Based on the international best-seller by Dave Eggers, The Circle arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital HD) and DVD August 1 from Lionsgate; with Digital HD on July 18 and On Demand on August 1 from EuropaCorp. Capturing the phenomenon of today’s social media and the consequences of being permanently checked in, the gripping modern thriller is directed and co-written for the screen by James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) and Dave Eggers (A Hologram for the King), and features an all-star cast, including Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast), Oscar® winner Tom Hanks (Best Actor, Forrest Gump, 1994), John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Emmy® winner Patton Oswalt (Writing for Variety Special, “Talking for Clapping,” 2016), Glenne Headly (“The Night Of”), and Golden Globe® nominee Bill Paxton (Best Actor, Television – Drama, “Big Love,” 2010) in his final role.
When Mae (Watson) is hired to work for the world’s largest and most powerful tech and social media company, she sees it as an opportunity of a lifetime. As she rises through the ranks, she is encouraged by the company’s founder, Eamon Bailey (Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics, and ultimately, her personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment and every decision she makes begin to affect the lives and future of her friends, family, and all of humanity.
The home entertainment release of The Circle features all-new bonus content, including three featurettes chronicling the making of the film, a look at the future of technology, and an interview with Tom Hanks and James Ponsdolt reminiscing about their work with Bill Paxton, The Circle will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for $39.99 and $29.95, respectively. BLU-RAY / DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
“No More Secrets: Completing The Circle — A Four-Part Series” Featurette
“The Future Won’t Wait: Design and Technology” Featurette
“A True Original: Remembering Bill Paxton” Featurette
“I want to know everything about his personal life. Does he frequent those pathetic bars? What other homosexual facilities does he go to? What deviant groups does he secretly belong to?”
PHILADELPHIA screens Saturday, July 1st at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the eighth and final film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.
Director Jonathan Demme’s PHILADELPHIA (1993) is a story about the courage of Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks who won his first Oscar for this), who needs to put closure to his life. Of course, he is gay and a victim of AIDS. He has been let go from his job because the higher ups (embodied by Jason Robards) in his firm, filled with misinformation and prejudice, think he will transmit his disease to others. It is. But it was really common when this film was made. Andrew is played to the hilt by Tom Hanks who puts an incredible signature to the role. He obviously studied the disease and its manifestations. I’m aware that some have said that this movie leads to judgment of the gay community, defining by the AIDS epidemic. But, it is my belief, that it took on the issues that were used to persecute these people. Hanks’ character is strong and unyielding, willing to use what is left of his life to fight the forces that are working to crush him. PHILADELPHIA is an excellent film and a great way for Webster University to close out its tribute to Jonathan Demme.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Tom Hanks (left) and Steven Spielberg in BRIDGE OF SPIES
Twentieth Century Fox and Amblin Entertainment’s riveting drama inspired by actual events, THE PAPERS, began principal photography in New York on Tuesday, May 30th. Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg helms a powerhouse cast including Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in THE PAPERS.
In June 1971 The New York Times, the Washington Post and the nation’s major newspapers took a brave stand for freedom of speech and reported on the Pentagon Papers, the massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned four decades and four US Presidents. At the time, the Post’s Katherine Graham (Streep) was still finding her footing as the country’s first female newspaper publisher, and Ben Bradlee (Hanks), the paper’s volatile, driven editor, was trying to enhance the stature of the struggling, local paper. Together, the two formed an unlikely team, as they were forced to come together and make the bold decision to support The New York Times and fight the Nixon Administration’s unprecedented attempt to restrict the first amendment.
THE PAPERS marks the first time Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have collaborated on a project. In addition to directing, Spielberg will also produce along with Amy Pascal and Kristie Macosko Krieger.
The script was written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer and features an acclaimed ensemble cast including Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford and Zach Woods.
An Amblin Entertainment production, THE PAPERS will be distributed domestically by Twentieth Century Fox and will be in select theaters December 22nd, going wide January 12th, 2018. Internationally, the film will be distributed through Amblin’s deals with Universal Studios, Reliance Entertainment, eOne and other international distribution partnerships.
Based on the international best-seller by Dave Eggers, THE CIRCLE is a thrilling modern morality tale starring Emma Watson Nudes, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega.
As she rises through the ranks of the world’s largest tech and social media company, The Circle, Mae (Watson) is encouraged by company founder Eamon Bailey (Hanks) to live her life with complete transparency. But no one is really safe when everyone is watching.
THE CIRCLE is playing in theaters now.
