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REVIEWS
Christine Merser
Nov 51 min read
TV Show Review: Martha
Christine Merser aka Hollister has a solo episode for us after watching and being left speechless by Netflix's new documentary, Martha,...
Christine Merser
Oct 141 min read
Movie Review: Fresh Kills
Christine Merser (AKA Hollister) goes this one alone. Fresh Kills , according to her review, should have been front and center at the...
Christine Merser
Jun 31 min read
Film Review - "Challengers"
There is a reason why “Challengers” has become the darling of the independent film and theater community. I have never seen a film that...
Christine Merser
Mar 203 min read
Run to See "Perfect Days"
Run to "Perfect Days." Wait, plan to go see it twice. I have watched it twice in preparing for this review, which the fabulous Christina...
Christine Merser
Feb 122 min read
2024 Oscar Shorts
"Why watch the shorts," you may ask? Telling a story in a short film is much more difficult than in a long narrative. Every word matters,...
Christine Merser
Dec 15, 20231 min read
Movie Review: May December
"May December," featuring a star-studded cast including Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, is much more than the torrid story of a...
Christine Merser
Dec 11, 20231 min read
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
High schooler Addie Tedrow, a lover of all things Hunger Games, joins Christine Merser to discuss the latest in the series, The Hunger...
Christine Merser
Nov 14, 20232 min read
Review of 'Killers of the Flower Moon'
Review written by Christine Merser for The Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta, Maine, where the movie will be showing through November 16th....
Christine Merser
Oct 23, 20232 min read
Film Review: Umberto Eco: A Library of the World
Review written by Christine Merser for The Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta, Maine, where the movie will be showing this upcoming weekend....
Christine Merser
Sep 28, 20231 min read
Talking the Morning Show, Season 3
Merser and Wilder talk The Morning Show, reviewing this new season and commenting on the past two seasons, all the while discussing...
Christine Merser
Aug 25, 20236 min read
Film Review: Golda
Screen Thoughts recently hosted a preview of the film, Golda, and invited fifty friends and family to see the much-anticipated film about...
Christine Merser
Jul 23, 20231 min read
Oppenheimer
Christine and Wilder speed through their review of the three hour Oppenheimer, singing its praises, its importance and so many behind the...
Christine Merser
Jul 10, 20231 min read
Talking the Crowded Room, the Hollywood Writer's Strike, Golda, and More
Christine (AKA Hollister) and Wilder dissect Apple’s the Crowded Room, and address Christine’s POV around the futility of the writer’s...
Christine Merser
Jun 23, 20232 min read
Documentary Film Review: "At The River"
The names of many of the heroes of the Civil Rights movement are well known to us today: MLK, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers—the list goes on....
Christine Merser
Jun 1, 20234 min read
Series Review: Succession Finale & Fabulous Shiv
Huddle up, Succession lovers. Wake up and smell the woman. Shiv is the star of this finale, although the other actors’ performances are...
Christine Merser
May 26, 20233 min read
#FunFilms: Draft Day Review
We are coming into Memorial Day weekend. Great time to watch a film you might have missed. One that the whole family can enjoy. I...
Christine Merser
May 6, 20231 min read
Movie Review: Tokyo Story
by Patrice Tanaka Whenever I’m particularly agitated and need to calm down, I’ll watch a film by the late Japanese Director Yasujiro Ozu....
Christine Merser
Apr 25, 20231 min read
The Diplomat
On a very special episode of Screen Thoughts, Christine Merser, Bryan Cohen and Shanette Barth Cohen give a review of Netflix's The...
Christine Merser
Apr 24, 20231 min read
Talking The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Renfield, Mafia Mama & Jennifer Garner
What a week it was chatting about Mario’s amazing box office receipts, Mafia Mama (look for no lovers on this podcast), and Renfield. We...
Christine Merser
Apr 14, 20231 min read
Talking Hollywood Remakes, a Review of Air & What We've Been Watching
Tim Miller is back, guest co-hosting with Hollister and this podcast is chock full of film. They don’t agree on Air at all, with...
Christine Merser
Mar 24, 20233 min read
Movie Review: The Quiet Girl
"You don't have to say anything. Many is the person who has missed the opportunity to say nothing." The gentle giant of a man, who says...
Christine Merser
Mar 3, 20235 min read
Movie Review: Women Talking
Toward the end of the movie “Women Talking,” one of the characters says she has thought about one of the questions they’ve been mulling...
Christine Merser
Feb 15, 20235 min read
The Martha Mitchell Effect Documentary Review
by Christine Merser When I learned that my cohort and fellow film lover Beth Levison, who sat on a panel with me and stayed in touch,...
Christine Merser
Oct 27, 20221 min read
Movie Review: Catherine Called Birdy
Lena Dunham’s latest creation is out and ready to be seen by mothers and daughters all across the land. Brave girl that Lena Dunham. No...
Christine Merser
Oct 21, 20221 min read
List of Six Halloween Films
Join Hollister and Wilder as they explore their favorite Halloween films. Spoiler alert: not all are about Halloween. They are, however,...
