Have You Ever Seen

• 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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• The Phantom Of The Opera

  It's taken 692 podcasts before The Man Of 1000 Faces has come up on Have You Ever Seen, but here Lon Chaney finally is as the title character in Rupert Julian's Phantom Of The Opera. Despite the high kill count, this isn't particularly scary...although it IS eerily effective. The colour tinting in this otherwise black & white movie helps set a baleful mood. And the red-letter moment is when Mary Philbin takes off the Phantom's mask and shows us the makeup Chaney designed to give himself such a horrible face. He wants her affections, while she just wants to perform. So come for the Opera, but stay to hear about how the obsessive Phantom wouldn't take no for an answer 100 years ago. Subscribe to this channel in your app, but help grow the show by rating and reviewing it. The Phantom writes notes all the time. You can too! Don't be silent like this movie is. Speak up by sending me a lotta notes on Twi-X (@moviefiend51) or Bluesky (ryan-ellis) or via email ([email protected]). Also, I write short reviews on Letterboxd. I'm "RyanHYES". The goal is to find a fun angle, not to do a proper review.

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• Saint Maud

  Jewel once asked "who will save your soul" and when Morfydd Clark made Saint Maud with Rose Glass, she answered enthusiastically "I will!" We've got one of those "reality vs. fantasy" storylines again as a feverishly devout Catholic deals with her delusions (if they ARE that) while battling with her dying patient (Jennifer Ehle). Glass was making her directorial debut and, while her movie isn't bone-chilling, it's a quality slow burn. She saves the horrible violence for the end. Glass knows how to do body horror and she finishes with a phenomenal last shot. Scary Movie Month still has 2 more shows to go, but this surprise 691st episode does a little praying about the weird world of a nurse and her blind faith. Don't be a one-track Maud when you contact me with an email ([email protected]) or a tweet (@moviefiend51) or a Bluesky (ryan-ellis). Oh, and subscribe to Have You Ever Seen in your app. Spread the word with your movie chums, but also rate and review the show. And one last thing: Letterboxd. I have a channel on there (RyanHYES) where I do brief reviews of recent movies, often ones I saw in the theatre. The goal is to find a fun angle on the story or the characters.

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