Nomadland

Year 14, Day 1 - 1/1/22 - Movie #4,001

BEFORE: Well, it's been a long week, between Christmas and New Year's, largely because the pandemic numbers surged up again (gee, who could have seen THAT coming, with everybody indoors and gathering together, just like the surge that came around with the holidays LAST year...) and we cancelled our Christmas drive up to Massachusetts.  My second job is shut down for the holidays, also, so outside of writing my epic year-end wrap-up, there just hasn't been that much to DO. My wife and I did do some Christmas shopping at an outlet mall on Dec. 30, just to buy each other a few gifts, which turns out to be a lot easier when you shop with your partner and you can just offer to pay for the things they want to buy for themselves.  Very helpful. 

I've also kept busy by watching some TV, I finished the "Hawkeye" show and started the Boba Fett show, plus I finally watched most of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch".  I cleared my DVR down to about 50, most of what's left on it now is the last few seasons of "Chopped" - and we re-watched "Guardians of the Galaxy" together, it had been quite a while. (She'll only watch GOTG and "Thor: Ragnarok", I can't get her to watch any other superhero movies.  I guess they have to be funny, but I can't sell her yet on "Black Panther", "Ant-Man" or even "The Suicide Squad"...)

Last night we watched the New Year's Eve show on CNN, I can't take Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper most of the time, but when they're drinking and trying to somehow fill up three hours of time, somehow it works for us.  I flipped around to the other NYE shows a bit, but it all just looked like hot garbage - and Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry certainly qualify in that category.  I know I'm getting old when I don't know any of the songs or performers on a TV special, and I'm only interested if they're doing cover songs. 

But the calendar page has flipped over, the counter has reset and a new Movie Year has started, that's always something I look forward to.  I've had THREE consecutive Perfect Years, do I dare even try for a fourth?  Maybe I should just quit and cut my losses, but this is who I am now, I want to keep this train rolling for as long as I can, I've put too much effort into keeping it moving, and I've realized I'll never run out of movies, so, really, the possibilities are endless.  Now, I don't require that the last movie of 2021 connects to the first movie of 2022, so I've got a chance to program ANYTHING here, provided it will connect to something and get me where I need to be on February 1.  So, why THIS movie?  Whither "Nomadland"?  

Well, last year my first movie was "Parasite", the film that won the Best Picture Oscar the year before, and I made that work.  So I'll try that again.  And this is also what I look for this time of year, a film that connects to others on my list only through ONE actor, I call it a "One-linkable".  Realistically, it can only be included between two films with that actor, or as the first film or last film for the year, otherwise it needs to sit on the list until David Strathairn makes another film that I want to see.  So no, it's better to drop it here and get it off the list, and then that's one more "Best Picture" winner I can check off.  After tonight, I'll have seen 83 out of 93 winners, that's not bad.  (Maybe someday I'll just watch that remaining 10, just to say I've done it - but come on, do I need to watch "Wings" or "The Life of Emile Zola"? Not interested.). On that "other" list, the one with the 1,001 Movies You Should See Before You Die, this will bring me up to 435 films seen out of the 1,001, and that's not too shabby, either.  They drop a few films off the list every year, to make room for new entries, and I just updated my list, which set me back just a bit. 

Plus, I happen to KNOW that I can get to my first romance-themed film from here - I've blocked it out, at least in a rough fashion.  Today I'll print out a January calendar page and firm things up, but it's a solid plan that goes through a couple films currently in theaters, about four films that I put on DVD that I didn't know how I was going to get to, and a TON of action films on Netflix and AmazonPrime that star either Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Dave Bautista or 50 Cent in various combinations.  You'll see how it all fits together, or fails to.  Sure, the chain's going to fall apart at some point, I realize that, but it won't be from lack of trying.  I've got the momentum now, and I've learned the secret, I don't have to program the whole year, as long as I can do a month at a time, I can keep the dream alive. 

This is also the time I usually dedicate the next year to somebody who passed away last year - there's certainly no shortage of candidates this time around, so many notable people are no longer with us, either due to COVID or just from everybody getting old as the hills, which keeps happening, despite our best efforts.  Last year's dedication went out to Max von Sydow, as I was a big fan, but also had a bunch of his Bergman films coming up in the line-up.  It seems maybe the universe wants me to dedicate things to Betty White, but part of me wants to send props out to Fred Willard, who really helped me out of a linking jam in late September, and made it possible for me to start my horror film chain where I wanted on October 1.  So maybe this year I can have two dedications going out, Fred AND Betty, this one's for you.  There's a documentary about Betty White that's on my list, but it's getting harder and harder for me to program my doc breaks, we'll see if I can work this one in, it's something to strive for.

I could just work my documentaries in with the fiction films, but I've found it easier to do the "docs in blocks" approach - this could just mean I need MORE docs on the list.  Today, for example, I added two films to the list, the docs "Summer of Soul" and "Street Gang", that last one is about the early days of "Sesame Street".  "Summer of Soul" is about a 1969 concert in Harlem and has a lot of archive footage of musicians in it, which is usually my bread and butter where docs are concerned.  But look at this, these two docs share three people, Jesse Jackson, B.B. King and Stevie Wonder...this makes my task much easier.  Yep, just add some more docs to the list, and I'll be right as rain.  There are docs about Alanis Morisette, Kenny G, Dionne Warwick, Dean Martin, David Lynch, the Velvet Underground, Robert Stigwood, Rita Moreno, Julia Child and Charlie Chaplin that I need to check out, and I've already got some on my list about Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Ross, Anthony Bourdain, Jerry Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut and Frank Sinatra, perhaps I can make some order out of all that in time for another Summertime Music Concert (and Documentary) series. But that's later.  

(Programming note: the Beatles "Get Back" documentary has been deemed ineligible by the judges, because it's a SERIES on Disney+.  This is what I call the "too damn long" rule.  It's about 10 hours of material, broken into three episodes, this CAN'T be counted as a "movie".  Plus the Beatles link to everything, so it's too damn easy.  I may still watch it, but it won't count here.)

THE PLOT: A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. 

AFTER: Wow, what accidental perfect timing I have - this film was made for New Year's, the opening scenes are set at Christmastime in 2008 (?) and not too far in, there are fireworks seen, presumably on New Year's Eve.  The film then follows Fern on her various travels throughout a year, then there's a Thanksgiving celebration, and we see her celebrate another New Year's near the close of the film, and it ends in early 2009.  A little more than "a year in the life", but the themes are all there, it's about change and reflection and struggling to make life a little better in the coming days, to the extent that such a thing is possible.  Looking back on what has come before, thinking about what that all means, and clearing the decks to make room for new opportunities to come, what better time is there to think about such things?  

Fern is clearly in recovery from tragedy - her husband died, and she lost her job, hell, the whole damn town in Nevada she was living in went under when the sheetrock plant closed.  That's a recession for you, we had a big one in 2008-2009 and we're possibly in another one now, despite the best efforts of the government to recover from the pandemic, prevent widespread evictions, issue child credits and "build back better".  How's that working out for you, since it apparently comes with inflation, supply chain shortages and a new "gig-based" economy?  Not to mention the last year of racial protests, insurrection, climate change, vaccine disinformation, legal challenges to abortion rights, and cancel culture going after Mr. Potato Head. As I've said many times, these are dark days indeed.  

But back to Fern.  She's had a perhaps natural response to tragedy, she's tricked out her van and gone on the road, working seasonally in an Amazon warehouse during the holiday rush, then taking a job at a campsite helping out other "nomads", but taking off from there in time to work the beet harvest in Nebraska.  Who knew?  I mean, I love beets but I don't think I'd like to spend 8 hours a day shoveling them.  But I can relate, I was dying to get out of the house a bit this summer, so I took a job working in a movie theater, only to find that mostly the job involved sweeping up and emptying trash cans, not my first choice for how to spend four nights a week.  How many times in life do we get somewhere, only to find out after we arrive that's it not really where we want to be?  I did my shifts, I put in my time, made some cash (including a few coins found while sweeping up) and started planning my escape.  That's the gig economy to me - get a job, work the job, but also keep your ears open for other opportunities when they open up.  

