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.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I think Disney actually did an enchanting job with this remake of the (Oscar Best Picture-nominated) original. The acting and casting is spot on. Specifically, Emma Watson is simply divine. She's beautiful and charming and who knew she could sing? Her voice actually sounds very pure. She is helped greatly by the new orchestrations, modernizing the familiar tunes. Emma Thompson is fine as Mrs. Potts but I don't think her rendition of the title song can match the iconic Angela Lansbury. There are some new songs in addition to the old classics. And they're all quite good. There is a noticeable amount of diversity among the villagers and even some interracial couples, though in provincial France they were surely all white. Disney of course had the controversy with Josh Gad's flamboyantly gay Le Fou, but it was actually surprisingly tame. They're making a big deal out of nothing. And Josh Gad is perfect for Le Fou. Besides, shouldn't Le Fou be gay? It's really just reading a little deeper into his character. The one casting I wasn't crazy about was Dan Stevens for beast. I have to admit, I did not recognize him or his name, but it's Matthew from Downton Abbey! His face is only in a small portion of the film, but the big reveal at the end was shocking. He looked to pretty with his golden locks to be taken seriously. It was like a joke ripped from the cover of a romance novel. If Disney was really trying to push boundaries, the prince would've been black.

Visually, the castle and costumes are quite stunning. The Be Our Guest sequence is just like the original. I, personally, had a problem seeing the detail though. I don't know if it was the movie or me, but every time the camera moved, everything looked blurry. I couldn't make out any of the lines. It felt like watching a 3D movie without the glasses on sometimes. Maybe it was filmed in 3D? There are definitely 3D versions being shown, but we had a 2D screening in a large cinema in Dublin.