The Circle Review

If I was going to give a subtitle to this review it might be The Circle: Buzz Words without a Buzzy Story. On the surface the The Circle looks like an intriguing thriller about social media and there are moments of that but they are buried inside a very dopey script, poor character development and tons of exposition.

Based on the novel by Dave Eggers, director James Ponsoldt takes a dopey book and turns it into an even dopier movie. Some elements in the novel like the suicide of a character have a lot of emotion and depth to them. In the movie that suicide is made into an accident and its impact is minimal. It’s just everything is neutered emotionally but then explained as if we were toddlers in the audience that it becomes hard to watch.

I felt like saying “movie we all get it! Social media can be invasive and take away from actual relationships”. The odd thing is within The Circle they never really address the true darkness of things like cyberbullying or trolling. It’s all on a level of ‘isn’t that uncomfortable this information or moment got shared”.

Emma Watson stars as Mae who gets a job at a facebook-like company called The Circle. It’s really like Google and Facebook combined. She is initially skeptical but then is won over…but then she’s skeptical again and won over again. There is no sense of here’s where this character starts and here’s what she learns in the end. Watson is fine in the role but it’s for a hopeless endeavor of a bland character. There’s one point where she commits a crime and that came out of nowhere. Why would she want to do that in the middle of the night? I have no idea.

Tom Hanks plays Eamon the head of The Circle and I guess he is supposed to be scary? It is certainly portrayed that way in the marketing with the label “the only thing he can’t control is her”. Far from it, he controls her very well, literally manipulating every aspect of her life for most of the movie. He’s not in the movie that much and mostly gives presentations to large groups, which makes for weak character development.

The biggest problem with Eamon and The Circle is we don’t understand the motivation. Is it to make money? Because clearly most of the stuff going on in The Circle doesn’t make them money. For example, they have a promotion to get everyone in The Circle to vote. Why does Eamon want this? For political control? If that is the case it is not clear what he wants to do with that power when he gets it.  Does he want to start a cult? This could be but aside from protecting people there doesn’t seem to be an underlying philosophy usually associated with cults.

John Boyega’s character is also a huge miss. Without spoilers, let’s just say there is no way The Circle would keep him around. He’s basically there to occasionally pipe in and give Mae exposition.

The rest of the actors like the late Bill Paxton are fine but in such a lame story it is such a shame. Even the editing and directing felt cheap and rushed.

There are a few good moments and thought provoking ideas but for the most part The Circle was a bad movie. Poor characters, writing and tone.

Oh well! Can’t win them all.

Overall Grade- D-


The Lost City of Z Review

There are some movies I feel bad for giving a negative review to. In a world of bland board meeting films I especially want to love passion projects and movies where all involved had ambition and a grand scope. However, that ambition can only get you so far and the movie has to be able to stand on its own. James Gray’s recent The Lost City of Z is such an ambitious miss and it pains me to say it. There is a lot of good but in the end I can’t recommend it mostly because of the poor script that let’s the whole movie down.

The Lost City of Z is based on a book about a man named Percy Fawcett who at the turn of century led several expeditions in Bolivia to find the  ancient Lost City of Z. This might sound exciting but in truth this film is more like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre than an exciting exploration movie. You might also be able to compare it to the Revenant in the way it explores the harshness of another climate and culture. However, both Sierra Madre and the Revenant have something Lost City of Z does not have- a concise narrative and compelling script (especially Sierra Madre which has a masterful script).

In Lost City of Z we get the entire life of Percy Fawcett. This not only makes the movie very long but also quite sprawling in nature. We get 3 expeditions and a long war sequence wedged in between. If the movie decided to focus on one of these expeditions it would have been so much better. It would have had a clear goal and the accompanying challenges, heroes, villains, etc.  Here it seems like every time the movie gets momentum you are back in London, or off to war, and then back again to the Amazon.

It’s the same way with the characters. Sienna Miller is good as Fawcett’s wife but we see her so intermittently that she basically becomes a ‘ra ra’ character for him. Robert Pattinson is good as his first mate but the script doesn’t really allow us to get to know him either. At one point in the story they are starving and we see suffering but I was left asking questions- why did they not bring enough food, what happened to the food, why did they not fish or hunt, what exactly are they looking for etc. If I was more invested in the characters than I wouldn’t have been asking those questions.

I also thought the dialogue was very clunky. Charlie Hunnam tries his darnedest but he always felt like he was giving speeches not talking like an actual person. There is one scene where he argues with his wife about her coming on the expedition that felt real and human. (Sadly that is undermined by it coming out of nowhere for her character). Aside from that, everything he said just felt so wooden and clunky to me.