What keeps you sane might be the friends you meet along the way - I met a bunch of nice people at one theater, told them my stories and listened to theirs, then after three months I moved on to a better job at another theater, and started telling my stories again to a new group.  I'm in a better place, and that's the key maybe, keep moving around until you find a place where you fit in, that just makes it easier to get through it all.  Fern finds a friend at the Amazon job who tells her about a campsite down in Arizona, where a nomad desert guru runs a support system for these nomads of all ages, and people can exchange goods, belongings and survival skills. 

There's something appealing about the concept of the open road, not having any personal ties or a bunch of unnecessary THINGS to drag you down, sure, this represents freedom but it comes at a cost.  If you're OK functioning alone and you don't get too caught up in your own thoughts, great.  If you're OK sleeping in a van and not feeling too confined, sure, go for it.  If you want to see all those wide-open spaces out in Arizona, Nevada and Montana before they disappear, by all means, have at it.  But there are also reasons why people buy houses and settle down with life-mates, which all provides a level of financial and emotional security, and some peace of mind comes with that, one assumes. Maybe there are two kinds of people, the ones who are meant to settle down in one place and the ones who take to the highway and live out of an RV or camper van. 

Really, though, at the end of the day the road you choose is up to you, but maybe you can be one kind of person for a time and then become the other kind.  Fern did settle down, got married and bought the house and then the plan worked, right up until the time that it didn't.  People will still get sick, sometimes they did and then the plan's no good any more, because it depended on two people making an income to pay a mortgage and make it work.  Or you lose the job, the plant closes and suddenly you need a new plan.  This is life, the one you get, so you have to find a way, or else give up.  For a small slice of people, taking to the road and nomadic van life can be an answer, at least for a time.  But now you're working for your van, and finding a way to pay the campground fees, so really, it's just mortgage or rent again, just in a different form.

Fern encounters Dave a number of times, she trades belongings with him at one campsite, then sees him again in the Badlands, and after he gets sick and she visits him in the hospital, he gets her a job at Wall Drug - which sounds like it should be a drug store, but it's really a tourist attraction in South Dakota with a number of stores and restaurants in the middle of nowhere. Dave and Fern seem like they'd be a good fit for a relationship, but the movie never really lets that happen, one day his son comes to visit and Dave learns he's about to become a grandfather, and he leaves to go live with his son's family, at least for a while.  Fern comes to visit at Thanksgiving time, and Dave extends the offer for her to stay in their guest house, but it's not in the cards, a few days later, Fern's on the road again, because Amazon's about to start hiring again.  

This may be confusing to some, it was to me at first, why didn't Fern take Dave up on his offer, that seemed like a pretty sweet deal, but it's something about settling down, living in a house again, being tied to one relationship and all that comes with that, at this point maybe Fern has evolved to where she can't do that again.  She's been in that cycle before, and it ended painfully, maybe she's looked forward into the future and she just can't see a good ending there.  Maybe knowing that everything has to end at some point is preventing her from starting anything good, she just can't bear to see it end.  She makes a final trip to her old, abandoned house in the abandoned Nevada town where she used to live, and she realizes she can't go back.  

Which brings me back to Christmas - 2021 was the year I realized that Christmas can't be like it used to be, since my parents moved out of their house, so the old-style celebration where we visit them, get the whole family together, exchange gifts, roast a big turkey - that's gone. We kept it alive for a good long time, and the holidays can be something else in the future, they just can't be THAT.  We went back for Thanksgiving, and it was all weird, being in that house I grew up in, with half the furniture gone, an empty refrigerator, cable TV that nobody is watching and phone calls from telemarketers going unanswered. Which is sad, but time marches on and things change, we have to move forward and make new plans, and I think that's what this film is about, in the end.  

Was this really the BEST Picture of 2020?  That's always a debatable point - and as always, your mileage may vary.  My favorite pic so far from 2020 is "Tenet", but that somehow wasn't nominated for Best Picture.  I'll probably rate "Bill & Ted Face the Music" higher too, but that film wasn't nominated either - hey, different strokes for different folks. I just haven't seen enough of the other films that got nominations - the only other one I've watched so far is "The Trial of the Chicago 7".  The others are all on my list: "The Father", "Mank", "Minari", "Judas and the Black Messiah", "Promising Young Woman" and "Sound of Metal".  I'm just not comfortable weighing in until I've seen most or all of those.  "Nomadland" was a good effort, it's very thought-provoking, maybe it just hits a bit too close to home for me to really appreciate it.  I'll give it a passing grade and move on for now, I've just got too much to do.  

Starring Frances McDormand (last seen in "This Must Be the Place"), David Strathairn (last seen in "Howl"), Linda May, Charlene Swankie, Bob Wells, Derek Endres, Peter Spears, Tay Strathairn, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier, Angela Reyes, Carl R. Hughes, Douglas G. Soul, Ryan Aquino, Teresa Buchanan, Karie Lynn McDermott Wilder, Brandy Wilder, Makenzie Etcheverry, Annette Webb, Rachel Bannon, Bryce Bedsworth, Sherita Deni Coker, Merle Redwing, Forrest Bault, Suanne Carlson, Donnie Miller, Roxanne Bay, Matt Sfaelos, Ronald O. Zimmerman, Paige Dean, Paul Winer, Derrick Janis, Greg Barber, Carol Anne Hodge, Matthew Stinson, Terry Phillip, Bradford Lee Riza, Cat Clifford, James R. Taylor Jr., Jeremy Greenman, Ken Greenman, Melissa Smith, Warren Keith, Jeff Andrews, Paul Cunningham, Emily Jade Foley, Mike Sells, Cheryl Davis.

RATING: 6 out of 10 poop buckets

Year 13 Wrap-Up / Year 14 Preview

Here we go again, it's late on Christmas Day as I write this, and one year's close to ending, as another year gets ready to start. But first, I've got to take care of some business, like adding up my stats for formats watched, and reveal who appeared in the most of my watched films this year, and then come up with some kind of summary that attempts to make sense out of everything I've seen this year.  But perhaps that's impossible, and attempting to do this can take me up to a week, and I don't think I have that kind of time - so I've come up with an ingenious way to sum things up where I don't have to re-review every movie I watched.  More on that in a bit.  First, here are the ways I watched December's movies:

3 Movies watched on cable (saved to DVD): Lucky Number Slevin, A Hologram for the King, The Man Who Invented Christmas

5 Movies watched on cable (not saved): Operation Finale, The Watcher, Lucky, The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

3 watched on Netflix: Marauders, The Night Clerk, The Whole Truth

1 watched on Hulu: The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

1 watched on Peacock: Knock Knock

1 watched on HBO Max: Locked Down
14 TOTAL

And the format stats for the WHOLE year:

113 Movies watched on cable (saved to DVD)

54 Movies watched on cable (not saved)

49 watched on Netflix

25 watched on Amazon Prime

15 watched on HBO Max

14 watched on Hulu

12 watched on iTunes

5 watched on Disney+

4 watched on Tubi

4 watched on random sites:

1 watched on Academy screeners: 

1 watched on Apple TV+

1 watched on Peacock
1 watched on YouTube

1 watched in theaters
0 watched on commercial DVD

300 TOTAL

Wow, I'm still getting more than half of my movies from cable, 55% - of course, these numbers are a little skewed perhaps, because cable is always the first place I check for a movie, I go to streaming sites only when something is out and important and NOT available there.  Still, it looks like I still can't cut that cord, because I'd lose half of my content if I dropped the cable box. Sure, about 1/6 of my content came from Netflix, and another significant portion came from Amazon Prime, jeez, even Hulu had a pretty good year - but that means I spent a fair amount of time tracking down films that are ONLY available on Hulu, like "Palm Springs" and "My Friend Dahmer", you know, the really weird stuff.  This is also the year I joined Apple TV+, then watched one movie - "On the Rocks" and promptly quit Apple TV+.  Let's be honest, I saw no reason to stick around and get charged yet another monthly fee.  

ITunes is still, of course, the catch-all, when a movie from my list scrolls off of Netflix or Hulu and doesn't pop up on another service I have, well, that's where iTunes comes in.  Combined with Tubi and Peacock and YouTube, I don't have to give up on a movie because everything usually finds a home on ONE of those places if I wait long enough.  And HBO Max is the upstart newcomer with a strong finish, of course I have that service because I subscribe to HBO on the cable, but having that came in handy 15 times, that's somewhat significant, I'm surprised that many films were on HBO's streaming service but not on the cable channel.  Some were first-run, of course, like "The Suicide Squad", but I could have seen that film in the theater for free, I just chose to watch it at home.  "Black Widow" was the only movie that brought me out to the theater during the pandemic recovery year, but again, I watched that for free in a theater because I was working there.  In January I'll probably have to start paying again if I want to see the new "Spider-Man" movie, or anything else first-run. 

