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!

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

Year 13, Day 357 - 12/23/21 - Movie #4,000

BEFORE: Here we go, the 300th and last film of the year, and the 4,000th film overall since I started this mad process. This also marks the third year in a row that I've watched a "perfect chain", 300 movies linked by actors - or archive film appearances of historical figures, those count too under my system.  In a couple days, I'll try to break down the year somehow, to figure out who had the most appearances, and what screening formats were dominant during the year.  (I already know I went to the movies just ONCE during this recovery year, I hope to change that during 2022.)

It's still a weird time that nobody could have predicted - the last two years have changed everybody's lives in ways that we didn't see coming.  I have a different job, I'm not seeing my family for Christmas, and it's hard not to have a fatalistic view of things, given what's been going on in the world.  So I didn't know I'd be HERE, mentally, when I reached this big milestone - but I guess I should have figured I'd be SOMEWHERE, I guess that's the best you can hope for these days, if you think about it.  Anyway, I'm HERE, for what it's worth, and that's the best thing about my blog, it's a routine that helps to see me through, like the year's essentially over but I'm already looking forward to what I can watch in January, which all starts in under ten days.  

Justin Edwards, who played the inspiration for the Ghost of Christmas Present in the last film, carries over to voice a cartoon pig, I think. 

THE PLOT: Whoever thinks that the countryside is calm and peaceful is mistaken.  In it we find especially agitated animals - a Fox that thinks it's a chicken, a Rabbit that acts like a stork, and a Duck that wants to replace Father Christmas.  

AFTER: It's always a bit rough to try to judge these animated films, which are largely meant for KIDS, by the same standards as a movie made for adults, like, let's say, a biopic about Charles Dickens trying to write a book.  A kid's just not going to get anything out of "The Man Who Invented Christmas", it's just going to confuse them, because they don't have the perspective necessary to understand a bunch of adult things, like worrying about supporting one's family or trying to write a book that will appeal to the masses, or bailing your deadbeat father out of debtor's prison. Kids are big balls of energy, with endless bouts of creativity, and they tend not to worry about whether the stories they make up are "good" or not, those are concerns that are outside their little brains, and society just hasn't beat them up enough yet for them to worry about the audience, they just barge right ahead with their stories.  Which I suppose is a good thing, let them have a few years before they're self-conscious about what other people think, there will be plenty of time to agonize over critical opinions later. 

And for the most part, films made for kids sort of reflect this, a lot of them are critic-proof, because film studios know that there's a market out there, parents all need films that their kids will stare at for 90 minutes or so, giving them time to get some chores done, or maybe just have a small window of peace in their busy, loud day.  So we tend not to expect too much out of cartoons made for kids, maybe that needs to change - sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who will watch a cartoon made for kids and say, "Wait a minute, is this REALLY a good idea?"  On some level, it just doesn't matter.  

Thankfully, whoever made "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales" did at least take a few minutes for thought, they didn't just put a bunch of cutesy animals in a movie and make them dance and sing through the power of animation, they tried to tell a story (actually three stories) that had a point.  These are animals that are more like humans, they're neurotic and they make mistakes, they eventually succeed at what they're trying to do, but it just isn't EASY.  Every movie has conflict, sure, but it's a tough world out there for animals, especially when some of them want to eat the others.  There are a few Dreamworks & Disney films that have sort of hinted at this, but the general feeling is that kids just aren't ready to watch one animal eat another, and that's how you get characters like an unlikely vegetarian shark, as seen in "Shark Tale".  That's all well and good, but it's just NOT how the world works.  So, are we really preparing our kids for the world, or are we going to keep coddling them?  

So this is a cartoon world where the animals DO eat each other, even if we don't see it on camera.  The Wolf, aka Mr. Wolf, seems like a nice enough chap, but is he?  I can't help but notice that while he's chatting with the Pig, the Duck and the Rabbit, he's also preparing a fire and a pot of boiling water.  This hearkens back to the old days of the Looney Tunes shorts, Bugs Bunny would sometimes end up in a pot of boiling water and when he'd ask if something was cooking, he'd be told that rabbit stew was on the menu, and then he'd sort of figure it out.  In another segment here, the Fox can't seem to catch a chicken to eat, but then gets the bright idea to steal a few eggs and then hatch them, which will give him three chickens to eat, eventually.  But then this idea has disastrous consequences, when the three chicks mistake him for their mommy and bond with him.  

