Have You Ever Seen

Episode #700! Such an occasion calls for a special episode as I give you reviews of not 1, not 2 but 3 old comedies all in 1 show. We're talking about Sons Of The Desert, Monkey Business and, the headliner, Topper. This is the first time on Have You Ever Seen for Laurel & Hardy, although the Marx Brothers and Cary Grant have been gabbed about a lot in the past. Grins can be had...even though many of these talented people went back to the same comedy well over and over again. I also addressed some emails from you listeners. Thanks for helping this podcast get to 700, so settle in. There just might be 700 more to come! Be a subscriber of Have You Ever Seen in your app. Review the show and let others know what you think. Leave a rating (5 stars!) and also feed back at me via email: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com. Social media options are "ryan-ellis" on Bluesky and "@moviefiend51" on the Twit. Also, if you're a Letterboxd person, I am too. I go by "RyanHYES". The library of reviews has been growing lately.

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. Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app. Rate and review the podcast too. Also, go ahead and pick a fight with me on social media that I, like Nicholson in this movie, am bound to lose. I'm @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. The trusty email is haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com.  The reviews on Letterboxd have finally picked up. Check out "RyanHYES" there to find my sometimes-offbeat thoughts about movies old and new.

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. Go to the subscribe button right now and do exactly that for this podcast. Rate and review it too.  Contact me. The email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". The Twi-X handle is @moviefiend51 and the Blueskyification is "ryan-ellis".  Find my page on Letterboxd too. It's "RyanHYES". The roster of flicks WILL grow, I swear.

Wait, my 697th podcast about a 90-year-old, B&W musical is just destined to set download records, isn't it?! Well, maybe there's no chance of that, but an Astaire/Rogers love story with an idiot plot IS fodder for a sarcastic monologue. You're bound to have at least 1/4 of as much fun with this episode as I had preparing it. Top Hat is similar to Fred & Ginger's reviled Swing Time (reviled around HERE anyway), yet it's certainly better…and it's probably F&G's most-famous film though. Mark Sandrich directs his stars through several terrific dance numbers, including the classic "Cheek To Cheek". There are some great things here. So put on your fancy clothes and prepare to fall in love at first sight with a woman who thinks you're a small, skinny liar as I guide you through the doin's in Top Hat. Note: Astaire dancing in sync with silhouettes of himself (and, unfortunately, while also in blackface) was done in Swing Time. Subscribe to the show, but also take some time to offer up some feedback. Write an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or fire off something on social media ("ryan-ellis" on Bluesky and "@moviefiend51" on Twi-X). Rate and review Have You Ever Seen in your app as well. Letterboxd. The Ryan lib'ary is slowing building up. Very slowly.

Connery & Caine were powerful names to put on the poster for The Man Who Would Be King. And while their adventure movie wasn't a huge hit, it has a huge legacy. John Huston directs Kipling's story with Sean and Michael playing scheming British ex-soldiers Danny & Peachy. And, God's Holy Trousers, are Caine & Connery ever a tremendous team! The fellas make an almost impossible journey to North Afghanistan in their hunt for fortune & glory. Then when Danny gets all he could want (and Peachy becomes his not-so-willing sidekick), they find out what the hubris of a false God-King gets them. So grab your masonic amulet and head for the middle of nowhere as the 696th dose of Have You Ever Seen podcasting action offers up a yap about men and kings. Subscribe to the podcast in your app, but also rate the show and write a review. That can be done on Spotify from episode to episode, never mind writing something for the podcast as a whole in your app. The email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com", the Bluesky handle is "ryan-ellis" and the Twi-X contact is "@moviefiend51." Letterboxd is a destination too. There's a slowly-growing library of my reviews on there.

