Tag / Christina Ricci

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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.

 

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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.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

by jim

Post Mortem – Pan Am

Pan Am was ABC’s attempt to capitalize on the success of Mad Men, swapping out the ad agency for the not-so-friendly skies of Pan Am with a little CIA kick.  The show focused on the flight crew of a Pan Am clipper from the airline’s heyday in the early 60s, where one (or two) of the stewardesses (not yet flight attendants) were working for the agency.

Christina Ricci was the main attraction prior to the premiere, moving to television as the radical troublemaker who barely holds on to her job.  However, Kelli Garner and Margot Robbie stole the show, as the new CIA recruit and her sister who became the face of Pan Am.

At the end of the day, Pan Am was a decent enough show, but just never caught on with an audience waiting on the return of Mad Men.  On the plus side, it did last a good deal longer than The Playboy Club.

by jim

Midseason Review – Sundays

As we start to gear up for midseason premieres and February sweeps, let’s take a look back at what I said and thought back in September.

ABC

Pan Am – ABC’s attempt to hop on the Mad Men brigade premieres tonight, with Christina Ricci making her move to television.  It looks somewhat interesting, so I will give it a shot.

Not a bad show, but it didn’t take off (see what I did there?) as expected.  Kelli Garner made more of an impression than Christina Ricci did, but that still wasn’t enough to save the show.

Once Upon A Time, which I either didn’t plan on watching or didn’t include because it didn’t start until late October, turned out to be pretty good and one of the highest rated new shows of the season.

CBS

The Good Wife – Slowly built itself up to a top performer last season and should do even better on Sundays without much competition.  The only problem with the new timeslot will be in the fall due to football overruns.

Still a strong performer.  Should be much easier to watch now that football is over and it will air at a consistent time.

Not included in the fall were the cable shows that made up most of my Sunday night viewings, The Walking Dead, Dexter, and Homeland.  TWD started and ended strong, but spent entirely too much time on a plot that should have taken 2 episodes, 3 tops.  Dexter explored religion and whether it was possible for a serial killer to grow.  Homeland was the breakout hit of the fall, with both Claire Danes and Damian Lewis giving standout performances.

New shows for the spring include the second season of Shameless and the new show House of Lies, both of which premiered on Showtime earlier this month.

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2011 New Fall Season – Sundays

I never received this year’s Fall TV Preview from our good friends at Entertainment Weekly, so I’m going to wing this based on what I’ve seen so far and what I can remember from the Internets.  Not much to watch on Sunday nights, so let’s get this started.

ABC

Pan Am – ABC’s attempt to hop on the Mad Men brigade premieres tonight, with Christina Ricci making her move to television.  It looks somewhat interesting, so I will give it a shot.

CBS

The Good Wife – Slowly built itself up to a top performer last season and should do even better on Sundays without much competition.  The only problem with the new timeslot will be in the fall due to football overruns.