matter. You Can't Take It With You belongs to the top-billed Jean Arthur and especially Lionel Barrymore anyway. A word that didn't come up in Ryan's solo show here is "screwball", although this Best Picture winner is clearly working in that genre. The flick just didn't make this fellow laugh. Of course, director Capra won his 3rd Oscar in just 5 years for this effort...and all 3 were screwball comedies. The man was in his element. At least his movie is genial and it's a solid-enough story. So agree with the movie's admirable message while trying to find something in it that might actually make you giggle as this 578th episode of Have You Ever Seen picks through You Can't Take It With You. Well, Actually: Anthony Kirby Senior DOES smile before the scene with the harmonicas at the end. He grins when Penny tells Mrs. Kirby that her hobby is silly. Get yourself some groovy beans from Sparkplug Coffee. They

Oscar Month takes us back to the long-ago past as we talk about the genial one that took home 7 Oscars 8 decades ago. But Going My Way didn't make it easy on us. This fluffery somehow one-upped the Double Indemnity at those Academy Awards. Bing Crosby even won a trophy for his role as a helpful priest, despite having a real-life personality that contrasted with his nice-guy image. Maybe he was a better actor than we thought. In any case, we can understand how a musical comedy would be welcomed during the height of WWII, but is this the epitome of filmmaking in ANY year? Well, we had some fun with Leo McCarey's flick, including speculating about who set the church on fire. We also poked the ribs of the Irish and the Catholic Church. So swing on a star with episode #577 of Have You Ever Seen as a songwriter bonds with wayward youths, lost loves and aging priests. To Be Clear: the James Brown "football guy" who's referred to is not even the legendary Cleveland running back (that's Jim Brown, of course), but the

It was an Oppenheimer kind of night. Some called the 2024 Academy Awards broadcast a snooze, but the Ellises had a good time watching the show, especially the comedy bits. The Mulaneys, the Cenas, the Spielbergs (yeah!) and especially the Goslings were funny and very entertaining. We also mostly agreed with---or at least respected---the people and the films that were given trophies. So settle in for the 576th episode of Have You Ever Seen as we break down what we thought about the best in 2023's motion pictures in our 2024 Oscars Post-View Show. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors this podcast. You can save 20% off your next order by using our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Comment on our possibly controversial thoughts you'll hear in this or any other podcast we've done. Our email is haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. On Twi-X, Ryan is @moviefiend51 and Bev is @bevellisellis. She uses that handle on Threads too. Also, hunt for our show on YouTube. Rate, review, comment, subscribe, etc.

Our first Best Picture winner in this year's Oscar Month, The Last Emperor, went 9 for 9 at the awards that year. John Lone, Joan Chen and Peter O'Toole are all solid in the starring roles, but there's something fairly soulless and even a little opaque about this spectacular production...especially for a Bernardo Bertolucci film. Bertolucci and his team were the rare Western filmmakers to be allowed to shoot in The Forbidden City in China, as they told a story about a sheltered child surrounded by devious sycophants. Puyi might be a royal, but his comfortable life is spent in effectively a prison. The biggest problem we couldn't get past with this film, though, is that this was what the Oscars told us was the pinnacle of 1987 filmmaking, even though Broadcast News, Moonstruck, Robocop, Predator and Lethal Weapon were all out that year. So don't you dare try to leave the 575th edition of Have You Ever Seen---not until you get kicked out---as we marvel and moan in equal measure about The Last Emperor. Well, Act

Surprise! Back in January, Ryan posted a solo show talking about Horse Feathers. Well, here's another unexpected, unpromoted show about a movie star from the early days of cinema. Mary Pickford is a legend for business reasons though as much as she is for her films. She was a producer when not many women were AND she created the United Artists studio with Chaplin, Griffith and Fairbanks. Coquette is not her best-known title, but it DID win her an Oscar. And this early talkie is better than expected, especially considering the dreadful numbers on Rotten Tomatoes. Sound was still wonky in 1929, but this flick didn't suffer badly in that area. It's fairly well-made. Pickford might never come up on Have You Ever Seen again, so the focus in this 574th episode is split between the film itself and Mary P as one of the premiere power players in the first few decades of Hollywood filmmaking. Make your day yummy by buying some Sparkplug Coffee. They give our listeners a onetime 20% discount, if those listeners use our

This is our 9th Oscars Preview Show and this is one of the few times where we don't have too many bad things to say about the nominees. Bev went easier on Oppenheimer than she did last summer after seeing it. We each have nothing but praise for some of the great (downer) films like Anatomy Of A Fall and The Zone Of Interest. At least the Academy didn't overlook funny flicks because 2 gut-busters (Barbie and American Fiction) are up for major awards too. In short though, 2023 was the year of Barbenheimer. Both megahits are likely to win trophies...and one of them is the front-runner for a lot of the big ones. Big hint: a large kaboom. Oppenheimer has been cleaning up at other awards shows, as have actors like Murphy, Stone, Downey and Randolph. They look to be in great shape to take home Oscar gold. We addressed the controversy about Barbie's "snubs" and we talked about a lot of technical categories, but the focus was on the 4 acting categories, the 2 writing categories and of course Best Director and Best Pic

