Tag / Tom Cruise

by admin

2018: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

The loss of my annual long December vacation saw a slight downturn in movie watching for me, with my lowest total since 1988.  I managed to watch 55 movies last year, my seventh consecutive year under 100 and my lowest total since 1993.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, 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 French Connection (1971)
Hailed as one of the best films of the 70s, I can’t say it plays well here in the 21st century.

Cobra (1986)
Somehow I missed this Stallone “classic” back in the day.

Table 19 (2017)
The misfit table at a wedding bands together to settle scored, both old and new.

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (2017)
The classic board game moves to the video age in this sequel.

Patriots Day (2017)
Mark Wahlberg plays the hero of the Boston Marathon bombing.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
It certainly took me a while to see the latest installment in this franchise.

Life (2017)
A team of scientists find proof that life once existed on Mars, potentially dooming life on Earth in the process.

Snatched (2017)
Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn go on vacation together and hijinks ensue.

People Like Us (2012)
When his father dies, Chris Pine learns that he had another family that needs some help.

The Layover (2017)
Two friends compete over a man when a hurricane turns their flight in to a road trip. Continue reading →

by admin

2017: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22139 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 17 of them were in more than 1 film.  Those 17 thespians are:

Name Films
Tom Hanks 4
Anna Kendrick 4
Imogen Poots 3
Elizabeth Banks 2
Abigail Breslin 2
Matt Damon 2
Zac Efron 2
Domhnall Gleeson 2
Tom Hiddleston 2
Melissa McCarthy 2
Ellen Page 2
Chris Pratt 2
Ryan Reynolds 2
Julia Roberts 2
Saoirse Ronan 2
Anya Taylor-Joy 2
Allison Williams 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2017, following up on last Thursday’s post.

The Edge Of Seventeen (2016)
A teenager feels her world going crazy when her best friend starts dating her brother.

Logan (2017)
The latest, and best, Wolverine solo film.

The Princess Bride (1987)
A modern day fairy tale that everyone in my generation saw years ago.

American Made (2017)
Tom Cruise plays the CIA and drug cartels against one another to line his pockets with cash.

The Babysitter (2017)
A young kid fights back when he finds out his babysitter is part of a satanic cult.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
The Kingsman return and team up with their American counterparts.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor and Loki team up to save Asgard from their sister.

The Big Sick (2017)
Continue reading →

by admin

You Ought To Be In (19) 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 dive into the 4 actors that have starred in 19 movies that I have seen.

Jennifer Aniston

Tied for the highest total for all actresses last time around, Aniston has jumped up one slot but fallen into 3rd place among her gender.  We’re The Millers, which I saw in 2014, is her only new addition.

Tom Cruise

A 3 picture jump for Tom Cruise puts him near the elite of my personal list of movie stars.  The first and most recent installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise were the last films of his I’ve seen back in 2015

John Cusack

A little known film I saw in 2015 called The Factory gives Cusack his only new entry.

Eddie Murphy

No change for Murphy, as it continues to be more than a decade since I’ve seen one of his starring perfromances, as I suffered through both Showtime and Adventures Of Pluto Nash in 2004.

by admin

Most Watched Actors – The Early 2010s

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 the most prolific actors that have starred in the movies that I have seen in the first half of this decade.

2011

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Natalie Portman 4

2011 was a big year for Natalie Portman films, as I took in nearly a quarter of her starring roles that I’ve seen overall thanks to The Other Woman, Black Swan, Thor, and No Strings Attached.

2012

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jonah Hill 3

Jonah Hill scored the top spot with starring roles in Moneyball, The Sitter, and 21 Jump Street.

2013

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
James Franco 3
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 3
Jennifer Lawrence 3

A 3 way tie for 2013 thanks to the stunning work of James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jennifer Lawrence.  Franco hit with roles in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Spring Breakers, and This Is The End.  Gordon-Levitt made a splash with Looper, Premium Rush, and 50/50.  Lawrence more than doubled her starring roles to date in Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and House at the End of the Street.

2014

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Emily Blunt 3
Scarlett Johansson 3
Liam Neeson 3
Shailene Woodley 3

For the first time in a decade, we have more than a 3-way tie for the top spot.  Emily Blunt leads things off with her roles in Edge of Tomorrow, Your Sister’s Sister, and The Five-Year Engagement.  Scarlett Johansson makes the list thanks to Don Jon, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Under The Skin.  Liam Neeson utilized his particular set of skills in Unknown, Non-Stop, and Taken 2.  Shailene Woodley finishes things off Divergent, The Spectacular Now, and The Fault in our Stars.

