The Circle disappoints, but asks compelling questions

Movie Title:  

The Circle [Bluray + DVD] [Blu-ray]

Grade:  C

Rating:   PG-13

In a Nutshell: Everyone loves Tom Hanks, right?  And who doesn’t adore Hermione, also known as Emma Watson?  Surely, the loveable Patton Oswalt could make fans smile. It sounds like a recipe for an awesome movie, right?  

Unfortunately, it didn’t do that well at the box office and audiences are just saying, “Meh” as it heads out to Redbox and DVD.

It’s kind of an even higher tech version of a Big Brother thriller, but while the movie doesn’t fully develop the intriguing ideas it tackles, it’s a great opportunity to talk about privacy vs. transparency with others…even if you have to Tweet it.

Uplifting theme: 

• “Do you think you behave better now that you know you’re being watched?” – Bailey (Tom Hanks)
• “I am a believer in the perfectability of human beings.  When we are our best selves, the possibilities are endless.  There isn’t a problem that we cannot solve.” - Bailey
• “Without secrets, without the hording of knowledge and information, we can finally realize our potential.” – Bailey
• ‘Knowledge is a basic human right.” – Mae
• Privacy vs. protection

Things I liked:

• SeeChange and the other tools The Circle company invents would be great ideas if they only tracked terrorists and human rights violators, but it would trample all over everyone else’s right to privacy.  It would be nice if politicians’ transactions were open and accountable though, right?  We simply can’t have it both ways.  Benjamin Franklin stated, “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”  The subject matter is fascinating and could have been an extremely compelling movie if written a little better.
• This movie might be a helpful reminder to the younger generation that loves to post Selfies and Tweet about what they ate for breakfast, that personal privacy is something to be protected.
• I like both Bill Paxton and Glenne Headley, who play Mae’s parents.  Sadly, they both passed away the year the film was released (2017).
• I’m not a huge Doctor Who fan, so I hadn’t seen Karen Gillan in anything before.  I love her cute Scottish accent and would like to see more of her.  Mae mentions her long legs, which was an Easter Egg shout-out for Doctor Who (2005): The Complete 5th Series (Blu-ray) fans who might remember when a character in that show described her as being “made of legs, the most legs on any living human.”

Things I didn’t like:

• Emma Watson’s American accent goes in and out.  I adore her as an actress, but sometimes I couldn’t tell if her character, Mae, was drinking the Koolaid or repelled by the personal invasion her company was promoting.  Maybe the audience wasn’t supposed to know. Maybe it was intentional that we weren’t supposed to be able to read her emotions?
• Group Think mentality can easily and quickly go awry.
• I have not read the book The Circle by Dave Eggers, but I have heard that the ending in the movie is different than in the book.
• John Boyega’s character, Ty, could have been explored more.  The events that followed Mercer (Ellar Coltrane) could have had even more impact if we had learned more about him too.
• Not much humor.

Interesting lines:

• “Knowing is good.  But knowing everything is better.” – Bailey
• “Introspection or communication?” - Mae's job interviewer
• “Needs of the society or needs of the individual?” – job interviewer

“It should be the same.” – Mae

• “Greatest fear?” – job interviewer

“Unfulfilled potential.” – Mae

• “Secrets are lies.  Secrets are what make lies possible.  We behave worse when we’re not accountable.” – Mae
• “Fugitive of friendship…” Mae

Funny lines:

• “I want to thank you already for this.  I love following strangers down dark corridors. This is the best.” - Mae

Tips for parents: 

• Some profanity, including an F-bomb.
• A scene with Mae’s parents in a “situation” in their bedroom, although clothing is on.
• There is not very much action, so children will be bored.

@trinaboice 

Beauty and the Beast brings animation magic to life

Movie Title:
  Beauty and the Beast

Grade:  A

Rating:  PG, 129 minutes

In a Nutshell:  In this lovely Disney re-telling of a tale as old as time, Emma Watson shows us she can sing, dance, and cast a delightful spell on audiences, even when she isn’t playing Hermione Granger.  