Jean-Luc Godard was prolific after he went from reviewing films to making them in the early '60s. He directed a few classics of the French New Wave, many of which are beloved by Sight & Sound voters. In Contempt, bombshell Brigitte Bardot is impossibly beautiful, but she's also quite good at playing passive-aggressive anger. She and the dreamy Italian locations are a treat for the eyes, as her nightmarish scenario finds her being pimped out by her writer husband (Michel Piccoli) to a sleazy American producer (Jack Palance). Contempt is compelling, even if it's far from perfect and the characters aren't very likable. So join us in this 572nd edition of Have You Ever Seen as we wrap up "Love In A Word Month" by digging into the story of a not-so-great husband, a greatly-disappointed wife and The Odyssey in this movie about movies. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors our podcast. Use our "HYES" promo code and score a 20% discount. So it's "sparkplug.coffee.hyes" in your browser. Feedback? We like it. Fire off a messag

While not a classic, Mogambo has a lot going for it. They took the production to several countries in Africa to get authentic scenery for this passionate love story. Big stars like Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly do the love triangle thing and John Ford (who had just won his 4th Oscar) is their director. And what these legends of cinema made 70+ years ago is fine. It's just far from marvelous. Gable alternates his romantic interest between Gardner & Kelly, which isn't logical. Anyway, Ryan is on his own again in this 571st episode of Have You Ever Seen, so journey to various parts of Africa---when you're not shooting in front of projection screens in the comfort of a studio, that is---as Mogambo gets a reviewin'. Programming note: All The King's Men will not be the episode on March 22nd. What WILL be discussed is still being considered. Sparkplug Coffee can't be acquired in the wilds of Africa, but Canadians and Americans can be all over it. They continue to offer our listeners 20% off if they us

It's President's Day in America, it's Family Day here in Ontario and it's also Black History Month, but it's also "Love In A Word" Month on Have You Ever Seen...and we continue to talk about romantic movies with one-word titles. Sabrina has a tremendous pedigree. Billy Wilder directing Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden must have been an easy sell to the moneymen 70 years ago. Their romcom is pretty good and it is indeed funny & romantic (at times), but we had trouble buying the love story. Holden is not at his best, while Bogie seems miscast...and also somewhat disinterested. Audrey is about as charming and likable as she always was though, plus Wilder certainly knew what he was doing while making a comedy. Ups, downs. So put on a fancy dress and try to close that big deal to rake in mucho bucks as you hear us gab about Sabrina in our 570th episode. Sparkplug Coffee offers excellent beans to Canadians & Americans. They'll give our listeners who use our "HYES" promo code a one-time 20%

Ernst Lubitsch is one of the directors of the classic era who hasn't stayed in people's minds as much as others have. He's not as revered as, say, Billy Wilder...who happens to be a co-writer of Ninotchka. But Ernst had the famous "Lubitsch Touch", where he was able to effortlessly blend jokes and romance with a good story as well as anybody ever has. The hook here is that the always-serious Greta Garbo gets to be funny ("Garbo Laughs"). And she's great in this. She's lovable when she softens, but playing it straight as a stern Russian was her route to comic gold. She and Melvyn Douglas are a wonderful rom-com couple. As for Ninotchka's story, it's all about how capitalism is fun while communism is a dreary, almost-cultlike oppression. Politics has rarely resulted in such mirth. So loosen up and put on your ugly hat as the 569th edition of Have You Ever Seen digs into a classic comedy that's---get this---actually funny. And Just To Be Clear: Sig Ruman is German and Alexander Granach was born in what is now Uk

So Woody Allen, huh? One of the most controversial men in show business wasn't always that way...at least not publicly. He made many funny classics back in his salad days. Manhattan is certainly one of them. Woody and Marshall Brickman wrote plenty of great lines and hilarious scenes, plus Gordon Willis' cinematography is fantastic. The story and themes in this complicated love rhombus, however, are at least partially ruined by the director's real-life issues. Ryan's solo show addresses the controversies about Woody's dating life, his marriage to his step-daughter and what he may have done to another step-daughter when she was a child. Yeah, Manhattan wasn't an easy one to review. In any case, this 568th episode in the Have You Ever Seen series has one man trying to figure out how to feel about another man's oddball love life. There's nothing complicated about Sparkplug Coffee. Buy some. You can take advantage of a 20% discount by using our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee", then add "/ hyes" to the

