You Ought To Be In (15) 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 continue today with the twelve actors that have starred in exactly 15 movies that I have seen, an increase of three from 3 years ago.

Amy Adams

Amy Adams made her first appearance on my screen in 2001, when I watched the repurposed television pilot that became Cruel Intentions 2.  She returned in 2008, starting a run of eight films in four years.  After a five-year absence, she returned in 2022 with the previous year’s The Woman In The Window.

Jamie Lee Curtis

My first experience with the former teenage scream queen was likely one of the first two Halloween films, the franchise that is responsible for nearly 47% of the films on this list.  After a seven-year lull, she returned with the latest reboot/continuation of the Halloween franchise, culminating in 2022’s Halloween Ends.

Will Ferrell

The SNL alum first streaked on to the list of film actors I’ve seen in 2003 with Old School.  Since then, his appearances have been pretty consistent, with 2012-2013 being the longest streak of him not appearing on my screen.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which I finally saw last year.

Anne Hathaway

Like most of America, I first saw Anne Hathaway on the silver screen back in 2003 in The Princess Diaries.  In the intervening years, she had been a steadfast presence on my movie (or television) screen, including three films in 2005 and four in 2009.  Things have slowed a bit this decade, with her latest appearance being 2019’s The Hustle, which I saw in 2020.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

The last starring role of his that I saw remains 2005’s Shopgirl, which I saw in 2009.

Julia Stiles Continue reading →

You Ought To Be In (15) 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 continue with the 5 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen, down 2 from 3 years ago.

Cameron Diaz

After a 3 year gap following 2011, Diaz returned to my notice in 2014 and again in 2015 with The Other Woman, rising 2 slots.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson moves up one spot thanks to 2015’s The Kingsman, which I saw in 2016, breaking a 6 year drought.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

Continue reading →

Most Watched Actors – The 1970s

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 decade of the 1970s.  Given I was born late in 1974, this should be a short list.

1977

 

Name Films
Lisa Eilbacher 1
Nicholas Hammond 1

According to my records, I watched one movie in the year that I turned 3 years old, the TV movie pilot to the Spider-Man television series, meaning its stars were the big winners for the year.

1979

Name Films
Bob Denver 1
Charles Durning 1
Alan Hale Jr. 1
Austin Pendleton 1

After a year off, I’ve identified 2 movies that I saw in 1979, the made for TV Gilligan’s Island reunion and the big screen debut of the Muppets.

1980

Name Films
Shelley Duvall 1
Harrison Ford 1
Mark Hamill 1
Robin Williams 1

We finish off the 1970s with the four stars from the 2 movies I believe I saw in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back and the big screen adaptation of Popeye.

You Ought To Be In (15) 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 continue with the 7 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen.

Matt Damon

In 1994, Matt Damon made his first appearance on my personal movie screen with his role in 1992’s School Ties.  He disappeared for a while until reappearing in 1999 with 3 different films.  From that point on, he has been a pretty regular entrant in my watched films, including a four year run from 2005-2008.  The last film of his I’ve seen was in 2012, when I saw the previous year’s Contagion.

Robert DeNiro

My first experience with Robert DeNiro was back in 1988, when I saw Angel Heart.  He then went quiet to me for 8 years, coming back in 1996 with Sleepers.  2000 was my high water mark with his work when I saw 3 of his films.  My most recent experience with him was 2011, when I saw him in both Machete and Limitless.

Angelina Jolie

The first starring role of Angelina Jolie’s that I saw was 1995’s Hackers.  2005 was my most prolific Jolie year, when I took in 3 of her films.  Her last appearance on my screen was in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the television week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 7th season, the show’s ratings continue to grow.  Everyone is in a relationship now, so we’ll see how the show handles that.

The continues to be a ratings juggernaut while still being a good comedy.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – Originally conceived as a mini-series to air while Once Upon A Time was in hiatus, ABC execs were so enamored with this spinoff show that they moved it to the fall and gave it its own timeslot.  Will 2 hours of weekly fairy tales prove to be too much?  Only time will tell.

I made it through about 2 episodes of this train wreck before I had to drop out.  Turns out there is a limit to the amount of fairy tales I can handle in a week.

8:00

The Crazy Ones – Robin Williams returns to television for the first time since Mork & Mindy, which is not something I would ordinarily be interested in.  Add in David E. Kelley, who has been more miss than hit lately, and this would likely get a pass from me.  However, the inclusion of one Sarah Michelle Gellar has guaranteed that I will at least check it out.

The show has done a tremendous job of toning down the Robin Williams factor to a reasonable level and has been one of the surprises of the new season.

Grey’s Anatomy – Back for a 10th season, the show was revitalized a bit last season with the addition of a new group of interns.  Hopefully they can keep it up this year.

The show continues to entertain, even if it isn’t the ratings hit it was in its earlier days. Continue reading →

2013 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week.  Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 7th season, the show’s ratings continue to grow.  Everyone is in a relationship now, so we’ll see how the show handles that.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – Originally conceived as a mini-series to air while Once Upon A Time was in hiatus, ABC execs were so enamored with this spinoff show that they moved it to the fall and gave it its own timeslot.  Will 2 hours of weekly fairy tales prove to be too much?  Only time will tell.

8:00

The Crazy Ones – Robin Williams returns to television for the first time since Mork & Mindy, which is not something I would ordinarily be interested in.  Add in David E. Kelley, who has been more miss than hit lately, and this would likely get a pass from me.  However, the inclusion of one Sarah Michelle Gellar has guaranteed that I will at least check it out.

Grey’s Anatomy – Back for a 10th season, the show was revitalized a bit last season with the addition of a new group of interns.  Hopefully they can keep it up this year.

Continue reading →

CBS Upfronts

PersonOfInterestRelevance1The big news out of the CBS upfront presentation wasn’t what they did pick up for the fall, but what they didn’t.  Leslie Moonves and company passed on yet another NCIS spinoff and a Beverly Hills Cop sequel with Eddie Murphy on board for a recurring role.  Instead, the network decided to take some chances in favor of higher-concept dramas and single camera comedies.  Hawaii Five-O gets shunted off to Fridays.  Person of Interest, with Sarah Shahi onboard as a series regular, moves to Tuesdays.  Thursday’s comedy block expands to two hours, where The Crazy Ones, a new series created by David E. Kelley and starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar anchors the second hour.  Beyond that, a lot of CBS being CBS.