Screen Thoughts - Movie & Tv Reviews

Why Idris Elba spent the night in prison; which series was voted #1 of all time in Australia; and what the Boston Book Festival had to teach us about sympathetic characters. At 4:51, Screen Thoughts audits the latest Ben Affleck vehicle: The Accountant. Did the assets outweigh the liabilities? Directed by Gavin O'Connor (Jane Got a Gun); also starring J.K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect 2). At 15:42, Sarah Jessica Parker's return to HBO in Divorce, created by Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe). Podcast extras include an excerpt of SJP's interview with Alec Baldwin (whom HBO had once considered for the role of Mr. Big). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 movies based on bestselling novels; 2 women who get off trains, suspected of murder. At 5:00: Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train - directed by Tate Taylor (The Help) and starring Emily Blunt. At 24:05: Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker - written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse (who calls the film "Unforgiven" but with a sewing machine and haute couture), starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, and Liam Hemsworth. Revenge is back in fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Fall T.V. pilots (ABC's Designated Survivor; and OWN's Queen Sugar), and Hollister's sushi kick continues - this time with East Side Sushi (5:39). Hollister & O'Toole also take a look at Woody Allen's first foray into television: Amazon's Crisis in Six Scenes (15:03). Starring 2x-Oscar nominee and comic legend Elaine May, as well as Miley Cyrus, Joy Behar, and John Magaro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Favorite Fall T.V. Pilots; Disney's Queen of Katwe (starring Lupita Nyong'o, David Oyelowo, and introducing Madina Nalwanga as Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi) (9:30); Mad Women? a look back at the 1960s with Amazon's Good Girls Revolt (with Grace Gummer as Nora Ephron) (12:50); and Netflix' Easy - 8 vignettes about art & sex written & directed by Joe Swanberg (26:08). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dear Diary, ​ ​15 years since the first installment (terrifying slide into immortality), 3 books (Yesssssss!), 3 movies (v.g.), 4 Oscar-winning actors (v.v.g). Irresistible Sex Goddess facing geriatric pregnancy (what is the point?), but with convincing British accent. Hurrah!   Our favorite Singleton is back In Bridget Jones's Baby. Starring Oscar winners Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, and Jim Broadbent (London Spy) - along with Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy) and Gemma Jones. ​ Next up in Hollister & O'Toole's look at comedic dysfunction: The Hollars - directed by and starring John Krasinski, along with Margo Martindale (The Good Wife), Richard Jenkins, Sharito Copley, and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect 2). ​ Find out why O'Toole thinks John Krasinski is the perfect man, and which Margo Martindale role is Hollister's favorite. Podcast cameos by Adele (yet another Oscar winner!) and Josh Groban. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A look at Amazon's The Kettering Incident, a Gothic supernatural series filmed on location in Tasmania. Also: the new fall TV line-up. Meryl Streep to film The Nix. A new doco on Norman Lear. Is Aaron Sorkin sexist? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's hard to believe M.L. Stedman started out as a lawyer. The years-long New York Times bestseller The Light Between Oceans (2012) was her debut novel - which has since been translated into 30+ languages. Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine; The Place Beyond the Pines) adapted the book for the big screen. A LitLovers selection, Hollister & O'Toole discuss both the book and the movie - starring Oscar winners Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) as well as 2x-Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs; 12 Years a Slave). As M.L. Stedman herself put it: "A lighthouse automatically implies potential drama: You only find them where there's a risk of going astray or running aground." Did the adaptation achieve safe passage? Be sure to listen in and let us know your thoughts; until then, Hollister & O'Toole will dutifully climb the steps and light the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An insider's glimpse into the world of improv comedy. Don't Think Twice is the second feature film written and directed by Mike Birbiglia - who stars in the film, along with comedic talents Keegan Michael-Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, and Chris Gethard. Did Hollister & O'Toole like the film? Yes, and... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister & O'Toole discuss Equity, which bills itself as "the first female driven Wall Street movie". Directed by Meera Menon; screenplay by Amy Fox; starring Anna Gunn ("Breaking Bad"), as well as Alysia Reiner ("Orange is the New Black") and Sarah Megan Thomas (who also produced the film). Most of the film's financial backing came from real-life women of Wall Street - who assure us that Equity (which premiered at Sundance, where it was acquired by Sony) will indeed turn a profit. Because, after all, they "like money". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant & Florence Foster Jenkins - did it hit all the right, wrong notes? Who knew that The Big Bang Theory's Simon Helberg could really play the piano? And from the internationally acclaimed crime author Jo Nesbø... Occupied (Okkupert), a gripping 10-part Norwegian series available on Netflix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister and O’Toole discuss Woody Allen's 46th film, Café Society, which opened this year's Cannes Film Festival (but was not in competition - as Woody Allen puts it, competition is fine when it comes to sports, but he doesn't believe in it when it comes to the arts). Starring Jesse Eisenberg (The End of the Tour), Kristen Stewart (Still Alice), Blake Lively (The Shallows), Steve Carell, Corey Stoll (House of Cards), and Parker Posey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister & O'Toole review Bad Moms - brought to us by the writers of The Hangover; starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn - as well as Ira Sachs' latest offering: Little Men - starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and introducing an actor-to-watch: Michael Barbieri. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister & O'Toole pay tribute to the late, great Garry Marshall, whose amazingly successful 56-year Hollywood career in both television (The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley) and film (Overboard, Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) helped catapult the careers of such A-list actors (and future directors) as Ron Howard, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, and, of course, his sister Penny. ​ As Bruce Weber at the New York Times (and star of the documentary OBIT) put it, "Mork and the Fonz are weeping". ​ We also share our thoughts on the film Indignation - which we screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival - with writer/director James Schamus in attendance. ​ Schamus is best-known for his long-time collaboration with 3x-Oscar winner Ang Lee - as both writer (Eat Drink Man Woman; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and producer (Brokeback Mountain, Sense and Sensibility). Based on Philip Roth's 29th novel (of the same name), Indignation marks Schamus' featur

