590 episodes

Ryan and Bev Ellis are partners in film nerdery who share their often humorous musings on the AFI's 1998 & 2007 lists of the greatest 100 American films ever made. But we finished with that in December 2015, so now we just review anything we feel like!

Have You Ever Seen Ryan Ellis & Bev Ellis

    • TV & Film
    • 4.4 • 130 Ratings

Ryan and Bev Ellis are partners in film nerdery who share their often humorous musings on the AFI's 1998 & 2007 lists of the greatest 100 American films ever made. But we finished with that in December 2015, so now we just review anything we feel like!

    Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow

    Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow

    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.
    Sparkplug Coffee offers our listeners a 20% discount if they use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    To communicate with Ryan (@moviefiend51 on Twitter) or Bev (@bevellisellis on both Twi-X and Threads), you can find us on social media or fire off an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Rate our show on your podcast app and review it. Since we also post every episode on YouTube, look for @hyesellis in your browser and subscribe to us there. Also, comment, like, etc. Ciao.

    • 33 min
    On The Town

    On The Town

    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.
    Get your Sparkplug Coffee and also nab a onetime 20% discount from them by using our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    Saying things to us can be achieved in a multitude of ways. Our email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com" while on Twi-X we're @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Same @ for her on Threads. And we always post our episodes on YouTube (@hyesellis or just type "Have You Ever Seen" into YouTube's search bar). Rate our shows, review the podcast, comment and of course subscribe on the 'Tube, but also on your podcast app.

    • 36 min
    Little Caesar

    Little Caesar

    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.
    We are sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee. Use our "HYES" promo code to get a onetime 20% discount on various coffee products. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    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).

    • 27 min
    Dark Victory

    Dark Victory

    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.
    Sparkplug Coffee sponsors this show. They offer our listeners a onetime 20% discount. Just use our "HYES" promo code. The website is "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    We are reachable on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Bev uses that same @ on Threads. Email us (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Also, look for our show on YouTube (@hyesellis). You can comment and like and subscribe to us there. Do those things and also rate & review any or all of our shows on your podcast app.

    • 28 min
    Batman

    Batman

    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.
    Sparkplug Coffee doesn't dance with the devil in any kind of light, but it goes great with long podcasts. Have You Ever Seen listeners can nab a onetime 20% discount if they use our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    Share your thoughts. Our email address is "haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com" and our Twi-X handles are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis (which is also what Bev goes by on Threads). Also, our chats (or monologues, in this case) get posted at some point on the posting day on YouTube. Add "@hyesellis" into your bookmarks and then subscribe to us, so you can't possibly miss when we throw something new on the web. Rate, review, like, comment. We welcome feedback, even if you think we're wrong about 1 thing or even 21 things.

    • 53 min
    Cape Fear

    Cape Fear

    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).
    Waiting in the weeds for something bad to happen would be made better if you had a container of scrumptious coffee with you. Our sponsor, Sparkplug Coffee, offers our listeners a 20% discount if they'll just our "HYES" promo code. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes".
    We post all our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis). Comment, subscribe, hit the like button. Rate and review us on your podcast app as well. And give us feedback on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or with an email (haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com). Bev also uses that @ on Threads.

    • 46 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
130 Ratings

130 Ratings

Mpls Jack ,

Happy 500th episode Ryan and Bev!!!

It feels like I have wandered in the desert of movie review sites for years since the death of Roger Ebert.

Every time I think I have found a comfy place to hear and share thoughts on movies some genre or trend emerges that leads me to ask myself “what did I ever see in you “

After finding and thoroughly enjoying THE TOP 100 PROJECT during COVOD, I now feel like I have a place to call home where I can take a load off and listen to thoughtful movie commentary that gels with my sensibilities.

Bev and Ryan magically balance the scales between artistic insights and practical entertainment - that’s no easy job and they are masterful at it.

As important, is their entertaining curation of each episode.

Each of them prepare for an episode that maximizes the discussion without being stilted.

The basic design of the show cleverly moves the conversation along in a spirited and never cumbersome way. IN A NUTSHELL, awards & recognitions and Ryan’s aspect ratio comments really offer helpful insight for a devout movie fan like me that doesn’t possess the the critical technical knowledge of film.

The mere fact that they include comments in each episode about the score alone elevates their show above 98% of all other movie criticism podcasts.

Finally and most importantly for me::

I have finally found in Bev my movie soul mate.

She forthrightly understands the need for movies to be art.

We agree on nearly every artistic aspect of films from the development of characters and dialogue to the use of visuals and sound.

It isn’t that I frequently differ from Ryan’s takes on movies but to say I never disagree with Bev’s reviews.

Bev has confirmed so many of my thoughts on films that I previously thought I held alone.

Better yet, she has pointed out scores of elements that I missed and end up adding depth to my sentiments and to the film.

A Big Thanks to Bev!

All of this is to say: Happy 500th Episode!!!!

To everyone out there searching for a podcast that will increase your appreciation of films through out history , this is the podcast for you.

Not a single clunker in the 500 episodes.

Great thanks from a big fan.

John

Sometime Listener ,

Excellence movie talk

Entertaining, perceptive, and well-informed discourse on widely known films, their casts/producers/directors, and the times in which they were made.

oldnonames ,

Great stuff for movie history

Absolutely love the podcast. My companion for the entire AFI thank you!! I know you two don't seem to be a fan of Terrance Malick but i think it would be interesting to hear you guys talk about a movie that maybe neither of you two really like so please do any one of his films as he is one of my favorite directors!!

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