The Circle (2017)

The Circle premiered in Italy one day before it did in the US. It’s like Tom Hanks movies just get earlier release dates in Italy. He is probably one of the best parts about this movie. There was a lot of potential for The Circle. But it does not meet its potential. The questions it asks may be interesting, but they’ve apparently been done much better by Black Mirror. What this movie lacks is a satisfying ending, and character development, and thrill. I’m not sure what genre it would categorize itself as, but I found myself laughing at parts that probably shouldn’t have been funny (but Patton Oswalt is in it), but not thrilled enough in what would’ve made a cool thriller. The score is the most thrilling thing about the movie. Danny Elfman tries to channel Reznor and Ross (a la The Social Network, from which the movie certainly took some atmospheric cues). Emma Watson puts on an American accent, which I simply cannot take seriously. It’s not a bad accent necessarily, but I know she doesn’t sound like that, and it seems forced. I don’t think her British accent would’ve detracted from the character at all. If anything, I’d fault poor writing. It all seemed so unnatural. Maybe that was the point, but it made for some very awkward scenes. John Boyega has a small role that is never really fleshed out. He is reduced to two scenes and is essentially inconsequential to the plot. He is wasted. Reviewers will point to the allusions to Google and Apple and Facebook, but the real life company that most closely resembles The Circle is actually WeChat, which has integrated every aspect of Chinese life into one convenient app. We’re not talking about hypotheticals. WeChat is already doing it. I wonder if this movie will make it to China. I think they like Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, but I can’t imagine it being allowed.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Did we really need this sequel? No, not really. Tim Burton created an amazing vision of Wonderland in the first film. Then he stepped away and the world Disney re-created just wasn't quite as impressive or imaginative. Time Burton created an original story with familiar characters in the first one. The story culminated in an epic battle and was well done. This one just doesn't match up. Even the actors don't seem quite as invested in the project. No one asked for this sequel.

The End of the Tour (2015)

This is a really brainy movie, filled with effortless, thoughtful and intelligent dialogue.  The conversation is mesmerizing, almost on an Aaron Sorkin level.  But they're not talking politics--they're simply musing on life and humanity.  They have really insightful and thought provoking ideas.  The film follows David Lipsky of Rolling Stone as he interviewed author David Foster Wallace for a profile in the magazine following the success of his novel Infinite Jest. Lipsky says "You don't open a one thousand page book because you've heard the author is a nice guy.  You read it...because you understand the author is brilliant."  This movie features two brilliant portrayals of two brilliant people. It is the sort of character with the quirky fast-talking mannerisms that we have come to associate with Jessie Eisenberg, but Jason Segel is a revelation in this far cry from the comedy of How I Met Your Mother. He is at once calm, yet flustered, private but open, friendly yet off putting. Wallace is enigmatic, but that is what makes everything he says so interesting--it is always a pleasant surprise.

The film ends with Brian Eno's The Big Ship.  I wasn't sure when I had heard this song before but after some digging online, I recalled that it was used in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl in the homemade film.  Both films punctuate a death scene rather poignantly with this song and while they are different types of scenes (one of sorrow and the other of fond remembrance), the music works in both. 

Big Eyes (2014)

Tim Burton's latest is a little out of the norm for him.  Tim Burton's dark and creepy aura is seen only in the paintings of Margaret Keane.  The little children with the big eyes are inherently spooky and yet full of emotion.  There is only one scene that really evokes what we expect from a Tim Burton movie, and that is when Margaret starts seeing real people with her signature big eyes. The other dark element to the movie is Lana Del Rey's haunting songs.  Otherwise, the film is quite bright, certainly not cheery, but bright. The atmosphere captures a genuine sense of 1950s Northern California.

I do think the courtroom scene towards the end is a little awkward. Waltz as his own attorney makes for an unusually comical scene in an otherwise dramatic film.  I cannot be sure if that actually happened in real life, but the point is that it abruptly culminates in the infamous paint-off.Amy Adams is excellent as always as the secretive artist Margaret Keane.  Christoph Waltz as her husband is a fantastic foil.  Amy Adams is one of the best actresses out there, and yet, the perennial bridesmaid, she has zero Oscars to show for it.  Waltz, on the other hand, has two. Both give award worthy performances, but unfortunately the film failed to rack up any nominations.