The Top 100 Project

Bonus episode! We had many, many thoughts about the uber-weird 2020 (and somewhat 2021) Academy Awards. Then again, who didn't...if you even watched the show. Not many people did. Most of the movies up for the gold naked guys ranged from good to great, so if you didn't see the strangest awards program this group has ever put on, then you missed out on excellent work being rewarded. Still, though, an In Memoriam on fast forward? No time limits on the speeches? Best Picture isn't the main event? And that anticlimactic ending? We get into all of that. The good news is that the Academy's choice for the best movie of the year, Nomadland, will be discussed by us later this year, so check it out on Disney+ soon and then stay tuned for our full review. Well, Actually: In case it isn't clear, Ryan said the Academy and the producers will probably deny they put the Best Actor on last because they thought Chadwick Boseman was going to win. Also, Bev said "Missouri" when she should have said "Minnesota" regarding the Dere

We haven’t yapped about a Wes Anderson movie in over 4 years, so the 390th Ellises’ Analysis was crying out to end that twee drought. Actually, forget that “twee” stuff. Why be so reductive of such a talented filmmaker? Anderson is quirky and precise, plus he loves his eye-popping colours (especially pink), he loves his ensemble casts and he loves making tragicomedies. This film is a bit more cold and distant than some of his other ones, but it’s also a surprisingly violent movie about grief and trying to remain civil in uncivil times. However, like all of Wes’ works, The Grand Budapest Hotel is awfully funny. Ralph Fiennes is uncharacteristically hilarious in the leading role and what a sensational supporting cast working with and against him. So settle in for our last movie in Oscar Month as we unravel the delightful threads on this grand turducken. A marvelous way to start your morning is to heat up some Sparkplug Coffee. Their one-time 20% discount is still available. Type in “top100project” at check-out

For the 6th year in a row, we present our Oscars Preview. This strange year featured a slew of wonderful movies, almost none of which we were able to see on the big screen. Stupid airborne germs! Nevertheless, the candidates for Best Picture are a strong crop. Most of them are diverse, socially aware and about timely topics. Even though Mank is The Irishman of this year’s bunch (so many nominations, yet so unworthy of them), the rest of the flicks up for the top gold naked guy range from good to fantastic. From Nomadland to Minari to Sound Of Metal to The Father, it was another good year at the movies. So stroke that play button as our 389th Ellises’ Analysis digs into the details of the world’s most famous awards show. Well, Actually: Ryan called the young boy in Minari “David” S. Kim when of course David is his character’s name and Alan is his real name. Also, we didn’t highlight our faves of the past year in this show like we did in previous Oscars Previews, but it IS nearly the end of April. Maybe we’ll t

In the 388th Ellises’ Analysis, we’re back on the Martin Scorsese mob-movie train. The Depahted is a high-energy remake that finally won Marty an Oscar, even though it’s something of a greatest hits flick, especially for this living legend and his frequent collaborators. While it’s entertaining and the cast is an impressive collection of talent, the film doesn’t have the depth or staying power that Scorsese’s best pictures do. Is this even in his Top 5? Anyway, make no mistake, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon doing fine work in the compare-and-contrast lead moles…uh, make that roles…you know you’re in good hands. So don’t be a rat in Jack Nicholson’s gangster crew and please don’t make an appointment with the worst therapist in Bahston…or perhaps in the entire world. Just settle in for a solid hour of us celebrating AND grousing about ol’ Bullet To The Head. Well, Actually: Stanley Kubrick won an Oscar for 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Visual Effects (not an Honorary Award). Also, Orson Welles won a trophy fo

Should you listen to the pragmatic 387th Ellises’ Analysis? Well, if you’re the ego-driven Sir Thomas More, then the response to that question would be to fold your arms, stick out your bottom lip and say “NO!” This is a frustrating movie. It’s well-made and most of the actors are authentic, but far too many of them are also quite dull or they’re seriously overdoing it. Plus, any film that’s about the British royals and the Catholic Church is facing a serious uphill climb around these atheistic parts. In any case, More’s unwavering certainty and his stubborn martyrdom offer no real drama. Fred Zinnemann was a great director, but he just didn’t find a way to make us care about this stalwart lead character. In any case, it’s appropriate for us to come out of Easter weekend talking about a Jesus stand-in during the Henry VIII era of not-so-jolly old England. We recommend you go to Sparkplug Coffee and get yourself an order…or five. They do it great. They also offer a 10% discount for you moral and certain types