You can win Run of Engagement passes to see THE CIRCLE in the St. Louis area.
Just leave a comment below and we’ll send our lucky readers passes good for two people. Good Luck!
The Circle is a gripping modern thriller, set in the not-too-distant future, starring Emma Watson (“Harry Potter”), Tom Hanks (“Sully”) and John Boyega (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).
When Mae (Emma Watson Nude) is hired to work for the world’s largest and most powerful tech & social media company, she sees it as an opportunity of a lifetime. As she rises through the ranks, she is encouraged by the company’s founder, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and ultimately her personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes begin to affect the lives and future of her friends, family and that of humanity.
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The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons were just the beginning and now with INFERNO, two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks (Best Actor: Forrest Gump, 1994; Philadelphia, 1993), two-time Academy Award winner Ron Howard (Best Director & Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind, 2001) and bestselling author Dan Brown are reunited for the latest intense thriller in this billion-dollar franchise. After waking up in a hospital room in Florence, Italy, with no memory of what has occurred for the last few days, Robert Langdon (Hanks) suddenly finds himself the target of a manhunt while solving the most intricate riddle he’s ever faced. Joining the international adventure are Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Irrfan Khan (Jurassic World), Omar Sy (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) and Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Westworld”). INFERNO debuts on digital,4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD January 24 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The INFERNO Blu-ray, DVD and digital releases are loaded with exciting and never-before-seen bonus content, including deleted scenes and six intriguing behind-the-scenes featurettes. Director Ron Howard shares his process for bringing to life the iconic imagery described in Dante’s Divine Comedy and the powerful themes that the classic story infuses into the film in “Visions of Hell,” while in “Ron Howard, A Director’s Journal,” viewers follow the acclaimed auteur as he returns to the world of Robert Langdon and documents his journey via social media. “Inferno Around the World,” highlights the stellar international cast involved in the film and the crew’s unprecedented access to stunning locations across the globe. Novelist Dan Brown, Director Ron Howard, Screenwriter David Koepp and Tom Hanks explore the evolution of Robert Langdon across the franchise and the new insights discovered about the hero in “A Look at Langdon.” Felicity Jones is front and center in “This Is Sienna Brooks,” which shines a light on one of the film’s most complex characters and the precision with which the Oscar® nominated actress (Best Actress, The Theory of Everything, 2014) brings her to life, while Ben Foster’s character gets the spotlight in “The Billionaire Villain: Bertrand Zobrist,” where viewers go inside the mind of the brilliant but dangerous villain and hear from Foster and the filmmakers about crafting this terrifying character.
Synopsis:
In this contemporary action thriller, the famous symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia and finds himself the target of a manhunt. Langdon teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a virus that would wipe out half of the world’s population.
Directed by Ron Howard with a screenplay by David Koepp, INFERNO is based upon the novel by Dan Brown. The film is produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard with David Householter, Dan Brown, William M. Connor, Anna Culp and Ben Waisbren as Executive Producers.
Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Bonus Materials Include:
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Six Featurettes:
“Ron Howard, A Director’s Journal”
“A Look at Langdon”
“The Billionaire Villain: Bertrand Zobrist”
“This Is Sienna Brooks”
“Inferno Around the World”
“Visions of Hell”
INFERNO has a run time of approximately 121 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, disturbing images, some language, thematic elements and brief sensuality.
2016 claimed a long list of entertainers, but the grim reaper’s most unexpected one-two punch came between the final two holidays with the death of movie icons Carrie Fisher on December 12 and her mother Debbie Reynolds a mere 36 hours later. With the premiere of the documentary about the pair, “Bright Lights” on HBO this weekend, we at the Geeks site thought we should take a look at their considerable contributions to film.
Let’s start with Carrie, who was born in Hollywood, USA on October 21, 1956, the daughter of Debbie and singer/actor Eddie Fisher. She appeared on stage with her mother throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s, even getting her first small screen credit in the 1969 TV movie “Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children”. It wasn’t until 1975, when she would make her big screen debut opposite Warren Beatty (quite an arrival) in Hal Ashby’s hit SHAMPOO. Watch out, this clip is definitely NSFW!!
Yes, that flick did well at the box office, but it was paled in comparison to her follow-up film, a blockbuster that changed the face of the industry: 1977’s STAR WARS.