The first story is all about babies, too - only it revives that old chestnut about babies being delivered by storks, and not the proper medical way.  Again, this seems unfortunate that society was so hung up about sex at one point that we had to create an impossible fairy tale about birds carrying babies through the air, just because we didn't want to have difficult discussions with kids about how they come into the world.  Kids are smarter than you think, and they can handle a lot, what would be so wrong about them knowing how babies are born?  They see pregnant women from time to time, so what happens, the baby grows inside the mother and then teleports to somewhere else, where a big stork wraps it in a white cloth to form a carrying device, and then flies it back to the parents?  It's ridiculous.  Then inevitably in the cartoons there's some kind of mix-up where the stork makes a mistake, or switches the babies, or can't finish the flight, and thus we all realize the unreliability of a stork-based baby delivery system.  (To be fair, hospitals do make mistakes, too, it's rare but there have been a couple baby-switching problems.). 

In "The Big Bad Fox", the stork crashes into a tree, and needs to rely on farm animals to get the baby to the proper address.  Except the Pig, Duck and Rabbit have no idea where Avignon is in relation to where they live, they can't drive a vehicle, can't read a map, and they don't know how to deal with people and animals outside their little farm world.  (The Pig works on the farm, but the Duck and Rabbit are more like clueless visitors, this more or less checks out.  But the Duck can't swim?  This seems unlikely...) BUT, they encounter a lost Chinese Tarsier (?) in the woods, and come up with the bright idea to mail the tarsier back to China, and as long as they're doing that, why not just mail the baby to her house, while they're at it?  What could POSSIBLY go wrong with that plan?  

The third story here is a Christmas story, which is why I tabled this film earlier this year - I think it could have fit between "Nanny McPhee" and "Nanny McPhee Returns", but come on, who wants to break up that pair?  The Duck, Pig and Rabbit return, and while decorating the farm for the holidays, they mistakenly think that they've killed Father Christmas (Santa Claus) so the Duck and Rabbit decide to take his place, and take it upon themselves to deliver gifts around the world in just one night, just like he does.  Umm, don't get me started on Santa Claus, because then we're back on coddling kids, and not telling them the truth about the world, and really, it's a whole thing.  Would it really be SO wrong if the kids really knew where the presents come from?  Come on, if your kid has a learner's permit and still believes in Santa Claus, you might need to have a talk with him.

For the third film in a row, I've seen actors performing more than one role - of course, this is a lot easier with an animated film where the actors just provide voices, and if you've got talented voice actors who can do different voices, then why not?  In the third story, the Duck, Pig and Rabbit end up in an animal shelter, which is essentially a stand-in for a prison setting, and the "big boss" there is a bulldog who sounds almost exactly like Bob Hoskins, or perhaps Ray Winstone if Bob Hoskins is a bit before your time.  But it's really Adrian Edmondson, who also provides the voice of Rabbit, doing double duty.  Adrian's been around for quite some time, but he's most famous for playing the role of Vyvyan, the "punk" character on "The Young Ones" - but more recently, he played First Order Captain Peavey in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", so let's agree that this is a versatile actor!  Now I really need to add him to my "Wall of Fame", my collection of 8 x 10 photos signed by "Star Wars" actors, and I have over 120 in the collection to date.  The problem with collecting anything - movies, comic books, autographs - is, what do you then DO with the collection, once it's grown large enough to be meaningful?  My BFF always jokes that I should open up a "Star Wars" themed deli and hang the autographs on the wall, as if those actors or characters all came in, had a meal, and signed a photo for posterity.  Someday...

Anyway, the animals here at least all end up learning something - or delivering lessons to the folks at home via their little morality plays.  The Big Bad Fox learns that there's more to life than stealing chickens, and he may be at heart more maternal than he thought.  The Duck, Pig and Rabbit learn in the first story that babies belong with their parents, and that you can't trust storks to deliver them.  And then in the last story they learn that Father Christmas is really real, just very short, but if you think about it, that makes it easier for him to get down the chimneys!  OK, well, as they say, two out of three ain't bad.  

I'm sorry if you were expecting MORE somehow out of Big Movie 4,000 - honestly, so was I, but I maybe need to learn something too, not to put unrealistic expectations on any one film, or on some quite arbitrary number.  SOME film was going to be Movie #4,000, but my system sort of prevents me from determining in advance what film that's going to be.  It's enough that I had another Perfect Year, but when I watched "Parasite" way back on January 1, it was quite impossible to see what exactly would result at the end of the year.  By the same token, I know my starting place for Movie Year 14, but there's just no way I can predict how it's going to end.

Also starring the voices of Bill Bailey (last seen in "Nanny McPhee Returns"), Tallulah Conabeare, Adrian Edmondson (last seen in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"), Matthew Goode (last seen in "Birthmarked"), Celia Imrie (last seen in "A Cure for Wellness"), Phill Jupitus (last heard in "Shaun the Sheep Movie"), Marcel McCalla, Alexander Molony, Giles New (last seen in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"), Louie Loveday-O'Brien, Phil Whelans

RATING: 6 out of 10 Christmas gifts (that did not, repeat NOT, just fall from the sky)

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Year 13, Day 354 - 12/20/21 - Movie #3,999

BEFORE: Well, I'm hoping tonight's film helps me feel a little more in the Christmas mood.  Having to cancel our trip to Massachusetts hasn't been helpful in that regard - the two films that usually help me get in the holiday spirit are, of course, "A Christmas Story" (which usually runs for 24 hours on TV starting on Dec. 24) and "Scrooge", the version of "A Christmas Carol" starring Albert Finney.  For me, that's the definitive version, the 1970 musical that co-stars Alec Guinness as Marley's ghost. Classic - and of course, "Thank You Very Much" is the best song, the reprise always brings me to tears.  

I'll perhaps watch "Scrooge" tomorrow night, to follow this one - it won't count, of course, because I've seen it so many times before.  It might also be time to return to "It's a Wonderful Life" this year, I've avoided it for a long while because I got sick of it - but the Disney+ series "Hawkeye" referenced it in several ways, so maybe after the final episode of "Hawkeye" I'll give it another go.  In addition to Clint Barton and Kate Bishop watching the classic Frank Capra film, my sister pointed out that George Bailey and Hawkeye are both deaf in one ear, and Hawkeye's feeling down on himself and doesn't consider himself a hero, much in the same way that George Bailey didn't realize all the good he'd done in the town of Bedford Falls over the years.  Also, George Bailey's family disappeared in the alternate reality the angel showed him, then came back, and Hawkeye's family disappeared in the "snap" seen in the "Avengers" movies, then came back.  There's more, but no spoilers here. 

If I watch these previously seen movies, this will hopefully raise my Christmas spirit, and also keep this film posted on top of the blog for a couple nights, maybe I'll even wait until after Dec. 25 to watch film #4,000.  Morfydd Clark carries over from "The Personal History of David Copperfield", where she played Copperfield's mother and love interest.  Tonight she plays Charles Dicken's wife, which I guess we've established is sort of in the same ballpark?

THE PLOT: The journey that led to Charles Dickens' creation of "A Christmas Carol", a timeless tale that would redefine Christmas. 

AFTER: Really, nothing makes more sense than a little back-to-back Dickens this week.  We saw David Copperfield write down names that he liked, or phrases he wanted to remember, and apparently that was Dickens' process also - he'd see a name like Marley or Fezziwig and jot it down, thinking he'd find a place for it later.  So of course this is all idle speculation, but clearly SOMETHING inspired Dickens to write what's now considered the classic Christmas novel.  And I think he was the first author to combine a holiday story with a horror story, really this wouldn't happen again until the invention of the horror movie, and films like "Black Christmas" or "Silent Night, Deadly Night" came along - and I think we can all agree that "A Christmas Carol" is a lot classier, right? 

Good artists borrow a little bit from here and there, and of course great artists borrow A LOT from everywhere - this film surmises that an Irish nanny in the Dickens household mentioned that her granny believed that Christmas Eve was when the barrier between the natural and supernatural world was thinnest, and ghosts could cross over.  OK, so that nanny's granny was probably mixing up Christmas Eve with All Hallow's Eve, I'll bet, but that was perhaps enough to inspire Dickens to put ghosts into a Christmas story, and darned if that wasn't like the first person to mix peanut butter and chocolate.  Supposedly Dickens took these walking tours of London when he needed inspiration, and who's to say he didn't see an old man attending the funeral of his business partner one day, and who's to say that old man didn't say "Humbug"?  All Dickens had to do then was come up with the name "Scrooge", and this story practically writes itself.

Well, not exactly - the film starts with Dickens after his celebrity book tour of America, and the three "flops" that came after it.  So he's staring at a blank page, quill pen at the ready, but with no idea what to write.  You KNOW I hate films that focus on writer's with writer's block (or a "blockage" as the Brits call it.).  Real motivation probably came from the fact that Dickens had four small children, with one more on the way, and had just moved the family into a very nice townhouse, and the renovations were costing him a fortune.  Sure, he'd write a story about Christmas, if it happened to be coming up on the calendar.  More inspiration came from the fact that he'd borrowed heavily during this blockage period, and his loans were coming due, still he had to ask for an extension, which raised the interest. 

You put all this together, the old man at the funeral, the clerk at the loan office, and the need for an unsavory central character, and that's how you get Ebenezer Scrooge, I suppose.  But that can't be the whole story, because writing a story that will reach people involves drawing from real life, and that means drawing from his own life, in addition to what he sees around town.  So, really, Scrooge is also part Dickens, and Dickens is part Scrooge - Dickens is also part Bob Cratchit, struggling to feed a large brood of children.  Charles' wife also accuses him of working too hard on his novels, thus putting work before family, a very Scrooge-like thing to do. It's kind of like how you play most of the characters in your dreams, Dickens was many of his characters in his stories and they were him.  Except maybe Tiny Tim, who was maybe inspired by that neighbor's kid with the bad cough. 

Once Dickens dreamed up Scrooge as the central character, according to this he acted out the whole story, and envisioned Marley and the three other ghosts coming to visit.  Here the film goes back to that double-role thing was saw last night, where the same actress played both Dickens' mother and girlfriend.  The actress who played that nanny also plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, and the actor who played John Forster (Dickens' friend/biographer/critic) also plays the Ghost of Christmas Present. Forster's character, a largish man, also poses in costume as the second spirit for the man hired to illustrate the novel.  

Dickens then, with Scrooge as his guide, goes on a tour through his own past and imagination, quite similar to the one Scrooge is forced to take within the novel.  Did the writing of the book go down exactly like this?  Was this Dickens' storytelling process?  Probably not, but lately it seems like for every story or movie, we also have to have the "behind the scenes" movie that tells us what influenced the authors, or at least what we believe may have inspired them.  I'm thinking about films like "Mank", "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women", "Mary Shelley", "Becoming Jane", "Howl" and many others. 

Also, if this story is to be believed, this writing process wasn't easy - the redemption of Scrooge wasn't originally part of the plan, and in the early drafts Tiny Tim died.  It was only when Dickens read the early version aloud to friends and family that he realized what a bummer the story was.  Perhaps he didn't think Scrooge could change because he didn't think he himself could change, remember Dickens was Scrooge, to some degree.  So sometimes a writer has to step away from his own story for a while, then look at it again with fresh eyes - when Dickens did that, it probably became obvious that this needed to be a story about redemption.  I mean, what was the point of writing about an evil miser if he's just going to stay that way, right up until the end?  Everybody can be saved, it's never too late, at least that's the theory in the world of storytelling.  

Once Dickens made that change, Scrooge gets redeemed and feels love for humanity once more, forgives all debts (yeah, right...) and keeps Christmas in his heart all year long, then WOW, what a story.  Dickens suddenly had like a real HIT on his hands, an overnight success, and the best thing about it was that it would become relevant again every December, like clockwork.  There's that old genius clock ticking again, the guy who invented serials and merchandising and book tours also somehow landed on the fact that some stories are evergreen and become relevant again with a flip of the calendar page.  AND he invented the Christmas/horror hybrid, that's no small feat - if you believe this movie, then Christmas as a relevant holiday was sort of dying out at the time, and this revived it.  Hmm, I'd like to see the paperwork on that - but then a few years later Coca-Cola and Macy's got on board, and, well, this train shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.  I just saw a statistic about the declining interest in America in religion, but jeez, even if you're not religious you may love Christmas!  

And it all happened because one author with a dwindling bank account was on a deadline...that's food for thought for sure. I've always said that you only need one great idea to be successful in this world - I just read about a 96-year old man who passed away, he's credited with popularizing the artificial Christmas tree, shortly after World War II.  While he didn't invent the idea of the artificial tree, he repurposed materials from a brush-making company to create a very natural looking one, and turned that into a million-dollar business.  But I digress.

So today, we celebrate the anniversary of the publication of "A Christmas Carol", on December 19, 1844.  Yeah, I know I'm posting this on December 20, but I started watching the film on December 19.  So happy 177th anniversary to this book!  If nothing else, the book depicts the "classic" elements of Victorian Christmas celebrations - the family gatherings, dancing, games, seasonal food and drink, and the festive spirit.  I hope you enjoy this week as such, but if, like me, your holiday is on hold, well, then, there's always next year. 

Also starring Dan Stevens (last seen in "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"), Christopher Plummer (last seen in "Malcolm X"), Jonathan Pryce (last seen in "The Wife"), Simon Callow (last seen in "Victoria & Abdul"), Donald Sumpter (last seen in "The Constant Gardener"), Miriam Margolyes (last heard in "Early Man"), Justin Edwards (last seen in "Yesterday"), Miles Jupp (last seen in "Greed"), Ian McNeice (last seen in "Town & Country"), David McSavage, Bill Paterson (last seen in "Miss Potter"), John Henshaw (last seen in "Stan & Ollie"), Annette Badland, Anna Murphy, Ely Solan, Katie McGuinness, Marcus Lamb, Pearse Kearney, Jasper Hughes-Cotter, Eddie Jackson, Paul Kealyn, Aleah Lennon, Ger Ryan, Donna Marie Sludds, Cosimo Fusco, Aideen Wylde, John Colleary, Sean Duggan (last seen in "The Professor and the Madman"). 

RATING: 7 out of 10 eel pies