594 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!

    Reality Bites

    Reality Bites

    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.

    • 49 min
    To Have And Have Not

    To Have And Have Not

    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.

    • 36 min
    Edge Of Tomorrow

    Edge Of Tomorrow

    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.

    • 51 min
    Dial M For Murder

    Dial M For Murder

    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.

    • 39 min
    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

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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