Now, here's my idea for summing up what I watched this year, since it's award season coming up, the Oscars and the Golden Globes (wait, I think they got cancelled?) and several others, instead of re-examining every movie I've watched, I've realized that I've already scored all the movies, so all I have to really do is break them down by category, check the scores and then I can just hand out my own little informal awards.  I'll just announce the one in each category with the best score as the winner, that's simple, right?  It will be like my own little awards ceremony, and the categories I can just make up as I go along!  This will be both easy AND fun, I can just do it however I want, and when I get tired of this, I can just stop.  

So the first category is BEST TIME TRAVEL MOVIE - that can be a category, right?  I spent the last couple years trying to get back on this topic, and this year I finally managed to squeeze a few of them in.  So the nominees are:

"When We First Met" - watched in February, part of the romance chain

"Palm Springs" - watched in March, it's a romance, a comedy, but it's driven by a time-loop

"Tenet" - watched in April

"An American Pickle" - I'm going to count this one I watched in June as time-travel, with a character preserved in pickle brine and getting out of the tank like 100 years later, I think it counts.

"Bill & Ted Face the Music" - also watched in June, now we got a game!

"Terminator: Dark Fate" - watched in August, there was more to this one than time travel, but the overarching franchise story is all about it.  

"Time Freak" - watched in September

"My Future Boyfriend" - also watched in September

And the award goes to - "Tenet".  This is a no-brainer, really, "Tenet" was my highest-scoring film, it would also win "Best Film of 2021" if that were a category, but that would be too easy.  "Palm Springs" and "Bill & Ted Face the Music" were contenders here, but "Tenet" scored a NINE, and those were solid sevens. What other film kept me up all night trying to figure out how the car was driven in reverse, and whether it was moving forward or backward through time.  I tried very hard to find fault with "Tenet", but man oh man, Christopher Nolan did it again!  First "Inception", then "The Dark Knight Rises" (one of the only two films I've ever given a perfect 10) and now this?  I may have to watch "Tenet" again before January 1, because come on, it's like the new gold standard of time-travel movies!  Everything worked, everything fit together like clockwork, so I'm very sorry, "My Future Boyfriend", you just didn't have a chance here. 

But what about best science fiction without time travel?  Only a few contenders this year: 

"City of Ember"

"Equals"

"The Space Between Us" - WINNER (6)

"The Midnight Sky"

Next category, of course, is BEST SUPERHERO (OR COMIC BOOK) FILM and the nominees are: 

"Wonder Woman 1984" - DC Comics, from March

"The Old Guard" - Image Comics, from April 

"Project Power" - from April

"Thunder Force" - from June

"Black Widow" - Marvel Comics, from August

"Hellboy" (2019) - Dark Horse Comics, from August

"Bloodshot" - from September, based on a Valiant Comics superhero

"The Suicide Squad" - DC Comics, from September

"Brightburn" - also from September - not from comics, but a riff on the "Superman" story

"The New Mutants" - Marvel Comics, from October

"My Friend Dahmer" - based on a graphic novel, from November

Hmm, I think I got them all.  The award goes to "The Suicide Squad", which was all kinds of crazy good comic-book fun, and I think "Black Widow" came in second.  A lot of these were quite disappointing, like "Bloodshot", "The New Mutants" and "Wonder Woman 1984" - but "Thunder Force" was really the worst of the lot.  For sure it was an off-year for Marvel, it's great that "Black Widow" finally got released, and I'm planning to watch more Marvel films in January, but with all that build-up for "The New Mutants", being delayed like five times, and for THAT?  Jeezus, they shouldn't have bothered.  What a terrible end for the X-Men movie franchise, it felt like it was half a movie, just the set-up and then they forgot to finish the story. And where the HELL was the villain?  

"The Suicide Squad" proved that the first film had the right idea - not every superhero film needs to be "Avengers" or "Justice League", with the A-Squad of heroes.  You can assemble a bunch of the B-list or even C-list heroes, and if there's enough action and the story is funny enough, nobody will care.  It would also win "Best Superhero Villain" if that were a category, because god damn, they had the polka dots to use a fan-favorite DC comics villain that was never in a movie before.  Kudos for that.  

While I'm on the topic of adaptations, let's move on to the next category, BEST ADAPTATION OF A TV SHOW OR INSPIRATION FOR A TV SHOW, and the nominees are:

"Scenes from a Marriage" - recently turned into an HBO series

"Spenser Confidential" - based on the same books as "Spenser: For Hire"

"Fantasy Island" - based on the TV show of the same name

"CHIPS" - ditto

"Animal Kingdom" - later turned into a TNT series, now in its fourth season

"Scooby-Doo" - non-animated movie based on the cartoon show from the 1970's

"Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed"

"The Handmaid's Tale" - later turned into the Hulu series, now in its fourth season

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - later turned into the WB series that ran 7 seasons

And the award goes to - "Spenser Confidential", which I scored a 7, this one wasn't very close either. Though "Fantasy Island" does make a lot of sense as a horror movie (some say it always was, but then, so was "Love Boat") and come on, I just watched the "Scooby-Doo" movies to clear them off the list, and maybe to see if Velma and Daphne would make out.  I've been told that the TV series versions of "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are much better than the films, but I'm so busy watching movies, who has time to watch more TV?

But speaking of "Scooby-Doo", let's tackle BEST ANIMATED FILM next - and the nominees are: 

"Dumbo" (2019) - well, at least partially animated...

"The One and Only Ivan" - talking animals are going to end up here, that's just the way it is

"The Lion King" (2019) - also up for "Best Remake", if that's a category

"Soul"

"A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon"

"Dolittle" - does this count? I'm going to need a ruling from the judges...

"Trolls World Tour"

"Scoob!"

"Godzilla vs. Kong" - because this was like 90% CGI, right?

"The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales" 

And the award goes to "The Lion King", which edged out "The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales".  But this brings me to:

BEST REMAKE:

"Dumbo" (2019) 

"The Dresser" (2015)

"The Lion King" (2019)

"Death at a Funeral" (2010) - yes, I also watched the 2007 version this year...

"Dolittle"

"Papillon" (2017)

"Midway" (2019)

Again, it's "The Lion King" sacking the competition.

BEST REBOOT, PREQUEL OR SEQUEL:

The three Swedish "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" films

"Wonder Woman 1984" - yeah, it's not looking good for this one...

"Coming 2 America"

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"

"Shaft" (2019) 

"The Jesus Rolls" - sequel to "The Big Lebowski"

"Bill & Ted Face the Music"

"Black Widow"

"Hellboy" (2019)

"Terminator: Dark Fate"

"Trolls World Tour"

"The Suicide Squad"

"Nanny McPhee Returns"

"Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed"

"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer"

"Scream 2", "Scream 3" and "Scream 4"

"Godzilla vs. Kong"

We've actually got a TIE here, between "The Suicide Squad" and "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", both scored an 8 via my unscientific system, but congratulations to all the franchise films.

BEST MONSTER MOVIE: (OK, what constitutes a "monster", here, like does "Okja" count?  What about a "Terminator" robot?  Let's try just the classic giant, Godzilla-style characters, or vampires and go from there...)

"Hellboy" (2019)

"Monster Hunter"

"Salem's Lot" (1979)

"The Witch" - is a witch a monster?  Again, I leave it up to the judges...

"Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" - I don't know why I bother listing it, it can't win...

"Godzilla vs. Kong"

"The Man Who Killed Hitler Then the Bigfoot"

Wow, this one's a real nail-biter, the judges seem hopelessly deadlocked between "The Witch" and "Hellboy", both tied with a score of 6.  Considering the quality of the other films in this category, though, this seems about right.  This is getting too tedious, I think from here on in I'm just going to announce the winner and then list the runner-ups (runners-up?).

BEST MOVIE ABOUT SPIES, ASSASSINS OR GOVERNMENT AGENTS:

WINNER: "6 Underground"

RUNNER-UPS: "Havana", "Official Secrets", "Unlocked", "The Hunted", "The Limits of Control", "The Operative", "The Sentinel", "Haywire"

BEST SERIAL KILLER, PSYCHOPATH OR HIT-MAN MOVIE: (Ah, now we've got a GAME!)