2015

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jason Bateman 2
Ashley Bell 2
Tom Cruise 2
Karen Gillan 2
Kevin Hart 2
Leslie Mann 2
Paul Rudd 2
Sharon Stone 2
Aaron Taylor-Johnson 2
Shailene Woodley 2

A 10-way tie for the top spot as nobody managed to star in more than 2 films that I saw last year.

by admin

2015: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22128 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 10 of them were in more than 1.  Those 10 thespians are:

Name Films
Jason Bateman 2
Ashley Bell 2
Tom Cruise 2
Karen Gillan 2
Kevin Hart 2
Leslie Mann 2
Paul Rudd 2
Emma Stone 2
Aaron Taylor-Johnson 2
Shailene Woodley 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2015, following up on Tuesday’s post.

Not Another Happy Ending (2014)
Karen Gillan’s first project post-Doctor Who.

Nice Guys Finish Last (2011)
A short where Danielle Harris tries to date a normal guy but misses the excitement of the bad boys.

Idiocracy (2006)
An army slacker and a prostitute wake up in a future populated by stupid people.

Three Fugitives (1989)
Martin Short and Nick Nolte avoid the police.

Interstellar (2014)
In a near future where the Earth can no longer sustain human life, a group of astronauts look for a new home for the human race.

Aloha (2015)
A military consultant falls in love and turns on his boss in this mess of a film.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Michael Keaton’s comeback performance that earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination.

Get Hard (2015)
Continue reading →

by admin

You Ought To Be In (16) 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 look at the 4 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen.

Drew Barrymore

Like most of America, Drew Barrymore first entered my consciousness as the precocious little girl from E.T., but it was another decade before she had a starring role that I saw, 1992’s Poison Ivy.  In the year’s since, she has had two separate runs of 4 years, first from 1998-2001 and again from 2003-2006.  3 years saw me seeing two of her films, most recently in 2004.  The most recent of her films that I’ve seen was Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Tom Cruise

Top Gun was likely my first introduction to Tom Cruise’s starring roles.  2000 was a big year for his films, as I saw 4 of them, the only time I’ve seen more than one.  I took a 5 year break from his films after seeing War Of The Worlds in 2007.  The last film of his that I’ve seen was Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2012.

Kirsten Dunst

The first Kirsten Dunst starring vehicle that I saw was Small Soldiers, which I saw in 1999.  That started a 4 year run where I saw 9 of her films, including 4 in 2000 alone.  After a one year break, I returned to her films in 2004 with both Mona Lisa Smile and the first Spider-Man.  Besides 2000, there are 5 other years where I’ve seen multiple Dunst films, most recently in 2007.  In fact, the only years that I’ve seen only one of her films were 1999, the first time I saw one, and 2011, which was the last time I saw her in All Good Things.

Michael Keaton Continue reading →

by admin

Midseason Review – Thursdays

Nearing the end of our look back at the fall television season.

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

This show has wisely mixed things up, with the focus nearly equal between the guys and the girls.  The additions of Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik to the cast have made a strong show even stronger.  There was one occassion where the show fell victim to the main charge of its critics, where it laughed at nerds instead of with them.  Hopefully that was a blip and not a tonal shift.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

And it didn’t.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

This is not really a bad show, but it isn’t really a good one and it seems like a total waste of Michael Emerson’s talents.  It looks like they may be mixing things up a bit by bringing Taraji P. Henson into the fold, so maybe that will help.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

More of the same indeed.  The addition of one of the kids from the new Melrose Place as the new boss is kind of weird, but beyond that, nothing really new.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

Well, John Goodman only appeared 2 or 3 times, but this season has been bizarrely brilliant.  Of course, this means that NBC has pulled it from the schedule, claiming it will return at some undetermined point in the future.  I know 3 seasons is more than most series see, but losing this show will hurt more than most. Continue reading →

by jim

Upfronts Day 0

NBC jumped the gun and released their schedule for the upcoming fall season a day early.  Chuck returns for a 13 episode final season, moving to Friday nights.  30 Rock gets bumped to mid-season due to Tina Fey’s pregnancy.  Harry’s Law gets a surprise renewal and moves to Wednesdays. 

New dramas in the fall include Prime Suspect, starring Maria Bello as a homicide detective fighting her way through the boys club.  The Playboy Club tries to follow in the footsteps of Mad Men and goes back to the 60s at the legendary Chicago club.  Grimm tries to follow in the footsteps (notice a pattern here?) of Supernatural, following a group of hunters going after the creatures from the Grimm fairy tales.  Awake (finally a somewhat new premise) is a drama about a man who wakes up from an accident to find out he is living in two parallel worlds, one where his wife died in the accident and one where his son died.

On the comedy front, Whitney is a starring vehicle for roast sensation Whitney Cummings.  Up All Night is “a modern take on parenthood.”  Free Agents is based on a cult UK comedy and returns Anthony Head, TVs Giles, to America’s shores.  Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea is inspired by the book from late night host Chelsea Handler and stars Laura Prepon.  Best Friends Forever looks at best friends who promise to support each other.  Bent is about a couple who are attracted to each other despite not having much in common.

Continue reading →