The 386th Ellises’ Analysis has us gabbing about a popular 2001 rom-com, although whether or not this is even a rom-com was up for debate. There’s no argument that Reese Witherspoon charms and glows in Legally Blonde. This isn’t the best performance of Reese’s career, but it’s probably her signature role and the movie would likely stink if she wasn’t playing such a likable Elle. We had some disagreements about the quality of the script though, specifically the entire premise of “I’m going to win back my mediocre ex-boyfriend”, partly because the yutz never deserved her in the first place. Anyway, this pithy pink flick is a fun way to ring in the spring, so bend & snap your way into our prestigious Harvard-ish podcast, but first study hard and win everybody over like a certain Miss Woods always, always does. Well, Actually: The immortal Chuck is played by Jason Christopher. Also, the recent TV shows Reese has produced that we couldn’t think of are Little Fires Everywhere and The Morning Show. Bend and snap

It’s way past time we talked about a Robert Altman classic and his pokey-paced anti-western is a tremendous choice for our 385th episode. McCabe & Mrs. Miller has the beautiful duo of Warren Beatty and Julie Christie doing an excellent job of heading up an eclectic cast. Beatty is the drunk, muttering, vulnerable beta (who’s got poetry in him) while Christie is the stern, Cockney-spewing alpha (and the real power in this power couple). This film goes against the typical grain of a western, partly because of the audio mix and the unusual look, but also because John McCabe is far from an old-fashioned hero of the old west. So skulk around town and shoot people in the back (which was probably closer to the truth than most shoot-outs) as we gab about Altman’s odd film that truly holds up. Well, Actually: Julie Christie of course also has a cameo as herself in Nashville and we both liked her in Away From Her enough that we might even cover that picture one day. Sparkplug Coffee would probably not be a great mi

Jimmy Cagney etched his place in cinema history in one of his first films as he plays vicious beer baron Tom Powers in this hugely influential gangster flick. Apart from Jean Harlow, most of his co-stars and even his director (William Wellman) have been forgotten, even though the performances are quite naturalistic for a flick that was made 90 years ago. And, yes, The Public Enemy is the picture where Cagney squishes a grapefruit in Mae Clarke’s face. That iconic moment hasn’t aged well, but most of the movie has. So get ready to root for the (very) bad guy who ain’t so tough as the 384th Ellises’ Analysis zips through a brief episode like the 2 mugs we are. Well, Actually: What killed Jean Harlow amounts to kidney failure. Hey, tough guy, does coffee sound like a good addition to your meal of grapefruit and casual assault? Well, whether yes or no, Sparkplug Coffee is the tops and they’re offering a 20% discount when you use our promo code (“top100project”). Twitter, yeah? Yeah! We are @moviefiend51 and @beve

Are we really covering consecutive, black-and-white flicks about murder that also have an abundance of homosexual subtext? Sure, why not! The Lighthouse was last week. Now we’ve got Strangers On A Train as a companion piece (of sorts). Alfred Hitchcock was always fascinated by murder, but here he is—just like Robert Walker’s excellent villain—obsessed with the perfect murder. Walker also represents the stereotype of a gay killer, so…yeah. Fear not, we dug pretty deep into the history of that. This is a good Hitch flick with flashes of greatness, although the 2nd half simply does not live up to that “let’s swap murders” set-up. So plant that evidence, but stay off amusement park rides that go warp speed as our 383rd episode hashes out what’s going on with Bruno and Guy. Well, Actually: The Picture Of Dorian Gray was released in 1945. Also, it can be confirmed that Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train novel doesn’t have the crazy carousel ride at the end that the movie does. Also also, the most-recent Hitc

The last few months of Ellises’ Analysis podcasts have been about straightforward movies, so we were overdue to get into surreal territory in our 382nd episode. To borrow a scream from Timon in The Lion King, “WHAT’S GOIN’ ON HERE?!” Well, we have theories, Timon. Robert Eggers is 2 for 2 on the weirdness scale and (just like in The Witch) he loves to play with us about what’s real and what isn’t. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson chew it up as they tease us with their sometimes indecipherable speech patterns and they REALLY tease us as they play up the homosexual subtext. It’s a meaty movie, matey. So leave that seagull alone and gulp down some tasty turpentine as we spill our beans about The Lighthouse. When you can’t drink the water and you don’t want to drink the booze, you’d be a dadburn fool not to guzzle Sparkplug Coffee. They are eager to give all you scurvy dogs a 20% discount. All y’ar need to do is type in our promo code (“top100project”) at checkout. Be modern and talk to us on that thar site know

