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Rebecca Deniston
Aug 07, 2023
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Over the Moon (2020)

Rebecca Deniston
·
July 16, 2022
Over the Moon (2020)

One of my son’s and my favorite Netflix movies is 2020’s Over the Moon, which is a retelling of a Chinese folktale. I can’t remember how we found this thing, but it only took one viewing for both of us to get hooked. The story follows Fei Fei, a young girl who’s lost her mother. All her life she’s been told about Chang’e, a beautiful woman who lives in the moon waiting for her lost lover, and now that her mother’s gone, Fei Fei’s afraid her dad doesn’t believe in the story anymore. He’s got a new fiance, Mrs. Zhong, who, much to Fei Fei’s annoyance, has a rather rambunctious son named Chin. He’s quite the pest, and he has a very curious pet frog.

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Stop Poisoning the Well, Hollywood. Please.

Rebecca Deniston
·
July 30, 2022
Stop Poisoning the Well, Hollywood. Please.

I was going to review The Gray Man for today’s article, but at the eleventh hour found I wasn’t in the mood for scenes of torture and espionage, so I decided to tackle Persuasion, the new Netflix film. It seemed safer. Heh. Safer. Nope. Turns out there’s been a firestorm of criticism leveled at the film by Jane Austen fans because the new movie seems to be closer to

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

Rebecca Deniston
·
August 13, 2022
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

My government job started back up this week. Everyone’s schedules changed, so for the past two days I’ve been getting up at a quarter to six (yeah, I know, farmers and servicepeople are gonna chuckle when they read that) and slogging through my checklist. That’s why this article is coming out a little bit late. It’ll get easier, of course, but I’m not quite ready to completely let go of summer vacation yet, as fun as it is seeing all the folks I work with again.

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First Signal (2021)

Rebecca Deniston
·
August 31, 2022
First Signal (2021)

Oh golly, where do I start with First Signal? It tries so, so hard (well, no, it actually doesn’t), but it doesn’t really give me anywhere to start from. Sigh. Groan. Argh. This is one of those times when it’s danged near impossible to let a movie make its case.

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Samaritan (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
September 17, 2022
Samaritan (2022)

We’re certainly not suffering for superhero movies today, but Amazon and Sylvester Stallone have brought us another one, the comparatively low-key Samaritan, which manages to be typical and atypical all at the same time. Sam lives in Granite City, where his mom continually struggles to keep a roof over their heads. She’s a nurse, but somehow her checks always bounce. Sam wants to help, but jobs are few and far between, so he and a buddy of his mine abandoned buildings for copper wiring and sell it on the black market. Sam spends his free time drawing pictures in his composition book of a superhero named Samaritan, who, along with his twin brother Nemesis, escaped a fire but who later apparently died.

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Moonfall (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
October 8, 2022
Moonfall (2022)

Hollywood seems to love knocking things off course, and they’re at it again with Moonfall. Directed by Roland Emmerich, it’s chock full of both sci-fi and Emmerich archetypes. Oh muh word. Things open in 2011, when a flight crew is repairing a satellite and listening to “Africa” by Toto while they debate whether the rains in Africa are blessed or missed. Then they get hit by a flying cloud of debris and one of the crew members gets blasted away.

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The Sound of 007 (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
October 19, 2022
The Sound of 007 (2022)

Music from Bond films, even for those who have never seen a Bond film, is a pervasive part of Western culture, and Amazon’s new documentary, The Sound of 007 gives a great snapshot of that impact as told by many of the people who have been a part of the Bond legacy. It isn’t going to give any groundbreaking revelations about Ian Fleming, at least nothing the superfans don’t already know, but that’s a footnote in a documentary such as this one.

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Falling For Christmas (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
November 16, 2022
Falling For Christmas (2022)

Remember when Lindsay Lohan was a promising newcomer? And then everything went off the rails? Like, really off the rails? Well, Linds-Lo is back, and in a Christmas movie, no less. Will it be enough to jump-start her career? Maybe. While Falling is a typical Christmas movie in a lot of ways, it’s got plenty going for it.

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Neutron the Atomic Superman vs. the Death Robots (1962)

Rebecca Deniston
·
November 23, 2022
Neutron the Atomic Superman vs. the Death Robots (1962)

I want to get something out in the open in case it isn’t obvious enough already: Any previously-held notions as to the nature and abilities of the Man of Steel should be checked when watching this movie. Nacho Libre, on the other hand, is fair game. Pretty much.

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Your Christmas Or Mine? (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
December 10, 2022
Your Christmas Or Mine? (2022)

James and Hayley have just started dating. They have an adorable goodbye in the Marylebone train station before catching rides to their respective hometowns, and each thinks longingly of the other and wishes they could spend Christmas together. Then they each race for the other’s train and completely miss each other.