For example, towards the end he has a chance to say something emotional and meaningful to his son (Tom Holland). Instead of sharing a memory or a personal story of his life he says something like ‘we’ve got to fight on until the end because we are explorers’.  It was stale when it should have been raw and emotional.

I know I have been very tough on this movie- probably more so than it deserves, but it has so much potential it is frustrating. I honestly think if the script had gotten a few more run-throughs and was made a little bit better it could have been one of the best of the year. As it is, it is an ambitious miss.

Overall Grade- C

Colossal Review












Overall Grade- B

Disney Release News


All right. Let’s talk about each of these items












The biggest bummer is Gigantic.  🙁


Dreamworks 3: Prince of Egypt

Today in my 3rd Dreamworks film we are going to look at what in my eyes is their one and only masterpiece- The Prince of Egypt. Not only was it their first animated film but it hits on every level. The animation is stunning. The music both score and songs is nearly perfect. The story is classic but told in a fresh, awe-inspiring way. It just all works and it is one of my favorite movies.

So, we all know the story of the 10 Commandments and Moses from the Bible. Charlton Heston played Moses in one of the most famous movies ever made (that I love) and there have been other versions over the years. It’s the most cinematic Bible story because it has so many layers. There’s obviously religion, but culture, miracles, family, love and more. However, what I love about Prince of Egypt is it tackles the story with a spirit of reverence. While certainly full of drama, the writers chose to forgo most of the vibrato of earlier versions and in return gave us an intimate portrayal of 2 brothers and their goings-on with God.

Prince of Egypt starts out by establishing the 2 sides of Rameses and Moses. We get Deliver Us from the Hebrew slaves with Moses being left in the basket by his mother and then Rameses and Moses as teens racing in chariots.

This establishes the rivalry between brothers but also the humility that will become Moses and the pride of Rameses. It is here that Pharaoh first tells Rameses to “not become the weak link”, which leads to much of his pride (such a great script!).

I’m not a huge fan of the celebrity voice casting in the Dreamworks films and some of it is distracting here but I love Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes as Moses and Rameses. I also love they got Amick Byram to sing for Val in a seamless transition (and the amazing Brian Stokes Mitchell to sing for Danny Glover). Well done! These voice actors feel like brothers but also like they are somehow from different worlds. It is perfect!

Of course, Moses finds out about his Hebrew heritage and the way that is handled is so good. You get the mania he must be feeling especially when he sees the hieroglyphic art depicting what his father Pharaoh did to the Hebrew slaves. Sandra Bullock is a little modern as Miriam here but I still think it works for the role.

Stephen Schwartz is certainly no stranger to religious musicals with Godspell and Children of Eden but I love his songs for Prince of Egypt even more. Aside from Playing with the Big Boys Now I love every song here. I love the vocal performances, harmonies, choral hooks, everything. Hans Zimmer’s score is one of his best full of quiet moments of wonder even in scenes like the plagues.

One of the highlights of the film is the iconic burning bush sequence. It is the best I’ve seen of this moment on film. Again, it has such a spirit of reverence and peace about it. You understand why Moses would be overwhelmed and yet it is small and ephemeral. It’s exactly how I imagine it really happened.

After he is called, Moses goes to confront Rameses, his brother, and we get the plagues which is presented perfectly. You can feel the tension between them personally grow with each new plague.

And then we get the parting of the Red Sea. I mean what is there to say but perfection. It is some of the most jaw dropping animation I’ve ever seen. Some don’t like there is a shark in the Red Sea but I kind of feel sorry for them. That they can’t just get caught up in the moment of sound, color, and story. It’s breathtaking

The only real flaw in Prince of Egypt is Playing with the Big Boys now which feels like an attempt to pander to kids and doesn’t fit with the tone and feel of the rest of the movie. I was looking on rottentomatoes and the rotten reviews said it wasn’t ‘fun’ enough. It’s those kind of morons that get us Guy Like You in Hunchback or Big Boys in this. Shame on you!

Anyway, I love this movie. I watched it today trying to analyze it and be objective (and I think I was) but I really don’t see many problems. It has great characters, story, music, animation and everything else. My only regret is that Shrek came along and sent Dreamworks away from making films like Prince of Egypt and down the path of lame comedies. Sigh…

At least they started out with a bang!

Overall Grade A+






This review is very exciting because it is has been 2 years since my last Disneynature review! Back in 2015 I reviewed the Disneynature canon finishing off with Bears. It was a lot of fun so I anxiously awaited their next release this year’s Born in China. Fortunately, the wait was worth while as this is a charming entry in this series of nature documentaries.

