'The Circle'
When a movie isn't screened in advance for critics, we get a little curious about why the studio doesn't want us to see it. When a movie featuring big-name stars like Tom Hanks and Emma Watson isn't shown ahead of time, we become very curious. Which brings us to "The Circle" (PG-13), a dystopian sci fi-thriller about the owner of a social media company (Hanks) who pushes one of his techies (Watson) to use her e-skills to skirt ethical boundaries and dig up dirt about clients' private lives. When we heard that the movie wasn't being screened, our cynical minds jumped to the usual negative speculations: It bombed with test audiences. The studio execs hated it. Or theaters were afraid it would tank at the box office if critics panned it. But, in fairness, there could be some other, much more benign reason behind the move, such as — well, um, they sent the film to a drugstore for processing and it didn't come back in time — sure, that could be it. Whatever the reason, the movie opens Friday, so we'll know the answer pretty soon.
Jeff Strickler
