Tag / Charlize Theron

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You Ought To Be In (15) 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 twelve actors that have starred in exactly 15 movies that I have seen, an increase of three from 3 years ago.

Amy Adams

Amy Adams made her first appearance on my screen in 2001, when I watched the repurposed television pilot that became Cruel Intentions 2.  She returned in 2008, starting a run of eight films in four years.  After a five-year absence, she returned in 2022 with the previous year’s The Woman In The Window.

Jamie Lee Curtis

My first experience with the former teenage scream queen was likely one of the first two Halloween films, the franchise that is responsible for nearly 47% of the films on this list.  After a seven-year lull, she returned with the latest reboot/continuation of the Halloween franchise, culminating in 2022’s Halloween Ends.

Will Ferrell

The SNL alum first streaked on to the list of film actors I’ve seen in 2003 with Old School.  Since then, his appearances have been pretty consistent, with 2012-2013 being the longest streak of him not appearing on my screen.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which I finally saw last year.

Anne Hathaway

Like most of America, I first saw Anne Hathaway on the silver screen back in 2003 in The Princess Diaries.  In the intervening years, she had been a steadfast presence on my movie (or television) screen, including three films in 2005 and four in 2009.  Things have slowed a bit this decade, with her latest appearance being 2019’s The Hustle, which I saw in 2020.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

The last starring role of his that I saw remains 2005’s Shopgirl, which I saw in 2009.

Julia Stiles Continue reading →

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2020: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22272 different people starred in the 154 movies I saw last year (starring in being the first two named stars, a tradition dating back to the old Chicago Tribune TV guide which populated the early days of my database), and 28 of them starred in more than 1 film. Those 28 thespians are:

Films Per Actor Per Year
Actor Name Films
Charles Bronson 4
Harrison Ford 4
Katie Holmes 3
Keanu Reeves 3
Bruce Willis 3
Renee Zellwegger 3
Chadwick Boseman 2
Alison Brie 2
Jessica Chastain 2
Adam Driver 2
Jesse Eisenberg 2
Karen Gillan 2
Carla Gugino 2
Tom Hanks 2
Anna Hutchison 2
Samuel L. Jackson 2
Gillian Jacobs 2
Felicity Jones 2
Ewan McGregor 2
Kumail Nanjiani 2
Al Pacino 2
Brad Pitt 2
Issa Rae 2
Arnold Schwarzenegger 2
Will Smith 2
Kristen Stewart 2
Charlize Theron 2
Jessie T. Usher 2

Now let’s take a look at the next batch of movies that I saw in 2020, following up on last Wednesday’s post.

The Prodigy (2019)
The soul of a serial killer takes over a young boy’s body, much to his mother’s chagrin.

Alex & The List (2017)
A dog trainer is given a list of things to change about himself by his fiancé before she’ll marry him.

Hide (2011)
A Boston detective investigates the mummified remains of six women.

Pretty Little Stalker (2018)
A writer takes in a troubled girl and sees her family disintegrate.

Road To Perdition (2002)
Tom Hanks and Paul Newman star in this adaptation of the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner.

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
The kids head back into the game, this time dragging along Dannys DeVito and Glover.

Are You In The House Alone? (1978)
A supposed horror movie that turned out to be a made-for-tv movie.

My Soul To Take (2010)
A serial killer returns to his hometown to stalk the seven children born on the day he was allegedly put to rest.

Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (2004)
The second installment in the series starring Renee Zellwegger.

Good People (2014)
A couple finds themselves in a pickle after discovering, and keeping, cash in their dead tenants apartment. Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (14) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

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.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 10 actors that have starred in 14 movies that I have seen, an increase of 3 at this level from 3 years ago.

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman probably 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 5 films in 3 years, followed by another streak of 7 films in 5 years, culminating in 2018 Game Night.

Will Ferrell

The SNL alum first streaked on to the list of film actors I’ve seen in 2003 with Old School.  Since then, his appearances have been pretty consistent, with 2012-2013 being the longest streak of him not appearing on my screen.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2005’s Bewitched, which I saw earlier this year.