WINNER: "Scream 2" - admit it, it's the best film in the franchise...

RUNNER-UPS: "A Kiss Before Dying", "The Killer Inside Me", "The Devil All the Time", "Nick of Time", "The Calling", "Killing Gunther", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", "Scream", "Scream 3", "Scream 4", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer", "My Friend Dahmer", "Manson Family Vacation", "Lucky Number Slevin", "The Watcher"

BEST MURDER MYSTERY OR DEATH-CENTRIC FILM: (non-serial killer division)

WINNER: "The Whole Truth"

RUNNER-UPS: "The Reckoning", The three Swedish "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" films, "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Freedomland", "Death at a Funeral" (2007), "The Last Word", "The Woman in the Window", "Aftermath" (2017), "Peppermint", "Monster" (2018), "In Secret", "The Night Clerk"

BEST MOVIE ABOUT BANK ROBBERS, SMUGGLERS, KIDNAPPERS, MOBSTERS OR GANGS:

WINNERS (4-way tie): "The Last Stand", "Life of Crime", "Ain't Them Bodies Saints", "Locked Down"

RUNNER-UPS: "End of Watch", "Capone", "Connie and Carla", "Finding Steve McQueen", "21 Bridges", "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper", "Atlantic City", "Trapped in Paradise", "Animal Kingdom", "Contraband", "Marauders"

BEST MOVIE ABOUT CON ARTISTS, HUSTLERS OR STALKERS:

WINNER: "The Brothers Bloom"

RUNNER-UPS: "Parasite", "Muriel's Wedding", "All About Steve", "The Hustle", "American Honey", "The Samaritan", "I Care a Lot", "Shattered Glass", "Birthday Girl", "Birth", "Ingrid Goes West", "Knock Knock"

BEST MOVIE ABOUT SHADY BUSINESS:

WINNER: "Class Action Park"

RUNNER-UPS: "Okja", "Locke", "The Bookshop", "Like a Boss", "The Rum Diary", "Clear History", "Arbitrage", "Middle Men", "Employee of the Month", "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", "Mudbound", "A Hologram for the King"

BEST MOVIE ABOUT NAZIS: 

WINNER: "Operation Finale"

RUNNER-UPS: "This Must Be the Place", "The Eagle Has Landed", "The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot"

BEST MOVIE ABOUT ART FRAUD OR ART THEFT:

WINNER: "The Burnt Orange Heresy"

RUNNER-UPS: "RocknRolla", "Mortdecai", "The Goldfinch"

BEST (FICTIONAL) MOVIE ABOUT DIRTY COPS OR POLITICIANS:

WINNER: "Spenser Confidential" 

RUNNER-UPS: "CHIPS", "Cleaner", "Lakeview Terrace", "Filth", "Broken City"

BEST POLITICAL DRAMA OR UNINTENTIONAL COMEDY:

WINNER: "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

RUNNER-UPS: "Steal This Movie", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail", "Barry", "The Oath", "The Hunt"

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY:

WINNER: "John Lewis: Good Trouble"

RUNNER-UPS: "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy","Becoming", "Knock Down the House", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "MLK/FBI"

BEST DOCUMENTARY ABOUT MUSICIANS, ENTERTAINERS OR VIDEO STORES:

WINNERS: (9-way tie) "Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond", "The Bill Murray Stories", "Everything Is Copy", "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "The Last Blockbuster", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg", "Spielberg"

RUNNER-UPS: "Walt & El Grupo", "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth", "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "I Am Divine", "Dolly Parton: Here I Am", "Pavarotti", "The Go-Go's", "Tina"

BEST FICTION FILM ABOUT MUSICIANS, ENTERTAINERS OR BEAUTY PAGEANT CONTESTANTS:

WINNER: "Bill & Ted Face the Music"

RUNNER-UPS: "Connie and Carla", "Paper Heart", "The Seagull", "Lucky Them", "The Dresser" (2015), "This Must Be the Place", "Soul", "Miss Firecracker", "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny", "Yesterday", "The Prom", "Trolls World Tour", "The High Note"

BEST BIO-PIC (post-1900):

WINNER: "Bohemian Rhapsody"

RUNNER-UPS: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", "One Night in Miami...", "Malcolm X", "My Dinner with Hervé", "Judy", "Shirley", "Howl", "The Runaways", "Genius"

BEST BIO-PIC (pre-1900):

WINNER: "The Man Who Invented Christmas"

RUNNER-UPS: "Becoming Jane", "Victoria & Abdul", "All Is True", "Mary Magdalene", "Harriet", "The Current War: Director's Cut"

BEST BLACK HISTORY FILM

WINNER: "John Lewis: Good Trouble" 

RUNNER-UPS: "Harriet", "One Night in Miami...", "Malcolm X" , "MLK/FBI", "Recorder: the Marion Stokes Project", "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", "Barry", "The Best of Enemies"

BEST WAR MOVIE

WINNERS: (3-way tie) "Hunter Killer", "Midway" (2019), "Shock and Awe" 

RUNNER-UPS: "Official Secrets", "Da 5 Bloods"

BEST SPORTS MOVIE: 

WINNERS: (3-way tie) "Warrior" - MMA, "The Peanut Butter Falcon" - wrestling, "The Way Back" - basketball

RUNNER-UPS: "The Greatest Game Ever Played" - golf, "Brittany Runs a Marathon" - running, "Downhill" - skiing, "Puzzle" - competitive jigsaw puzzling

BEST WESTERN CO-STARRING BEN MENDELSOHN: 

WINNER: "Slow West"

RUNNER-UP: "Quigley Down Under"

BEST FILM ABOUT PRISONS, ASYLUMS OR REHAB CENTERS:

WINNER: "A Cure for Wellness"

RUNNER-UPS: "Papillon" (2017), "A Million Little Pieces", "Let's Go to Prison", "Paradise Hills"

BEST FILM SET IN SCHOOLS OR COLLEGE:

WINNERS: (2-way tie) "The Art of Getting By", "I Used to Go Here"

RUNNER-UPS: "The Professor", "After Class", "The Kindergarten Teacher", "The Virgin Suicides", "The Prom", "The Rage: Carrie 2"

BEST ALTERNATIVE PARENTING FILM:

WINNERS: (3-way tie) "Birthmarked", "Like Father", "Cinema Verite"

RUNNER-UPS: "Wildlife", "Happythankyoumoreplease", "Angela's Ashes", "Honey Boy", "Otherhood", "On the Rocks", "Brigsby Bear", "Hillbilly Elegy", "The Rage: Carrie 2"

BEST ROMANCE (Ensemble division):

WINNER: "Life Itself"

RUNNER-UPS: "The Jane Austen Book Club", "Third Person", "Rio, I Love You"

BEST ROMANCE (adapted from classic literature division):

WINNERS: (3-way tie) "The Seagull", "Emma.", "The Personal History of David Copperfield" 

RUNNER-UPS: (none)

BEST ROMANCE (lesbian division):

WINNER: "The Color Purple"

RUNNER-UPS: "Duck Butter", "Lovesong"

BEST ROMANCE BETWEEN FRIENDS OR CO-WORKERS (aka the "It's Complicated" division"):

WINNER: "Destination Wedding"

RUNNER-UPS: "Almost Friends", "Little Italy", "The Female Brain", "Made of Honor", "Like Crazy", "Manglehorn", "The Giant Mechanical Man", "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "Paper Heart", "Always Be My Maybe", "Blue Jay", "Results", "Lucky Them", "Can You Keep a Secret?", "Ode to Joy", "An Hour Behind", "Jack Goes Boating"

BEST NON-ROMANCE (infidelity, break-up or widowed division):

WINNERS: (tie) "I'll See You in My Dreams", "Hope Gap"

RUNNER-UPS: "Wildlife", "Locke", "Scenes from a Marriage", "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee", "Chaos Theory", "Crash Pad", "Hall Pass", "The Layover"

BEST NON-ROMANCE ("Class warfare" division)

WINNER: "Victoria & Abdul"

RUNNER-UPS: "A Little Chaos", "Hampstead", "Tulip Fever"

BEST BERGMAN FILM:

WINNER: "The Seventh Seal"

RUNNER-UPS: "Wild Strawberries", "Through a Glass Darkly", "Persona", "Hour of the Wolf", "Cries and Whispers", "Scenes from a Marriage", "Autumn Sonata", "Fanny & Alexander"

BEST FILM WHERE REALITY JUST DOESN'T MATTER (OR DOES IT?)

