Have You Ever Seen Ryan Ellis & Bev Ellis

American Fiction is more of a dramedy or a clever satire than a true comedy, but few movies in recent years have been funnier than this is. Writer/director Cord Jefferson crafted a remarkable film, even though he balances maybe a few too many plots in his big-screen debut (racial strife, white guilt, difficult family issues, money troubles, inability to connect with people). The actors are always terrific in American Fiction though. Jeffrey Wright is especially wonderful in the leading role and he has chemistry with the entire cast, particularly with Tracee Ellis Ross. We really like this laugh-generator filled with secrets and lies, so take just a few days to write an entire book called "My Pafology" (then later call it...something else) and then settle in with the 596th edition of Have You Ever Seen.
You can get Sparkplug Coffee sent to your Boston-area beach house...or to any part of the U.S. and Canada. Use our "HYES" promo code and get a onetime 20% discount. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
Let us know what you think by emailing us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or with a hello on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). We also post all our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis in your browser), where you can comment, like and subscribe. Rate and review our podcast on your app as well.

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.
Sparkplug Coffee continues to sponsor Have You Ever Seen. Use our "HYES" promo code to snag a 20% discount off your next order. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
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.
If you're going to smoke, you might as well drink coffee too. And we have a sponsor that sells such things: Sparkplug Coffee. Our "HYES" promo code will save you 20% off your next order. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
Feedback is our friend. Fire off some posts to us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Contact Bev on Threads (@bevellisellis). Email us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). And since we post all of our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis in your browser), you can comment, like and subscribe on that site. Also, rate and review us in your podcast app.

Bogie and Bacall's first movie together was directed by Howard Hawks and was based on a book by Ernest Hemingway, so that's some serious cache. Of course, Hawks barely used anything from his friend's To Have And Have Not novel other than the title, even though the screenplay is filled with snappy lines. This is "Casablanca In The Caribbean" and it's set during the early days of World War II, but all of that is a backdrop for Bacall's star-making performance...which was also her debut. She and Bogart were married for real not too long after filming was finished, building on the sexual and romantic chemistry they have in the film. While To Have And Have Not is far from perfect, it has more than just "Steve" and "Slim", even though it doesn't need much more than them. So put your lips together and light up a cigarette (and also blow) as Ryan rides solo in this 593rd episode.
Sparkplug Coffee can't be bought by people who live in Martinique, but Canadians and Americans can nab a 20% discount (onetime only) by using our "HYES" promo code. The website you should go to is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
Say hi to us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or to Bev on Threads (also @bevellisellis). Email is an option too (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Rate and review our podcast in your app, but also find us on YouTube (@hyesellis). Comment, like and also subscribe.

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.
Sparkplug Coffee would go well with your plan-making for Operation Downfall or with a calm podcast-listen here at the end of May. They will give our listeners a 20% discount if they use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
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.
Look for great java by checking out "sparkplug.coffee/hyes". That "HYES" discount code will give you a onetime 20% savings on Sparkplug Coffee's excellent beans.
We love to hear what you think of our thoughts. Email us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com) or hit us with some messages on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). She's reachable on Threads with that same @. And dial us up on YouTube. Subscribe, rate, review, like and just do all those helpful things on your app or on the 'Tube.