Five Easy Pieces turned out to be an incredibly relatable movie for me to discuss these days. In fact, this 699th episode might get a little TOO personal as I shared plenty of things about my own life. Jack Nicholson gives one of his deepest performances as he continued to build his legend following Easy Rider the year before. Here we have universal themes of alienation, rebellion, family strife, running away from life's problems. Director Bob Rafelson's cast is good across the board, especially Jack, of course, and his all-wrong-for-him girlfriend Karen Black. His film though is mostly famous for the "piano on the truck" scene and especially the diner scene. Oh, and the ending. So hold the chicken (somewhere) and just get the man some toast as I fill you in on the happenings in Five Easy Pieces.

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Hal Ashby was right in the middle of an incredible run when Shampoo came out in the mid-'70s. He made a few bonafide classics amongst his 7 films that were released that decade. This isn't his funniest work though. In fact, typical for this director, the laughs are sometimes explosive, but they're spaced out. This is in fact generally a sad film...especially considering how much casual carnality is going on. It's a film about sex and politics during the 3 days leading into and then following Nixon's win in the 1968 presidential election. Co-writer and star Warren Beatty (somewhat…mostly?) lives his real life on screen as a hairdresser who sleeps with many of his clients...as he juggles Julie Christie, Oscar-winner Lee Grant and girlfriend Goldie Hawn. So tune into the 698th edition of Have You Ever Seen as I talk about a film that improves with age while also giving you a cute bob and maybe a lusty back rub …Shampoo.

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Inclement weather is heading your way! We discover in this 689th edition of Have You Ever Seen that there are angry, dead mariners on a boat surrounded by fog...and they're out for revenge on the residents of a small coastal town 100 years later. Well-made though this film is, it's definitely lesser John Carpenter, coming out right in the middle of his brilliant Halloween/Escape/Thing run. His horror flick has its moments though and his cast is just fine, headlined by 3 Scream Queens: Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh and Adrienne Barbeau. So let's get the 10th Annual Scary Movie Month going with this sometimes tongue-in-cheek wagging of the tongue about The Fog.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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's cousins, not his nieces.

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Let's hear from you. We're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis on Twi-X and Bev uses that same @ on Threads. Our email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". And we put all our shows up on YouTube. The destination in your browser is @hyesellis...or look up "Have You Ever Seen" YouTube's search bar. Comment, like, subscribe. Do that and also rate & review our eps on your podcast app too.

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.

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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.

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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 comes out in late June.

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Get in touch with us about this episode or any of our 591 others. To get to us on email, you've got "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". Twi-X handles are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Threads for Bev is that same @. And since we post all of our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis), you can comment there and like and subscribe. You can do some of those things and also rate & review our work on your podcast app too.

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.

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Ryan's quest to review at least one movie starring all the actors on the AFI's Top 50 Stars list has been achieved with this one-man-talk about Vittorio De Sica's comic anthology. Sophia Loren was the last one standing. She and "Mar-chell-o", not "Mar-cell-o" Mastroianni star in all 3 chapters of Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow, each time as Italian lovers. The 1st part of the film where they play a horny married couple is definitely the best and funniest segment. The actors have chemistry and the result of this pairing is a blend of the light and the somewhat dark, although this IS intended to be a comedy. It isn't LOL funny, but it's an enjoyable 2 hours...and looking at the gorgeous and brassy Loren for that long is certainly a pleasure. In any case, if you need to know a 60-years-later opinion about Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow in this 590th edition of Have You Ever Seen, then ascoltare to this one.

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In Jezebel, Bette Davis plays a sassy Southern belle who pushes prudish fiancé Henry Fonda away. And it's all over a red dress. Jezebel is a movie about manners, propriety and stubbornness in the Antebellum South (courteous though they are, they DO have plenty of slaves) with the looming threat of Yellow Fever. William Wyler's romance in and around New Orleans isn't an all-time classic, but Bette and Fay Bainter both won Oscars for their good, if not quite fantastic work. So coyly pull the back of your extra-long dress up with a riding crop and then spend a year or two being a semi-villain before you make a hard about-face into the land of self-sacrifice. The 688th episode of Have You Ever Seen politely awaits.

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Contact options: email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) and the socials: ryan-ellis on Bluesky and @moviefiend51 on Twi-X.