November is finally the time to get to this year's Best Picture Oscar winner and here in episode #695, the talk/rant is indeed about "Ani". Somehow, auteur Sean Baker tied Walt Disney's record by winning 4 Oscars in one night while foul-mouthed fireplug Mikey Madison won Best Actress as well. She and Yura Borisov are two of a half-dozen people giving strong performances in Anora, the Russian-centric dramedy that gets funnier in what is also a repetitive, way-too-long second half. You'll probably find this monologue to be controversial, but answer this: what is this movie about? Is it just a crass Pretty Woman? Well, in any case, don't get married to the stupid idiot son of an oligarch. Just keep on strippin' for a livin' and swearing when you're really mad because feathers will be ruffled in this show that's all about Anora. If there's been an episode in recent memory that should elicit more feedback than this one, name it. Try an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). On the media that is social, I'm @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app. Rate the show and do a little write-up as well. This will likely bulk up in the coming months, but I occasionally write up things on Letterboxd too. Look for "RyanHYES".

Just like last year with the Dawn Of The Dead remake being posted on Halloween itself, the 694th episode on Have You Ever Seen is a redo of a horror classic that hits the airwaves on Scary Day. Tom Savini came up with a solid take on Romero's signature film, which basically invented the zombie movie back in 1968. There's a lot of bickering and boarding in the 1990 Night Of The Living Dead, but there's also better acting than in the original. The newer one is arguably more intense as well. The recently-departed Tony Todd and stuntwoman Patricia Tallman make for a strong team out in that country house that's both besieged by zombies and filled with human in-fighting. Don't worry that they're coming to get you. Because they're already here...and they're right behind you! Rate this 'cast and write a review. Subscribe too, ya ghouls! And look for my scribblings on Letterboxd. I go by "RyanHYES". The review totals are slowly growing. And feed back at me with your own Night Of The Living Dead thoughts by typing up an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Do that and/or look for me kicking around on Twi-X and Bluesky ("@moviefiend51" and "ryan-ellis").

The penultimate horror film in Have You Ever Seen's 10th Annual Scary Movie Month was a blockbuster and an Oscar-winner. And that's unusual for the relentless and unsubtle director Darren Aronofsky. He isn't often rewarded so much for the chances he takes. This 693rd episode talks about how the intense Black Swan is women-centric, even as the women in it go through hell. Natalie Portman won Best Actress for playing a lonely ballet dancer who was deluded even before the movie started. Then after she gets the lead role in Swan Lake, she shows us levels of masochism, obsession and deep mental illness. Real versus imagined. Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey and Vincent Cassell hit some home runs too, with Hersey eating it up as Portman's possessive and abusive mother. So put on your feathers and get ready for an episode all about the sordid and dangerous world of ballet. Well, Actually: Mother! wasn't a complete failure at the box office and Noah didn't do THAT badly worldwide. Be a sweet girl (or a sweet boy) and write a review of this or any other HYES episode. Rate it too (5 stars!). And subscribe to the show. The email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". The socials are "@moviefiend51" on the T and "ryan-ellis" on the B. If you spend time on Letterboxd, look for me as "RyanHYES". I tend to focus on modern movies (contrasting the M-O of this podcast) and will probably do a lot more reviewing there in mid-November and beyond.

It's taken 692 podcasts before The Man Of 1000 Faces has come up on Have You Ever Seen, but here Lon Chaney finally is as the title character in Rupert Julian's Phantom Of The Opera. Despite the high kill count, this isn't particularly scary...although it IS eerily effective. The colour tinting in this otherwise black & white movie helps set a baleful mood. And the red-letter moment is when Mary Philbin takes off the Phantom's mask and shows us the makeup Chaney designed to give himself such a horrible face. He wants her affections, while she just wants to perform. So come for the Opera, but stay to hear about how the obsessive Phantom wouldn't take no for an answer 100 years ago. Subscribe to this channel in your app, but help grow the show by rating and reviewing it. The Phantom writes notes all the time. You can too! Don't be silent like this movie is. Speak up by sending me a lotta notes on Twi-X (@moviefiend51) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis) or via email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Also, I write short reviews on Letterboxd. I'm "RyanHYES". The goal is to find a fun angle, not to do a proper review.

