Danny Boyle insists this isn't a zombie movie, but his intense 28 Days Later influenced that popular genre and was at the forefront of digital filmmaking. The director settled for a look that was ugly as dirt to get incredible shots they never could have had with classic film cameras, which allowed for that nightmarish opening of Cillian Murphy walking alone through a deserted London. The first half of the picture is brilliant and Brendan Gleeson brings tons of heart to the middle part, but the last section with the military is disjointed. We had issues with the climax and the coda. Still, a huge plus is that Naomie Harris is tremendous as a Michonne-like leader...for a while, at least. So stay alert for any infected in your area as the 487th Have You Ever Seen yaps about an unfortunately timely subject...namely, a crippling virus that ravages society.

Sparkplug Coffee is the way to start your day. Go to sparkplug.coffee/hyes to snag a 20% discount by using our "hyes" promo code. Contact us on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) or via email ([email protected]) and type in @hyesellis to see our growing archive of shows on YouTube. You'll find this entire podcast plus about 8 minutes of us on-camera talking about the sequel, Triangle Of Sadness and more. And if you like to hear about sports films, Ryan has another podcast that covers that (Scoring At The Movies).

If you scroll back to January 2016 in our channel, you'll see that the 2nd episode of what we then called "The Next 100 Project" was Before Sunrise. Now for the 486th "Have You Ever Seen" (we've had a weird numbering system...it's complicated), we're finding out what Jesse and Celine are up to in Before Midnight while they're on vacation in Greece. They've been together for nearly a decade and have twin daughters now. They also get into some ugly disputes about how their relationship is going. The first 2 Before films were off-the-page romantic. While one has some of the trademark walking & talking lovey dovey, it's also a near-feature-length argument. It's such a rich, beautiful film despite all that though. We talked a lot about our own marriage, so be prepared for us to get personal as we watch the sun go down and get ready for a rumble in Before Midnight, y'know.

Sparkplug Coffee won't cure marital problems, but it CAN be had for a 20% discount if you go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and use that promo code. Find this episode with 10 minutes of on-camera content and find all of our 2023 shows on YouTube (type "@hyesellis" into your browser). Shoot us an email to tell us what you think ([email protected]) or tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). And maybe see what you like on "Scoring At The Movies", Ryan's sports-movie podcast.

For the 2nd time this week, Have You Ever Seen talks about escaped convicts. And just 3 days before Martin Luther King Day, Ryan offers up an oral essay about 2 on the run while dealing with '50s-era racism in America's south. The Defiant Ones---unlike Out Of Sight---is deadly serious. One legendary actor in Sidney Poitier and one underrated one in Tony Curtis work well together as two people who are forced to work together to survive with a posse in hot pursuit. The last 30 minutes of the film and the ending itself are puzzling, but Stanley Kramer's dynamic Oscar winner is still good enough to rise above those problems. So don't drag on the chain, man (especially since that's a bad line) as our 485th episode breaks down the hard-fought battles and gradual acceptances in The Defiant Ones.

Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" to order terrific java and even get yourself a 20% discount by using our promo code ("hyes"). To communicate with us, email us ([email protected]) or tweet us (Ryan is @moviefiend51 and Bev is #bevellisellis). We're posting 2023 episodes on YouTube (type "@hyesellis" into your browser to see our growing library there) and look for "Scoring At The Movies" in all the podcast places to hear Ryan yap about sports films.

What happens when a federal marshal---who just happens to love the bad boy---is kidnapped by an immensely likable thief when he's breaking out of prison? Well, in Out Of Sight, it's a blend of comedy, romance and chemistry all set against a backdrop of sometimes brutally awfully crime. The prolific Steven Soderbergh was perhaps at his absolute best here directing Scott Frank's cool, funny, sexy script that helped George Clooney & Jennifer Lopez hit their acting peak. We debated which scene is greater (the trunk scene or the restaurant/hotel scene), even though those are just two in 2 hours worth of great ones. In any case, Have You Ever Seen sifts through the fish tank for the 484th time about the one that made J Lo and G Cloo true movie stars.

We have bonus content (plus the entire podcast itself) on YouTube. Go to @hyesellis for the growing Have You Ever Seen library on the 'Tube. Also, if you're diamond-rich, you don't need to save money, but everyone else might appreciate Sparkplug Coffee's arrangement with us that snags them a 20% discount. Go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and hit the right buttons. And contact us via email ([email protected]) or Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), but also take a look at what Ryan has talked about in a sports-movie way on "Scoring At The Movies".

A Buster Keaton film hasn't been reviewed on this channel in going on 10 years, so Sherlock Jr. seemed like the perfect way to end that drought. It's an acclaimed pratfall comedy done by the stone-faced silent stuntman who also knew how to tickle the bones that are funny. But is this movie actually funny? It's rightly famous for the gimmick where Keaton's projectionist character has a dream and literally walks into the movie he's screening. Before the superior second half and also during the first half set in the real world, he does some crazy brave things. The print is great. It's a fun watch. But...is it funny? Ryan has a lengthy oral essay trying to answer that very question in this 483rd episode of Have You Ever Seen, so mouth along to the silent antics as one man digs into the 99-year-old Sherlock Jr.

To save 205 off your next order of Sparkplug Coffee, go to "Sparkplug.coffee/hyes" and use that promo code. We also wouldn't mind a bit if you tweeted to Ryan (@moviefiend51) and/or Bev (@bevellisellis) and we also enjoy getting emails ([email protected]). To burn through this episode on YouTube with our new logo as your only visual accompaniment, go to: @hyesellis. Lastly, if you're into the idea of hearing Ryan jaw about sports motion pictures, look up "Scoring At The Movies".

