Her Screen Thoughts - Movie & TV Reviews

Two new series take a look at friendship: is one "The Big Chill" of the social media generation? ​Hollister opens with a Burning Question. ​At 5:58: The Bold Type (Freeform). 3 millennials finding their way at a women's magazine called "Scarlet". Created by Sarah Watson; inspired by (and Executive Produced by) former Cosmo editor Joanna Coles. Starring Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy and Me...

Over-the-top news from Down Under: a potential reboot of McLeod's Daughters? Then it's on to God, ghosts, comas, and villains. ​At 3:04: Oprah's SuperSoul Sunday leads Hollister on a spiritual quest to The Shack, where Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) plays God. ​5:56: Ghostly boos or critics' boos? Kristen Stewart and Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria) reteam in Personal Shopper. ​11:18: Trut...

Hollister was right: this guy can sing, dance, and, apparently, drive a car. Baby Driver's Ansel Elgort. ​At 2:44: The new season 3 of Broadchurch looks crime-filled and promising; how Reese Witherspoon was cast in Home Again; why O'Toole wants to be cast as the next Aunt May in the Spider-Man franchise. ​5:40: Cold Mountain meets The Others? Sofia Coppola remakes The Beguiled, based on the book b...

150 episodes - and Hollister & O'Toole are still speaking! ​At 0:57: Hollister revisits National Geographic's Genius, starring Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein. ​4:24: Will Oscar-record-holder Daniel Day-Lewis' newest retirement really stick? ​7:47: Downward Dog (it's not about yoga). 10:16: It's my wedding; I'll go alone if I want to: O'Toole on The Wedding Plan, written and directed by Rama...

She. T.? Hollister hits the Spielberg vs. Banks punching bag. At 6:45: Thelma & Louise with a life insurance premium? O'Toole on Wild Oats, starring Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange (Feud: Bette and Joan). 8:08: Score: A Film Music Documentary is released. Our bonus podcast here. 9:00: In honor of Wonder Woman's personal trainer, and House of Cards' Resident-in-Chief, this week's #ListOfSix:...

Hollister & O'Toole strike a power pose, while our listeners weigh in on Wonder Woman. ​At 4:26: Our discussion of the renewal of Luther for a 5th season (BBC), inspires this week's #BlastFromThePastFilm - which is actually another British TV series: Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect. ​7:56: In honor of Father's Day, this week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Screen Dads. ​Then ou...

This week, it’s all about heroes and a few anti-heroes. Hollister weighs in on  House of Cards  Season 5, fake documentaries, and Shakespeare’s treatment of gender. Paradise Island? Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins ( The Killing ), breaks all kinds of records. Starring Gal Gadot, Robin Wright, Chris Pine (as Steve Trevor, not Lois Lane), Connie Nielsen, and Lucy Davis. Lie detector tests an...

Notes from our listeners - which war films we missed in last week's #ListOfSix. ​At 3:35: Hollister takes aim at Brad Pitt in Netflix' War Machine. ​6:42: O'Toole on Season 3 of Amazon Prime's Catastrophe, and saying goodbye to Carrie Fisher all over again. 8:42: A search for the truth: Hollister on The Keepers, a 7-part docuseries on Netflix. ​15:38: O'Toole on The Lovers, starring 3x-Oscar nomin...

The latest from La Croisette: which Oscar winner has four movies screening at the Cannes Film Festival this week; and which film was the first to be booed (and why). At 5:28: In honor of Memorial Day, this week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite War/Soldier/Veteran Movies. 11:27: Eleanor Coppola makes her narrative feature debut at the age of 80. O'Toole on Paris Can Wait (starring Diane Lane, Alec Bald...

Guess which Oscar winner will be fêted at the Hamptons International Film Festival this year. (Hint: she might arrive via umbrella.) At 4:44: Either Hollister was kidnapped, or she snuck out and saw Snatched. Is the Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn vehicle a Trainwreck? 9:34: O'Toole picks Cactus Flower (1969) - and Goldie Hawn's Oscar-winning turn - as this week's #BlastFromThePastFilm. Don't miss this cl...

Screen Thoughts (almost) hits a milestone; Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast) on her gender-free MTV Award. At 4:11: This week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Screen Moms. ​15:16: No objections here: David E. Kelley strikes again with Goliath (Amazon), a legal thriller starring Billy Bob Thornton, William Hurt, Nina Arianda, and Maria Bello. ​22:18: Herman Koch's bestselling novel The Dinner adapted...

This week’s focus: dystopian views of the future. Tribeca Film Festival spotlights VR (virtual reality). Will it spell the end of “flatties”? The Silence of the Lambs  inspires this week’s #ListOfSix, as we remember the late, great Jonathan Demme. Richard Gere as Willy Loman? Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.

