Film: The Circle

GENRE: Drama, ‘Thriller’

RATING: PG-13 for brief language and a sexual situation
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 50 minutes

STARRING: Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Beauty and the Beast)

Tom Hanks (Sully, Captain Phillips), Karen Gillan (Dr. Who)

DIRECTOR: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now)

WRITERS: Posoldt (Smashed), Dave Eggers (Away We Go)

PLOT: A woman gets a job at a tech company that has too much control.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Rotten Tomatoes diminished my hopes.

STORY STUFF: Imagine a much, much tamer version of Black Mirror. The trailer and interviews gave the impression that this was a thriller with some great twists at the end. If the twist was a boring, mediocre ending with a deus ex machine resolution then mission accomplished. Watch Black Mirror instead (start with Season 3, Episode 1 on Netflix).  

ACTING STUFF: It was a great cast. Unfortunately, no one really wowed. The lines were so cliché that they didn’t get much to work with.

ARTISTIC STUFF: If they wanted me to think this was thriller, Danny Elfman (Batman) should have added more thriller-type music. The pop-up messages constantly filling the screen were fun to read at times.   

VERDICT: Two stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You are paranoid that your microwave is watching you

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2