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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Circle (2017) in Movies
Feb 4, 2018
It's very similar to Black Mirror, although nowhere near as dark or good. The idea is a good one and one very close to home considering how advanced technology is nowadays. It is a good take on social media and technology companies, it just doesn't quite work although at times it does make you feel rather uncomfortable at how all this is used. The problem is it comes across as a little boring and unengaging at times, and characters actions seem a bit bizarre. Tom Hanks and John Boyega are greatly underused although Emma Watson doesn't do too badly as the lead. I didn't get the ending either, it just didn't seem to fit and was a little confusing.
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Movie Critics (823 KP) rated Beauty and the Beast (2017) in Movies
Apr 14, 2017
Read the full review: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/peter-travers-beauty-and-the-beast-movie-review-w471990
Except:
What Beauty and the Beast rises or falls on is the love story, and here, allowed to slow down to let in intimate moments, the movie catches fire. Hobbled by a motion capture process that forced him to walk on stilts and wear a huge muscle suit covered in Lycra, Stevens goes beyond the call of family-musical duty to give us a flawed human being instead of a special effect; his is a Beast worth saving. Those are his eyes gazing down with passion at Watson's Beauty, his voice choked with genuine ardor. And suddenly, in a movie built on the bones of what preceded it, there is something there that wasn't there before. I'd call that an exhilarating gift.
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My Week with Marilyn
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Paul "xenomorph" Warren (15 KP) rated Beauty and the Beast (2017) in Movies
Jun 17, 2017
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Little Women (2019) in Movies
Feb 5, 2020
This film is all about the performances. I've always liked Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, I think they're both charismatic and fantastic actors and any time these two are on screen in this film (either together or separately), it really is marvellous to watch. Throwing in a great turn from Florence Pugh and some wonderful support from Laura Dern, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep and (a sadly forgettable) Emma Watson, the acting in this is pretty stellar
The major problem however is the pacing. The plot is interesting, but it's let down by the plodding dreadfully slow pace and a just over 2 hour film feels like a lifetime. It's such a shame, as had this been sped up a little or had a little of the runtime shaved off, it'd be a truly fantastic period drama.
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The Circle
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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE -- starring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson and John Boyega Fast, thrilling,...
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back...
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
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Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is about to start and he is enjoying the summer vacation with his...
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Circle (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Progressively brainwashed into believing the company’s intrusive snooping (a favourite motto is “Secrets are Lies”) is all for ‘the greater good’, Mae champions the cause until a tragedy rocks her world and her company beliefs to the core.
Whenever I watch a film I tend to form my own opinion first before checking out what the ‘general public’ on IMDB think. In this case, I must confess to being a bit surprised at our divergence of views: a lot of people clearly hated this movie whereas I confess that I found it very entertaining. Certainly with the alleged role of Russia in influencing elections around the world via social media, the film is most certainly topical! Many reviewers seemed quite upset that Watson’s character is such a ‘doormat’, in that her views are so easily manipulated by the corporate machine. But not every woman – as indeed every man – can or should be a Joan of Arc style role model in every film: why should they be?
I actually found her indoctrination into “the Circle way” as quite convincing, especially a creepy scene where two corporate lackies (Cho Smith and Amir Talai) say that they’re not checking up on Mae’s social life, but…. Watson enjoys extending her post-Potter repertoire well, but the talented John Boyega (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens“) is completely wasted in his role as Ty; the Wozniak-like genious behind The Circle’s technology. The script gives him very little to do other than stand around and look grumpy.
A wasted John Boyega with Emma Watson.
The film is sad in being the last movie appearance of the great Bill Paxton (“Apollo 13”) who plays Mae’s sick father and who died of complications following heart surgery two months before the film’s release (the film is dedicated “For Bill”). Tragically, Mae’s mother in the film, actress Glenn Headly (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”) also died suddenly at the age of 62, also due to heart problems, a couple of months after the film’s release. It’s surprising the film doesn’t have a “curse of The Circle” tag on it.
The film was directed by James Ponsoldt, who also wrote the screenplay with novel-writer Dave Eggers (“Away We Go”). I particularly liked the on-screen use of captioning (posts) which was reminiscent to me of last year’s “Nerve“, a B-movie film I rated highly that also had a string social media theme.
While the ending of the film is a bit twee – a movie definition of “being hoisted by your own petard” – it’s overall a thought provoking piece sufficiently close to the truth as to where society is going to raise the hairs on your neck.