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Glass Onion (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
December 28, 2022
Glass Onion (2022)

I finally got to see Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion and I don’t know why I waited so long because I really have thoughts. While it blends familiar mystery devices with today’s social dynamics, there are other issues at play that may be more pointed for some than for others. Spoilers are always possible, of course, so if anyone hasn’t seen the movie yet, well, consider thyself warned. :-)

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2:22 (2017)

Rebecca Deniston
·
January 11, 2023
2:22 (2017)

In the 1747 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Lost Time is never found again.” While this is obviously true for us in the real world, I have to wonder what Franklin would think of 2:22, a movie about a man who not only finds time over and over, but has to figure out what it means before it’s too late

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The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
January 18, 2023
The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Along with Denzel Washington, Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors from nowadays, and Edgar Allan Poe is a writer I’ve long enjoyed. The Pale Blue Eye throws the two of them together in a murder mystery set at West Point, with Bale playing Detective Augustus Landor and Poe played by Harry Melling. The result is amazing and astonishing. We

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Shotgun Wedding (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
January 28, 2023
Shotgun Wedding (2022)

Ah, there’s nothing like a destination wedding. In Darcy and Tom’s case, that means sandy Filipino beaches, slamming music, awkward speeches, cold feet, Darcy’s ex, Sean, showing up by helicopter…and murderous pirates who wear recycled pop tabs and six-pack rings on their masks as if they hang out at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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We Have Always Lived In the Castle (2019)

Rebecca Deniston
·
February 4, 2023
We Have Always Lived In the Castle (2019)

Remember the Shirley Jackson short story, The Lottery? I was in the play version of it in the eighth grade and the whole drama class got to throw gray foam stage rocks at the poor girl who played Mrs. Hutchison. When the rocks bounced off our victim we giggled and threw them harder. It’s not as sadistic as it sounds.

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This Beautiful Fantastic (2016)

Rebecca Deniston
·
February 22, 2023
This Beautiful Fantastic (2016)

Bella Brown’s life is extremely regimented. She has a toothbrush for each day of the week, all marked and in their own cups. Her front door has bubble wrap over each pane except for a small triangular peephole and she has to check and re-check that her door is locked every time she leaves the house. Her closet is full of identical blouses and skirts all in gray and black, albeit with some lacy trim. Her cabinets are lined with canned fruits and vegetables faced more precisely than any grocery store.

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Navalny (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
March 15, 2023
Navalny (2022)

Alexei Navalny is a rather notorious persona non grata, and certain people in Russia and the Ukraine are unhappy that the film bearing his name just won an Oscar for Best Documentary. It’s likely uncomfortable that Navalny’s name is out in public at all; journalists in Russia are not allowed to name him when they write about him. Putin won’t even name Navalny when he talks about him. Some Ukrainians aren’t sure if Navalny’s really on their side or if he’s Putin-lite, and he’s alleged to have made racist statements.

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Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
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March 29, 2023
Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris (2022)

Ada Harris is a war widow and housekeeper whose dream is to go to Paris and buy a Christian Dior dress. She’s working class and it’s 1957, when Dior is still a luxury boutique brand with every piece being one of a kind, but even so, stranger things have happened.

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On A Wing And A Prayer (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
April 15, 2023
On A Wing And A Prayer (2023)

Doug White and his wife and daughters are on their way back home to Louisiana from Doug’s brother’s funeral in Naples, Florida, when the pilot of their King Air plane suddenly dies about ten minutes into the flight. Since Doug has only had one flying lesson and that was in a Cessna, he has to rely on Air Traffic Control to talk him back down to the ground.

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My Generation (2017)

Rebecca Deniston
·
April 29, 2023
My Generation (2017)

Michael Caine deserves more kudos than he’s given credit for, and he’s a guy who already gets a lot of credit. What may not be as readily known, though, is a certain distinction carried by Caine and his contemporaries, as told in 2017’s My Generation,

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The Mother (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
May 20, 2023
The Mother (2023)

This is not Jenny From the Block. This is Jenny With A Sniper Rifle And An Ever-climbing Body Count.

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Inside the Mind of A Cat (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
May 31, 2023
Inside the Mind of A Cat (2022)

We all know cats are fun creatures, and if anyone has ever wondered what goes through those mysterious minds of theirs, the unfailingly straightforward Inside the Mind of A Cat will help decode all of that.

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Airport (1970)

Rebecca Deniston
·
June 17, 2023
Airport (1970)

Ah, summer. Ah, summer travel. Nothing like it. And there’s nothing like a nice, calm movie like Airport to make us appreciate the relative ease of modern travel. Oh, wait. Right off the bat, I want to put it out there that Helen Hayes won an Oscar for her role in this film. Giving an Oscar to Helen Hayes is a no-brainer because she was Helen Hayes, but when the movie is

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Take Care of Maya (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
June 24, 2023
Take Care of Maya (2023)

Child protection is a pretty touchy subject to say the least. There’s so much that can be misconstrued and if anyone is wrong about anything, lives can be irreparably destroyed. Add in mysterious illness and the ordeal is even more gut-punching. Unfortunately, parents being falsely accused of medical child abuse is a widespread problem.