The last Disneynature release was 2015’s Monkey Kingdom which is one of the weaker entries as much felt staged but it still was entertaining. However, I was glad to see Born in China get back to more authentic feeling animal footage. In this case we are following 3 animals in China- a giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey and snow leopard.

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The word to describe Born in China is adorable. Nearly everything about this movie is adorable. The animals are so cute and the story they create is very charming.

Some people might think it is a bit cloying with the narration by John Krasinski but I like how they create stories and characters (as long as it isn’t too staged like Monkey Kingdom).It keeps the nature documentary from getting boring because we have a story to draw us in. Yes, sometimes they go a little bit too far with the narration but I still enjoy it.

We follow these animals for an entire year and see the cycle of their lives. This does include some sobering realities but never too long. It shouldn’t be traumatic for kids. African Cats is the most traumatic of these Disneynature films.

The cinematography and footage they are able to get is remarkable. Especially in the leopard footage I couldn’t help but wonder how they kept themselves safe with these fierce animals that are very hungry! It’s amazing how close up to the animals they get. I realize that is from lenses but still it is very impressive.

Disneynature gives a portion of this week’s ticket sales to conservation efforts so if you can see it go to the theater. It will be a good experience for the entire family and would make a great family home evening. The kids in my theater were eating it up responding with big gasps and awes throughout the film.

I wouldn’t say Born in China is my favorite Disneynature film. That is still Crimson Wing and Chimpanzee but it is still very enjoyable and worth seeing.

Overall Grade- B+

smile worthy

Here is my youtube review. I would love if you took a look and gave it thumbs up.

Spark: A Space Tail Review

Did you know an animated film was released in over 1,000 US theaters last weekend? No it is not My Entire High School is Sinking In the Sea (which I highly recommend).  No it is Spark: A Space Tail. This is a film out of Korea and is the same studio that brought us The Nut Job…

That may sound like a sassy introductory paragraph but a side of me wants to be easy on Spark: A Space Tail. I see potential with it and other foreign CG films that I wish I could nurture and develop. Too many are quick to discount these smaller studio efforts as immediate garbage but I try to have an open mind. In fact, I really think if you could get some writers involved who know what works for an American palate they could be successful. Movies like Spark, Wild Life, Rock Dog and more have solid animation, voice acting but suffer from poorly developed scripts.

Spark is my least favorite out of those 3 films. I was hoping I would enjoy it like I enjoyed Ratchet and Clank (yep, I liked that film). Unfortunately it was not to be.

There are some positives to Spark: A Space Tail. First of all, I enjoyed the animation and the world building. It may not be on a Pixar level but it was bright and full of colors. I also liked the various alien designs and how they moved and flowed in unique ways.

I also thought the voice cast was solid featuring Jace Norman, Jessica Biel, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Stewart and Hillary Swank.

The problem with Spark is I frankly found it extremely boring. The story felt so rehashed from other films and nothing was compelling or drawing me into the story. This kind of space adventure should be fun and nostalgic but it wasn’t. I’ll be honest I fell asleep and not just my normal nods. This was full on sleep for 5 minutes or so…Nothing interesting was happening and the story doesn’t even get really started for an hour into the 90 minute movie. The villain was super lame and felt like a rip-off of Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls and was shouting most of the time. The teenage angst of Spark didn’t interest me and everything about the story was so predictable and boring.

I hope in the future studios try to make their films more appealing to an American audience if they want their work to take off.  In Spark: A Space Tail I didn’t care about the characters or what was going on and I don’t think kids will either. They will be bored along with their parents and start begging to watch Star Wars again instead and I wouldn’t blame them!

Still, I hope these smaller studios can figure things out. Start selecting better scripts and make the good movies I can see in their future. The potential is there!

Overall Grade- D

Monster Trucks Review

monster trucks

We live in the era of nostalgic films and most of the time that means lazy retreads of what we know and love. Movies like Jurassic World or Kong Skull Island provide momentary pleasure but none of the lasting enrichment of the films they are attempting to imitate. They leave me feeling empty and the victim of corporate movie-making.

These misfires are why it is frustrating when people really try to do nostalgia right and it still doesn’t quite work. This is the case with the recent box office bomb Monster Trucks. It starts out as a real charmer but then devolves into a tedious exercise that belongs on CW more than a feature film.

