NEW THIS WEEK
An
adaptation of the acclaimed novel of the same name, The Circle is a new tech
thriller that stars Emma Watson as a young woman taken in by her new high
profile job at the eponymous all consuming tech and social media company. Encouraged
by the company's founder (Tom Hanks), she joins a groundbreaking experiment
that pushes the boundaries of privacy, decency and freedom, and loses more in
the process than she initially expected.
We Said: “World-class actors
struggle mightily with clunky, expositional monologues, which are all the
script has time for anyway. And no
matter how pretty cinematographer Matthew Libatique makes it look, it's clear
that the soul of The Circle did not survive the transition to the screen.” Rating: 2 out of 5
This
new fantastical comedy drama follows Gloria (Anne Hathaway), a burnt out
partier at the end of her rope, having lost her boyfriend and job to her hard
drinking ways. Moving back to her hometown, Gloria seems to find a new start
with her old childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). Life is shaken up yet
again however, when after another night of drinking she discovers a giant monster has smashed its way through
Seoul, and may or may not be somehow connected to her.
We Said: “Through expert use
of metaphor and a pair of magnetic performances by Anne Hathaway and Jason
Sudeikis, Colossal overcomes its seemingly impenetrable premise to
deliver a terrifically cathartic study of human frailty...and yeah, it's a
pretty bad ass monster flick, too.” Rating:
4 out of 5
After
losing their pension funds in a corporate shakeup, three old friends (Morgan
Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin) decide to shake up their lives of retirement
by planning a heist on the big bank that betrayed them.
We Said: “It also falls
short as a heist flick, which is sort of a shame from the star of the original Italian
Job. Again, it's hard to pick
out anything specifically wrong, but there's nothing particularly right about
it either.” Rating: 2 out of 5
Also Available: Shin Godzilla, Sleight, Phoenix Forgotten, Big Little Lies: Season One, The Lovers, Crashing: The Complete First Season, Opening Night, The Drowning, Slither, The Ottoman Lieutenant, The Hippopotamus, Fortitude: Season Two, S.W.A.T.: Under Siege, League of Gods, Wakefield, Obit and All the Money
