• Critics Polls
  • Yearly Top Tens
  • Interviews
Menu

World of Reel

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Home
IMG_9633.jpeg
Werner Herzog's 'Grizzly Man' Joins the Criterion Collection, Plus 'The English Patient' and 'Nashville'

Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.

Read more →
IMG_9631.jpeg
Robert De Niro to Play Tommy Lasorda in Reid Carolin's ‘Tommy & Me'

De Niro is in talks to play legendary Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda in “Tommy & Me,” a sports drama Reid Carolin will direct for Skydance Sports.

Read more →
IMG_9630.jpeg
Quentin Tarantino to Publish ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth' Novel, Out December 8

The book is titled "The Adventures of Cliff Booth," which, if you've been following along, was the original title of Fincher's film before it was renamed "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth."

Read more →
IMG_9628.jpeg
Zack Snyder Says the ‘Last Photograph' Negative Reviews Were “100%” About Him and Not the Movie

Zack Snyder woke up in Toronto the morning after his premiere and did the one thing no filmmaker should ever do the morning after: he opened X.

Read more →
IMG_9625.jpeg
‘The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd': Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy Power Tim Blake Nelson's Best Film Since ‘The Grey Zone' [TIFF]

Tim Blake Nelson has been making films for thirty years and hasn't directed a narrative feature in more than ten. "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd," is the best thing he's done since "The Grey Zone.”

Read more →
Featured
Capture.PNG
August 19, 2019
3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC
August 19, 2019

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Read more →
August 19, 2019

World of Reel

  • Critics Polls
  • Yearly Top Tens
  • Interviews

Elizabeth Banks Blames the Media for “Feminist” Agenda of Her ‘Charlie’s Angels’

July 31, 2023 Jordan Ruimy

This is an interesting twist. “Cocaine Bear” auteur Elizabeth Banks is trying to save face by telling Rolling Stone that the media was behind the “gendered agenda” of her 2019 “Charlie’s Angels,”

The 2019 movie, starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska, flopped at the box office, but Banks tells Rolling Stone that she got shafted by the media who kept trying to associate her movie with the feminist movement:

“So much of the story that the media wanted to tell about ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was that it was some feminist manifesto. People kept saying, ‘You’re the first female director of ‘Charlie’s Angels!” And I was like, ‘They’ve only done a TV show and McG’s movies … what are you talking about? There’s not this long legacy.’ I just loved the franchise. There was not this gendered agenda from me. That was very much laid on top of the work, and it was a little bit of a bummer. It felt like it pigeonholed me and the audience for the movie.”

“To lose control of the narrative like that was a real bummer,” Banks added. “You realize how the media can frame something regardless of how you’ve framed it. I happen to be a woman who directed a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ movie that happened to star three incredible women. You can’t control the media saying, ‘You’re a lady director, and that’s special!’ — which it is, but it’s not the only thing.”

“Charlie’s Angels” grossed a paltry $73 million worldwide. It was a disaster for Sony, but I’m calling bullshit on Banks’ assertion that she’s completely innocent of this debacle. Maybe it was marketed as a female empowerment kinda thing, but she was also spreading the narrative:

Her 2019 interviews speak for themselves:

The 2019 “Charlie’s Angels” was a bad movie and, make no mistake about it, most definitely wanted to take advantage of the social media zeitgeist at the time. It was a post-male gaze “Charlie’s Angels,” which kind of defeated the purpose of the source material.

“They are NOT walking around in swimsuits anymore, okay? But they're REALLY smart and they can kick male ass!”That’s what Banks’ movie was saying, but it all came off as superficially motivated.

Banks made a movie that nobody asked for. Also, could anyone actually suspend disbelief and believe that K-Stew had the chops to beat superimposing deep state assassins? Not a chance.

← Jim Jarmusch Hates Today’s Action Movies: “There’s No Shot That Lasts More Than Three Seconds”‘Shirley’ Pushed to 2024 [Updated] →

FOLLOW US!

Newsletter Block
This newsletter signup form needs a storage option. Edit the block and enter a storage location via the Storage tab.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Enjoying World of Reel?

Get film news, rumors and industry stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Thank you!
No results found

Trending

Featured
IMG_9412.jpeg
Joaquin Phoenix Reuniting with Mike Mills for Next Film, Shooting in January 2027

Phoenix is set to reunite with Mills on this next film, which is being distributed by A24 and starts shooting January 2027. This will be Phoenix’s first film since “Eddington.”

Read more →
IMG_9228.jpeg
Paul Thomas Anderson Has Already Chosen His Next Film, Jonny Greenwood Says

“Paul is getting close to pressing the button on the next film, I believe, and I’m already trying to learn a new instrument that would be central to it,” Greenwood tells Screen Daily. 

Read more →
IMG_9202.jpeg
Ridley Scott Says “I Didn’t Say That” After Calling ‘The Dog Stars’ His Best Movie Since ‘The Martian’

In June 2026, Scott told The Buyer that “The Dog Stars” is “probably the best movie I’ve done since The Martian.” He’s now denying he ever said that.

Read more →
IMG_9001.jpeg
Todd Field-Written ‘The Girls’ Sets Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic to Direct, November Shoot

Cinephiles another Todd Field movie, and although we might have to wait for his next directorial effort, “The Girls” will have to suffice for now.

Read more →

Critics Polls

Featured
IMG_4965.jpeg
Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Read more →
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Read more →
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

Read more →
B16BAC21-5652-44F6-9E83-A1A5C5DF61D7.jpeg
Critics Poll: Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Tops Our 1960s Critics Poll

We’ve already covered the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Now we have the results for the Best Films of the 1960s.

Read more →
 

SEND NEWS TIPS

Summary Block
This block is invalid. Please check the block settings and try again.
Featured
Aenean eu leo Quam
Aenean eu leo Quam

Quisque iaculis facilisis lacinia. Mauris euismod pellentesque tellus sit amet mollis.

Read more →
World of Reel tagline.PNG
 

Content

Contribute

Subscribe

 

Support

Advertise

Donate

 

About

Team

Contact

Privacy Policy

Site designed by Jordan Ruimy © 2026