Princess Leia Organa was the role that gave Carrie screen immortality. She would return to the character in 1980’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK , 1983’s THE RETURN OF THE JEDI, and 2015’s STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. When George Lucas was the recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, she shared some stories of that time…
But Carrie’s film career encompassed more than that blaster-totin’ royal rebel. She appeared in many comedies opposite a long list of impressive leading men. She was the ballistic ex of John Belushi in THE BLUES BROTHERS.
She would co-star with another SNL castmate, Chevy Chase, in UNDER THE RAINBOW. Carrie would work with Tom Hanks twice, first in THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE, and later in the cult classic THE BURBS.
Woody Allen cast her as Dianne Wiest’s “frenemy” in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, But she was a much better pal to Meg Ryan in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.
Carrie balanced lots of supporting film roles, like the nun in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, along with many TV appearances (new episodes of Amazon’s “Catastrophe” will be streaming soon). However the majority of her time the last couple of decades has been devoted to her writing. Carrie adapted her book POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE for director Mike Nichols who assembled a star-studded cast led by Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.
Soon after, she was in demand as an uncredited “script doctor” brought in to “punch up” the dialogue for films such as LETHAL WEAPON 3, OUTBREAK, THE WEDDING SINGER, and STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT. Happily her work in this December’s next Star Wars flick, Episode VIII, was completed, so fans will get to spend a bit more time with that princess who has a thing for scoundrels.
Now, it’s mama’s turn! She was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April first, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. After making Debbie her official first name, she was a beauty queen (Miss Burbank of 1948) who caught the eye of Hollywood talent scouts, and her first two films were for Warner Brothers (JUNE BRIDE in 48 and THE DAUGHTER OF ROSIE O’GRADY in 1950). Soon the smart folks at MGM scooped her up. She “lip-synced “I Wanna Be Loved by You” as Helen Kane (the inspiration for Betty Boop) in the musical biopic THREE LITTLE WORDS. IN TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE she captivated movie goers with her duet with Carleton Carpenter, “Aba Daba Honeymoon”. MR IMPERIUM followed, but her next film would be her entry into super-stardom. Some say it’s the greatest movie musical of all time, while it was included in the top ten comedies of all time by AFI. We’re talking about that 1952 gem…SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN.
…and here’s one of many memorable musicals numbers, “Good Morning”
Debbie was now one of MGM’s most popular stars. After a couple more musicals, she would branch out into more adult romantic comedies, such as THE TENDER TRAP with Frank Sinatra and SUSAN SLEPT HERE opposite Dick Powell.
After co-starring in THE CATERED AFFAIR, written by Paddy Chayefsky and Gore Vidal, and BUNDLE OF JOY with real-life hubby Eddie Fisher, Debbie launched a film franchise (and later TV series) as an innocent backwoods girl finding love in TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR. Her rendition of the theme song even became a juke box fave.
As the 1960’s began Debbie was at the top of the box office, scoring a major role in the Cinerama spectacle HOW THE WEST WAS WON. In 1964 she would finally be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress as the lead in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (a role she would later say was her favorite of all her films).
Two years later she would win praise in the biography, THE SINGING NUN. As the decade ended, Debbie appeared in two very adult marriage comedies, DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE, with Dick Van Dyke, and HOW SWEET IT IS! with James Garner, along with forays into horror (1971’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?) and animation (1973’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB). Work on stage and television then occupied most her time, along with collecting movie memorabilia for a possible future museum. Happily she might a triumphant return to the big screen in the 1990’s with a supporting role in Oliver Stone’s HEAVEN & EARTH. Her last truly great movie role might be as the title character in Albert Brooks’s MOTHER in 1996.
The next year Debbie would go on to play Kevin Kine’s mum in Frank Oz’s IN & OUT. Her last feature film role was in 2012’s ONE FOR THE MONEY. Three years later she would be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actors’ Guild. And almost a year ago Debbie would finally be honored by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
We at this site join movie fans across the globe in saluting one of the greatest dynasties in cinema history. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, thank you for being a part of films that will studied and enjoyed forever. Your legacy will never be forgotten.
Tom Hanks and Emma Watson star in EuropaCorp’s THE CIRCLE.
Based on the international best-seller by Dave Eggers, THE CIRCLE is a thrilling modern morality tale starring Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John Boyega.
As she rises through the ranks of the world’s largest tech and social media company, The Circle, Mae (Watson) is encouraged by company founder Eamon Bailey (Hanks) to live her life with complete transparency. But no one is really safe when everyone is watching.
THE CIRCLE will be in theaters on April 28th, 2017.