Jewel once asked "who will save your soul" and when Morfydd Clark made Saint Maud with Rose Glass, she answered enthusiastically "I will!" We've got one of those "reality vs. fantasy" storylines again as a feverishly devout Catholic deals with her delusions (if they ARE that) while battling with her dying patient (Jennifer Ehle). Glass was making her directorial debut and, while her movie isn't bone-chilling, it's a quality slow burn. She saves the horrible violence for the end. Glass knows how to do body horror and she finishes with a phenomenal last shot. Scary Movie Month still has 2 more shows to go, but this surprise 691st episode does a little praying about the weird world of a nurse and her blind faith. Don't be a one-track Maud when you contact me with an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or a tweet (@moviefiend51) or a Bluesky (ryan-ellis). Oh, and subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app. Spread the word with your movie chums, but also rate and review the show. And one last thing: Letterboxd. I have a channel on there (RyanHYES) where I do brief reviews of recent movies, often ones I saw in the theatre. The goal is to find a fun angle on the story or the characters.

As Canadians eat bird on Thanksgiving and Americans eat Italians on Columbus Day (correct?), Have You Ever Seen just goes all listicle on ya again. I've got a Top 20 countdown for you to, well, chew on. Here are the 5 greatest debuts by an actor in a horror movie and the 15 greatest directorial debuts in horror. Okay, it's lot more than just those 20. These things are fluid. In any event, this list is filled with outstanding scary movies, several of which are lesser-known cult films...and many of them deal in "what's real and what's not". So commit to this 690th episode the way these directors and actors committed to their often-bizarre stories that are filled with dread and fright. The e-mailbag will be opened towards the end of this podcast. To get YOUR question or comment on the air, you have to send one. Do that via email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com), Twi-X (@moviefiend51) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis). Subscribe to the podcast in your app. Spend a minute or two writing a review. Rate the show. Follow, share, the drill. Look up my reviews on Letterboxd (RyanHYES). I post snappy little wisenheimer type write-ups of films of all sorts, leaning towards recent releases.

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. Subscribe to this podcast in your app. Write a review. Hit me with 5 stars and let other movie fans know about this show. If you want to contact me, try email. It's "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com". The socials are @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. Also, if you're on Letterboxd, hunt me down. My handle is "RyanHYES". I do brief reviews with the aim of finding a fun angle on the story or the characters.

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. Before you engage in a stupid duel, make a point of subscribing. Rate and review the show in your app. Let others know about this podcast too. 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!"

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. It's probably the Chicago Way, but it's definitely the Toronto way to subscribe to this podcast...and to not take your baby carriage to a train station at midnight. Rate it in your app (***** perhaps?). Write a review. Follow, spread the word, do all that. Want to offer your own thoughts? Use Twi-X (@moviefiend51) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis) You can also just as easily type up an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com).

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. Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your favourite podcast app. Give the show a 5-star rating, write a review, comment, follow, tell your movie-loving friends.  Feedback options: social media...ryan-ellis on Bluesky and @moviefiend51 on Twi-X. Email...haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com.

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. Subscribe to the channel in your podcast app. Rate it, write a 5-star review and such. Contact options: @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. The email address is haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com.

Ryan's got a Friday solo show today with this 684th edition of Have You Ever Seen. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is a zany rom-com with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy playing a likable husband & wife who move themselves & their daughters from NYC out to the country. And their house turns out to be a disaster. This film has been acclaimed over the decades, even though it's more congenial than it is funny…and an ineffective love triangle subplot involving the snarky Melvyn Douglas is completely unnecessary. But it's undeniable that H.C. Potter directed a successful (supposed) laugh-fest in Mr. Blandings, where you can't measure what you love by what it costs. Well, Actually: there already was a "Diane Hall" in the guild, so Diane Keaton took her mother's maiden name when she got to Hollywood. Purchase some Sparkplug Coffee to put into your brand-new kitchen. And since you're a listener of this podcast, use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". You can subscribe to this channel in your app, but also do that on YouTube (@hyesellis in the search bar). Write a review of our show, give us a 5-star rating and also comment and like and such on the 'Tube. Letting us know what you think about the movies we review is possible by emailing us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Social media? Yes, we're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis on Twi-X and ryan-ellis and bevellisellis on Bluesky.