Olivia Wilde’s acclaimed directorial debut provides a juicy topic for the 381st Ellises’ Analysis. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are a fresh and funny team, but Billie Lourd steals the show with her delightful take on a free-spirited party animal. For a low-budget comedy, this movie is ambitious and it’s very technically accomplished, but the characters are inconsistent and the picture has more than a few WTF moments. Unhappy with that statement? Well, just wait because we’ll certainly angry up the blood of those who don’t like hearing Booksmart compared to Superbad. We stuck our faces deep into that hornet’s nest too. So support your BFF, Malala, but get a lot of quarters ready for the swear jar as 2 middle-aged people talk about a laughfest meant for teenagers. Well, Actually: The talented editor (Jamie Gross) is a woman, not a man. Kids who hit the books and also kids who like to party can enjoy a big cup of Sparkplug Coffee with their pancakes. You love saving money, right? A nifty 20% discount is yo

Whether it’s because of Stockholm Syndrome or just because the movie earned it by being good, people love Beauty And The Beast. It’s not our favourite cartoon of all time, but we certainly found plenty to appreciate in it, especially the (mostly) old-fashioned hand-drawn animation. We answered the question about whether or not the story has aged badly and we dug pretty deeply into the unfair ramifications of the vindictive hag’s curse. So ignore your children in the cupboard, mon cherie, but feel free to hunker down in your giant castle as the 380th Ellises’ Analysis hits you with a little of the Disney sing-song. Be Sparkplug Coffee‘s guest, be their guest, etc. Help yourself to a 20% discount by using our promo code (“top100project”) at the checkout stage. Twitterpalooza: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website is top100project.com Ryan also grooves on sports flicks over on Scoring At The Movies

A racism movie that’s masquerading as a math movie isn’t a well-worn genre, but Hidden Figures would be an excellent template if such a genre ever took off. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae are a terrific team playing 3 brilliant black women at NASA in this true story. Theodore Melfi’s finest film handles race relations in far less clumsy ways than other recent cracks at the complex subject (cough cough Green Book). We addressed the suggestion that Kevin Costner is playing a white saviour and we obviously dug into all the racism…ie. the stupidly self-defeating practice of shunning people just because they’re different from you. So saunter off to the washroom with your notebooks several times a day, but make sure our 379th episode is cooing in your ears on the way. Allow your co-workers to bring you a well-deserved cup of java and make it Sparkplug Coffee. Our longtime sponsors will throw a 20% discount your way too. All you have to do is use our discount code (“top100project”) at checkout.

The 378th Ellises' Analysis asks if you're an Enid or a Rebecca. Not that we actually care which of them you are. We're too cool to be particularly interested in you. Okay, WE'RE not too cool, but Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson sure are in Ghost World. Bev's final choice in the Month O' Bev has her discussing her own evolution from a mean girl to the delightfully nerdy adult she has become. We also talked about the offensive artwork in Terry Zwigoff's flick and what kind of reaction the controversial painting at the art show would get today. So grow up a little and loosen your grip on both your BFF and your childhood as you board a bus to nowhere and stuff a podcast about a funky comedy in your earholes. Don't be too cool for Sparkplug Coffee, kids. Your bag of beans will be 20% cheaper if you use our promo code ("top100project") when you're ready to pay. Tweet your thoughts to 2 sometimes snarky people: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website is top100project.com Ryan also jams about sports motion p

If you dig beauty pageants, the 377th Ellises’ Analysis probably won’t be your jam. We weren’t kind to such ridiculous nonsense in this episode. We did love the performances of these actors though and the Dayton/Faris/Arndt directing & writing team set this chemistry-filled cast up with some good material. And the laughs! Funny movie. There are problems though. The surprise ending that bonds the family is delightful and the movie mocks beauty pageants, but the film is still asking us to root for a little girl to enter one in the first place. Anyway, it’s time to dance with your superfreaky family and gulp down some ice cream for breakfast as you judge our thoughts about Little Miss Sunshine. Well, Actually: It should be noted that pageant assistant Pam (Mary Lynn Rajskub) also takes quiet delight in Olive’s controversial dance, just as the DJ and that weird biker guy do. If you would pop the clutch to get a discount, you should get the car rolling and you’ll get 20% off your first order of Sparkplug Coffe

