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 The Circle 

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Total votes : 4

 The Circle 
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KJ's Leading Pundit
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Post The Circle
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The Circle is a 2017 American film directed by James Ponsoldt and written by Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers, based on Eggers' 2013 novel of the same name. The film stars Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly, and Bill Paxton, in his final film appearance following his death in February 2017.

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2017 and is scheduled to be released on April 28, 2017, by EuropaCorp and STX Entertainment.

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Thu Apr 27, 2017 3:51 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
The Circle seems to be purposefully directed incompetently. Add to that, the casting and acting is often amateurish to depict the acolytes' earnestness. Yet I can't help feeling it was all a chosen style for this movie - a satirical vision of cinema vérité. I enjoyed this spoof of Google employment and it's sardonic defence of privacy despite itself. *B+*



(Variety's review gets The Circle.)


Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:57 am
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Post Re: The Circle
A gargantuan misfire. This is the type of cinematic failure one can address on levels both macro and micro. It is a suspense film entirely devoid of intrigue and...suspense. Truly, there is not one exhilarating or surprising or titillating moment to be found within its nearly two hours. Boring is the word. It plays more as a lecture, a cajoling, but even here the content is so stale: the film deals in the hoariest Big-Brother-Is-Watching clichés, and it has only disdain for its millennial characters, never probing what might draw them to technology and social media in the first place. This is a classic example of a film made by Luddites with no meaningful insight into the computer culture they are trying to satirize and criticize. The experience falls apart further because so many moments strain (or outright tear apart) credulity. As "I didn't believe it how/when--" moments mount, it becomes harder and harder to invest in the story. I did not believe a near-drowning incident as the Emma Watson's character pivot from fresh hire to integral player. I did not believe a crowd of presumably liberal, well-educated, tech-minded youths, however enamored of their Apple-esque company, would just blandly smile and cheer as a man is found via social media and surveillance, forced to flee his home, and pursued by drones. I did not believe it when the John Boyega character, a cipher defined only by his air of vague concern, abruptly "saves the day" by revealing the secret communiques of the company's CEO and COO. an off-screen deus ex machina the film honestly, hilariously, considers a satisfying or even empowering resolution. A flat performance by Watson does not help; her character's shifts in allegiance and worldview never ring true. She is in, if I remember correctly, every single scene, but simply fails to create a distinctive or sympathetic character. Tom Hanks (who is honestly not in the film very much at all) cannot help but be more interesting as an opaque Steve Jobs- or Bill Gates-type figure. He is never formidable or menacing, though, because Hanks simply is not given enough screen time or material to find those enigmatic shades of grey. In fact, the closest the film comes to a genuine feeling comes from its nominal antagonist when he describes the importance of online videos to his disabled, wheelchair-bound son.

F

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Sun Apr 30, 2017 1:16 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
It's certainly not a great movie, but I didn't hate it either. I thought Emma Watson was the best thing about it. Actually I thought all the actors did about as much as they could with the script, which made it watchable but not something I'd go out of my way to see again.

6/10


Tue May 09, 2017 2:11 am
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Post Re: The Circle
I enjoy Emma Watson so that's probably why I liked it but I thought it was entertaining. The biggest problem for me is that it goes absolutely nowhere and the ending is very underwhelming.

7/10 (B-)


Tue May 09, 2017 11:02 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
I thought it was OK but it seriously wastes a great cast and premise. Emma Watson did a nice job and I thought it was watchable because of her. John Boyega, Tom Hanks and Karen Gillan all have nothing to do. It has some interesting ideas but never really expands on them so by the end the whole thing just ends up feeling undercooked. C+


Wed Jul 05, 2017 3:02 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
While I wouldn't go quite as far as David did in terms of saying the film is a complete failure, I can't really disagree with any of his criticisms. This is a lazy movie. A brutally lazy movie. Everything is shown, but nothing is told. After being "caught" by camera stealing a kayak and rowing out into San Francisco Bay, she becomes a robot. A literal "Circle" robot. Then she kind of turns into a Bond villain during a scene in a conference room. Why? Because they saved her life? Because she felt like she was in too deep? Because of her parents (is it wrong to blame this movie for the deaths of Bill Paxton and Glenn Headley...what were the chances?)? Why does Karen Gillian become wiped out? Too much work or mounting moral anguish? Any sort of character development outside of barren superficialities could've gone a long way.

And John Boyega and the ending. Holy shit. The laziness is appalling. First, his character could've done the character dumps on Hanks and Oswalt at ANYTIME. But he conveniently waits for Watson's character to go through a tragedy (which came off as hilarious instead of horrific thanks to characters being underdeveloped) and then decides that The Circle has finally gone too far and thanks to computer geniusry (I guess) he leaks everything, which again, could've been done at anytime. Which begs the question...why the hell is he still employed at The Circle? If Hanks and Oswalt even knew there was a remote possibility they could be destroyed, why wouldn't they try to eliminate it? And what does Boyega DO exactly? He just kind of hangs around wherever the plot deems it necessary. He hangs out at parties, he hangs out in the audience or in the entrance ways (not suspiciously at all) to all of the conferences. As Robert Klein once asked about Ruth Buzzy, "WHAT DOES HE DO?". He helped create the company, apparently got burnt out like KG, but then what? Please movie, tell me anything!

And why does Watson ever agree to that camera thing after the kayak? For the money and her parents? And based on the ending, did she not learn a damn thing? I felt like it was the movie's way of sighing and saying, "Millenials, am I right?".

The actors are fine, if unremarkable (Watson), but they're all pretty much wasted thanks to the script (especially Patton Oswalt). The script is a dumpster fire. Outside of Danny Elfman doing his best impression of Zimmer, Reznor/Ross, and Daft Punk, and the actors, the movie is pretty much a dumpster fire.

D

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Mon Sep 04, 2017 12:36 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
Whoa, I forgot Headly played the main character's mom alongside Bill Paxton as her father. Eerie coincidence.

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Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:33 pm
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Post Re: The Circle
Forgot I even saw this.

But, one of the worst of the year.

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Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:40 am
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Post Re: The Circle
Not bad. I was disappointed in the ending because no one really gets a proper comeuppance. Emma Watson would be good in rom coms.

B


Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:04 pm
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