Tag / Olivia Wilde

by admin

2025: The Year In Movies

The return of my annual long December vacation helped push up a weak first eleven months of the year, giving me my lowest total since last year.  I managed to watch 55 movies last year, my fifth consecutive year under 100, despite being home all day and not needing to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.  Reading 66 books and watching game shows all day probably didn’t help either.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Queenpins (2021)
A pair of housewives create a $40 million coupon scam.

Blackwater Lane (2024)
A woman believes she will be the next victim of a serial killer.

MaXXXine (2024)
Mia Goth returns in this prequel to X.

Mothers’ Instinct (2024)
The friendship between two women is tested when one loses her son.

Blitz (2024)
A group of Londoners tries to survive during the German bombing during World War II.

Poor Things (2023)
Emma Stone plays a woman who has the brain of a baby transplanted into her head.

The Idea of You (2024)
A 40-year-old single mom begins an unexpected romance with the lead singer of the hottest boy band on the planet.

Back in Action (2025)
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz star as retired CIA agents forced to come out of retirement to save their family.

Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Emma Stone reteams with writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Y2K (2024)
Machines go nuts as the clock strikes midnight and the world enters the year 2000.

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by admin

2016: The Year In Movies Part 2

Movie_Reel_22142 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 18 of them were in more than 1 film.  Those 18 thespians are:

Name Films
Rupert Grint 7
Daniel Radcliffe 7
Anna Kendrick 4
Jason Bateman 2
Sandra Bullock 2
Brooke Butler 2
Benedict Cumberbatch 2
Robert DeNiro 2
Carla Gugino 2
Tom Hanks 2
Tom Hardy 2
Michael B. Jordan 2
Melissa McCarthy 2
Chloë Grace Moretz 2
Sam Rockwell 2
Miles Teller 2
Christoph Waltz 2
Olivia Wilde 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2016, following up on Tuesday’s post.

The Sand (2015)
Things go awry at a beach when the sand starts eating people.

Creed (2015)
The Rocky series returns with the focus now on the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed.

The Boy (2016)
A young woman is hired to watch over a doll, but all is not as it seems.

London Has Fallen (2016)
A terrorist attack at a state funeral in London leaves one Secret Service agent to protect the president on the run.

Cas & Dylan (2013)
A dying doctor takes a new acquaintance on a cross country road trip.

Spy (2015)
Melissa McCarthy goes in to the field as a CIA agent to avenge the death of her crush.

Joy (2015)
A woman invents a new mop and bets on herself to beat the longest of odds.

The Intern (2015)
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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Mondays

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

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by jim

Midseason Review – Mondays

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.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – It looks like we (and Ted) are finally going to meet the long-teased titular mother this season, which could be just what the show needs.  It started to drag a bit last season, but the premiere seemed like they were back to form.  At its worst, it is worth watching for Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, who always bring their A-game.

Well, despite a tease here and there, we aren’t really any closer to meeting the titular mother.  But, the season has been good so far, and the last new episode had Jason Segal show just how much range he actually has.

Chuck – The spy comedy enters its fourth season with a new season, a new Buy More, and, finally, Chuck and Sarah together for reals.  One of the better shows on TV at bringing out nerd-culture without talking down to it. 

The introduction of Chuck’s mother has been a godsend for the show, if only for the occasional guest spot from the surprisingly funny Timothy Dalton.  Beyond that, the show has been up to its usual snuff.

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