Have You Ever Seen

• Top Hat

  Wait, my 697th podcast about a 90-year-old, B&W musical is just destined to set download records, isn't it?! Well, maybe there's no chance of that, but an Astaire/Rogers love story with an idiot plot IS fodder for a sarcastic monologue. You're bound to have at least 1/4 of as much fun with this episode as I had preparing it. Top Hat is similar to Fred & Ginger's reviled Swing Time (reviled around HERE anyway), yet it's certainly better…and it's probably F&G's most-famous film though. Mark Sandrich directs his stars through several terrific dance numbers, including the classic "Cheek To Cheek". There are some great things here. So put on your fancy clothes and prepare to fall in love at first sight with a woman who thinks you're a small, skinny liar as I guide you through the doin's in Top Hat. Note: Astaire dancing in sync with silhouettes of himself (and, unfortunately, while also in blackface) was done in Swing Time. Subscribe to the show, but also take some time to offer up some feedback. Write an email ([email protected]) or fire off something on social media ("ryan-ellis" on Bluesky and "@moviefiend51" on Twi-X). Rate and review Have You Ever Seen in your app as well. Letterboxd. The Ryan lib'ary is slowing building up. Very slowly.

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• The Man Who Would Be King

  Connery & Caine were powerful names to put on the poster for The Man Who Would Be King. And while their adventure movie wasn't a huge hit, it has a huge legacy. John Huston directs Kipling's story with Sean and Michael playing scheming British ex-soldiers Danny & Peachy. And, God's Holy Trousers, are Caine & Connery ever a tremendous team! The fellas make an almost impossible journey to North Afghanistan in their hunt for fortune & glory. Then when Danny gets all he could want (and Peachy becomes his not-so-willing sidekick), they find out what the hubris of a false God-King gets them. So grab your masonic amulet and head for the middle of nowhere as the 696th dose of Have You Ever Seen podcasting action offers up a yap about men and kings. Subscribe to the podcast in your app, but also rate the show and write a review. That can be done on Spotify from episode to episode, never mind writing something for the podcast as a whole in your app. The email address is "[email protected]", the Bluesky handle is "ryan-ellis" and the Twi-X contact is "@moviefiend51." Letterboxd is a destination too. There's a slowly-growing library of my reviews on there.

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• Anora

  November is finally the time to get to this year's Best Picture Oscar winner and here in episode #695, the talk/rant is indeed about "Ani". Somehow, auteur Sean Baker tied Walt Disney's record by winning 4 Oscars in one night while foul-mouthed fireplug Mikey Madison won Best Actress as well. She and Yura Borisov are two of a half-dozen people giving strong performances in Anora, the Russian-centric dramedy that gets funnier in what is also a repetitive, way-too-long second half. You'll probably find this monologue to be controversial, but answer this: what is this movie about? Is it just a crass Pretty Woman? Well, in any case, don't get married to the stupid idiot son of an oligarch. Just keep on strippin' for a livin' and swearing when you're really mad because feathers will be ruffled in this show that's all about Anora. If there's been an episode in recent memory that should elicit more feedback than this one, name it. Try an email ([email protected]). On the media that is social, I'm @moviefiend51 on Twi-X and ryan-ellis on Bluesky. Subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app. Rate the show and do a little write-up as well. This will likely bulk up in the coming months, but I occasionally write up things on Letterboxd too. Look for "RyanHYES".

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• Night Of The Living Dead 1990

  Just like last year with the Dawn Of The Dead remake being posted on Halloween itself, the 694th episode on Have You Ever Seen is a redo of a horror classic that hits the airwaves on Scary Day. Tom Savini came up with a solid take on Romero's signature film, which basically invented the zombie movie back in 1968. There's a lot of bickering and boarding in the 1990 Night Of The Living Dead, but there's also better acting than in the original. The newer one is arguably more intense as well. The recently-departed Tony Todd and stuntwoman Patricia Tallman make for a strong team out in that country house that's both besieged by zombies and filled with human in-fighting. Don't worry that they're coming to get you. Because they're already here...and they're right behind you! Rate this 'cast and write a review. Subscribe too, ya ghouls! And look for my scribblings on Letterboxd. I go by "RyanHYES". The review totals are slowly growing. And feed back at me with your own Night Of The Living Dead thoughts by typing up an email ([email protected]). Do that and/or look for me kicking around on Twi-X and Bluesky ("@moviefiend51" and "ryan-ellis").

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• Black Swan

  The penultimate horror film in Have You Ever Seen's 10th Annual Scary Movie Month was a blockbuster and an Oscar-winner. And that's unusual for the relentless and unsubtle director Darren Aronofsky. He isn't often rewarded so much for the chances he takes. This 693rd episode talks about how the intense Black Swan is women-centric, even as the women in it go through hell. Natalie Portman won Best Actress for playing a lonely ballet dancer who was deluded even before the movie started. Then after she gets the lead role in Swan Lake, she shows us levels of masochism, obsession and deep mental illness. Real versus imagined. Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey and Vincent Cassell hit some home runs too, with Hersey eating it up as Portman's possessive and abusive mother. So put on your feathers and get ready for an episode all about the sordid and dangerous world of ballet. Well, Actually: Mother! wasn't a complete failure at the box office and Noah didn't do THAT badly worldwide. Be a sweet girl (or a sweet boy) and write a review of this or any other HYES episode. Rate it too (5 stars!). And subscribe to the show. The email address is "[email protected]". The socials are "@moviefiend51" on the T and "ryan-ellis" on the B. If you spend time on Letterboxd, look for me as "RyanHYES". I tend to focus on modern movies (contrasting the M-O of this podcast) and will probably do a lot more reviewing there in mid-November and beyond.

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