Tag / Chevy Chase

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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.

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You Ought To Be In (10) 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 start with the 27 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a slight increase from the 22 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of 8 films in 6 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 18 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Our first new entry, 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 7 films in 5 years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet 3 years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Halle Berry

Another newcomer, who has racked up starring roles in 4 different decades now.  I first saw Berry in 1992’s Boomerang, which I saw in a screening at Stewart Center at school.  After notching 5 films during the 2000’s, she had been pretty quiet until returning to my screen earlier this year in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

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by admin

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. 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 start with the 22 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a big increase from the 14 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

There has been no change for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with 2002 being the last year I saw one of his starring roles.

Kate Beckinsale

Our first new entry, the comely British actress first came to my attention in 1998, when I saw her in both Cold Comfort Farm and Last Days of Disco.  Her heyday was 2006-2008, when I saw her in 4 films over the 3 year span.  2010 had been my last experience with her work, until I was coerced into seeing Underworld: Blood Wars earlier this year.

Kristen Bell

The Veronica Mars star made her first “big screen” appearance in my life with the television remake of Reefer Madness in 2005.  She’s been a pretty steady presence since, with a 2 year gap in 2015 and 2016 being her largest.  The Boss, which I saw earlier this year, is my most recent exposure to her.

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by jim

Post Mortem – Community

communityOn September 17, 2009, I found myself watching a new comedy on NBC despite my best intentions.  Starring the guy from The Soup and Chevy Chase, I was sure that this show, titled Community, would be a dud.  Surprisingly, I ended up liking the pilot and came back the following week.  Eventually, Community rose to the top of my watch list and became one of my favorite shows.

Sadly, despite critical acclaim and a fiercely loyal fanbase, the fandom for this particular show was small.  Every season, the show was on the bubble and it probably would have been cancelled years ago if NBC wasn’t totally desperate for anything resembling a hit.  But along the way, we got three tremendous seasons.  When showrunner Dan Harmon was fired after season 3, the show seemed doomed once again, but it came back for a surprise 4th season, which saw more trouble and the eventual departure of Chase.

Given all of that, it was a foregone conclusion that the show would be cancelled last year.  Once again, the little show that could surprised the world by not only being renewed for a 5th season, but by bringing back Dan Harmon to once again helm the show.  A throw away line from early in the shows run, six seasons and a movie, had become the rallying cry of the shows fans and now seemed to be within reach.  Sadly, after a 5th season which saw the departure of Donald Glover, NBC finally pulled the plug.

So I say thank you to Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong, and, yes, Chevy Chase for a wonderful run.  #SaveGreendale #SixSeasonsAndAMovie

by admin

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.

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by jim

#FiveSeasonsAndNoMovie?

community-jeff-winger-dean-peltonExactly one year ago, Community looked to be ending on a down note after a fourth season run adrift due to the firing of creator Dan Harmon and, to a lesser extent, the loss of Chevy Chase.  The next day, however, NBC surprised everyone by giving the show a surprise renewal for a fifth season.  A season which even brought Harmon back in to the fold.  While creatively the show improved, moving closer to what it had been in the first three seasons, the ratings continued to be depressing.

Today, NBC announced that there would be no such reprieve this year, cancelling the show and dashing the hopes of its fans who had taken a throwaway line from an second season episode (Six Seasons and a Movie!) and turned it into a rallying cry during the annual wait to see if the show would return.  It would be easy to look at this as a day of disappointment, but the DVDs of 3 great years (along side 1 decent year and 1 better left forgotten) will live on when the show should have, and likely would have, been cancelled much earlier.

by jim

RIP Community

communityAfter three great seasons and one so-so season, Community aired what is most likely its final episode tonight.  The little show that could lived life on the bubble and proved that a show starring Chevy Chase and the guy who hosts The Soup could somehow turn into one of my favorite comedies.  Despite this past season, which, thanks to the departure of creator Dan Harmon, was very uneven and a shell of its former self, it will continue to hold a special place on my DVD shelf.  Pop Pop indeed.