A circular polarizer is a linear polarizer with a plate behind it that "unpolarizes" the light that passed through the polarizer again.
It does that by turning linear polarized light into circular (rather elliptical) polarized light, hence the name.
(Simplified: ) In linear polarized light, the light waves oscillate in one direction perpendicular to the direction of travel, while in circular polarized light the direction of oscillation rotates ("corkscrews") around the direction of travel.
Both types need to be turned to find the angle at which the effect is as desired.
A circular polarizer is needed when there are components behind the filter that are sensitive to polarized light, such as some metering systems that use reflection/mirrors to get the light to the cell, or some autofocus mechanisms.