Hollister reviews all things on the screen ... every week. Not to be missed.
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Is it a success? That depends on what you were looking for when The Odyssey started rolling. Different people came to this film expecting very different things. Emily Wilson, whose translation helped inspire Christopher Nolan to take it on, was looking for something quite different from film aficionados. Christine was looking for an education in the Classics she never got—and didn’t realize…
Wilder and Merser are late to join the admirers of the extraordinary film Hamnet , but only because Merser wasn’t sure she wanted to take the emotional journey. “I can’t believe I almost missed this incredibly special film. It may be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, for so many reasons.” In this episode of Screen Thoughts, Wilder and Merser dive deeply into a film layered with grief, love,…
Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of the quietest films I’ve seen in years, and maybe one of the most powerful because of it. Starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, the film unfolds slowly, patiently, almost tenderly, as it explores grief, loneliness, friendship, aging, and the strange ways human beings find each other again after heartbreak. And at the center of it all is an octopus named…
In this episode I take a deep dive into The Reluctant Fundamentalist , a film that should have been front-row center but never got its moment. I talk about Riz Ahmed’s extraordinary performance, the quiet brilliance of Mira Nair’s direction, the music that pulls you into another cultural syntax, and the way the film exposes America’s post-9/11 blind spots without shouting. It is a story about…
Merser and Wilder could not wait to unpack Season Three of The Diplomat , which Merser calls “the best of the three, by a diplomatic mile.” After a quick walk through Seasons One and Two, they dive into the complex and ingenious storytelling that defines this season. You cannot talk about The Diplomat without invoking The West Wing and Homeland , and Debora Cahn, who wrote for both, shows how to…
"May December," featuring a star-studded cast including Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, is much more than the torrid story of a seventh-grade teacher who ensnared her student, went to prison for it, and married him upon her release. It transcends that narrative, offering a profound exploration of complex themes. Don't miss the discussion on the film's production, including the techniques…
Christine Merser AKA Hollister has nothing but praise for Jesse Eisenberg from the start of this week's episode, as she dives into his latest film, A Real Pain , which he wrote, directed, and starred in. Starring alongside Eisenberg is Kieran Culkin, as the two portray mismatched Jewish-American cousins traveling to Poland to honor their late grandmother—taking us on a heartfelt, funny, and…
Christine Merser aka Hollister has a solo episode for us after watching and being left speechless by Netflix's new documentary, Martha, about Martha Stewart. Christine marvels about Martha being our first real influencer and first female self-made billionaire, her sense of excellence and what that sometimes means for the people around her, and concludes with a heartfelt apology. And, at the end…
Christine’s review of Adolescence, Netflix’s #1 series about an eleven-year-old boy who kills his classmate, will have you turning off her video to start watching it—if you haven’t already. Starring Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper, the show addresses, in a new and painfully palatable way, the demise of our tweens and teens and the perils they face growing up in a society that has unwittingly…
Christine Merser (AKA Hollister) goes this one alone Fresh Kills , according to her review, should have been front and center at the Academy Awards. Was it overlooked because it's the first mafia genre film told from a woman's perspective? How could it have been overlooked? According to Hollister, it provides a perfect script, amazing acting, and a plotline that explores not only insight into…
