Tag / World War Z

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Book 62 (of 52) – World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War – Max Brooks

Years after the end of the Zombie War, an enterprising historian travels the globe to interview the survivors of the global zombie pandemic.  Those survivors, soldiers, doctors, politicians, civilians alike, tell the story of the war, from the initial outbreak of the disease and how society collapsed, adapted, and then fought back and ultimately neutralized the undead threat.

I first became aware of World War Z with the release of the 2013 film starring Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos.  The novel by Max Brooks, released in 2006, tells a similar, but completely different story.  Presented as an oral history, there is no main protagonist to speak of, switching perspectives with each different interview to a different part of the overall story.  It took me a while to get into the story, but I was invested by the end.

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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, 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 continue with the 8 actors that have starred in 13 movies that I have seen, 3 more than what there were 3 years ago.

Amy Adams

A 3 spot jump for Adams, thanks to films in 2014, 2016, and earlier this year with 2016’s Arrival.

Morgan Freeman

2014’s Lucy, which I saw in 2015, enabled Freeman to move up one slot.

Anne Hathaway

A 2 spot jump for Hathaway, who added films in 2015 and 2016, where The Intern was her most recent starring role.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt had a 4 year streak come to an end in 2013, when I saw World War Z.

Natalie Portman

My last experience with Portman’s work remains 2013’s Thor: The Dark World.

Julia Stiles Continue reading →

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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, 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 continue with the 5 actors that have starred in 13 movies that I have seen.

Cameron Diaz

I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper.  She managed to get 2 films on my list in 4 different years, most recently in 2010.  I’ve drifted away from her output in recent years, as the last one I’ve seen was 2011’s Bad Teacher.

Brad Pitt

In 1994, I saw a little film called Kalifornia, which introduced me to Brad Pitt.  While he would become a mega-star over the next few years, I was a bit of a late comer to his films.  Other than watching A River Runs Through It in 1997 during the Sports in Literature class I took during my last semester of college, it was 2000 before I saw another Pitt film.  Making up for lost time, I plowed through 3 films in 2000.  Pitt currently has a 4 year streak on the line, starting in 2010 and continuing through last year, when I saw World War Z.

Natalie Portman

The first starring roles of Natalie Portman’s that I saw were in 2001, when I watched a double feature of Where The Heart Is and Anywhere But Here.  Her appearances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Thor franchise have accounted for 31% of her overall total.  2011 was a big Portman year for me, as I saw a whopping 4 of her films.  My last experience with her work was last year’s Thor: The Dark World.

Keanu Reeves Continue reading →

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2013: The Year In Movies Part 2

112 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), and only 7 of them were in more than 1. Those seven are:

Films Per Actor Per Year

Name Films
James Franco 3
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 3
Jennifer Lawrence 3
Jennifer Aniston 2
Jessica Chastain 2
Alexandra Daddario 2
Robert Downey Jr. 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2013, following up on Friday’s post.

The Purge (2013)
An intriguing premise that kind of fell apart as the film went on.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)
A better movie than the first, and a good follow up to the Avengers.

This Is The End (2013)
Quite possibly the funniest movie of the year.

Evil Dead (2013)
The remake of the classic horror film that I also saw for the first time this year.

Skyfall (2012)
I had this disc from Netflix for over 6 months before I finally got around to watching it.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
I left my work’s holiday party early to catch this in IMAX on its last day before it was replaced by the new Hobbit movie.

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