This week, we’re feeling pretty literary. Find out who Hollister would choose as her baby daddy. Clue: The Tonys (finally) chose him, too. The X-Files  will be reopened… again. Fashionably late? Netflix’s  Girlboss . Britt Robertson ( A Dog's Purpose ) stars as real-life Nasty Gal entrepreneur Sophia Amoruso. It’s a wrap(per): Cynthia Nixon stars as Emily Dickinson in A Quiet Passion. Co-starr...

After 6 years on HBO, Lena Dunham brings Girls to a close. At 7:47: Original Spanish-language programming from Netflix: Ingobernable, starring Kate del Castillo as the indomitable on-the-run First Lady of Mexico. ​12:35: Gifted, starring Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan (Le Week-End), and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures). Directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer). ​18:21: Oprah Winfrey...

Amazon gives Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel a two-season run. ​At 1:25: The 50th anniversary of The Graduate - here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. #BlastFromThePastFilm. 4:50: A Quiet Passion: Cynthia Nixon takes on the role of Emily Dickinson. ​6:12: TV cancellations? 8:00: Can TV characters leave their core environment without losing their audience? 10:12: Hollister on Showtime's Th...

Nothing could be finer: we're recording live from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home for many years to one of O'Toole's heroes: Maya Angelou. This week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Things About the 19th Annual RiverRun International Film Festival - can we limit ourselves to just six? At 7:18: Hollister on Amazon v. Netflix at your local cineplex. And then it's Books to Screen: ​10:10: The much bu...

It has been said that music is the emotional language of a film. This bonus Screen Thoughts podcast discusses Matt Schrader's Score: A Film Music Documentary, screened at the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Rob Davis, the festival's new executive director, shares a Bette Davis anecdote - and Hollister & O'Toole agree: Rob deserves his own theme song. Lear...

Hollister hangs her head in shame over last week's #ListOfSix; Netflix' "shock and awe" spending. At 3:36: It just doesn't get Bette-r than this: O'Toole on the Divine Miss M back where she belongs: on Broadway. 5:55: This week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Movies Based on Broadway Musicals. 9:40: Halt and Catch Fire on Netflix. 11:20: Grace and Frankie Season 3. 17:23: Ireland's new #1 drama: Stri...

Catching up on TV: This is Us; The Good Fight; Big Little Lies; a revival of the Gilmore Girls revival? At 7:58: Hollister shares a matter of grave concern. 16:12: This week's #ListOfSix: Best Performances by Actors under the Age of 10. 22:48: A celebrity sighting As Good As it Gets. 25:12: Talk about method: Adam Driver (Girls) became a licensed bus driver to prep for his role in Paterson (writte...

Hollister claims to have the attention span of a flea, but she breezed through this year's Oscar-winning doco: OJ: Made in America (runtime: 7hrs 47 mins), the longest film ever nominated. ​At 4:04: Lena Dunham's Girls: exhibitionism or feminism? ​6:24: This week's #ListOfSix honors Women's History Month - some of our choices might surprise you. ​17:20: A governor's pardon: Hollister warns O'Toole...

And the Oscar goes to... ​At 5:48: Hollister shares her thoughts on 6x-Oscar-nominee Hacksaw Ridge - directed by Mel Gibson; starring Andrew Garfield. Congrats to Kevin O'Connell, who finally won his Oscar for Best Sound Mixing - after a record-breaking 21 nominations. ​11:09: O'Toole finally sees the German film Toni Erdmann - and thinks it has one of the best cinematic hugs in screen history. Gu...

It's the Big Screen vs. the Little Screen. At 1:54: This week's #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Spin-offs. 7:44: Hollister makes a Supreme case for Loving, a narrative film highlighting the 1967 landmark civil rights decision Loving v. Virginia. Starring Joel Edgerton (Jane Got a Gun) and Oscar nominee Ruth Negga as the couple (and plaintiffs), whose marriage (and case) invalidated laws prohibiting int...

Whoopi Goldberg has 159 credits to her name - but there's one scene she's never played. ​At 4:24: Two Roberts give a press conference: Robert De Niro and RFK, Jr. ​5:21: Our #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Movies with Animals in Them. Will PETA be coming after Hollister & O'Toole? ​11:58: Hollister reminisces about her first hamburger - and reviews The Founder, starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc,...

Remembering a TV giant: hats off to Mary Tyler Moore. This week, it's all about TV. Our updated takes on: This Is Us (NBC)(14:03); Homeland (SHO)(17:00); Grey's Anatomy (ABC)(23:08); The Path (hulu)(28:42); and The Affair (SHO)(32:42). OK, so, it's not ALL about TV. At 5:52: #ListOfSix: Our 6 Favorite Movies Directed by Women. ​We're going to make it after all. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Are parents ever knowable to their children - and vice versa? Writer/director Mike Mills explores his relationship with his real-life mother in 20th Century Women (24:05). Starring Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig (Mistress America; Maggie's Plan), Elle Fanning, Billy Crudup (Jackie), and Lucas Jade Zumann. From across the pond, a 19th Century Woman: Victoria (43:32), starring Jenna Coleman (Me Before...