The film revolves around a high schooler named Tripp Coley played by Lucas Till. Tripp is the typical angsty teen of these types of movies who works at the local junkyard. One day he meets a octopus like animal he names Creech. He also has a girl who is in love with him played by Jane Levy. All of this actually works in the first act as a nostalgic throwback to movies like The Goonies and even ET. Neither of the leads look like they are in high school and the villains are one note but it was winning me over.

Then the monster gets in the trucks and it all goes downhill from there…

I guess if you like car chases then you might like the last 2 acts of this movie but I grew very bored. Most of it is scene after scene of Tripp and Creech being chased by bad guys and causing all kinds of destruction along the way. There are so many scenes where cars are crashed into and piled upon. In one scene an entire car dealership is plowed through with the entire lot being destroyed.

Another long sequence involves a wall of fire and a giant platform car taking out car after car. There are people in some of these cars but it is all taken at a very slapstick silly level.

It really is a shame because Chris Wedge had some charming ideas here and the special effects on Creech are impressive. You can feel the love that went into making Monster Trucks but I can’t deny I was bored with those car chases and very tempted to fast forward the video.

Danny Glover plays a man in wheelchair who is kind of a mentor of Tripp but he seems wasted. As is Amy Ryan as Tripp’s mother. Also it kind of annoyed me that Jane Levy exists only to fawn over Tripp despite his complete lack of interest in her. She is presented as this strong, smart girl and yet is a complete ninny when it comes to Tripp. Groan (one part of nostalgic films I could do without!).

A part of me wants to tell people to see this movie just to support people that were really trying to make something special but unfortunately I just can’t. Too much racing and chasing for my tastes!

Overall Grade- C-


Summer 2017 Box Office Predictions

Anyone who follows this blog knows I am notoriously bad at predicting the box office, but nevertheless it is still fun to take a crack at it- especially at the beginning of the big summer season. Last year I  got 6/10 right with misses from TMNT: Out of the Shadows, Independence Day Resurgence, Pete’s Dragon and Sausage Party.

Last year I just went with my gut feelings where this year I have actually done some research. It will be interesting to see which method fairs better.

My predictions are based on domestic grosses not international because many movies are released out of the summer internationally.

So here is my predictions for 2017 Summer Box Office:

  1. Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2- There is so much enthusiasm for this movie. People literally cheer in the theater when a trailer comes on. The first film did surprisingly well and this will do even better. I think it will open at 175 million similar to Beauty and the Beast and it will have legs. Baby Groot!
  2. Despicable Me 3- Summer 2014 only had 1 animated film in the top 10 and 2017 will be the same. Illumination has not had a miss at the box office yet and nearly every child I know is looking forward to DM3.
  3. Spider-Man Homecoming- The Amazing Spider-man 2 made $202 million despite it not being very good. This film is coming off of Civil War that people loved. It has Iron Man in it, Michael Keaton as the villain and a new younger Peter Parker. It will do very well
  4. Transformers 5- The last Transformers movie made $245 million domestic despite it being awful and having terrible predecessors. Last Knight has Transformers, King Arthur, Nazis and time travel so there’s no reason to think this will be any less successful.
  5. Wonder Woman- I know some are cynical about DC but despite the last 3 entries not being very good they still made a lot of money including Suicide Squad that was barely a movie. Wonder Woman has had good trailers and will hopefully appeal to both boys and girls
  6. War of the Planet of the Apes- The last Apes movie made $208 million and this looks fantastic. I can’t wait for it so I think it will do very well!
  7. The Mummy- This is a bit of a risk because Tom Cruise had a misfire with Jack Reacher 2 and Dracula Untold didn’t do well. But I’m thinking this will draw in the Mission Impossible crowd with its stunts and scope.
  8. Dunkirk- Interstellar made $188 million and this looks to be more of a traditional narrative from Christopher Nolan. He is the big draw here because it does seem like an odd release date for what should be an Oscar season movie?
  9. Baywatch- Last year the Rock did well for me with Central Intelligence so I’m betting on him again. He has so much charisma and promotes his films so much. A big factor on this film is if it is funny or not. We’ll see.
  10. Rough Night- There are 3 raunchy female-led comedies this summer, so I have to believe one of them will crack the top 10. My pick is Rough Night with Scarlet Johansson and Kate McKinnon. Bad Moms made $179 million and this will do similarly well.

Dark Horse Contenders- All Eyez on Me, Captain Underpants, Cars 3, Emoji Movie, Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Pirates 5, Snatched, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Alien Covenant 

Obviously it won’t make the top 10  but I am hopeful the documentary STEP does well for a documentary. They just released the trailer and it has a lot of hits for an indie doc. I just love it so much!