Also, look for me on Letterboxd (RyanHYES). I just started posting reviews on September 28th, although don't be fooled. I didn't actually watch any of those movies on the 28th. My angle with Letterboxd write-ups is to try to come up with something out of left field to make you giggle or go "oh yeah, I never thought of that!"

Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra were both tremendous movie stars, but their names haven't come up very often in 11+ years of Have You Ever Seen. So after covering plenty of dark films in recent weeks, Ryan talks alone in this 589th episode about these singers and dancers in their light musical romp. It's glossy and the songs are mostly good, but this Kelly/Donen affair is also silly and easy to mock. The 2 handsome stars---along with Jules Munshin---share the screen with Betty Garrett, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen. Garrett and Miller play a couple of fast women, who make it crystal clear just how into the guys they are while Kelly spends an entire day trying to romance the harder-to-get Vera-Ellen. And the things they all accomplish in 24 hours! So obsess about a woman you only know from a poster while you're on shore leave in New York as Ryan monologues about On The Town.

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The early-'30s were a tumultuous time, so it's fitting that we were introduced to violent gangster flicks during that timeframe. The Public Enemy & Howard Hawks' Scarface are both better than Mervyn LeRoy's Little Caesar, but Edward G Robinson's star-making performance is just as iconic as what Cagney & Muni did in their shoot-'em-up crime movies. And this is certainly a memorable film, with the pint-sized killer mowing down anyone who gets in his way. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plays the Chicago mobster's best friend and while his character isn't as fleshed out as he could be (none of them are in this 80-minute movie, really), it takes dynamic filmmaking and committed performances to make this flick effective at all. So don't you dare squeal or it could get bloody as the 588th podcast that can be found on this channel takes a Ryan-sized look at Little Caesar.

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You can also find these productions on YouTube (@hyesellis)...or search for "Have You Ever Seen" when you're on the 'Tube. Subscribe, comment, like and do all that...and also rate and review on your podcast app. If you want to let us know what you think of us via email or Twi-X, the email is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com" and the social media @s are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis (same @ for Bev on Threads).

We've only covered Bette Davis twice before now (including the classic All About Eve), but she's nearly as good in Dark Victory as she was in that or in anything else she ever made. Geraldine Fitzgerald does solid work here too, but George Brent, Ronnie Reagan and even Humphrey Bogart just aren't as up to snuff. In any case, Edmund Goulding directs them all through a tragi-drama about a socialite (Davis) who gets a brain tumor, then falls in love with her brain doctor (Brent). And they're both liars. Have any of us been as dishonest as the lovebirds are in this film, especially when the stakes are so high? Well, despite those frustrations, this is a emotional film with a touching ending. Maybe prepare some crying towels...and don't let your prognosis of this 587th episode of Have You Ever Seen be negative as Ryan spends some time monologuing about Dark Victory.

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Tim Burton's dark 1989 take on the billionaire who dresses as a bat came decades after Bob Kane and Bill Finger invented the character. And while Ryan talks a little about the other films in this long-running series (and the '60s TV show), the star of this one-man show is the '89 Batman. Michael Keaton proved the naysayers very wrong in this stylish comic-book adaptation (is he still the best Batman ever?) and Jack Nicholson has a gigantic ball playing the Joker. The rest of the cast nails it too, Prince's songs remain infectious and Danny Elfman's great themes have become legendary. Love it, but Ryan still wisecracked a lot in this 586th edition of Have You Ever Seen (not the 585th as is said in the intro), but that's what happens when you see a movie 10 or 20 times. You love it and love to make fun of it. So stay out of a big-city alley, but DO fly your small plane in front of the moon as we conclude Revenge Month with the one about the tortured vigilante loving a shrieking Kim Basinger and hating a mobster-turned-psycho-clown.

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Our 6th of 7 episodes during this Revenge Month takes us to America's Deep South as we talk about Robert Mitchum making Gregory Peck's life a living hell in Cape Fear. What's more, the convicted rapist threatens the lawyer's family in some of the worst way's a hateful person can. "Rape" is never spoken in the dialogue, but it's a constant theme. Mitchum plays such a clever, sadistic villain. He's one of the most-sinister of anyone on AFI's Heroes & Villains list and he could have ranked even higher on that list than he did. We also talked a lot about the dubious morality in Martin Scorsese's flashy 1991 remake, but the focus of this show is on J. Lee Thompson's tense original. So, counsellors, take dangerous matters into your own hands as this 585th edition of Have You Ever Seen pokes a toe in the river before going off the deep end into Cape Fear.