Bill Condon (who also directed Dreamgirls and one of the Twilight movies) sticks fairly close to the source material, but adds a few new songs and some new jokes to freshen up the story.

While I enjoyed this new version, I have to admit the 1991 Disney animation did it better.

Uplifting theme: 

• Do not be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.
• “Don’t be afraid.” - Beast
• Be kind and fearless

Things I liked:

• There are some beautiful set pieces and landscapes that put the make-believe French village and castle in the magic zone. 
• Josh Gad is Disney awesomeness and looks quite comfortable in another musical.
• It’s better in 3D, but not necessary.  (I saw it in both.)
• I love Dan Stevens’ blue eyes.
• I’ve always loved Kevin Kline in anything he does, so I thought his little solo was very touching. “How does a moment last forever? How does a story never die? It's love we must hold on to.”  Celine Dion sings it again at the end of the movie.  More love.  Did you know she won a Grammy for a song she sang with the 1991 animated movie?
• Audra McDonald clearly has the best pipes out of all the singers in the movie.  Did you know she is married to Will Swenson (I thought he was hilarious in Sons of Provo)
• I loved the Beast’s eye makeup in the beginning.
• I thought the tomato soup and rolls that Belle and the Beast ate for lunch looked delicious.  Yeah, of course I would notice the food.
• As an author, I love that books played a prominent role in the movie.  Belle explains that books allow you to escape.  Yes!  (So do movies.)
• Did you notice Belle’s modern earring that she wore on one ear at the ball?
• I thought Belle and the Beast looked good together at the end, like they matched.
• I loved how the rolling credits showed the cast at the end of the movie.
• Emma Thompson is magical in everything she does.
• The sets and costumes are all gorgeous.
• The original composer from the 1991 animation came back to score this film!
• Luke Evans was awesome as Gaston.
• If you loved the original, you'll be glad they didn't change much in this version.
• A lot of critics are bashing Ewan McGregor for his terrible French accent, but I thought it was fine.  I've always really liked him.  I mean, c'mon, he's a Jedi.
• Can't get enough of this movie?  Check out this interesting video that includes 20 secrets about the making of Beauty and the Beast.

Things I didn’t like:

• While I thought the live action remake of Cinderella with Lily James and Cate Blanchett was absolutely fantastic, this new version of Beauty and the Beast is just ok.
• In this new adaptation, the Beast has a magical book that allows you to teleport anywhere.  Awesome, right?  So then, why is the magic mirror still needed?
• While I enjoyed Emma Watson, I’m just wondering why Anna Kendrick wasn’t cast as Belle.  She has a much, much better voice.
• Why is Belle’s skirt always pulled up on the right side?
• It feels like a stage play at times.
• Sometimes the camera moves too fast.  I wanted to see more things slower.
• I wanted the famous ballroom dance scene to be breathtaking, like in the newest Cinderella, but it was underwhelming.
• If you were hoping for a new take on the original story, you might be disappointed, because it is very much the same movie, except with live action.
• I thought Belle was kind of rude when Gaston gave her flowers in the square.

Interesting lines:

• “She hasn’t made a fool of herself just to gain my favor.  What would you call that?” – Gaston (Luke Evans)

“Dignity.” – Le Fou
"It's outrageously attractive, don't you think?" - Gaston

• “Your library makes our small corner of the world feel big.” – Belle
• “People say a lot of things in anger.  It is our choice whether or not to listen.” – Mrs. Pott
• “Can anybody be happy if they’re not free?” – Belle

Funny lines:

• “It’s never going to happen, ladies.” – Le Fou (Josh Gad)
• "You really want to marry into this family?" - Le Fou

Tips for parents: 

• There is a scene with LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, that has been labeled a “gay moment." Because of it, the movie has already been banned in Malaysia and restricted to viewers over the age of 16 in Russia.  In my opinion, that moment has been blown out of proportion.  In fact, I was able to identify what could be called 3 "gay moments."  I completely understand why parents feel betrayed by Disney, who they look to for "safe" family-friendly entertainment; however, over the years, more and more Disney films have contained potentially offensive material. What are parents to do?  Talk with your children about what you value and why, while teaching them to love others.
• Young girls will notice that only the boys were allowed to go to school and read.  Talk to your daughters about that.  Point out how smart, independent, and capable Belle was because she read and sought knowledge.
• No profanity.  Thank you Disney!
• There are some scenes that might frighten young children, particularly with scary wolves and fighting.