It's Labour Day, sure, but we're working the podcast anyway as we talk about critically-disliked films made by 14 outstanding actors. We put the names of 50 living thespians in a hat, then pulled out 7 names apiece and talked up 1 movie of each of theirs that Rotten Tomatoes gave a bad review. A splat, if you will. Some of the names in this 683rd edition of Have You Ever Seen include Ford, Foxx, Streep, Cruise, Freeman and Weaver. While we intentionally left out a few guys for reasons that will be explained, fear not. They might come up anyway. So like what you like no matter what the reviewers think as we praise a pile of flicks that a lot of critical types did not. Sparkplug Coffee gets a ringing endorsement of freshness from anyone who drinks it. Get yours and enjoy a onetime 20% discount by using our "HYES" promo code. Their website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Subscribe to us! Do that in your app, but also on YouTube (@hyesellis in the search space on YouTube). Write a review, rate us, etc. Offer up what you think about our 'casts with an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or on social media. On Bluesky, we're ryan-ellis and bevellisellis while on the Twi-X thing we're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis.

Our summer of podcasting comes to an end with this 682nd episode about The Martian, where we talk about Matt Damon having a years-long space adventure alone on the red planet. He's left behind by his crew and has to use his wits & botany talent to survive until they can come back for him...with plenty of help from the geniuses at NASA back on Earth. The optimism in Andy Weir's novel translates to the rare cheery entry in Ridley Scott's filmography. Damon's charm and sense of humour are a huge part of what made that possible in a science fiction film that's actually pretty close to science fact. So DO NOT fire up that disco music on the 4th planet, but DO like them potatoes as you devour our ep about The Martian. Residents of Mars can't order Sparkplug Coffee, but Canadians and Americans can...and our listeners will enjoy a onetime 20% discount if they use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app and/or on YouTube (@hyesellis in the YouTube search bar). Rate our 'casts, write a review and comment on YouTube. Let us know your own thoughts about The Martian by firing off an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Or contact us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis and bevellisellis).

Reuniting the Titanic team of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (not to mention Kathy Bates) was something audiences had wanted for more than a decade. Maybe they didn't expect another doomed romance that was also bleak and sad. Revolutionary Road is about middle-class ennui, quiet desperation and the cruelty of hope. And the stars are terrific playing unextraordinary people yearning for something else, even if everybody keeps poo-pooing their plan to move to Paris. Director Sam Mendes' movie was a disappointment at the box office and it didn't get a wealth of Oscar nominations either. The film ages well though...maybe more if you're a certain age. Ryan's solo show talks about how a 50+-year-old can relate better to the themes than his 34-year-old self could. The flick isn't fun, but it's very well done...and Winslet has rarely been better. So before your wife screams at you to leave her alone during a vicious argument, pour yet another glass of alcohol as you drink in the 681st episode here on Have You Ever Seen. Sparkplug Coffee would have been a fantastic addition to the cupboards of well-to-do folks such as these back in the '50s. It didn't exist yet...but it does now. And you can get a onetime 20% discount by using our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your podcast app. Soon we'll be back to Friday shows, so you'll get even more listening content. Subscribe on YouTube too (@hyesellis in the search bar on that site). Rate us, review us, comment on the 'Tube, share, you know the routine. And offer us your own thoughts about the films we review. On social media we're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis on Elon's echo chamber and ryan-ellis and bevellisellis on Bluesky. Our email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com".