For The Record: the actual Cape Fear is in North Carolina. Also, while Robert De Niro is certainly covered in tattoos in the 1991 version, he doesn't have the "love/hate" knuckle tattoos that Mitchum has in The Night Of The Hunter (and that Radio Raheem also has as knuckle rings in Do The Right Thing).

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Since this is still Revenge Month, the time has come for a one-Ryan episode about Revenge Of The Nerds. Yes, there are a few controversial scenes where our otherwise-lovable heroes strike back against mean-spirited football players...although what they do to the jocks' snobby cheerleader girlfriends is far worse. But this IS a tacky, sex comedy that was made 40 years ago. Robert Carradine and especially Anthony Edwards are fun and sweet, but it's Carradine's character who---more than once---crosses the line with Julia Montgomery. Still, it's easy to enjoy the spirit and the sincerity of MOST of Jeff Kanew's silly comedy. It's also hard to beat the joyous musical number during the talent show or that inspirational ending. So laugh your obnoxious laugh while you get loaded with your geeky frat brothers as Ryan takes a nostalgia trip to talk about the Tri-Lambs, the Omega-Mus and their tormenters in the 584th podcast you'll find on Have You Ever Seen.

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Communicate with our dorky selves by sending an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or a Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Bev goes by @bevellisellis on Threads too. And we always post our podcasts on YouTube later on the posting day. Our destination in your browser should be @hyesellis...or just go on YouTube and search for "Have You Ever Seen". We ask that you rate and review our talks. Subscribe to us. Comment as much as you like. And do all those things either on your app or on YouTube. Or maybe both.

Nicolas Cage can't be accused of making safe choices during his 40+ years of acting. He's appeared in his share of crap this century, but he also has plenty of terrific titles on his resume. Mandy is one of the best ones he's ever starred in and it's certainly one of his most unique. Director Panos Cosmatos leads Cage through a phantasmagoric odyssey of pain and brutality. The story takes a while to unfold, but it's fairly simple. After Nic and Andrea Riseborough's tranquility is shattered by some lunatics in a sick cult, he sets out to avenge her vicious and senseless death. Cosmatos (pronounced "Coz-MAW-tos") has only directed 2 films, but this and Beyond The Black Rainbow both have a hypnotic effect. And the violence in this mood piece really stings. So shout your best primal scream before you set out with a crossbow and The Beast during Revenge Month as the 583rd chat on Have You Ever Seen finds us trying to figure out the weird world of Mandy.

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Outside of Out Of Sight, it's hard to find a Jennifer Lopez performance that's any better than her work in Hustlers. Her fair-weather friends in this though? Well, except for Keke Palmer, not so much. But J Lo's stunning sex appeal and swagger overwhelm everything else. Lorene Scafaria's Goodfellas-esque execution of the story are pretty snazzy too. She wrote and directed about some not-very-innocent exotic dancers stealing from Wall Street jerks who (legally) stole from others during the financial crisis. Hustlers is fun and kinetic, but we debated if viewers are A-OK with these women being greedy and reckless, even though they claim they're exacting some justice. This is Revenge Month on our channel, so that mentality DOES track. But is any of the stuff in this flick feminist? You'll have to find out in this 582nd edition of Have You Ever Seen.

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Throwing some feedback our way is easy and it's encouraged. Our Twi-X handles are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis (same one for Bev on Threads). Our email address is haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. We also post all our chats on YouTube. The assignment in your browser is type in @hyesellis. Comment there and/or your podcast app. Rate, review, like, subscribe and tell the world you love the Ellis' take on motion pictures.

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.

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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 editor who typically edits Fincher's movies with Kirk Baxter is Angus Wall, although he didn't help cut this one. Also also, now that they've reviewed 4 Fincher flicks, that makes one third of his output, not one quarter.

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Repeat after me and say it with the coolest lisp in cinema: here beginneth the 687th Have You Ever Seen podcast. The Untouchables is one Brian De Palma's most-successful films is also the first one of his to be discussed around here in 9 years...and, after Carrie, only the 2nd in total. And he was great at violent gangster flicks. It's still the days of Prohibition in America and Al Capone runs the underground liquor trade. Sean Connery won his only Oscar playing an "Irish" beat cop who has all the answers about how to take down the filthy rich mob boss, who's played by Robert De Niro. Connery, Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith are the title heroes, who dirty their hands more than they ever intended. So spend this first day of autumn hearing about booze, bribes and slo-mo shootouts in The Untouchables.