It's a new era for this podcast, although the only things that really change are our name, our logo and our theme music. The first episode of "Have You Ever Seen" and our first show in 2023 looks at Bradley Cooper's musical love story, A Star Is Born. Cooper gives his directorial debut an intimate documentary-like feel and the whole film comes off as more real than almost any traditional musical ever has. He's the actor playing a singer and Lady Gaga is the singer who's asked to carry a movie. She has tremendous chemistry with the Coops. This film is often emotionally devastating, which makes sense considering the themes of addiction, tragic love and suicide. So for the love of Sam (Elliott), stop stealing your big brother's voice and find your own as our 482nd episode takes you into the world of A Star Is Born. Sparkplug Coffee's 20% discount continues to be available. Now go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" to nab your savings. Also, tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), email us ([email protected]) and to hear more of Ryan talking about films, check out "Scoring At The Movies". And this episode (with about 9 minutes of bonus content, including us on camera) is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thsl6mvSjaY.

We wrap up 2022 and we also end a long era of calling ourselves the "Top 100 Project" with this thorough gab about one of the most-successful disaster pictures ever made. When the topic of game-changing '70s blockbusters comes up, The Poseidon Adventure often gets lost in the shuffle...partly because it came out before most of them. It has a B-movie story, but its big budget allowed the filmmakers to afford great production values and to cast several award-winning actors. The picture is loud, wet and fiery. And that's just Ernest Borgnine's performance. Okay, none of the actors are marvelous in this (are they, "sis"?), but they ARE focused and the taut story they're in is exciting. The Poseidon Adventure has plenty of religious undertones too---sometimes overtones---as Gene Hackman questions God's actions...or occasional lack of action. So as we get close to New Year's Eve, dial up our chat about a NYE-set disaster flick where a classy old boat goes head to head with a huge wave. And now it's promotion time! Starting in January, we will be known as "Have You Ever Seen" and we'll have a new logo, so subscribe now and none of this will confuse you. The promo code for Sparkplug Coffee will be "hyes" (or go to "sparkplug.coffee/hyes") and you'll continue to get a one-time 20% discount if you say we sent you. Our Twitter addresses will remain @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis, but to email us, start using "[email protected]". Oh, and shoot over to "Scoring At The Movies" to hear Ryan do more talking, in that case about sports films.

Bonus episode! As the holiday season envelops us all and the end of 2022 draws near, Ryan turns his eye to an 82-year-old (supposed) Christmas movie starring Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart. The 2 Hungarian shop-workers spend most of the 100 minutes of Ernst Lubitsch's rom-com fussing and feuding, not knowing they're also pen pals who are actually crazy about each other. Yup, this was You've Got Mail before Tom and Meg were even born. The Shop Around The Corner is pleasant and winning, but it's a shame that the com isn't as effective as the rom...which has its failings too. The hook in this episode is commercialization and the love of money more than the love of Christmas or even...well, love. So grab a blanket and curl up by the fireplace this weekend with Ryan's latest oral essay that breaks down a touch of Lubitsch and his movie about "I hate you in person, but I love you on paper". Tweet either of us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and/or send us a Christmas card of sorts via email ([email protected]).

The dark comedy and intricate heist film that is Jackie Brown got lost in the late-December movie rush when it came out a quarter of a century ago, particularly because of the frenzy over Titanic. Still, Quentin Tarantino made what remains his most-mature movie and he even showed uncharacteristic restraint about some brutal violence. Pam Grier sizzles in the title role and Samuel L. Jackson does what he always does when he works with QT: hit grand-slam home runs. The rest of the cast does good or great work too, but the 2 leads in QT's homage to '70s Blaxploitation are at the very top of their game. So as Christmas draws near and you want to listen to a full hour of movie chat while you wrap presents and prepare to face relatives, then booyah, fire up the 471st Ellises' Analysis to hear our dissection of another QT classic. Sparkplug Coffee can help you complete your last-minute holiday shopping. Go to sparkplug.coffee and use our promo code ("top100project") to save 20%. Also, hang out with us on Twitter (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), talk to us via email ([email protected]) and to hear Ryan talk even more about films, go to "Scoring At The Movies".

Believe it or not, the best-reviewed Christmas movie on Rotten Tomatoes is this Judy Garland musical about love, family and home. As sweet and fun as Meet Me In St. Louis is though, making it wasn't always a joyful experience for the cast and crew. Garland, who met director Vincente Minnelli---one of her future husbands---while making it, was in rough shape while shooting. That started a discussion between us about child stars and how they're treated by show business. For every Garland or Margaret O'Brien who succeeds and even wins the now-defunct Juvenile Oscar, there's a story about putting young people in unfair or even dangerous situations. Sometimes even stars like Garland suffered just to stay on top. But this chat mostly focused on this light and lovely family film that's so similar to Little Women that you could almost call this "Little Smiths". So as your trolley clang, clang, clangs for the 470th Ellises' Analysis, we hope you'll have yourself a merry holiday/Christmas and enjoy our little tongue-wag about Meet Me In St. Looie, Looie. Also, when you're being courted by the handshaking neighbour, you can tell him a good thing to put in your wedding registry is Sparkplug Coffee. You can even let people know that they'll save 20% on their next order by using our "top100project" promo code. Don't hesitate to tweet us your feedback (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), email us @[email protected]) and follow Ryan's other podcast (Scoring At The Movies) where the topic is sports films.