Check out this cool video that BYU's Vocal Point just made with Lexi Walker to honor the wonderful music of Beauty and the Beast! The male dancer in the scene "Tale as Old as Time" was dating my niece. They were both on the award-winning BYU Ballroom dance team together! He's a really great guy.

Noah meets Transformers surprises movie-goers

Movie Title:   Noah

PG-13, 2 hours 19 minutes

Grade:  D  -   for Don't waste your hard-earned money on this piece of garbage

In a Nutshell:   

Oh, Hollywood.  Why?  Has anyone in Hollywood actually read the Bible ? You have the ability to make movie magic, but you really messed up this one.  Who knew there were rock people/Transformers in the Noah story?  I guess I missed that part when I read the scriptures. 

Movie critics are singing praises for this film for being an epic and fresh take on an old tale, but the rest of us, especially those who actually know the story, are seriously disappointed and even a bit alarmed.  At one point during the movie, I leaned over to my husband and said “I really hate this movie.”  In fact, it made me angry.

Hopeful Christians and Jews are flocking to the theater, only to be shocked at the bizarre depiction of Noah as an environmentalist whose sole purpose was to protect “the innocents” (animals) so that God could have justice by destroying man and the wicked world.  The trailer for this unbiblical fantasy film looked so promising and certainly didn’t reveal the strange elements that are making movie-goers shake their heads in frustration.  The recent release of Son of God makes the religious community that eagerly wants to support “good” films declare “two strikes in a row.” 

In a recent interview, writer/director Darren Aronofsky was accused of taking some liberties with the story.  Self-proclaimed atheist, Aronofsky, responded “You cast Russell Crowe as Noah and you’re taking some liberties!”  But it goes much deeper than actor choice.  Aronofsky completely changed the story.  By the way, Aronofsky is the director of the award-winning Black Swan which earned over $300 million.  His creative interpretation of the Bible story comes out of innovative art, not faith. Oh yeah, and clever marketing to make more millions.

Uplifting theme:  The Creator is a god of mercy, not justice alone.

Things I liked:

• I thought the touching scene where Noah assures Ila (the lovely Emma Watson) that she belonged in their family was really sweet.  He said to her “Please don’t forget you’re a precious, precious girl.”  Of course, later he wanted to kill her and her babies…Noah is portrayed as a lunatic, crazed on bringing God’s justice to the world and to his family, something I definitely did not like.  I have a much different view of what a prophet of God acts like.  Rage, violence, short-sightedness, drunkedness, and murderer are not included in the list of qualities I expect from one who walks with God.
• Who doesn’t adore Anthony Hopkins?  The audience giggled every time he talked about his craving for berries.  His supernatural ability to touch Shem’s forward and make him instantly fall asleep was odd, as well as a skill I wish I had when my children were younger.
• The film was made in Iceland and New York with beautiful vistas.
• I thought the glowing strip of fabric that each prophet wrapped around his arm and passed down to his son was interesting because it looked like a snake skin, providing a reminder of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and a constant reminder to obey the commandments of God.
• I liked it when the first water drop fell from the sky on to Noah’s blue/green eye, making it look like a flood around the planet earth.
• The rainbow at the very end was very subtle, but a gentle reminder that God will never flood the earth again.
• I liked the interesting animal that gets killed by Cain’s descendants at the beginning of the movie.  Apparently, that creature’s kind never made it on to the ark.  (wink)
• The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Noah’s wife, but can you imagine how much manure she must have shoveled? She had to have been an extremely hard worker, supportive wife, and loving mother to put up with everything they must have gone through during their epic trek.  Jennifer Connelly does a terrific job and is a mother of three sons in real life.  I thought it was funny that we don’t know her name, so the writer’s named her “Naameh” (pronounced Nawmay)…kinda looks like the word “name”, right? Lame.

Things I didn’t like:

• Soooo many things were not scripturally correct.  I started making a list of all of the inaccuracies, but finally gave up because the list was too long. If you’d like to find out what really happened in the story, you can start by reading Genesis chapters 6 to 9.  Of course, we don’t have a lot of the details, so some of the ideas that were included in the movie are thought-provoking.  For example, how do you keep that many animals from eating each other for over a year in tight quarters?  I liked their idea of creating some kind of incense that would put the creatures into a form of hibernation. And no, Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t appear and say he’s @#$! sick and tired of all the snakes on the $#!#$! ark.  Ha ha
• Noah was quick to recognize dreams and miracles from God in the beginning, yet couldn’t see the tender mercies of God during the remainder of the movie.  Lame again.  Naameh asks Noah “Did God speak to you?” and he answers “I think so.”  I envision prophets having a much closer relationship with God than the kind depicted in this film where Emo-Noah is so uncertain and seems to stumble upon a vague directive from the Creator of the universe after his grandfather makes him drink some kind of hallucinogen.  More lame.
• I believe the scriptures are true and so I believe the story of Noah.  God literally baptized the earth with water and His protective hand was over the righteous family of Noah the entire time.  I hated all of the crazy turmoil inside the ark that included Ham’s desire for revenge, an evil stowaway, and how everyone wanted to kill Noah.  I picture something infinitely more peaceful as God lovingly cared for the prophet’s family every step of the way.
• Noah’s sons were married, so all of the drama about barren Ila and Noah not allowing his other sons to bring girls on the ark was inane and annoying.
• I thought Naameh’s home pregnancy kit was ridiculous.
• The rock people (The Watchers) would have been cool in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , but they were laughable in this one. 
• It was hard to feel badly for Ham’s girlfriend when they only knew each other for about two minutes.  Their first date was hanging out in a ditch with a bunch of corpses.  Classic.  I would have liked to see more character development so we could have had time to care about her.
• I was kind of surprised that more time wasn’t spend on the disaster movie nature of the film, showing us more detail on what was going on outside the ark as the flood waters arrived.  Then, my D grade for this movie could have a double meaning for Disaster.
• The liberal slant about the descendants of Cain who industrialized the world and raped it of its natural resources reminded me of being preached at in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest .
• Did anyone even notice Nick Nolte in the film? 
• This film could have been so awesome if  Darren Aronofsky had actually wanted to tell the story of Noah.  He didn't and it wasn't.  The end.

Inspiring lines:

• “Is this the end of everything?”  - Ila   “The beginning of everything.”   - Noah
• Tubal Cain, the wicked king barks “I have men at my back and you stand alone to defy me?”  I loved it when Noah confidently declares “I am not alone.”
• Ham defiantly yells to his father “Do you want me to be a child?”  Noah challenges him “I’m asking you to be a man and do what needs to be done.”
• “I see my sons.  All they desire is love.  Isn’t that all we need to be good?”  - Naameh
• “You chose mercy.  You chose love.”  - Ila says to Noah
• “He chose you because you saw the wickedness of man and knew you wouldn’t look away.  But there is goodness too.”  - Ila says to Noah about why God chose him to prepare the ark.  She provides a lot of insightful lessons in the movie and wraps up the theme quite nicely in the end.  Yay Hermione Granger!
• “May you walk along side the Creator in righteousness.”  - Noah’s father gives him this counsel at the beginning of the movie.  It’s great advice for all of us, don’t you think?
• “Strength comes from the Creator.”  - Noah

Did you know?

• Countries like Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain notified Paramount Pictures that they will not release this film.
• Director Darren Aronofsky jokes that they ran out of money, so they weren’t able to film a whole lot of the fish and creatures under the waters.

Tips for parents:  Children may become confused about what the real story of Noah is because of so many nonsensical elements in this film.  Be prepared for violence, blood, infanticide, some discussion of sex.