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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.

Well, Actually: Scar-Jo doesn't just make a cameo in Avengers: Endgame. She's a major part of the entire movie.

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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.

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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 host who used to be a football broadcaster with Fox and seems to be working for CBS now.

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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.

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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, Actually: Maggie Han was born in Rhode Island, but her parents were South Korean. Also, Licence To Kill was released in 1989, not 1987.

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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.

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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 Picture. So settle in as we spend a touch over an hour during this 573rd episode of Have You Ever Seen making predictions---and often making jokes---about the upcoming 96th Academy Awards.

Well, Actually: With the nod this year, Martin Scorsese has 10 nominations for directing while Steven Spielberg has 9. Also, the Killers Of The Flower Moon song that's nominated is called "Wahzhazhe". Also also, the proper pronunciation of Da'Vine Joy Randolph is "Day-vine", not "Duh-vine". Also also also, both the song and the name of the Bond movie that won Billie Eilish & Finneas O'Connell an Oscar just a few years ago was "No Time To Die".

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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.

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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.

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Getting in touch with us is always welcomed...during the last few days of "Love In A Word" Month or anytime. Ryan's Twi-x handle is @moviefiend51. Bev's is @bevellisellis, which is also how you can contact her on Threads. Our email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". And we post all of our shows on YouTube. The browser destination for that is "@hyesellis". Rate and review us there or on your podcast app. Subscribe, like, share...spread the word.

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.

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A new era begins in this 686th edition of Have You Ever Seen as Ryan talks about David Lynch's mainstream breakout after Eraserhead got him noticed by this film's executive producer, Mel Brooks. The Elephant Man stars Oscar nominee John Hurt in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as his sympathetic doctor. Unusual for Lynch, his B&W biographical character piece doesn't have sex, gory violence or bad language. It's just a sensitive, affecting, sometimes sad tale about compassion, acceptance and goodness. And also John/Joseph Merrick's life-changing deformities. Hurt's makeup really was incredible. So lay down for a nap, but make sure to put your earbuds in before you doze off as this show digs into The Terrible Elephant Man.

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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 Ukraine, while Felix Bressart was born in what was then East Prussia in Germany...but is now Russia. So you could argue that at least he really was Russian.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Feedback is welcome. Comment, rate, review and subscribe to us on YouTube (@hyesellis). Write an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Look for Bev on Threads @bevellisellis)...or find either of us on Twitter-x (@moviefiend51and @bevellisellis).

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.

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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.

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Buster Keaton's silent comedies were classics, but they were also action thrillers. He was one of the greatest and gutsiest stuntmen/actors in history. That stuff is phenomenal, so the only real problem with The Navigator is the same as it was in Sherlock Jr last year. Namely, the movie just isn't all that funny. The Navigator's ending sequence has the most laughs and most of the best stunts though. And it helps that Stoneface has chemistry with Kathryn Maguire, who was also his lady love in Sherlock Jr. Here they're in a movie about two pointless, rich people having to fight for their lives while lost at sea. We eventually get into some casual racism, but The Navigator IS a century old. So, instead of dwelling on that, have fun making bad breakfast and then defending your ship from hungry natives as this 561st episode of Have You Ever Seen ambles through The Navigator.

For The Record: Monday's episode will be Ruben Ostlund's Force Majeure. Our schedule was changed, so the original throw we recorded was to a movie we'll review later in January, rather than this coming Monday.

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There are a bunch of ways to contact us. Tweet-x: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Email: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. Or comment on our YouTube page (@hyesellis). And rate us, write a review and subscribe to us there...or on your podcast app.

We begin the 9th Annual Month Of Bev by chatting about a cult classic that features punks, Reaganomics and odd automobiles. Repo Man was Alex Cox's debut (Sid And Nancy came 2 years later) and it was also very early in Emilio Estevez's film career. The man who would basically stop acting in motion pictures about 15 years later is just okay here. He's joined in this sci-fi/comedy by veteran character actors like Tracey Walter and Harry Dean Stanton. The movie still touches Bev's Gen-X heart, despite a clunky middle section and an unsatisfying ending. This is a weird flick, but you have to admire that everyone involved embraces the weirdness and had fun making it. Well, maybe not Stanton. So drive your Chevy Malibu across the country---no matter what danger the trunk contains---and obey the code as our 560th edition of Have You Ever Seen pieces through Repo Man.

