2023: The Year In Movies

The return of my annual long December vacation helped push a healthy increase in movie watching for me, with my highest total since the lockdown in 2019.  I managed to watch 88 movies last year, my third consecutive year under 100, despite being home all day and not needing to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.  The extended WGA and SAG strikes limiting new output probably didn’t help either.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
Mila Kunis stars as a woman who sees her life start to unravel when she is faced with a years-old trauma.

Do Revenge (2022)
Two high school girls decide to trade off and get revenge on each other’s bully.

Orphan: First Kill (2022)
A long-delayed sequel to the 2009 horror film.

Margaux (2022)
A smart house sets its targets on a group of friends who have rented it for the weekend.

American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules (2020)
The latest sequel to the comedy hit flips the script and has a trio of girls looking to lose their virginity before graduation.

Sick (2022)
Two friends quarantine at a lake house, but they quickly find out they are not alone.

The Menu (2022)
A chef prepares his final meal, taking out his frustrations on his diners on the way out.

Death on the Nile (2022)
Hercule Poirot takes on another case, based on the Agatha Christie novel.

Unhuman (2022)
A bus full of high school students try to survive after a crash leaves them vulnerable to an attacker.

Shotgun Wedding (2023)
A destination wedding goes off the rails when the wedding party is held hostage. Continue reading →

You Ought To Be In (14) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the nine actors that have starred in exactly 14 movies that I have seen, down one from 3 years ago.

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman first appeared on my radar with 1987’s Teen Wolf Too.  After another film in 1992, he took the rest of the century off and didn’t reappear on my screen until 2010, when he started a streak of five films in three years, followed by another streak of seven films in five years, culminating in 2018 Game Night, the last time I saw one of his films.

Morgan Freeman

The first film I saw starring Morgan Freeman was the Kevin Costner vehicle Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  Starting in 2000, he put together a six-year streak that covered eight films.  My biggest Freeman years were 2000, 2005, and 2008, when I saw him in two films each.  After a five-year layoff, he returned in 2020, starring in 2019’s Angel Has Fallen.

Jennifer Lawrence

The delightful Jennifer Lawrence first appeared on my screen in 2011, thanks to 2010’s Winter’s Bone.  Since then, I have seen her in at least one movie every year, tripling up in 2013, for an active streak of twelve straight years.  My most recent film of hers was 2022’s Causeway.

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds first appeared on my movie radar in 2006, when I saw him in both The Amityville Horror and Just Friends, which started a streak of five films in four years.  He had double shots in 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2019.  2021’s Free Guy, which I saw last year, was the last I saw of him.

Paul Rudd

1998’s The Object Of My Affection was my first exposure (in a starring role) to Paul Rudd.  He then put together a run of five films in four years from 2008-2011 and, after taking a year off, had another four in the following three years.  I last saw him earlier this year, starring in Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.

Winona Ryder

The last films of hers that I saw is still 2002’s Mr. Deeds, which I finally got around to watching in 2011.

Adam Sandler

2011’s Just Go With It, which I saw in 2013, is still my most current exposure to Sandler’s work.

Christian Slater

The last film of Slater’s that I saw was Alone In The Dark, all the way back in 2006.

John Travolta

The last starring role of Travolta’s that I saw was the 2009 remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123, which I saw in 2010.