Hedwig And The An-guh-ry Inch is a unique movie. It’s a rip-rockin’ musical with some great songs, but the story is remarkably tragic and also, somehow, upbeat. And what an ending! The last act is surreal and complicated, but it’s also beautiful. John Cameron Mitchell is the auteur of this project (along with Stephen Trask) and Mitchell is also excellent as the headlining title character. Hedwig is a never-say-die character who always picks herself up and carries on, no matter the trauma. This is actually a pretty inspirational story…and who couldn’t use some inspiration these days. So try to find your other half, but before you go out on that quest, plug the 376th Ellises’ Analysis into your brain and enjoy our chat. Sparkplug Coffee isn’t an an-guh-ry drink. It’s great. A fabulous 20% discount can be yours all yours if you enter our promo code (“top100project”) at check-out. Shoot us some tweetages: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website is top100project.com Ryan also deals in sports flicks on Scoring

We kick off 2021 and we also begin the 6th Annual Month O’ Bev with an extensive discussion about the funny-lady flick Bridesmaids. Hold on. Women can be funny?! Well, we crapped all over that tired old chestnut, but we also, conversely, admired the serious angles this movie often takes. The ending might seem upbeat, but the future might not be so rosy for these “friends”. We debated if this is a film for women way more than it is for men, we disagreed about the necessity of the gross-out scene and we got pretty deep into the fierce but childish competition between Kristen Wiig & Rose Byrne. So stop clinging to the past and no more wallowing in your failures. Just hold on to both “one more day-ay” and to the 375th Ellises’ Analysis as we spend over an hour hashing out Paul Feig’s comedy smash. Well, Actually: Another movie Judd Apatow produced that received an Oscar nomination was Begin Again (“Lost Stars” for Best Song). Also, at the 27:30 mark, Ryan says “the Helen we’ve seen through most of the movie”

To close out this epic year of #BlackLivesMatter protests, we’re tackling a heartbreaking movie about the real-life murder of a young black man by a white cop. Fruitvale Station was made independently and most the cast & crew were not well known back then, although we all know how big a star Michael B. Jordan has become since. He ‘s been terrific in all 3 of director Ryan Coogler’s films, although not even Jordan can match the transcendent work of Octavia Spencer. We spent some time reminiscing about some of our own New Year’s experiences in this 374th Ellises’ Analysis and we also talked a little about our year in podcasting. So pull out your phone and record an injustice, but keep those earbuds in while you do it so you can listen to us for the last time in The Year Of Suck known as 2020. To store up some energy for a long night of NYE partying, you should guzzle some Sparkplug Coffee. They’re still offering a 20% discount to those who use our promo code (“top100project”) when you’re ready to pay up. Tw

We’ll give you 8 reasons to listen to the 373rd Ellises’ Analysis. 1) We talked about whether or not this film needed to be shot in 70mm. 2) We got into how auteurs like the one who made this movie are using their clout to push back against a changing industry. 3) We spent a bunch of time discussing Quentin Tarantino’s filmmaking tactics and how he makes you enjoy savage violence. 4) We also talked about the goods, the bads and the uglies involved in working with QT. 5) We debated if he really is going to retire from directing soon. 6) We eventually answered the question of whether Daisy is bluffing about having back-up gang members. 7) We praised the bleak ending that somehow manages to end on a measure of hope too. 8) Finally, we praised the performances and the production design while not loving the indulgences of the verrrry long Hateful Eight. Okay, that was 8 reasons. Share the contents of your Lincoln Letter with an enemy-turned-friend as we speak about The Hateful Eight for a good long while. Well, Ac

A Christmas movie with a bloodthirsty spirit (that definitely should have been rated R) is probably the ideal choice for the end of this awful year. Violent pranksters that easily multiply, then infest small towns and cause havoc? Yup, seems appropriate for 2020. Joe Dante’s mega-hit features some remarkable puppetry & effects by Chris Walas and his team, but the performances by the human actors don’t measure up to those of the Gremlins. It’s their movie and they know it! However, any movie with adorable delights like Gizmo and Phoebe Cates is always worth watching. So work harder at following the rules than Zach Galligan does and don’t get the 372nd Ellises’ Analysis wet, don’t subject it to bright light and never feed this nuclear weapon of a podcast after midnight. Well, Actually: Indiana Jones And Temple Of Doom was released in May 1984, not in June. Also, the suggestion of setting Mogwai loose in a sunny desert like Iraq is obviously flawed because they would quickly die during the daytime sunlight.