To Be Clear...: Gary Oldman's co-star in Sid & Nancy is Chloe Webb (playing Nancy Spungen). Also, Sy Richardson WAS indeed one of the writers of Mario Van Peebles' Posse.

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Talk to us with a tweet-x (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Find our show on YouTube (@hyesellis) and comment to your heart's content there. Rate us and subscribe to us there too, but also do all those things on your podcast app.

This was supposed to be the slot for Bev & Ryan to talk about David Lynch's The Elephant Man, but that episode has been pre-empted. Instead, this 685th edition of Have You Ever Seen has Ryan talking alone about a major life change that greatly affects this podcast. Check this one out for those details, but also note that all my talk about "maybe" covering The Elephant Man next Monday was unfounded. That episode is already finished, so it will definitely go up on September 15th.

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Contact options: @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. The email address is haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com.

We're in "let's look back at 2023" mode as we discuss our fave flicks of last year (so far) and also answer listeners' emails, tweets and YouTube comments. It wasn't a great 12 months at the movies, although we still have to see a lot of red-letter titles before we can make a final call on that. The writers' and actors' strikes were huge stories that might have long-lasting effects, but apart from the whopping successes of Barbenheimer, Sound Of Freedom and Taylor Swift's record-destroying concert film, the biggest story of '23 was the massive failure of most of the superhero movies released by Marvel and DC. And then, yes, we dropped some names and (finally!) responded to our loyal listeners who took the time to write to us. This 559th episode of Have You Ever Seen is a tidy 30 minutes, so get cozy on New Year's Day and spend some time with the Ellises as we tell you what we thought of the year that was.

Well, Actually: Ryan messed up the names of superhero movies a few times in this episode. Chris Nolan directed Batman Begins, not Batman Returns. Also, he twice referred to the megahit from a few years ago as Spider-Man: Far From Home, when of course it was No Way Home.

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To wrap up our podcasting year with a record-shattering 77th episode, Ryan is once again on a solo mission to review something that's considered a classic. And while it's always a pleasure to see Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, the  reason to cover The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer is that it represents our first Shirley Temple (Black) flick. She's one of the title characters---you can guess which one---while Cary plays the other title character in another in his long line of rom-com hits. He was the master of the smiley love stories, especially those in the screwball genre. But is either the comedy or the love story in Irving Reis' light-hearted Oscar-winner particularly convincing though? And did Shirley Temple actually wear bobby sox? That last question isn't answered in this 558th dose of Have You Ever Seen, but a lot of other ones are, as this half-hour monologue breaks down The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer.

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And keep on rating, reviewing, commenting, liking, subscribing etc. during these last few days of 2023... and then well into next year. You can do that on YouTube (@hyesellis) or on your podcast app. We haven't yet given up on Mister Musk's side job, so you can tweet-x us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Or just go old school and send an email (haveyoueverseendpodcast@gmail.com).

We post our final podcast of this year about a Christmas movie a day early, even though The Lion In Winter is only tangentially a Christmas movie at all. James Goldman wrote a complex King Lear story based on real people in director Anthony Harvey's authentic, dirty, unkempt Oscar-winner. Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn lead a fabulous cast (well, except for one person), as they fill the movie with sound and fury, although perhaps all the machinations take them back where they started. We took shots at the concept of royalty (then or now) and also the incestuous nature of those who wear silly crowns, but at least The Lion In Winter is engrossing and entertaining about such silliness. So be kind enough to let your spouse out of the hoosegow for the holidays as our 557th jingle bell digs into King Henry II, Eleanor Of Aquitaine and their not-so-loving children.

Well, Actually: Walter Brennan won 3 Oscars for Best Supporting Actor back in the '30s, so Hepburn was only tying him with her 3rd win for this performance (winning her 4th in 1981). And Ingrid Bergman had 2 Oscars, but would go on to win a 3rd a few years after Hepburn won THIS one.

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And fire off an email or two (or more) to "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". That or tweet-x us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Rate our podcast on your app, write a review, like, subscribe, all that stuff. And look for us on YouTube. We post every episode (@hyesellis), where you can drop some comments and do those other things there too.