If you are what you choose to podcast, then we choose to say a lot of nice things about Brad Bird's debut cartoon. As wonderful as the animation and the voicework are and as touching and emotional as the story is, The Iron Giant somehow failed at the box office. Maybe it wasn't funny or fun enough for people who were used to Disney style 'toons? Maybe it was too reliant on reminding us of other classics like E.T., Superman and Terminator 2? It also sets its scene in the '50s with a major theme of Cold War paranoia, which is heady stuff for kids. We applaud how mature The Iron Giant (usually) is though. One thing that's impossible to find fault with are the voice actors, led by young Eli Marienthal as Hogarth and Vin Diesel, who's perfectly cast as metallic voice of the Giant. In any case, our 602nd episode will do many things---including teach you a few facts about Maine---as we evaluate the goods and the greats about Bird's Iron Giant.

Well, Actually: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman are in fact tied with 8 Emmys, which are the most for a performer. Also, Brad Bird WAS working on The Simpsons during the Poochie episode (he was an executive consultant).

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Tell us your thoughts about this or any other movie we've reviewed. Our email address is "[email protected]". You can also reach us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and you can contact Bev on Threads (@bevellisellis). We also post each of our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis in your browser), where you can comment and like, but also subscribe to us there. Rate and review Have You Ever Seen in your podcast app as well.

Joel & Ethan Coen's ultra-Jewish film was a project that was very personal to them. Their '60s-set A Serious Man takes a humorous look at the trials of Job in the form of Michael Stuhlbarg, an actor who's done many great things in the past 15 years, but this was his breakout. Stuhlbarg looks for meaning in this often-funny, but often-impenetrable and even stressful movie. While this isn't a classic the way many other Coen Brothers films are, it's as well-made and fascinating as just about anything else they've ever made. We just...might not get it? So let our 601st dose of Have You Ever Seen settle into your ears as we try to figure out what the boys are doing in A Serious Man.

Well, Actually: Upon further review, Larry's office is NOT a basement office, so he doesn't have much shelter from the oncoming storm.

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For episode #600 of Have You Ever Seen, we're completing the Quentin Quest. With this, we have reviewed everything Tarantino has directed (well, discounting Four Rooms). Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is the man's most-emotional film and it's his most-personal too. The outstanding cast is headlined by the hilarious Leonardo Di Caprio, the gruff (and Oscar-winning) Brad Pitt and the sweet-as-honey Margot Robbie. She doesn't get as much to do as the guys do, but her lovely performance always brings one of us to tears. This film is funny, it's heartfelt, it's tense and QT gets back into "revisionist history" territory when Leo & Pitt's fictional characters cross paths with the very-real Manson maniacs. Bring on the ultra-violence...and bring on the laughs! This movie about movie-making (and television-making) isn't Tarantino's #1 film, but it deepens with meaning every time we see it. So enjoy this fairy tale that often feels as real as a donut because we're talking about Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Well, Actually: Jodie Foster appeared in a few TV shows in 1969, so the young actress WAS acting right around the time this movie is set. Also, Bruce Dern worked with QT on The Hateful Eight, of course, but he's also in Django Unchained. Also also, they were shooting the Lancer pilot in February, so Rick not talking about working on that show is probably because a proper season would only start airing after the events of this movie. And Bibi from Kill Bill is played by Perla Haney-Jardine.

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Talk to us. We continue to go on Twi-X sometimes. Ryan is @moviefiend51 on there and Bev is @bevellisellis (same handle on Threads). Our email address is "[email protected]". We also post all our episodes on YouTube. The address in your browser is "@hyesellis". Comment, like and subscribe, but also do the rate-and-review thing on your podcast app.

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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Tell us what you think of our thoughts. Our email address is "[email protected]" and our Twi-X accounts are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. She uses that on Threads too. And we post our shows on YouTube (@hyesellis in your browser), where you can comment, like, subscribe and so on. Do those things and rate & review on your podcast app too.

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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Contact us the way some of our listeners did during this episode. Our email is "[email protected]". Our Twi-X handles are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. It's the same handle for Bev on Threads. Rate and review our talks, but also follow us on YouTube, where you can comment, like, subscribe, etc.

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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Talk to us. We spend some time on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), Bev uses that same @ on Threads and our email address is "[email protected]". Rate and review us in your podcast app (subscribe too) and do all that, but also comment and like us on YouTube (@hyesellis).

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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Let us know what you think by emailing us ([email protected]) 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.

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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 "[email protected]". 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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Feedback is our friend. Fire off some posts to us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). Contact Bev on Threads (@bevellisellis). Email us ([email protected]). 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.

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Say hi to us on Twi-X (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or to Bev on Threads (also @bevellisellis). Email is an option too ([email protected]). Rate and review our podcast in your app, but also find us on YouTube (@hyesellis). Comment, like and also subscribe.