WINNERS: (5-way tie) "Isn't It Romantic", "The Lighthouse", "Yesterday", "Nanny McPhee", "Marrowbone"

RUNNER-UPS: "Cries and Whispers", "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", "The One I Love", "I'm Not Here", "Beloved", "Brigsby Bear", "Rememory", "Cats", "Nanny McPhee Returns", "Horse Girl"

BEST SLACKER ADVENTURE:

WINNERS: (tie) "Palm Springs", "Bill & Ted Face the Music"

RUNNER-UPS: "Mr. North", "The King of Staten Island", "Lost in London", "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny", "Zeroville", "Lucky"

BEST MOVIE I KEPT ON MY LIST FOR OVER A YEAR (delayed either due to pandemic unavailability or linking problems):

WINNER; "Tenet"

RUNNER-UPS: "Warrior", "The Seventh Seal", "Muriel's Wedding", 'Mr. North", "The Greatest Game Ever Played", "The Color Purple", "Malcolm X", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Howl", "Brigsby Bear", "Bill & Ted Face the Music", "The Onion Movie", "Black Widow", "Hellboy" (2019), "The New Mutants", "Mudbound", "Lucky"

Now for the moment none of you have been waiting for, it's time to reveal what person, living or dead, actor or non-actor, appeared in the most films this year.  Last year we had a tie between Maya Rudolph and Ringo Starr, and in 2019, the clear winner was Bill Clinton, and in 2018 it was Paul McCartney.  Obviously it helps to be either a President or a Beatle, because they appear in SO many documentaries, through archive footage.  Kudos again to Maya Rudolph for being a co-winner last year, as she's been neither a President or a Beatle, just a VERY hard-working, prolific actress. Talk-show hosts and news anchors also tend to do very well under my system, again they pop up in a lot of documentaries, but also make cameos in fiction films.  This year, it didn't hurt to be Oprah Winfrey, or for some reason, Dave Grohl.  It also helped this year if an actor was Swedish, part of the "Scream" franchise, or versatile enough to appear in BOTH romances and horror films. You'll see what I mean. 

This can get tricky sometimes, I have to watch the names VERY closely, I have to know that Adam Brody and Adrien Brody are two different people, and sometimes there are two people with the same name, like this year there was an English actress named Liz Smith, and that's not the same person as a gossip columnist that used to write for NYC newspapers, and she also appeared in two documentaries. Or Michelle Obama has a brother named Craig Robinson, who appeared in her doc "Becoming", and he is NOT the same person who was an actor on "The Office", so I had to keep them separate.  There were over 6,500 different people to keep track of, and the vast majority of them were only in ONE film, maybe a few hundred were in two - so that's why my cutoff is THREE appearances.  Still, it's a lot of work, and I had to devise two separate ways to track people, just so there's some kind of a double-check.

But the big winner for 2021 (drumroll, please) is:

Ronald Reagan, with 13 appearances: "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Class Action Park", "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth", "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "Zappa", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "MLK/FBI", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail", "The Sentinel" (2006)

Barack Obama came in 2nd, with 12 appearances: "This Must Be the Place", "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Becoming", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail", "Spielberg"

and Oprah Winfrey is in third place, with 11 appearances: "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Becoming", "The Accidental President", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Beloved", "The Color Purple", "Everything Is Copy", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Tina", "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", "Spielberg"

10 appearances:

Martin Luther King - "Steal This Movie", "Da 5 Bloods", "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Malcolm X", "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "MLK/FBI", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

9 appearances: 

Donald Trump - "Da 5 Bloods", "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Class Action Park", "Bad Reputation", "Irresistible"

8 appearances:

Bill Clinton - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail", "Spielberg"

Samuel L. Jackson - "Life Itself", "Coming 2 America", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump",  "Shaft (2019)", "Cleaner", "The Samaritan", "Lakeview Terrace", "Freedomland"

Lyndon Johnson - "Steal This Movie", "Da 5 Bloods", "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "MLK/FBI", "Irresistible"

Chris Messina - "Made of Honor", "Like Crazy", "Manglehorn", "The Giant Mechanical Man", "I Care a Lot", "Everything Is Copy", "Zeroville", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

7 appearances:

George W. Bush - "Official Secrets", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Shock and Awe", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail"

Johnny Carson - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Cinema Verite", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Pavarotti", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Tina", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

Hillary Clinton - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible"

David Letterman - "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "The Bill Murray Stories", "Everything Is Copy", "Zappa", "Tina", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

Richard Nixon - "Finding Steve McQueen", "Steal This Movie", "Da 5 Bloods", "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth", "The Rum Diary", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Irresistible"

Michelle Obama - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Becoming", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Keanu Reeves - "Always Be My Maybe", "Destination Wedding", "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee", "Bill & Ted Face the Music", "Knock Knock", "The Watcher", "The Whole Truth"

Giovanni Ribisi - "Results", "A Million Little Pieces", "The Rum Diary", "Middle Men", "The Virgin Suicides", "Spielberg", "Contraband"

6 appearances:

Gunnar Björnstrand - "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Through a Glass Darkly", "Persona", "Autumn Sonata", "Fanny and Alexander"

Jimmy Carter - "Steal This Movie", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Pavarotti", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible"

Toni Collette - "Birthmarked", "Muriel's Wedding", "Connie and Carla", "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", "Unlocked", "Lucky Them"

Adolf Hitler - "Angela's Ashes", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Walt & El Grupo", "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth", "The Rum Diary", "The Eagle Has Landed"

Nicole Kidman - "Genius", "The Prom", "The Goldfinch", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer", "Birthday Girl", "Birth"

Paul McCartney - "The Accidental President", "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Tina"

Bill Murray - "The Limits of Control", "City of Ember", "On the Rocks", "The Bill Murray Stories", "Zappa", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"

Seth Rogen - "Paper Heart", "The Lion King" (2019), "Like Father", "An American Pickle", "Zeroville", "The Oath"

Liv Ullmann - "Persona", "Hour of the Wolf", "Cries and Whispers", "Scenes From a Marriage", "Autumn Sonata", "I Am Divine"

Max von Sydow - "A Kiss Before Dying", "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Through a Glass Darkly", "Hour of the Wolf", "I Am Divine"

5 appearances:

David Arquette - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3", "Scream 4", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Tom Brokaw - "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Shock and Awe", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Spielberg"

Thomas Haden Church - "Lucky Them", "All About Steve", "Crash Pad", "The Peanut Butter Falcon", "Hellboy" (2019)

Johnny Depp - "Lucky Them", "The Professor", "Nick of Time", "Mortdecai", "The Rum Diary"

Peter Dinklage - "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "I Care a Lot", "My Dinner with Hervé", "Death at a Funeral" (2007), "Rememory"

Martin Donovan - "Malcolm X", "Tenet", "Aftermath" (2017), "Rememory", "The Sentinel" (2006)

Whoopi Goldberg - "The Accidental President", "The Color Purple", "Bad Reputation", "Tina", "Spielberg"

Meredith Hagner - "Palm Springs", "Brightburn", "Horse Girl", "The Oath", "Ingrid Goes West"

Tom Hanks - "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "Everything Is Copy", "The Last Blockbuster", "Spielberg", "A Hologram for the King"

Tom Hardy - "Warrior", "The Reckoning", "RocknRolla", "Locke", "Capone"

Anne Heche - "The Last Word", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "Birth", "My Friend Dahmer", "The Best of Enemies"

Jesse Jackson - "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Becoming", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Malcolm X", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Elton John - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Bad Reputation", "I Am Divine", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Erland Josephson - "Hour of the Wolf", "Cries and Whispers", "Scenes From a Marriage", "Autumn Sonata", "Fanny and Alexander"

John F. Kennedy - "Malcolm X", "The Rum Diary", "MLK/FBI", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible"

Robert F. Kennedy - "Steal This Movie", "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "MLK/FBI"

Shia LaBeouf - "The Peanut Butter Falcon", "Honey Boy", "American Honey", "The Greatest Game Ever Played", "Spielberg"

