“In my own life, I have a deep connection with my family and the value of those bonds. I’ve always loved stories about people who put their families before themselves. It’s such a noble endeavor. You can’t choose your family, as opposed to friends. Especially in L.A. You really get to see how friendships are put to the test; it stirs everyone’s egos. But if something goes south with a friend, you have the option to say we’re not friends anymore. Your family—that’s your family. Trying to make that system work and trying to make it not just functional but actually enjoyable is a really challenging endeavor, and that’s certainly how it is with my family.“ - Chris Evans photographed by Mark Segal for Esquire Magazine’s April 2017 issue.
Earlier I watched Chris Evan’s directorial debut Before We Goabout two strangers (Evans and Alice Eve) who meet and are stuck together one night in Manhattan. Though it has all the makings of a Before Sunriseknockoff, it’s less about a budding romance and more about finding a special person that gives you the confidence to confront the complexities of the great loves in your life.
Nothing really new or earth shattering here folks but there are a number of really cute moments between Evans and Eve that will make you smile. And Chris Evans’ character does say a lovely line that stuck with me after the film:
If you’re committed to somebody, you don’t allow yourself to find perfection in someone else.
Chris Evans and Alive Eve fall in love in a night, Jake Gyllenhaal leads
some celeb friends up a mountain and tries to get back down again, Elle
Fanning just wants to be a boy, and Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon
are mortgage-scamming it up.
Synopsis: When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain
America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to
the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As
the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to the Avengers to stop him from
enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected
action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.
The final trailer was just released today. OMG. Watch it here.
Be it for the best or worse, characters play off of each other to provide compelling dramas, mind-bending thrillers, or the sweetest of love stories. Here are the 10 pairs of actors/characters who made some of the most dynamic duos on screen in 2014:
71. Your time in college is never has good as you remember it [Liberal Arts]
72. Bathrooms are the best place to have pseudo-intellectual conversations about religion and sex with a badass B+ action star who looks strange with hair while doing blow off of an expensive and rare painting. Oh, and the word ‘fuck’ can be used in so many colorful ways in a sentence [London]
73. The ties that bind a family may have to be broken to do what is right [Legacy]
74. As a teenager, we would never survive the horrors of life without that best friend by our side and in our corner [Little Birds]
75. There are many destructive passions under the surface of suburban life. Plus, covering your body with red roses is a sexy look [American Beauty]
76. Life can not be controlled, whims should not be stifled, and chances should be taken [Chaos Theory]
77. We lose time obsessing about time passing by [Elegy]
78. For ever little life, there is an interesting beginning [Conception]
79. A love affair with drugs can begin in beautifully euphoria but can only end with selling your soul [Candy]
80. Sometimes it only takes one transformative journey to cement your place in histrory [The Motorcycle Diaries]
51. Maybe playing on the sympathies of those who rescue you from choking IS a good way to make some extra cash. [Choke]
52. Sometimes you just have to give someone a chance to step up, especially family. [You Can Count On Me] 53. Racial tensions have a way to always bubble to the surface with devastating consequences. [Do The Right Thing] 54. Leave idiots alone; they sometimes have the best intentions. [Our Idiot Brother] 55. I definitely wish I could control my dreams and live within my fantasies [The Good Night] 56. Life is a game show - with a little luck, love, and motivation, you can make it through [Slumdog Millionaire] 57. Four walls can contain a whole secret life. [28 Hotel Rooms]
58. Some people can be worthy of battling the world for. Oh, and yes, exs can be evil. [Scott Pilgrim vs. The World] 59. Straightforward sex can be anything but. [Young People Fucking (YPF)] 60. Everyone has trouble from their high school past they are better off facing. [The Education of Charlie Banks]
41. Some people go farther than I ever would in the name of friendship. [4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days] 42. Radio can be a great medium for social change. Plus, the 60s were a cooler decade than I thought, ya dig? [Talk To Me]
43. A person who does bad things may not be at his core a bad person. [The Woodsman] 44. Any person taking a job as a secretary should pack a whip with their lunch just in case. [Secretary] 45. Weddings are a great occasion for family secrets to come out. Also, no matter how hard you fight against it, your sister is going to find a way into your wedding. [Rachel Getting Married]
46. Compassion can be found in the most unlikely places. [Sin Nombre] 47. Sometime it becomes necessary for a guy to just keep his girlfriend away from his brother. [The Vicious Kind] 48. The most brilliant people lack basic common sense. [Smart People] 49. My fear of needles is justified. And its possible for a man in suspenders and no shirt to be sexy. [Puncture] 50. It is easier than you think to go from despair to rage to forgiveness. [Take]
I’m halfway done! Check back in a few weeks for more….
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:
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?
Surprise, surprise. It has been announced that Joss Whedon's The Avengers will be screened on closing night of the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28th, ahead of its May 4th theatrical opening. As a tribute to “local heroes”, the festival has invited some of NYC’s finest - police officers, firemen, first responders, and military personnel - to attend the screening as special guests and have a change to meet the cast.
With the choice of the Judd Apatow comedy The Five-Year Engagementopening the festival and this latest move by the festival programming to secure of the most anticipated summer blockbusters for the closing, this year’s festival will be sure to get more press than in past years. As you may know, movies like The Avengers isn’t the usual fare for Tribeca but with the movie in the hands of Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly) it may be an interesting match. Joss Whedon, for the most part, always finds ways to connect to his indie fan base so big ups to him though I’m sure he is reaping the benefits of all the exposure.This should be one of the hottest tickets in town come April, folks, so plan on getting one if you can.
Launched in 2011 as an independent film blog, Life Between Films has evolved into my personal blog of style, travels, books and of course will continue to be where I discuss the artistic and humanistic aspects of movies, especially independent film.
I have traveled around attending some of the biggest and most prestigious film festivals (Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto), writing for some online film sites, collaborating with fellow film blogs, and meeting some of the top actors and film industry types.
Feel free to hit that little "send a message" link up on top and interact with me.