So what is essential to big box office stars in this day and age? Besides loads of charisma and the ability to not bump into furniture, or other actors, while delivering dialogue? Why, you’ve got to be part of a franchise, one that will reap lots of follow-ups and even prequels (merchandising can be pretty great too). And if you’re really a superstar, you’ve got more than one franchise. The king might be Harrison Ford who was part of the Star Wars and Jack Ryan series, and who promises to return as Indiana Jones. And he may just have a fourth with a new Blade Runner flick (35 years since the original). Last week Tom Cruise starred in a second Jack Reacher thriller as he’s prepping another Mission Impossible entry. This week, another Tom (Hanks) is back on-screen after only a month or so since the biopic SULLY with the third film in his live-action franchise (the other one being the TOY STORY series in which he provides the voice of Woody). It’s been seven years since Mr. H has stepped into the very worn shoes of globe-trotting historian Robert Langdon, the hero of Dan Brown’s best-selling novels. First was THE DA VINCI CODE, then ANGELS & DEMONS, and now he faces an INFERNO.
Langdon is not the first face at the start of this thriller. We meet billionaire/bio-engineer Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) as he delivers a “TED-like” speech to a large, throughly engaged audience. As a huge monitor behind him displays gritty news footage, Zobrist warns of the dangers of over-population. Cut to him being chased through exotic streets by sinister agents, a chase that ends at the pinnacle of a tower, where Zobrist plunges to his death before he can be captured. Cut to Langdon (Hanks) as he suffers through many gruesome dream images (scarred faces, explosions of blood) before finally waking up in an Italian hospital bed (as in Florence, Italy). The American has no idea what’s he’s doing there until his British doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) explains that a bullet grazed his skull causing temporary amnesia. As Langdon slowly gets his bearings, a policewoman is spraying bullets in the corridor outside his room. Langdon and Brooks flee to her apartment as his memory begins to return, He finds a tiny tube in his pocket which projects a painting that depicts Dante’s version of Hell. Finding Zobrist’s signature on the image, Langdon realizes that he’s on a mission to decipher clues as to the location of the billionaire’s final project: a super-virus attached to a timer that will wipe out half of the world (“better that than face complete extinction in 100 years”). The historian and the doctor embark on a race against the clock while being pursued by dogged World Health Organization agents ( Omar Sy and Sidse Babett Knudsen) and a criminal kingpin (Irrfan Khan).
These films have given the ever-entertaining Hanks a chance to be something of an action hero, albeit one that’s not proficient in weapons or combat. That could make for an interesting franchise focus, but for most of INFERNO, Langdon is dazed and confused, and a sweaty bloody mess. When he’s not trying to regain consciousness, Hanks is on an endless treadmill with new exotic locals popping up behind him. In the last act, there are flashbacks of a rekindled romance, but we’re quickly on to the chase once more, wasting the talents of this two-time Oscar winner. Recent Oscar nom Jones doesn’t fare much better, either leading or being dragged by Hanks, her Brooks is modern take on the classic Hitchcock female partner, but written with little personality. The same can be said of Omar Sy saddled with the role of the dogged, determined pursuer, always a few steps behind the always on the run couple. Knudsen, as his WHO boss, spends most her time barking orders, until we learn of her personal connection in the third act. Foster displays little of the intensity he exuded in HELL OR HIGH WATER, making Zobrist too aloof for a fervent doomsday zealot. What little life the film possess is thanks to the spirited work by Khan as the ruthless, almost Bond villian-like mastermind with a wicked sense of humor, deadly and deadpan.
Like Hanks, director Ron Howard also returns for this third Brown adaptation. We get the feeling that the populist, everyman filmmaker is having a blast with the horrific images in Langdon’s fever dreams, The “nice guy” gets to finally cut loose. Unfortunately all that is quickly pushed aside after the first 30 minutes, so that the film can settle into a monotonous pattern of chase, find clues, hide, repeat…ad naseum. Perhaps the talented screenwriter David Koepp felt that he couldn’t detour from the puzzle-solving plot of the best seller. The foreign locations make for a lovely travelogue, but the characters are more like chess pieces being moved from one square (or country) to the next. By the film’s final showdown, the ridiculous aquatic concert fails to jump-start this limp (attempted) mass-murder mystery. To be short (unlike this tedious flick), INFERNO generates very little heat.
Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest bestseller in Dan Brown’s (Da Vinci Code) billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, Inferno, which finds the famous symbologist (again played by Tom Hanks) on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world’s population.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of INFERNO on OCTOBER 25 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
Name the 9 Circles
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OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
