You Ought To Be In (13) 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 6 actors that have starred in 13 movies that I have seen, an decrease of 2 at this level from 3 years ago.

Amy Adams

Nothing new from Adams since 2017, when I saw 2016’s Arrival.

Jamie Lee Curtis

My first experience with the former teenage scream queen was likely in the first Halloween, the franchise that is responsible for nearly 40% of the films on this list.  The frequency of my watching her films has slowed down significantly in the 21st century, though, and, after a 7 year lull, my last experience with her was in 2018’s reboot/continuation of Halloween.

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman first entered my movie consciousness when I saw the original Christopher Reeve Superman.  My biggest Hackman years were 2000 and 2003, when I saw 2 of his films.  Hackman has pretty much retired from acting, so his older roles, like 1971’s The French Connection, which I saw in 2018, will have to propel him up this list.

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl burst on to the scene in 1994’s My Father, The Hero, which I took in the following year.  She dropped off my radar, went through puberty, and came back in 1999.  After achieving television stardom, she leaped back to the big screen in a big way in the mid-2000s, including 4 films in 3 years between 2006 and 2008.  After a six year drought, she returned to my screen in 2017 and 2018, with the last film I saw of hers being the ironically titled Unforgettable.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones first showed up on my screen back in 1993 in The Fugitive.   My big Tommy Lee Jones years were 1997 and 2000, when I saw him in 2 films per year.  After a few years away, my most recent experience with him was earlier this year, in 2019’s Ad Astra.

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 5 films in 4 years.  He had double shots in 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2019, where I last saw him in both The Captive and Deadpool 2.

2019: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22158 different people starred in the 89 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 9 of them were in more than 1 film. Those 9 thespians are:

Films Per Actor Per Year
Actor Name Films
Liam Neeson 3
Sandra Bullock 2
Tom Cruise 2
Samuel L. Jackson 2
James McAvoy 2
Melissa McCarthy 2
Ryan Reynolds 2
Kiernan Shipka 2
Bruce Willis 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2019, following up on last Friday’s post.

The Silence (2019)
A very similar tale to A Quiet Place, but apparently based on a book which pre-dates last year’s hit movie.

Eighth Grade (2018)
A coming of age story for a young girl trying to navigate the last year of middle school and the social pressures therein.

The Captive (2014)
A father suspected of killing his young daughter continue to look for her years later, and eventually finds her.

A Simple Favor (2018)
A woman befriends another mother at her child’s school and finds herself drawn into mystery and intrigue.

Can You Keep A Secret? (2019)
A woman starts dating her boss after accidentally telling him all of her secrets on a flight.

Broken Star (2018)
A woman under house arrest has an interesting neighbor.

The Curerd (2018)
When a cure is found for a zombie outbreak, not everyone is willing to forgive and forget.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
A high school girl becomes popular after “maturing”, but her new friends start dropping like flies.

Horns (2014)
Based on the book by Joe Hill, a man grows horns and gains powers when his girlfriend is murdered and everyone assumes he did it.

Free Solo (2018)
A documentary about a crazy man who likes to climb mountains by himself without ropes. Continue reading →