Hollister & O’Toole celebrate their 100th episode with two selections which have our listeners talking: The Lobster (a dystopian parable - and Cannes Jury Prize Winner) and BBC's Thirteen (a TV miniseries about an escaped girl held captive in a basement for 13 years). Our back-up plan was... cake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister & O'Toole ring in Bastille Day with a look at the French film Mon Roi (My King) - an intense tale of an amour fou, nominated for 8 César Awards. ​ Starring Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and Emmanuelle Bercot - who not only took home a very well deserved Best Actress Award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for this film (tying with Rooney Mara for Carol) - but who also wrote & directed the festival's opening night film, Standing Tall. ​ Mon Roi is the fourth feature film written & directed by Maïwenn (whose prior film Polisse - co-written by Emmanuelle Bercot - won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival). ​ Vive la France! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we cheer on the underdog - or, perhaps more appropriately, the underhorse. Dark Horse is the inspiring documentary (and Sundance Audience Award Winner) about a group of Welsh villagers who pool their resources and breed Dream Alliance, a come-from-behind racehorse. ​ Hollister thinks the movie could have been called Pride & Patience. O'Toole would have pitched it as Billy Elliot - as a horse. Or perhaps as a tale of the Hooves vs. the Hoove Nots. ​ Directed by Louise Osmond (Deep Water); starring Dream Alliance and the villagers as themselves. ​ Also discussed: The Horse Whisperer and Buck. As well as Sully, Réttur (Case), The Shallows, and Thanks for Sharing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week it's all about adaptation. ​ First Hollister & O'Toole discuss Our Kind of Traitor - based on the 22nd novel by John Le Carré (The Night Manager; Most Wanted Man). ​ Film directed by Susanna White; starring Ewan McGregor, Damian Lewis, Stellan Skarsgård and Moneypenny - a/k/a Naomie Harris (Spectre).   ​ Then hear from the authors of The Danish Girl; Still Alice; and The Finest Hours - a fascinating Book to Screen panel @ #PIFF2016. ​ How having your book adapted is like selling your apartment; the difference between sympathy and empathy for your characters; and, of course, tales from the Oscars (yes, there are TWO red carpets). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollister & O'Toole podcast from the 18th annual Provincetown International Film Festival - making "P-Town" P(odcast)-Town!. Inspired by its location on the very tip of Cape Cod (P-Town is America's oldest art colony), the festival celebrates filmmakers "on the edge". ​ Hear about this year's honorees: Cynthia Nixon (a 2x-Emmy, Tony, and Grammy winner) and 3x-Oscar winner Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). ​ O'Toole also touches on 3 docos seen at the festival (Sonic Sea, OBIT, and Sundance favorite Sonita), as well as the beautifully animated film Long Way North. ​ Hollister gives additional shout-outs to OITNB Season 4, Finding Dory, and The Last Tycoon vs. The Interestings. ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the best thing that could ever happen to your unpublished novel? Your friend Rebecca Miller asks if she could adapt it for the big screen. ​ Rebecca Miller (yes, daughter of Arthur) helms her 5th feature as both writer & director in Maggie's Plan - a quirky, academic romance set in NYC with ficto-critical anthropologists, a pickle entrepreneur, and some sensible (and not so sensible) shoes. Loosely based on a story by Karen Rinaldi (which, in turn, was grounded in her real life).  ​ Starring Greta Gerwig (Mistress America), Ethan Hawke, and Oscar-winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice). ​ Co-starring Bill Hader (Trainwreck), Maya Rudolph, Travis Fimmel, and Wallace Shawn (The Good Wife). ​ O'Toole didn't want to leave destiny to, well, destiny, so she saw it twice - the first time at the Miami International Film Festival (with Rebecca Miller in attendance). And, no longer talking about the film's love triangles here, Hollister also discusses her newest guilty pleasure: Fixer Upper. ​ Learn more about yo

Get ready to weep. Jojo Moyes' 9th novel, Me Before You, became a runaway bestseller, selling over 5 million copies around the globe. As Vanity Fair put it: “It’s an existential work that’s masquerading as a beach read.” ​ Now the author of 13 novels, the film version of Me Before You marks a first: Jojo Moyes' very first screenplay - the naturally visual writer adapted her own novel for the big screen (and by all accounts, thoroughly enjoyed the process). ​ A LitLovers selection, Hollister & O'Toole discuss both the book and the movie - film directed by Thea Sharrock; starring Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games). Listen in; we promise to tell you something good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices