The Top 100 Project

The Next 145 Project takes us into the world of pretty & popular teenagers in sun-filled Beverly Hills. Amy Heckerling’s flick isn’t all that deep, but Alicia Silverstone’s big-hearted Cupid—wait, make that Cher—has a lot more going on in that beautiful head than first meets the peepers. However, the romance between step-siblings Silverstone & Paul Rudd is HIGHLY questionable and the satire & the laughs don’t always land. It’s a credit to the director & her actors---especially her young star---that this rom-com works as well as it does. Sponsor, anyone? Sparkplug Coffee continues to offer you a 10% discount when you scamper to the check-out by typing in “top100project”. The twits? Oh yes. We’re @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. Next week: Rio Bravo

Today is our 6th anniversary, so yay for that, but also yay for one of the most influential, cool, wire-fu, sci-fi thrillers of all time. It’s the ultimate Jeopardy question: “what is The Matrix?” The Next 144 Project spends nearly an hour digging into that (a movie that Bev thinks could have been called “The Exposition”), with its main plot point being a dude (not a damsel) in distress. Also, we discuss who really is The One. Plus, as much as we geek on Keanu Reeves as Neo in his best role, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity might even be better. The Wachowskis will probably never top this picture, but who needs to? It reached classic status almost out of the gate and it’s certainly at that point 20 years later. Forget pills (red or blue), take the Sparkplug Coffee. You will love getting a 10% discount by throwing in our promo code “top100project” at check-out. We’re on the twits: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. The website: www.top100project.com On April 1st: Clueless

Pop your Queen tape into the deck and dial up the Next 143 Project to hear us having a ball with this very worthy comedy. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey made Wayne & Garth famous on Saturday Night Live first, but this big-screen blockbuster made them legends. Myers made director Penelope Spheeris want to hurl on many occasions and some of the gags in their movie are rather quaint now. Still, all those laughs! Carvey steals the picture from Myers (who's excellent himself) and everyone else holds their own, with special marks to that Alice Cooper cameo. We give you a 100% no-spew guarantee if you revisit this ’90s gem! Gratuitous sponsor time! Don’t be denied a 10% discount from Sparkplug Coffee by using our promo code “top100project” at check-out. Twit us: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Next week: The Matrix

Let's chase an awesome sword all over the Far East's countryside as the Next 142 Project peeks at a picture about tigers and/or dragons who are crouching and/or hidden. Ang Lee's wire-fu love story still packs a clanging wallop, emotionally and certainly viscerally. Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi are all immensely talented stunt-people, as well as being pretty solid at the emoting thing. Nineteen years on, this picture is still beautiful and moving. It's Ang Lee though, so you oughta know it was never going to end well. Coffee, anyone? Sparkplug Coffee remains our sponsor and they continue to offer a 10% discount on your first order. All you have to do is type in “top100project” when you get to the check-out. Tweets ahoy! We’re @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Next week: Wayne's World

The ultimate in gimmicky puzzle films (in a year that was filled with them) provides our juicy topic for the Next 141 Project. Guy Pearce plays one of the most unreliable narrators in film history and we speculate if he actually has “selective memory syndrome”, rather than bonafide Anterograde Amnesia. Bev has strong feelings about who the real villain of Christopher Nolan’s Memory Movie is and we both claw into the truth about Leonard’s opinion about his condition. Trying to fully grasp this movie is hard work and even repeated viewings don’t answer all your questions...and that’s a plus! So fire up our gum-flap about one of the very best pictures of the first 19 years of this century. Sparkplug Coffee, kids! If you forgot to acquire your bag of beans and received your onetime 10% discount in the process by using the “top100project” promo code, then you must have a condition. Twit us: @moviefiend51 & @bevellisellis Website: www.top100project.com

Bonus episode! For the first time ever, we've got a timely review of the Oscars and our thoughts about the winners and losers, not just a preview show the week before. Find out what we liked and what we loathed about the big broadcast yesterday. Coming in August: a review of Green Book. Twit us: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis

Ah, that virtue of ignorance. It's just so unexpected. So cue the drummer and turn Michael Keaton loose as the Next 140 Project jumps deep into the Best Picture of 2014. We’re not sure this was the right choice for the Academy’s highest honour in what was a dynamite year at the movies, but we still enjoyed this funny & weird Broadway offering from Alejandro G. Inarritu. There are some problematic elements that the film glosses over and the film is quite indulgent, but it’s a tremendous technical accomplishment and it's got plenty of good laughs. How often does the movie that wins Best Picture qualify as a comedy...or a fantasy? A great way to get through your day is to guzzle some Sparkplug Coffee. Their one-time 10% discount is still available. Type in “top100project” at check-out to save a little money. Twit us: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Website: www.top100project.com Next week: Memento

Awards Season is almost at an end, so it's high time for the Next 139 Project to talk about the terrific movie year that it was in 2018. Strangely, though, many of the Oscar nominees aren’t so terrific, especially about half of the 8 Best Picture nominees. They had "won me over" qualities, but that doesn't make them all that good. We started this episode with an analysis of the history of women hosts & women presenters of Best Picture and how that might pertain to this year’s Academy Awards. Then it’s onto the main event…our thoughts and theories about who can/should/will win the Gold Naked Guys on February 24th. Coffee drinker? You will love the excellent beans provided by Sparkplug Coffee, so check them out online. The 10% discount is still available when you enter the promo code “top100project” at check-out. Twit at us: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis Our website: www.top100project.com Email: top100projectpodcast@gmail.com We'll be tweeting live during the Oscars on Sunday, so start following us if yo

There's no point in pussy-footing around it. We think Driving Miss Daisy is cutesy crap. The Next 138 Project delves deep into this poor choice for the Academy's Best Picture of 1989 as we analyze the Jessica Tandy / Morgan Freeman relationship. She's a cast-iron jerk and he's a paper-thin Uncle Tom. The actors do the best they can with these clumsy characters, but this film that thinks it's being sensitive about race is actually quite racist. It was controversial that Bruce Beresford wasn't nominated for Best Director, but it's not like he should have been. We had fun rending this movie asunder, so we hope you have just as much fun hearing us rend. And what would go great with this podcast? A steaming cup of java from Sparkplug Coffee. Throw in the promo code "top100project" when you go to the checkout and you'll get a one-time discount of 10%. Tweet us: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. The website is www.top100project.com Next week is our 4th Annual Oscars Preview Show

Addict yourself to war and to the Next 137 Project by defusing bombs in Baghdad and by listening to us talk about that dicey topic. The huge Oscar success of 10 years ago might be the best picture ever made about the Iraq War and it even upset the mega-hit Avatar at the Academy Awards, so there's that. The movie has also lost some zing in the past decade. One Ellis has antipathy to it and especially towards cocky Jeremy Renner while the other Ellis just doesn't enjoy the film's thrills the same way a decade later. We also discuss Kathryn Bigelow's career as a female director, but of mostly macho flicks. It's a complicated 'cast. To acquire some great hot drinks, go to Sparkplug Coffee and don't forget to use our promo code "top100project" to enjoy a 10% discount when you head to the check-out. Tweet us @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis. We might even respond.

Hail, the Next 136 Project! Hail! We’ve got a super-duper-sized episode this week, one that takes us into the shattered heart of a family in demonic crisis. This is another insta-classic frightfest in this New Age Of Horror. So many modern scary movies—Hereditary might be the pinnacle of this—have more subtext than text, more atmosphere than the planet and more great performances than this genre is used to having. Toni Collette is award-worthy (although this movie was ignored in all the Oscar categories), but we shouldn’t sleep on Alex Wolff’s Method work either. This movie improves with repeated viewings and, somehow, feels even more unsettling than the first-time experience did. To help you get through this 67-minute extravaganza, order yourself some Sparkplug Coffee. We're on the Twits (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis), so shout at us that way. You can also still nail a 10% discount by applying the promo code “top100project” once you're ready to go to the check-out.

Activate Joey mode! The Next 135 Project takes us to Tinytown Indiana as we delve into what makes a staggeringly good man return to his vicious mobster roots. Viggo Mortensen was just hitting his stride at this point in his career (as he was nearing 50 years old) and he leads a terrific cast. Maria Bello, Ed Harrisand William Hurt are all right on point. David Cronenberg’s pictures can be hit or miss, but this pseudo-western is on the short list of his best ever. For a healthy dose of java, go to Sparkplug Coffee and order up what you need/want/crave. Use “top100project” as your promo code and you’ll save 10% off your first order.

The 30-year-old satire about high-school bullying is our 134th Next 100 Project episode as we begin the 4th Annual Month O’ Bev. A very young Winona Ryder is impressively self-possessed in one of her many stand-out performances. Her co-stars (including Christian Slater, in a break-out piece of Nicholson-esque work of his own) all do fine too, but this picture never really comes together…for one of us, at least. The other thinks there was—and still is—nothing like it. Guess which one of us feels which way! We continue to be sponsored by Sparkplug Coffee. That 10% discount is still gettable, if you use the “top100project” code at check-out.

Joyous Christmas Eve and such from the Elliseseseses as we explore Will Ferrell with his comedy phasers set on hilarious in this Next 133 Project podcast. This is a textbook example of an actor doing great work in a role that few others could even play at all. Despite some third-act problems and a miscast (and possibly disinterested) James Caan, Elf is a true Christmas classic. It’s sweet, consistently entertaining and deliciously quotable. We discuss Buddy’s superhuman talents, whether or not Walter truly is the jerk he first appears to be, and the controversy about “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. Oh, and order up some Sparkplug Coffee and nail that 10% discount by entering “top100project” as the promo code at check-out. Thanks for another fun year, gang. See you in 2019!

It's the one about Sharry Bobbins! The Next 132 Project gets into all of our complaints about this over-long and plot-flimsy Disney favourite. We just don't have the same enthusiasm critics and crowds do. You can't argue though that it's a beloved musical with top-shelf songs and a lovely debut performance by Julie Andrews. Bev has thoughts about how this movie commits the sin of crossing class lines (horrors!) and she's also got some wacky drug theories. Although maybe it's not so wacky...this WAS the '60s. So gear up for Mary Poppins Returns later this week spit spot by ordering some Sparkplug Coffee and listening to our gibby gab. If you want a discount from Sparkplug, enter "top100project" at check-out to save yourself 10% on the order.

With this 131st Next 100 Project episode, we dig into what at least one of us thinks is Sam Raimi’s best work. Bill Paxton was never better and Billy Bob Thornton & Bridget Fonda are terrific too in this “what would you do?” movie. These immensely relatable characters are doomed from the start by a twist of fate and Scott Smith’s tight screenplay makes all the ensuing darkness seem so logical. We also spent a few minutes of this episode jawing about the Henry Fonda “lynching is wrong” classic, The Ox-Bow Incident. To better enjoy all that content, zip over to Sparkplug Coffee and order up some beans. Your 10% discount awaits when you punch in “top100project” at checkout.

The Next 130 Project takes us back to post-WWII Italy as we gaze at director Vittorio De Sica's piece de resistance. The amateur actors (Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola) are just as good as any longtime pros. Good God, their well-earned pathos! We're treated to many shades of emotion (desperation, shame, loyalty and love) as our heroes battle to maintain their dignity...always dignity. The Ellises debate the movie's title ("thief" v "thieves") and compare bikes to the days when horses were an even more vital mode of transportation. It's a short episode, but we cover a lot of docudrama-ish ground. Buy some grounds of coffee from Sparkplug Coffee. Don't forget to apply your 10% discount at check-out by using the promo code "top100project".

The Next 129 Project marks 275 episodes in total for the Elliseseseses (although we’re getting close to 300 overall on this channel) and this one looks back at The Old Coots & The Kid Up At The Lake. Hank Fonda & Kate Hepburn are wonderful together in what proved to be his final film and one of her last. Jane Fonda is as good as ever in her small—but vital—role. Also applause is due for director Mark Rydell & writer Ernest Thompson, but this is a textbook example of an actors film. This nostalgia-drenched picture has enough bite that it even won over our cynical old hearts. So take a listen with a mug of Sparkplug Coffee at your side. Our 10% discount still applies if you use the promo code “top100project” when you head to the check-out.

Next 100 Project ep #128 gives us a nice turn on the "they went looking for America and instead found themselves" angle. Albert Brooks' yuks riot slips in clever commentary on the entitlement of people who want to chuck it all, but only if they have a nice camper and a really big nest egg. Just don't say "nest" or "egg!" Oh, and don't rely on 22, 22, 22! Julie Hagerty & Brooks are a delightful comic couple in this road movie that provides belly laughs from start to that gut-busting finish. To keep you awake on that drive from Arizona to Manhattan, buy some Sparkplug Coffee. You will score a nice little 10% discount by typing in our promo code "top100project" at checkout.

Episode 127 in the Next 100 Project focuses on another comedy, this time EGOT winner Mel Brooks’ crass comedy classic. Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder are loud (especially Mostel) and their characters are thieving scumbags, but they make for a good ha-ha combo. While weren’t in total agreement about the strengths of this movie, it’s hard to deny that certain things haven’t aged very well and come across as tone-deaf in our woke times. But “Springtime For Hitler”, offensive as it should be, just remains wonderful. Sparkplug Coffee remains our sponsor. Go get yourself some java and a 10% discount by typing in “top100project” at check-out.