Christine Merser
Oct 14, 20223 min read
Bad Sisters Review: After the Finale
The “Bad Sisters” finale did me in. Yes, you will find out who did John Paul (J.P.) in, and yes, it’s a brilliant surprise, one that’s...
Christine Merser
Sep 21, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: Bad Sisters
Bad Sisters. “If those are bad sisters, I want to be one!” said Hollister. Mixing comedy with drama (tragedy?) is a good combination...
Christine Merser
Sep 21, 20223 min read
Movie Review of Life Itself
I wasn’t a reader of Ebert’s reviews. Shame on me. How is that possible, I ask myself, now that I have seen Life Itself? I’m not sure...
Christine Merser
Sep 9, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon. Game of Thrones. Don’t get Wilder started on the fantasy appeal for both. But she even won Hollister over with the...
Christine Merser
Aug 31, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: The Resort
Among Peacock's stream of new programming we found 'The Resort.' Hollister & Wilder are both fans of this show, where you're not quite...
Christine Merser
Aug 24, 20223 min read
Review of Tim's Vermeer (2013)
I’m not blessed with a natural sense of curiosity, so the question of how Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer painted his extraordinary...
Christine Merser
Aug 24, 20221 min read
Series Review: A League of Their Own (2022)
Join Wilder and Hollister as they celebrate and evaluate the new Amazon Prime series, A League of Their Own. Hollister takes us back to...
Christine Merser
Aug 22, 20224 min read
My Favorite Disney Character: Cruella de Vil
Whenever I’m asked my favorite feminist Disney character, I don’t waver. “Why, it’s Cruella de Vil,” I reply without hesitation. I was 8...
Christine Merser
Jul 26, 20221 min read
Series Review: The Bear
Recommended by so many and for such good reason. "One of the best series ever,” sang Hollister. Wilder is right there with her. They...
Olivia Gibbons
Jul 13, 20222 min read
Review of Minions: The Rise of Gru
In the 1970s, young Gru tries to join a group of supervillains called the Vicious 6 after they oust their leader -- the legendary fighter...
Christine Merser
Jul 12, 20221 min read
Series Review: Loot
Loot is a satire about the billionaire sector, but with some twists and turns that make it actually helpful, according to Hollister....
Christine Merser
Jul 7, 20221 min read
Movie Review: Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cha Cha Real Smooth, with Dakota Johnson, who according to Hollister has one speed - ‘coy,’ is described by Wilder as ’sweet’ and...
Christine Merser
Jul 5, 20221 min read
Movie Review: Flag Day
Sean Penn makes an all-in-the-family film with both his daughter, Dylan, and son, Hopper - one that he first read and shared with Dylan,...
Christine Merser
Jun 22, 20221 min read
Movie Review: Everything Everywhere all at Once
"Is it an age thing?" queries Hollister a number of times to Wilder during the review. Either way, so many points of view around so many...
Christine Merser
Jun 12, 20221 min read
Movie Review: Top Gun Maverick
Hollister and Wilder feel the need for speed and want to alert you all that there are spoilers in our review this week. Hollister is not a C
Christine Merser
Jun 6, 20221 min read
Film Review: The Valet
Hollister can’t stop crying after watching The Valet, and had no idea that the Euginio Derbez, who hurt her heart in The Valet, also...
Christine Merser
Jun 1, 20221 min read
Series Review: Under the Banner of Heaven
The Mormon Church's secrets exposed. A murder in the eighties. Mormon Fundamentalists meets the power of the Mormon Church dedicated to...
Christine Merser
May 18, 20221 min read
Film & Series Reviews: The Outfit & The Offer
Hollister and Wilder come to blows over The Offer but agree on the fine work done by all in The Outfit. Think Mafia, but know that the...
Christine Merser
May 10, 20221 min read
TV Series: The First Lady & Gaslit
Hollister and Wilder talk about two series this week; Gaslit with Julia Roberts and The First Lady with Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer...
Christine Merser
Apr 24, 20221 min read
TV Series: Anatomy of a Scandal
Hollister and Wilder come to blows about the worth of Anatomy of a Scandal, as well as the way it was made. Don't miss it, and according...
Christine Merser
Apr 18, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: Pachinko
Hollister and Wilder finally agree, and not only do they agree, they are singing the praises of what could be one of the finest series...
Christine Merser
Mar 30, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary Review: Hollister and Wilder rave about ABC's Mockumentary "Abbott Elementary" because sometimes watching television...
Christine Merser
Mar 13, 20221 min read
Film Review: Coda & HBO Series: Winning Time
Is Coda unique or just another remake of girl lives in dysfunctional family, meets fabulous boy and ends up with a groundbreaking try out...
Christine Merser
Mar 10, 20221 min read
TV Series Review: Severance and The Dropout
Hollister has a personal story around Elizabeth Holmes and The Dropout and she is not inclined toward sympathy of any kind, and when it...
Christine Merser
Mar 5, 20223 min read
Elisabeth Holmes: Hollister's Personal Story
Note: I wrote this for my business blog in September 2021. I rarely mix Screen Thoughts with my work world, but after watching the first...
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