Tim Blake Nelson - "The Hustle", "The Jesus Rolls", "Zeroville", Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", "Monster" (2018)

Dolly Parton - "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Dolly Parton: Here I Am", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Tina"

Guy Pearce - "Results", "Animal Kingdom", "Genius", "Equals", "Bloodshot"

Mike Pence - "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Tim Robbins - "Life of Crime", "City of Ember", "Miss Firecracker", "Cinema Verite", "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny"

Emma Roberts - "The Art of Getting By", "Little Italy", "Scream 4", "The Hunt", "Paradise Hills"

Liev Schreiber - "Clear History", "Everything Is Copy", "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3"

Arnold Schwarzenegger - "The Last Stand", "Hillbilly Elegy", "Terminator: Dark Fate", "Killing Gunther", "Aftermath" (2017)

Harry Dean Stanton - "This Must Be the Place", "Mr. North", "The Last Stand", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Lucky"

Anya Taylor-Joy - "Emma.", "The Witch", "The New Mutants", "Marrowbone", "Barry"

Andrew Young - "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Malcolm X", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "MLK/FBI"

4 appearances: 

Amy Adams - "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny", "Hillbilly Elegy", "The Woman in the Window", "Everything Is Copy"

Bibi Andersson - "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Persona", "Scenes From a Marriage"

Alan Arkin - "Havana", "Spenser Confidential", "Dumbo" (2019), "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee"

Dan Aykroyd - "Everything Is Copy", "Zappa", "The Go-Go's", "Spielberg"

Angela Bassett - "Soul", "Malcolm X", "Otherhood", "Tina"

John Belushi - "Zappa", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg", "Spielberg"

Wolf Blitzer - "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Shock and Awe", "Clear History"

David Bowie - "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "I Am Divine", "Tina"

Neve Campbell - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3", "Scream 4"

Linda Cardellini - "Capone", "Hunter Killer", "Scooby-Doo", "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed"

Rosalynn Carter - "Steal This Movie", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible"

James Corden - "Yesterday", "The Prom", "Cats", "Trolls World Tour"

Kevin Corrigan - "Results", "Steal This Movie", "The King of Staten Island", "Life of Crime"

Courteney Cox - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3", "Scream 4"

Alexandra Daddario - "Hall Pass", "The Layover", "Can You Keep a Secret?", "When We First Met"

Judi Dench - "Victoria & Abdul", "Tulip Fever", "All Is True", "Cats"

Danny DeVito - "Dumbo" (2019), "The One and Only Ivan", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "The Virgin Suicides"

Steve Doocy - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Michael Douglas - "Unlocked", "Class Action Park", "The Sentinel" (2006), "Haywire"

Jay Duplass - "Duck Butter", "Horse Girl", "Manson Family Vacation", "The Oath"

Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Mary Magdalene", "The Lion King" (2019), "The Old Guard", "Locked Down"

Ralph Fiennes - "Official Secrets", "Dolittle", "Nanny McPhee Returns", "Spielberg"

Jamie Foxx - "Soul", "Project Power", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"

Ron Funches - "The One and Only Ivan", "6 Underground", "Trolls World Tour", "The Last Blockbuster"

Sarah Michelle Gellar - "Scooby-Doo", "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "Scream 2"

Danny Glover - "Beloved", "The Color Purple", "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Spielberg"

Eiza Gonzalez - "I Care a Lot", "Bloodshot", "Paradise Hills", "Godzilla vs. Kong"

Al Gore - "Hillbilly Elegy", "Zappa", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project", "Irresistible"

Topher Grace - "The Giant Mechanical Man", "The Calling", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail"

Merv Griffin - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "MLK/FBI", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

Woody Harrelson - "Midway" (2019), "Lost in London", "Shock and Awe", "The Bill Murray Stories"

Kelvin Harrison Jr. - "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "Mudbound", "The High Note", "Monster" (2018)

Tom Holland - "Locke", "Dolittle", "The Current War: Director's Cut", "The Devil All the Time"

Roger L. Jackson - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3", "Scream 4"

Mick Jagger - "The Burnt Orange Heresy", "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "I Am Divine"

Richard Jenkins - "Happythankyoumoreplease", "Hall Pass", "The Rum Diary", "Trapped in Paradise"

Milla Jovovich - "Shock and Awe", "Hellboy" (2019), "Monster Hunter", "Paradise Hills"

Jamie Kennedy - "The Last Blockbuster", "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3"

Riley Keough - "Lovesong", "American Honey", "The Devil All the Time", "The Runaways"

Brian Kilmeade - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Gayle King - "Becoming", "The Accidental President", "The Color Purple", "The Last Blockbuster"

Ben Kingsley - "Spielberg", "Operation Finale", "Locked Down", "Lucky Number Slevin"

Jason Kirkpatrick - "Irresistible", "The Hunt", "Mudbound", "The Whole Truth"

David Koechner - "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "CHIPS", "I'm Not Here", "Let's Go to Prison"

John Lennon - "Zappa", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Matthew Lillard - "Scooby-Doo", "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", "Scream", "Scream 3"

Gunnel Lindblom - "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Scenes From a Marriage", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009)

Rami Malek - "Ain't Them Bodies Saints", "Dolittle", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Papillon" (2017)

Jason Mitchell - "Broken City", "Contraband", "Barry", "Mudbound"

Ritchie Montgomery - "Cleaner", "My Future Boyfriend", "Contraband", "The Whole Truth"

Emily Mortimer - "The Bookshop", "Rio, I Love You", "Chaos Theory", "Scream 3"

Elisabeth Moss - "The One I Love", "The Seagull", "Shirley", "The Last Blockbuster"

Andy Nyman - "The Brothers Bloom", "Death at a Funeral" (2007), "A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon", "Judy"

Michael Nyqvist - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", "Hunter Killer"

Yoko Ono - "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Scott Pelley - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Accidental President", "Everything Is Copy"

Nancy Pelosi - "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Knock Down the House", "The Accidental President"

Freddie Prinze Jr. - "Scooby-Doo", "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer"

Noomi Rapace - "Unlocked", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Charlie Rose - "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Everything Is Copy", "Zappa"

Susan Sarandon - "The Jesus Rolls", "The Calling", "Arbitrage", "Atlantic City"

Joe Scarborough - "Knock Down the House", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Irresistible"

Paul Scheer - "Paper Heart", "Clear History", "The Onion Movie", "The Last Blockbuster"

J.K. Simmons - "21 Bridges", "I'm Not Here", "Palm Springs", "Contraband"

Martin Starr - "I'll See You in My Dreams", "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "Paper Heart", "Honey Boy"

James Stewart - "A Kiss Before Dying", "The Woman in the Window", "Everything Is Copy", "MLK/FBI"

Jon Stewart - "Shock and Awe", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

Barbra Streisand - "An American Pickle", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Tina", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg"

Donald Sutherland - "The Eagle Has Landed", "The Burnt Orange Heresy", "The Calling", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Melania Trump - "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm", "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Mark Wahlberg - "Spenser Confidential", "Scoob!", "Broken City", "Contraband"

Barbara Walters - "The Accidental President", "Everything Is Copy", "Dolly Parton: Here I Am", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Luke Wilson - "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Middle Men", "Scream 2", "The Goldfinch"

Jeffrey Wright - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "Broken City", "Monster" (2018), "The Goldfinch"

Charlyne Yi - "Paper Heart", "Always Be My Maybe", "All About Steve", "Trolls World Tour"

3 appearances: 

Malin Akerman - "The Giant Mechanical Man", "Happythankyoumoreplease", "I'll See You in My Dreams"

Muhammad Ali - "Da 5 Bloods", "Malcolm X", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Harriet Andersson - "Through a Glass Darkly", "Cries and Whispers", "Fanny and Alexander"

Nonso Anozie - "RocknRolla", "All Is True", "Nanny McPhee Returns"

Lauren Bacall - "Mr. North", "The Woman in the Window", "Birth"

Bob Balaban - "Howl", "Everything Is Copy", "Spielberg"

Antonio Banderas - "Life Itself", "Dolittle", "Haywire"

Drew Barrymore - "Isn't It Romantic", "Spielberg", "Scream"

Joy Behar - "Hall Pass", "The Accidental President", "Everything Is Copy"

Kristen Bell - "CHIPS", "Like Father", "Scream 4"