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 6 year streak that covered 8 films.  My biggest Freeman years were 2000, 2005, and 2008, when I saw him in 2 films.  After a 5 year layoff, he returned this year in 2019’s Angel Has Fallen.

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

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The Academy Award Goes To

side_oscarAs they finish polishing up the statues for tonight’s awards ceremony, it’s time to finish up our predictions with the major categories. In a strange change of pace, I’ve actually seen one or two of these. So, without further ado, we begin with:

Best Picture

Ford V Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Parasite

I’ve seen a grand total of two of these, so I’ll go with 1917, since Hollywood seems to love a war epic.

Best Actor

Antonio Banderas, Pain And Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

I’ll pick one of the two performances I’ve seen and go with Adam Driver.

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saorise Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renee Zellwegger, Judy

I’ve only seen one of these, so I’ll go with the talented Saorise Ronan from the perennial favorite Little Women.

Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (12) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many 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.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we look at the 9 actors that have starred in 12 movies that I have seen, an increase of 1 from 3 years ago.

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman probably 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 5 films in 3 years, followed by another streak of 5 films in 3 years, culminating last year in both The Gift and The Longest Week.

Jamie Lee Curtis

My last experience with the former teenage scream queen remains 2011, when I saw 2010’s You Again.

Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas moves up one spot, thanks to the addition of 2015’s Ant-Man.

Will Ferrell

The SNL vet moves up two spots, with films in 2015 and 2017, when I saw Get Hard.

Gene Hackman

Hackman has mostly retired at this point, so the odds are that the last film I saw of his, Runaway Jury in 2012, will continue to be his last.

Corey Haim

My final Haim film was 1993’s Just One Of The Girls, which I saw in 2004.  Haim passed away in 2010, so he is not likely to be moving up this list anytime soon.

Tommy Lee Jones

The most recent entry in the Jason Bourne series enables Tommy Lee Jones to move up one spot.

Gwyneth Paltrow Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many 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.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we start with the 14 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen.

Amy Adams

I was first introduced to Amy Adams back in 2001 via the direct-to-video sequel to Cruel Intentions.  Things were quiet until 2008, when I saw her in Enchanted, which started a four year run with at least one film per year.  2010 was big Amy Adams year for me, where she starred in 4 different movies that I saw that year.  The last movie I saw featuring her was last year’s Man of Steel.

Jessica Alba

My first movie exposure to Jessica Alba was the 2000 indie thriller Paranoid.  2004 kicked off a 4 year run of at least one film per year.  2009 was my high water mark in Jessica Alba films, when I saw 3 of them.  Her run as Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise accounted for 2 of the 10 films.  2010’s Valentine’s Day, which I saw in 2011, was the last film I saw starring Alba.

Dan Aykroyd

My first Dan Aykroyd film was likely 1984’s Ghostbusters.  My best Aykroyd years were 1988 and 1996, when I saw 2 of his films in each year.  2002 was the last year I saw an Aykroyd-starring vehicle, 200’s Stardom.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

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2013: The Year In Movies

2013 was again an off year in movie watching for me.  I managed to watch only 61 movies last year, one less than 2012 and my second consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

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

The Wedding Planner (2001)
A Jennifer Lopez throwback to start off the year.

Red Riding Hood (2011)
This was not a good movie.

Safe House (2012)
This also was not a good movie. I’m not getting the year started right.

Les Misérables (2012)
A work outing is the only reason I saw this film.

American Reunion (2012)
Sometimes you can go home again. And sometimes you shouldn’t.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011)
Robert Downey Jr. returns as the great British detective.

Young Adult (2011)
Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt team up for this strong tale.

Compliance (2012)
I streamed this disturbing picture on the iPad.

For A Good Time, Call… (2012)
A surprisingly good comedy.

Apollo 18 (2011)
Not good at all.

Continue reading →