The Circle (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 30th, 2017*

"Transparent"

I'm pretty in shock and what I've just seen, but for all the wrong reasons. Labeled as a "Netflix Original" in the UK, it really earns it place as another piece of garbage to add to Netflix's horrific library of mostly terrible original films among their much better TV content.

The Circle is a huge misfire and a waste of everyone involved. There's a genuinely interesting story here, with some very strong and relevant themes that are squandered in such a lifeless mess. From its cringey dialogue its abhorrently lazy ending, The Circle is just 110 minutes of wasted potential.

Emma Watson's character is horrific, despite giving an okay performance. Her character changes opinion from scene to scene with no real rhyme or reason. I feel like there is a director's cut somewhere that actually fills in why Watson does the stuff she does. 

Its themes of online privacy are done in such a heavy-handed, naive and transparent way. It feels like a poorly done episode of Black Mirror. Black Mirror was never a subtle show, but this makes it look like deep arthouse. The script feels like it was written by young teens writing an essay about cyber security. It's filled with so many cringey and embarrassing things.

It's weird I mention that it felt like it was written by teens, because this does feel like a YA novel adaptation at times. It's all so lame and millennial. It feels like its trying to be a smart film for dumb people. Which it is. The Circle thinks it's a smart film, but its not. It's retarded. Almost like an after school special on "The Dangers on Online Security and Privacy".

Some moments have some real tension and life to them, but are made pointless by the Watson's bipolar character changing her mind every few scenes for reason. Annoyingly, The Circle never really takes a side, it lands on one at the end, which is one of the laziest things all year, they shove viewpoints as to the pros and cons of all of it, but they never really explore anything. It's all very hollow and boring, complete with flat and lifeless direction. This film was made by a real jobber.

I almost completely forgot to mention Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton (In his final role) are in it. Hanks is you know fine, doing his Hanks warm thing, but Paxton was decent as Watson's disabled father. I wish he got a better film to end his career on, but sadly, that's not how the world works.

The Circle is pathetic, a heavy-handed, childish and poorly done excuse for a cyber thriller that wastes some true potential. The most you'll likely get out of this is a few cheap laughs at the cringey dialogue.  

3/10 Dans

The Circle is streaming now on Netflix UK
Watch the trailer below:

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Beauty and the Beast (2017) - Film Review

Review:

Since I don't have the same attachment to the original Disney film most people have (I only saw it for the first time a few days ago), I was much more open to this new live-action adaptation. I've found Disney's live-action reboots pretty succesful for the most part, The Jungle Book in particuarly being spectacular.

I didn't have much hope for Beauty and the Beast, but to my surprise, I ended up loving it far more than I possibly imagined. While it might not be as strong as the 1991 version, this holds up on its own as a beautiful, heartfelt and funny romance that mostly hits all the right notes.

Dan Stevens and Emma Watson as The Beast and Belle

What struck me first is just how beautiful and elaborate everything is, from set-design to costumes to special effects, everything on display is a feast for your eyes. It's a bring, colour and vibrant film. It was hard to take everything in on a first watch, but it was wonderful. My only fault with the designs had to be the Cogsworth and Lumiere, whose designs look a bit weird to say the least and the lack the simplistic charm of the original Disney film.

In terms of performances, everyone was pretty great. Dan Stevens was fantastic as the Beast, jumping from anger, sadness and genuine warmth and giving a compelling performance even under all that CGI. Emma Watson was decent as Belle, her singing may have been a bit autotuned, but she did a good job overall. Their relationship is touching and genuinely worth investing in, making for a some emotionally resonate moments I had no idea would reach me the way it did. It was really funny too, a scene with a snowball came out of nowhere and nearly killed me.

Luke Evans stole the show as Gaston, who played it much less disgusting and rapey than the previous version. His inherent narscissism and self-obsession led to some of the films funniest moments. As did his assistant, LeFou, Disney's first openely gay live-action character. He might not have been "openely" gay as what I'd heard, but it was fine and I'm glad Disney are adding equality and diversity to the film. I'm hoping they go a step further in future films.

Josh Gad and Luke Evans as LeFou and Gaston

I may have criticised the design of Cogsworth and Lumiere, but Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor both do scene-stealing jobs. I had my worries about McGregor's French accent (His career has a fair few misguided accents), but he pulled it off extremely well. Ian McKellen may have given me the biggest laugh of the whole film one of his final scenes.

 

Lumiere and Cogsworth voiced by Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellen

Despite my apprehension towards musicals, I was pretty won over by most of the songs. A fair few of them I quite liked. A lot of them were lifted directly from the original animation, but even some of the new ones were good in their own right. My biggest problem with last years Jungle Book film was how out of the place the musical numbers were within the film, luckily Beauty and the Beast did not suffer from the same problem.

Beauty and the Beast was a pleasant surprise, a visually astonishing, funny, heartfelt and worthy remake that stands its own ground against an already fantastic film. More of this, Disney.

9/10 Dans

Beauty and the Beast is out now in theaters in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

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