Maria Bello - "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee", "The Jane Austen Book Club", "Third Person"

Annette Bening - "Life Itself", "The Seagull", "Hope Gap"

Lena Bergman - "Wild Strawberries", "Cries and Whispers", "Scenes From a Marriage"

Tehilla Blad - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Bono - "Lost in London", "Pavarotti", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Chadwick Boseman - "Da 5 Bloods", "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", "21 Bridges"

Alice Braga - "Soul", "The Suicide Squad", "The New Mutants"

Adam Brody - "CHIPS", "The Last Blockbuster", "Scream 4"

James Brown - "Let's Go to Prison", "Pavarotti", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Mika Brzezinski - "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Irresistible"

Jessie Buckley - "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", "Judy", "Dolittle"

Asa Butterfield - "Nanny McPhee Returns", "The Space Between Us", "Time Freak"

Rose Byrne - "Like a Boss", "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", "Irresistible"

Simon Callow - "Hampstead", "Victoria & Abdul", "The Man Who Invented Christmas"

Vanessa Bell Calloway - "Coming 2 America", "Lakeview Terrace", "Harriet"

Johnny Cash - "The Hunted", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Vincent Cassel - "The Reckoning", "Rio, I Love You", "Birthday Girl"

Ian Casselberry - "Shaft" (2019), "Contraband", "Peppermint"

Dick Cavett - "Cinema Verite", "Everything Is Copy", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Kyle Chandler - "Godzilla vs. Kong", "The Midnight Sky", "Broken City"

Zoe Chao - "Downhill", "I Used to Go Here", "The High Note"

Cher - "Everything Is Copy", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Tina"

Hayden Christensen - "Little Italy", "Shattered Glass", "The Virgin Suicides"

Stephen Colbert - "Becoming", "The Accidental President", "The Bill Murray Stories"

Kellyanne Conway - "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Wes Craven - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3"

David Crosby - "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Willem Dafoe - "The Reckoning", "The Lighthouse", "The Bill Murray Stories"

Keith David - "All About Steve", "21 Bridges", "Death at a Funeral" (2010)

Pete Davidson - "The King of Staten Island", "The Jesus Rolls", "The Suicide Squad"

Ana de Armas - "Yesterday", "The Night Clerk", "Knock Knock"

Matt Devere - "Papillon" (2017), "Terminator: Dark Fate", "In Secret"

Walt Disney - "Class Action Park", "Walt & El Grupo", "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth"

Vincent D'Onofrio - "CHIPS", "Steal This Movie", "Malcolm X"

Mark Duplass - "Duck Butter", "Blue Jay", "The One I Love"

Robert Duvall - "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper", "The Eagle Has Landed", "The Handmaid's Tale"

Bob Dylan - "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Justin Edwards - "Yesterday", "The Man Who Invented Christmas", "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales"

Idris Elba - "RocknRolla", "Cats", "The Suicide Squad"

Lena Endre - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Jacob Ericksson - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Gerald Ford - "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Irresistible"

Robert Forster - "Cleaner", "Middle Men", "Lucky Number Slevin"

Will Forte - "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "Life of Crime", "Scoob!"

James Franco - "Third Person", "Howl", "Zeroville"

Aretha Franklin - "Da 5 Bloods", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Morgan Freeman - "Coming 2 America", "Spielberg", "Lucky Number Slevin"

Gertrud Fridh - "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Hour of the Wolf"

Marcia Fudge - "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "The Accidental President"

Alex Gaumond - "The Hustle", "Hampstead", "My Dinner with Hervé"

David Geffen - "Everything Is Copy", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Spielberg"

Caroline Goodall - "Hunter Killer", "Third Person", "Shattered Glass"

Matthew Goode - "Official Secrets", "Birthmarked", "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales"

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "Project Power", "The Brothers Bloom", "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Mia Goth - "Emma.", "Marrowbone", "A Cure for Wellness"

Dave Grohl - "Bill & Ted Face the Music", "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny", "Bad Reputation"

Jake Gyllenhaal - "Okja", "Wildlife", "End of Watch"

Arsenio Hall - "Coming 2 America", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Zappa"

Philip Baker Hall - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "The Last Word", "Clear History"

Annika Hallin - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Jon Hamm - "The Jesus Rolls", "Clear History", "Howl"

Ryan Hansen - "Like a Boss", "Fantasy Island", "CHIPS"

David Harbour - "End of Watch", "Black Widow", "Hellboy" (2019)

Michael Harding - "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "The Devil All the Time", "Shock and Awe"

Ed Harris - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Cleaner", "The Last Blockbuster"

Anne Hathaway - "The Hustle", "Becoming Jane", "Locked Down"

John Hawkes - "Life of Crime", "The Peanut Butter Falcon", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer"

Lawrence Hecht - "Scream", "Scream 2", "Scream 3"

Hugh Hefner - "Class Action Park", "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Shirley Henderson - "Okja", "Filth", "In Secret"

Tyler Hoechlin - "Hall Pass", "Can You Keep a Secret?", "Palm Springs"

Anthony Hopkins - "RocknRolla", "The Dresser" (2015), "Spielberg"

Holly Hunter - "Manglehorn", "Miss Firecracker", "Spielberg"

Celia Imrie - "Nanny McPhee", "A Cure for Wellness", "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales"

Oscar Isaac - "Life Itself", "In Secret", "Operation Finale"

Jason Isaacs - "Rio, I Love You", "A Cure for Wellness", "Scoob!"

Peter Jennings - "Shock and Awe", "Pavarotti", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Ulf Johanson - "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "Hour of the Wolf"

Corey Johnson - "Hunter Killer", "The Current War: Director's Cut", "Genius"

Nick Jonas - "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Midway" (2019), "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"

Tommy Lee Jones - "The Hunted", "Shock and Awe", "Spielberg"

Diane Keaton - "Hampstead", "Everything Is Copy", "I Am Divine"

Michael Keaton - "Dumbo" (2019), "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "Clear History"

Toby Kebbell - "RocknRolla", "The Female Brain", "Bloodshot"

Chance Kelly - "Freedomland", "Too Big to Fail", "Broken City"

Daniel Dae Kim - "Always Be My Maybe", "The Onion Movie", "Hellboy" (2019)

Larry King - "The Accidental President", "Zappa", "I Am Divine"

Luke Kirby - "The Greatest Game Ever Played", "The Samaritan", "Shattered Glass"

Pom Klementieff - "Thunder Force", "The Suicide Squad", "Ingrid Goes West"

Jim Klock - "Project Power", "The Hunt", "The Whole Truth"

Yuri Kolokolnikov - "Hunter Killer", "Tenet", "6 Underground"

Ted Koppel - "Shock and Awe", "Zappa", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"

Michalis Koutsogiannakis - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Magnus Krepper - "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", "A Cure for Wellness"

Kris Kristofferson - "I Am Divine", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", "Tina"

Sofia Ledarp - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

Ron Livingston - "The Professor", "The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot", "Lucky"

Matthew Macfadyen - "The Reckoning", "Death at a Funeral" (2007), "The Current War: Director's Cut"

Alex MacQueen - "All Is True", "Downhill", "Slow West"

Charles Manson - "Let's Go to Prison", "Zappa", "Manson Family Vacation"

James Marsden - "The Female Brain", "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Shock and Awe"

Brian May - "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Pavarotti"

John McCain - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "Irresistible", "Too Big to Fail"

Ewan McGregor - "Mortdecai", "Haywire", "Nanny McPhee Returns"

Ian McKellen - "All Is True", "The Dresser" (2015), "Cats"

Harry Melling - "The Old Guard", "The Current War: Director's Cut", "The Devil All the Time"

Ben Mendelsohn - "Slow West", "Quigley Down Under", "Animal Kingdom"

Larry Miller - "Isn't It Romantic", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg", "The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot"

Dorian Missick - "Freedomland", "Monster" (2018), "Lucky Number Slevin"

Joni Mitchell - "Bad Reputation", "Zappa", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Julianne Moore - "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee", "Freedomland", "The Woman in the Window"

Tracy Morgan - "Coming 2 America", "Death at a Funeral" (2010), "Scoob!"

Bill Nighy - "Hope Gap", "Emma.", "The Bookshop"

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Knock Down the House", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Nancy O'Dell - "Scream 2", "Scream 3", "Scream 4"

Gary Oldman - "Hunter Killer", "The Woman in the Window", "The Space Between Us"

John Oliver - "The Lion King" (2019), "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "The Last Blockbuster"

John Ortiz - "Peppermint", "Jack Goes Boating", "Horse Girl"

Al Pacino - "Manglehorn", "The Last Blockbuster", "Spielberg"

Robert Pattinson - "The Devil All the Time", "The Lighthouse", "Tenet"

Michael Peña - "End of Watch", "Fantasy Island", "CHIPS"

Clarke Peters - "Da 5 Bloods", "Freedomland", "Harriet"

Alistair Petrie - "A Little Chaos", "Hampstead", "Hellboy" (2019)

Mary Kay Place - "I'll See You in My Dreams", "City of Ember", "The Prom"

Elvis Presley - "Bad Reputation", "Dolly Parton: Here I Am", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

Bill Pullman - "The Killer Inside Me", "Too Big to Fail", "The High Note"

Lucy Punch - "The Female Brain", "The Giant Mechanical Man", "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy"

Dan Rather - "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation", "MLK/FBI", "Spielberg"

Lior Raz - "Mary Magdalene", "6 Underground", "Operation Finale"

Gloria Reuben - "Nick of Time", "The Jesus Rolls", "The Sentinel" (2006)

John Roberts - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "All In: The Fight for Democracy", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Sam Rockwell - "The One and Only Ivan", "Trolls World Tour", "The Best of Enemies"

Michael Rooker - "Fantasy Island", "The Suicide Squad", "Brightburn"

Terence Rosemore - "Shock and Awe", "The Suicide Squad", "Brightburn"

Diana Ross - "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President", "Tina"

Amy Ryan - "Clear History", "Spielberg", "Jack Goes Boating"

Andy Samberg - "Palm Springs", "Brigsby Bear", "The Last Blockbuster"

Laura San Giacomo - "Honey Boy", "Haywire"(?), "Quigley Down Under"

Rodrigo Santoro - "Rio, I Love You", "The Last Stand", "Project Power"

Richard Schiff - "Malcolm X", "Shock and Awe", "After Class"

Paul Shaffer - "The Bill Murray Stories", "Zappa", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Michael Shannon - "The Current War: Director's Cut", "Let's Go to Prison", "The Runaways"

Adam Shapiro - "The Female Brain", "My Dinner with Hervé", "Ode to Joy"

Dax Shepard - "CHIPS", "Employee of the Month", "Let's Go to Prison"

Dinah Shore - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Tina", "Spielberg"

Alicia Silverstone - "The Art of Getting By", "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"

J.B. Smoove - "Hall Pass", "The Jesus Rolls", "Clear History"

Tom Snyder - "Bad Reputation", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Spielberg"

Karan Soni - "Always Be My Maybe", "Like a Boss", "Trolls World Tour"

June Squibb - "I'll See You in My Dreams", "Palm Springs", "Soul"

Ringo Starr - "Zappa", "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice"

Georgi Staykov - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009), "The Girl Who Played with Fire", "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"

George Stephanopoulos - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "The Accidental President", "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump"

Kristen Stewart -  "The Runaways", "Bad Reputation", "Equals"

Colin Stinton - "Hunter Killer", "Wonder Woman 1984", "The Current War: Director's Cut"

Peter Stormare - "Fanny and Alexander", "The Last Stand", "Birth"

David Strathairn - "My Dinner with Hervé", "Howl", "Spielberg"

Tilda Swinton - "Okja", "The Limits of Control", "The Personal History of David Copperfield"

Emma Thompson - "Dolittle", "Nanny McPhee", "Nanny McPhee Returns"

Ingrid Thulin - "Wild Strawberries", "Hour of the Wolf", "Cries and Whispers"

Stanley Tucci - "A Little Chaos", "Everything Is Copy", "Lucky Number Slevin"

Christopher Walken - "Nick of Time", "The Jesus Rolls", "Spielberg"

Chris Wallace - "Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", "The Accidental President", "Irresistible"

Andy Warhol - "Bad Reputation", "I Am Divine", "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President"

John David Washington - "Malcolm X", "Tenet", "Monster" (2018)

Derek Waters - "Paper Heart", "Hall Pass", "Zeroville"

Muse Watson - "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", "The Handmaid's Tale"

Michaela Watkins - "Brigsby Bear", "Brittany Runs a Marathon", "The Way Back" (2020)

Jacki Weaver - "Zeroville", "Animal Kingdom", "Equals"

Isiah Whitlock Jr. - "CHIPS", "Da 5 Bloods", "I Care a Lot"

Fred Willard - "My Future Boyfriend", "Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg", "Salem's Lot"

Treat Williams - "Howl", "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper", "The Eagle Has Landed"

Rebel Wilson - "Isn't It Romantic", "The Hustle", "Cats"

Robin Wright - "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee", "Wonder Woman 1984", "Employee of the Month"

Teri Wyble - "Shock and Awe", "The Hunt", "Broken City"

Malcolm X - "Da 5 Bloods", "John Lewis: Good Trouble", "Malcolm X"

Damian Young - "The Trial of the Chicago 7", "Otherhood", "I Care a Lot"

Odessa Young - "A Million Little Pieces", "Shirley", "The Professor"

Renée Zellweger - "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond", "Judy", "The Whole Truth"

There you go - that's what's been holding up my year-end wrap-up, double-checking all of that. I can't really check it until the close of business for the year, because three actors from the last film qualified at the last-minute.  Look, I know this is all the luck of the draw, it's randomness determined by 300 different choices made this year, but I can't help but notice that there's an obvious lack of top-level talent this time around.  Sure, I expect Nicole Kidman to make the list, and Samuel L. Jackson and Keanu Reeves were safe bets - I even expect to see Richard Jenkins and J.K. Simmons make the countdown, as character actors who work a LOT always have an edge.  But who could have predicted Peter Dinklage?  Or so much Giovannni Ribisi?  And who the heck is Roger L. Jackson?  Why, he's the scary voice on the phone in the "Scream" movies...so there you go, everything counts.

(I'm really glad I did that double-check, I'd missed one appearance by Tim Blake Nelson - to be fair, his role in "The Hustle" was uncredited - and I had Linda Cardellini in twice with 2 appearances, instead of once with 4 appearances.  She deserved to make the year-end list!)

In other battles around the league, Obama beat Trump (12-10), Oprah beat Johnny Carson (11-7), LBJ beat Nixon (8-7), Paul McCartney beat John Lennon (6-4), David Arquette beat Courteney Cox (5-4), JFK tied RFK (5-5), George W. Bush beat Al Gore (again!) (7-5), it's Seth Rogen over James Franco in an upset (6-3), Dax Shepard tied Kristen Bell (seems about right, 3-3), David Letterman beat Paul Shaffer (7-3), Tim Robbins beat Susan Sarandon (5-4), Jay Duplass beat Mark Duplass (4-3) and Nicole Kidman beat Tom Cruise (6-2, and those two were just archive footage in documentaries!)

Which brings me back to my point, wherefore art thou, Tom Cruise?  And Russell Crowe (2 appearances), Matthew McConaughey (1 appearance), Ben Affeck (2), Leonardo DiCaprio (2), and many, many others that I shouldn't even name here, because they didn't EARN it?  Was this just an off year, which is possible, or have these actors all reached a point where they don't HAVE to work, so they don't, meaning they're semi-reitred?  George Clooney was only in one movie out of 300, but he's sort of transitioned to directing and producing now.  Maybe I"m reading too much into this, after all, it's the luck of the draw, or maybe I already watched so many movies already with these A-level stars that I'm all caught up, and therefore running out.

Or maybe the time has come to pass a few torches - maybe the future belongs to Emma Roberts and not Julia Roberts, Tom Holland and not Tom Cruise. We'll see. All I know is, I watched two movies this year with Bruce Willis and one with Nicolas Cage, and that didn't seem like enough.  So perhaps that has colored my scheduling for January, which is very action-movie forward.  Here's a little taste of January, my links for the next month which starts (Jesus!) tomorrow (yes, it was Christmas when I started this post, and now it's New Year's Eve at the end): Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Frank Grillo, Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Nic Cage, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Dave Bautista, Timothee Chalamet.  There, I've told you everything you need to know, while saying nothing at all.

So please join me tomorrow as I kick off Movie Year 14!