You Ought To Be In Pictures Wrap Up

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.

Last week, we wrapped up our latest look at the films I’ve seen over my lifetime.  There were six new actors who hit or surpassed the ten-film plateau since the last time we did this three years ago, with Christina Ricci, Gerard Butler, Amanda Seyfried, Kevin Bacon, and Daniel Craig all tied the biggest leaps, going from either eight to ten or nine to eleven.  An astounding 63 actors did not see any change in their totals, with Raymond Burr heading up the top of those actors.

Thanks in part to a global pandemic that shut down theaters and movie sets, thirteen actors tied for the lead by picking up just two additional firms over these past three years.  The remaining 31 actors increased their total by a single film.

 

You Ought To Be In (10) 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 start today with the 27 actors that have starred in exactly 10 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of eight films in six years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 21 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with seven films in five years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet six years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Emily Blunt

Our first new entry, Emly Blunt’s first starring role was in 2007’s Wind Chill.  Thanks to three films in 2014 and another two in 2018, her latest, 2021’s A Quite Place Part II, gave her ten appearances.

Gerard Butler

The Scottish actor first appeared on my screen thanks to 2003’s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which I saw in 2005.  The Has Fallen franchise gave him three additional appearances, in 2013, 2016, and 2020.  He last made a mark in 2022 with two films, 2016’s A Family Man and 2022’s Last Seen Alive.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

2022: The Year In Movies Part 2

129 different people starred in the 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 a whopping seven of them were in more than one film.  Those seven thespians are:

Films Per Actor Per Year

Actor Name Films
Gerard Butler 2
Daniel Craig 2
Elsie Fisher 2
Elizabeth Olsen 2
Jenna Ortega 2
Aubrey Plaza 2
Chris Pratt 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2022, following up on the previous Friday’s post.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Will Ferrell returns as anchorman Ron Burgandy, who has moved to New York and reunited his news team for 24-hour cable news.

Emily The Criminal (2022)
A young woman turns to a life of crime in order to pay off her student loans.

The Omen (1976)
The legendary horror film about Damien, the devil’s child.

Before I Fall (2017)
A high school girl relives the same day over and over again until she realizes what she needs to do to get it right.

Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
A comedy about a college baseball team in the early 80s.

Nope (2022)
Honestly, I can’t explain what happened in this.  Something about horses and aliens.

Black Bear (2020)
A movie about making a movie.

Damien: Omen II (1978)
Damien returns to continue his evil ways.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022)
Based on the novel by Grady Hendrix, a teen tries to save her possessed friend.

The Final Conflict (1981)
The third, but not final, part of the Damien Omen trilogy.

Ticket To Paradise (2022)
George Clooney and Julia Roberts work to sabotage their daughter’s wedding.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Benoit Blanc is back to solve another mystery when a group of people get together on a secluded island.

Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Thor reunites with Jane Foster and Valkyrie to battle a god-killer.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
An ace pilot returns to Top Gun after a long career to train a new set of fighter pilots for a special mission.

No Time To Die (2021)
Daniel Craig’s final go-around as James Bond.

Bullet Train (2022)
Five assassins aboard a swiftly-moving bullet train find out that their missions have something in common.

The Invitation (2022)
A young woman is invited to a wedding by newly found relatives, but quickly finds out that all is not what it seems.

Horizon Line (2020)
A young woman has to pilot a small plane when the pilot dies of a heart attack.

2020: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

Thanks to the corona virus inspired shelter-in-place order that kept everyone locked at home from mid-March through my annual long December vacation, I saw a big increase in movie watching, with my highest total since 2008.  I managed to watch 154 movies last year, easily surpassing the 100 movie plateau for the first time since 2011 and my third highest total of all time.  It’s amazing what I can accomplish when I am home all day and don’t need to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.

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.

Sister Cities (2016)
Four sisters reunite following the somewhat suspicious passing of their mother.

Home Again (2017)
Reese Witherspoon takes on three boarders and finds her life change for the better.

It Chapter 2 (2019)
Now adults, the Losers Club returns to Derry to finish off Pennywise once and for all.

The Domestics (2018)
A young couple crosses a post-apocalyptic country looking for safety.

On The Basis Of Sex (2018)
A young Ruth Bader Ginsberg argues in front of the Supreme Court.

Colonia (2016)
A young woman searches for her kidnapped boyfriend.

Long Shot (2019)
A once-promising journalist hooks up, professionally and personally, with his former babysitter, who is running for president.

Overboard (2018)
The roles are reversed in this remake of the Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn classic.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Keanu Reeves returns for the third installment of this surprisingly entertaining series.

Midsommar (2019)
A group of college students heads to Sweden for a festival and some strange shit goes down. Continue reading →