All of our February podcasts will be about romantic/passionate films with one-word titles...and we begin "Love In A Word Month" with a chat about Arthur. Steve Gordon's blockbuster comedy was the rare laughy performance that won an Oscar. John Gielgud took it home for what is the funniest role in the movie. Dudley Moore, on the other hand, cackles at every joke he makes when he's drunk, although at least he's actually sweet when he's not playing it blitzed. Liza Minnelli brings a lot of sass to this male-dominated yuckfest as Moore's love interest. She has chemistry with the other 2 guys. It's just that we wish we'd laughed a lot more often and---while the violent climax at the wedding is amusing---the last 5 minutes of the movie are dreadfully unearned. It was a bad ending to what was already a flawed story. So alert the media that our 567th tall glass of Have You Ever Seen is rather critical of Arthur. Chase away your blistering hangover with some Sparkplug Coffee. You'll get a 20% discount by using our "HY

Steven Soderbergh's debut film is the 4th and final selection in this year's "Month Of Bev". Sex, Lies, And Videotape represents career-best performances by Andie MacDowell and Laura San Giacomo, although it was James Spader who got all the raves for his calm frankness. Peter Gallagher has the least-sympathetic and least-dimensional role of the 4 main characters. People are complex, which is a truth that Soderbergh understood even at this young age. So hit the play button on an antiquated technology that most young people have probably never even seen as our 566th episode is all about a man and several women sitting down to talk about Sex, Lies, And Videotape. Well, Actually: it's true that Rocky has a big critical/audience split on Rotten Tomatoes, but Forrest Gump's big split is the opposite...the audiences on that site like it a lot more than critics do. The kinds of explicit conversations people have in this movie would be broached even easier if they all had a cup of coffee. Sparkplug Coffee offers Have

Not many movies make decorative artwork a sinister part of the story...but The Picture Of Dorian Gray does. Albert Lewin's handsome adaptation of Oscar Wilde's story about a painting that evolves to show the dark deeds of the lead character while he remains young is a popular concept. It's been remade many times. In this 1945 version, Hurd Hatfield's intentionally soulless performance as Dorian is one of the least-interesting parts of the film. George Sanders gets many caustic lines though and Angela Lansbury is the heart of the movie, even though she's not in it very much. This ranked on AFI's Top 100 Thrills and it's not scary all these decades later, but that doesn't mean there isn't something eerie going on. So stop obsessing about your looks as the 565th doodle of Have You Ever Seen (and another solo show by Ryan) investigates the supernatural goings on in The Picture Of Dorian Gray. Check out our sponsor: Sparkplug Coffee. They continue to offer a onetime 20% discount to anyone who uses our promo code (

Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and the rest of the terrific cast of The Talented Mr. Ripley were all in the middle of a remarkable run of greatness in the late '90s, but this is the thriller that sometimes gets forgotten. Is this Damon's best performance? It's certainly the rare killer he's played...and he's really good at being bad. The boring leech is a top-notch liar...and, oh, there's that ever-fascinating angle where an actor plays a character who has to act. This is Anthony Minghella at his best, both his clever screenplay and his direction. And this is the guy who directed the Oscar juggernaut that was The English Patient. Fun ride. So realize it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody as our 564th European jaunt takes Have You Ever Seen into the sinister world of The Talented Mr. Ripley. The talented purveyors of beans at Sparkplug Coffee offer our audience a 20% discount. Just use our "HYES" promo code. So it's "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Feedback is welcome. Comment, rate, review and s

Hey, it's a surprise podcast! A little bonus magic here in mid-January. Well, it's been more than 10 years since the Marx Brothers have come up on Have You Ever Seen, so they were due. Norman McLeod's football comedy is just as anarchic as Groucho, Chico and Harpo's other red-letter titles were. Trouble is, most of their zany puns and sight gags come across as "more of the same". They're hitting the same beats with different settings and different character names. So you know what you're getting from the Marx boys (although at least this kind of tomfoolery doesn't necessarily age badly), but was Horse Feathers actually funny? Ryan's monologue in our 563rd podcast tries to answer that question. Sparkplug Coffee isn't nutty like Horse Feathers is. It's a rock-solid product and you can save 20% off your next order by using our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". If you'd like to speak to us, go to Elon's weirdo site and hit us with a tweet-x (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Bev is on Threads as

Look at us covering one of the whitest movies ever on MLK Day. Well, it's quite a film that happens to be about many compelling things: lying, cheating and masculinity. It's also legitimately funny. Swedish writer/director Ruben Ostlund has made a career out of filming the uncomfortable and he loves to show people who are trying to save face. In Force Majeure, we've got a marriage on the rocks after Johannes Kuhnke fails his family in a crisis, which brings about a bitter conflict with his wife (Lisa Loven Kongsli). So don't be a coward when a lot of snow is rushing your way or when a bus driver is making you uneasy, but feel free to ugly cry in front of your family as the 562nd Have You Ever Seen podcast banters about Force Majeure. Well, Actually: the proper pronunciation of Ostlund's last name DOES seem to be to rhyme the first 3 letters with "frost", not "toast" or "boost". Also, Ostlund has indeed directed a few other films besides his Big Three, including Involuntary and Play. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors