elizabeth banks

Showing 5 posts tagged elizabeth banks

A Tale of Two Films: “People Like Us” and “The Amazing Spiderman”

I’ve been out of the country for a week at a time when I am anticipating many movies being released so I have some catching up to do. Expect many more posts on double features this week because of this. In honor of the 4th of July, I did two of my favorite things - watched movies in the early afternoon and ate a whole lot of great BBQ (and burgers, and mac & cheese, and pork & beans… you get the point) with friends in the evening. Where movies were concerned, I wanted to mix it up so I picked one family drama sure to pull at my heart strings (People Like Us) and then the quintessential comic book movie with some action (The Amazing Spiderman). Read on for my thoughts on them…

Do See: People Like Us (Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer) I never claimed I wasn’t a sucker for sentimental films, and this one rightly appealed to me. I absolutely loved this movie which follows Chris Pine’s character Sam, a slightly sleazy yet totally lovable saleman whose troubles have come to a head - he is in terrible debt, he has made a huge mistake at work that could cost him his job, and he has just discovered that his estranged father has died. He is a guy that makes a habit of running away from his problems but situations forces him to deal with the fall out that arises from his father death - the discovery of his father’s secret family that includes an alcoholic sister named Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and nephew that he never knew about, uncovering his mother’s involvement in these past secrets, and decisions on how to move forward in his relationship with his girlfriend (Olivia Wilde) and fully let her into his life. We are right there with him as he becomes “more of a person”, developing a relationship with his sister and nephew (without her knowledge of who he is) and coming to understand his mother and her motivations of wanting to protecting her family with secrets. The most beautiful part of the movie is watching the siblings interact and bond and learning about their separate but eerily similar situation of being their father’s children. The movie is crafted so that we come to want them to be in each other’s lives, that these were two people that really need and bring out the best in each other. It is the father who we never see but who seemingly pulls all the strings as his actions and decisions so impacted the lives of everyone on the screen. Yep, I teared up alot at this one, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I would also like to say that Chris Pine is on my short list of underrated and under-appreciated actors that are really versatile and amazing to watch, and this film further proved that for me. I saw him in a play The Lieutenant of Inishmore out in L.A. a couple of years ago which he was excellent in; that was when I really looked at him as a great actor, and I hope he continues with a few more independent movies in order to show his acting range.  

Do See: The Amazing Spiderman (Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone) This short review has a caveat. Do see this film… if you haven’t seen or didn’t like the last franchise with Tobey Maguire (to which I ask, what is wrong with you?!?!?). Otherwise, you don’t really need to bother with it so much. I know alot of folks about there feel the same way that I do, that this movie came too soon after the last franchise. I think I went in to this alittle biased; I loved the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire versions (sans the third movie which was God awful. The second one made up for it though which I consider one of the best contemporary superhero movies), and I thought this one was alittle unnecessary. Is it a prequel? A remake? That feeling stayed with me the whole time I watched. Don’t get me wrong - I adore Garfield and Stone, two of the best young actresses we have right now (see: Boy A and The Social Network for proof for Garfield’s talent, Easy A and The Help for Stone’s) and they did some pretty great work here (though was all that great acting wasted for this movie? I wonder…) For me the chemistry between Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy was some of the best I’ve seen between love interests in superhero movies. It bordered on sexy. I loved it. Stone and Garfield both brought their characteristic lovableness that I enjoyed in all of the small moments they had on screen together. Other than that I didn’t love or was excited about this version of Spiderman. Peter Parker at many times came off too arrogant which didn’t for me meld with him being a nerdy outsider. The quest of discovering his destiny and his living up to his responsibilities, though core to the Spiderman story, was nothing really innovation from what we had already seen in the Sam Raimi version. The villian, The Lizard, wasn’t villian-y (is that a word?) enough for me. There was no real bravado or sense that he matched the wits and abilities of Spiderman. The action sequences? Yawn. Some some moments got me to sit up alittle straighter in my seat but that’s it. All in all, I’m not seeing the improvement on the last franchise that explains the quick reboot. What I will say about it is that I laughed so much at Stan Lee’s cameo in this one; it was so cute and funny. I love Marc Webb; he has given me one of my favorite movies (500 Days of Summer) and maybe because of his experience with that, the relationships between the lead characters were so good. I think they it suffered from not being original enough when it set out to be original. It would have been better off if it was a straight up prequel and ended where the 2002’s Spiderman began. What I want to know now is, what is going to happen to the only great thing about the movie (Garfield + Stone) when they kill off Gwen Stacy (if they follow the comics)?

Must Watch List (Summer)

I have to say I have only seen one maybe two movies in the theaters in the last two months or so, an absolute rarity for me. It have been pretty much due to the lack of new movies I have been interested in enough to see. Well that is all about to change next month with the slew of summer releases that are on the horizon and I couldn’t be happier. Actually, I’m ecstatic. Thanks to the good people over at EW who continue to publish awesome movie calendars so people like me can plan their theater outings. With almost 15 movies between May and August, this will be my busiest summer yet:

May 4

The Avengers: Yep, I’m planning to assemble with some friends and see this. I will just miss seeing it at Tribeca and will but in Europe on opening weekend but I’m rushing back to see this. If you are like me and missed some of the origin movies like Thor, AMC theaters are running a Marvel movie marathon on May 3rd!


June 1

Killer Joe: When a debt puts a young man (Emile Hirsch)’s life in danger, he decides to hire a contract killer, Killer Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), to kill his evil mother in order to collect the insurance money. No trailer yet but this dark indie comedy premiered at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival to good reviews, and I think it would be worth seeing.


June 8

Safety Not Guaranteed: This is my sweet and genuine comedy pick of the summer. The film is actually inspired by a real internet meme of a newspaper classified ad by a person seeking a companion for time travel (so how can this NOT be funny?). In this, three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed this classified ad. One of my favorite up-and-coming actors Mark Jake Johnson (New Girl) stars.


June 22

To Rome With Love: The next Woody Allen movie focusing on people’s experiences in Rome starring Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penelope Cruz, and Alec Baldwin.


June 27

Beasts of the Southern Wild: A magical story of a 6-year old girl who lives with her father in a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. When her father contracts a mysterious illness which threatens the balances of nature, Hushpuppy goes on a quest to find her mother. This was not a film on my radar at this year’s Sundance as I usually avoid anything remotely close to fantasy films but after it won the big prize there, I have to check it out.

Update (5/5): The trailer is here, and its beautiful fantasy film indeed:

June 29

People Like Us: A brother and sister meet for the first time in this upcoming Chris Pine/Elizabeth Banks movie.

Magic Mike: Male strippers without shirts but with plenty of dreams in Steven Soderbergh’s latest starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Matthew McConaughey


July 3

The Amazing Spiderman: I still think its too early for a spiderman reboot (or is this a prequel? really?) but I can’t fault them. They had my money at Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.


July 6

Savages: I think Oliver Stone is on the right track with this new crime drama starring Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and Benicio del Toro.


July 20

The Dark Knight Rises: I have to see the next and last entry in the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise. It doesn’t hurt that Inception castmates Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt co-stars. Am I the only one still not 100% sure of Anne Hathaway at Catwoman? Watch the official trailer or see a (much better, in my opinion) fan-made trailer. A new official trailer is suppose to premiere before The Avengers so keep an eye out for it!


August 3

The Bourne Legacy: In this 4th Bourne film, there is more to the Treadstone project: Jeremy Renner!


August 15

The Odd Life of Timothy Green: This is my family film pick of the summer. A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. This characteristics are personified with the appearance of Timothy Green, but all is not as it appears. I’m curious to see the gentler side of Joel Edgerton (have you seen some of his past films?).


August 24

Premium Rush: A NYC bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city. I actually don’t think this is going to be anything more than just a cool looking action movie on a bike but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in it… so… you know… gonna go see it. I actually stumbled across the film set last year so curious to see what they do with it to give it some substance.


August 31

Lawless (formerly The Wettest County): Three brothers (two of which are played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) find their bootlegging business under threat in Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia. No trailer yet but I’m already pulled in by the cast which also includes Guy Pearce and Jessica Chastain.

Update (4/24): The trailer has just been released and it looks pretty damn good. I barely recognized Guy Pearce. Anyone thinks like I do that Shia LaBoeuf was born to play an outlaw?

People Like Us / Trailer for the upcoming film starring Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks as siblings who go on a journey of discovering each other and forging a relationship. In the film, Sam (Chris Pine), a struggling salesman and son of a record producer who he finds out has died. He inherits $150,000 but it’s his father’s last wish that he deliver it to a woman named Frankie, a sister he never knew he had (Elizabeth Banks).  I’m currently on a Elizabeth Banks high coming off of Hunger Games (don’t judge me) and a Chris Pine high from This Means War (yes, seriously, I did like that movie, baffling I know) so I’m all over this. It plays like a romantic comedy (and she doesn’t know he’s her brother which I hope doesn’t get too awkward for us as viewers) but focuses on the development of a brother-sister relationship that I’m looking forward to. I haven’t seen much of that, at least presented in a real touching way, since 2000’s You Can Count on Me (Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney).

Film Review: “The Hunger Games”

Yes, I am one of those who braved the crowds of fanatic teenagers at a midnight showing of The Hunger Games last night. Are you kidding me? I may not be a girl in my teens anymore but I live for experiencing films in the mist of those who love them most - the dedicated fanboys (and girls) of comic books-turned-summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight, the gushy tween romantics pining for the next movie in the Twilight Saga (I’m on Team Edward, duh), the coalition of frat boys excited about their own possibilities of living out The Hangover. You can’t help but get an exhaustive amount of fandom at the first midnight show of a movie’s opening as this is where true fans congregate… and I have to admit that I am a fan of the concept of The Hunger Games, a book series that I have often referred to as a less sophisticated, young adult 1984 (consequently, this was the book I read right before The Hunger Games trilogy). I’ll also put it out there that I’m oddly proud of living in Atlanta which, based on which fan map you refer to, lies around the District 11/12 border. So, I went into the  movie as someone who had read the books and was really intent on dissecting whether the screen version would capture the whole essence of my reading experience.  All in all, I thought it had its faults, but what we are given is a solidly good, young adult, B-action movie experience with some heart. My Grade: B

SPOILERS. I have to say that I really loved the actually action in the arena from start to finish.  I attribute this to the great casting choices for the young tributes who really shine in this film (my favorites being Rue who brought the sweet little Prim-substitute quality that was described in the book and Cato who with all his ruthlessness and bravado was the quintessential villian), the Katiness (Jennifer Lawrence)-Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) relationship (very sweet yet let’s hope a touch less creepy on Peeta’s part in the next one) as well as some thoughtful and down right cool special effects surrounding the gamemaker’s control of the games. What was lacking for me, however, was the development of the story that flanked the actually battle in the arena. I was most looking forward to the antics of Haymitch (Woody Harrelson in what I thought pre-movie as the perfect casting choice) but he wasn’t quite as boozy and incompetent as he should have been. It is her distrust of his ability to mentor and his motives that drives alot of the tension in the book. Sadly, the movie glosses over this and under-utilizes Harrelson.  I also wanted to enjoy the closeness between Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) and Katniss, but in my opinion, the evolution of this relationship wasn’t there. Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was a non-issue in this one which was expected but surprisingly even less so that in the book; I’m sure, however, that we will revisit much of his character for the next one, Catching Fire. All in all though, I give the movie credit for inserting enough playful banter between the characters to humanize them - Elizabeth Banks (Effie) nailed all the great aspects of her naive, delusional character, Stanley Tucci (Ceasar) was melodramic without being over the top, and there were glimpses of Haymitch’s tongue-in-cheek jabs throughout the movie - as well as beginning to create a solid portrait of one of the best teenage action-movie heroines.  As a fan of this tale of the dystrophic Panem, the movie wasn’t quite there for me as a strong representation of the tensions and characterizations of the source material. I don’t think that a person that never read the book would come to understand Katniss’ conflict between staying alive, pleasing the Hunger Game audience, and her growing feelings for both Gale and Peeta. However, the movie does offer many compelling moments that make watching it enjoyable.