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Howard High (2021)

Rebecca Deniston
·
July 8, 2023
Howard High (2021)

We’re back on Tubi again, only this time we’re going to Howard High. Supposedly on the line of Bring It On and Sister Act 2, it follows a plucky group of musically talented kids wowing everyone with their infectious, spirited performance. This road is taken so often that most travelers get flat tires, but the journey is what counts, right?

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Earthquake (1974)

Rebecca Deniston
·
July 22, 2023
Earthquake (1974)

Hollywood sure loved star-studded disaster movies in the nineteen-seventies. Earthquake is relatively modest as these films go, but it still gives people what they come for. Mostly, anyway.

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I Used To Be Famous (2022)

Rebecca Deniston
·
August 2, 2023
I Used To Be Famous (2022)

We’ve all heard that fame is fleeting. We all know that when boy bands went out of fashion, at least in America, the bottom fell out hard. What happens next, though? I Used To Be Famous is the tale of an unexpected partnership between a former British boy band frontman and a neurodiverse teenager.

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100 Years of Warner Bros. (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
August 23, 2023
100 Years of Warner Bros. (2023)

One of the biggest studios in existence today is Warner Bros., and while they may be struggling like most establishments in the industry, not to mention they’ve made some pretty bad decisions lately, they also have plenty to be proud of. While their story is too big for any one retrospective,

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King Tut: Forgotten Treasure (2019)

Rebecca Deniston
·
September 23, 2023
King Tut: Forgotten Treasure (2019)

King Tutankhamun has always been full of mystery, of course, probably more than any other pharoah. He rose to the throne when he was very young, he died very young, and there’s all sorts of conjecture about what his life was like. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter just over a century ago, and was remarkable for its being pretty much intact, unlike other royal tombs that were vandalized and plundered.

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
September 30, 2023
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Henry Sugar is forty-one, single, self-absorbed, bored, and filthy rich. Then he finds a book in a library and it changes his life. He wants us to come along, with Roald Dahl as our host, steadily recounting the tale from his cozy chair in his writer’s hut. He sharpens one of his American pencils, lays it down, and starts to talk. His chair is too confining, though, so he soon rises and begins to walk.

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Stop Making Sense (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
October 7, 2023
Stop Making Sense (2023)

I’ll be honest: Although I like a lot of Talking Heads songs (“Once In A Lifetime” is my absolute favorite), I’ve always been more of a casual fan. Given the choice between Talking Heads and, say, Oingo Boingo, I’d probably take Oingo Boingo. Or maybe the Bee Gees.

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The Mystery of Britannic (2017)

Rebecca Deniston
·
October 18, 2023
The Mystery of Britannic (2017)

Titanic’s sister ship, the HMHS Britannic, sank off the coast of Greece in 1916, four years after the Titanic went down. It had been converted into a hospital ship and troop transport, and like its sister ship, broke into two pieces as it sank. Unlike

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Crossroads (2002)

Rebecca Deniston
·
October 25, 2023
Crossroads (2002)

Some repertory screenings are no brainers, like Back To the Future. Or The Birds. Or Roman Holiday. Or Singin’ In the Rain. Or Citizen Kane. If I have the chance to see any of those (and I have), I’m totally there. 2002’s Crossroads, on the other hand…

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Priscilla (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
November 8, 2023
Priscilla (2023)

Priscilla Presley has been having quite a roller coaster of a year, and not always in a good way, starting with the untimely loss of her one and only daughter, Lisa Marie. It must be bittersweet for her to have Sofia Coppola’s movie of her life come to the big screen after such a year, especially seeing as it’s the first and possibly only film so far in the Elvis universe to make Priscilla the primary focus.

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How To Become A Cult Leader (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
November 18, 2023
How To Become A Cult Leader (2023)

Who would want to become a cult leader? Who, really? How does a cult leader build a following? How To Become A Cult Leader has the answers, and we have to go down a pretty deep rabbit hole to get to them because the world of cults is unavoidably strange.

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Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
November 29, 2023
Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (2023)

Mr. Dressup is as familiar to Canadians as Mr. Rogers is to Americans; in fact, without Mr. Rogers there wouldn’t be a Mr. Dressup and vice versa. In real life Mr. Dressup was known as Ernie Coombs, and the lovely documentary, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

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"The Bishop's Wife" vs. "The Preacher's Wife": Which Movie Is Better?

Rebecca Deniston
·
December 13, 2023
"The Bishop's Wife" vs. "The Preacher's Wife": Which Movie Is Better?

Ever see The Preacher’s Wife? How about its predecessor, The Bishop’s Wife? Since Archie has just premiered on BritBox, I thought it would be fun to revisit the 1947 movie. While it makes a few missteps, it’s a graceful, gentle film that is at once very Christmas-centered and universal. It also invites the inevitable comparisons to the remake.

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Rebel Moon: Part One (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
December 23, 2023
Rebel Moon: Part One (2023)

Rebel Moon: Part One is another movie Netflix has been dangling in front of the public for months now. It’s Part One of a series. It’s Zack Snyder. It looks very Star Wars-y. It’s got a great cast. It’s very intriguing. Prestige out the wazoo. Does it live up to expectations, though? Well…

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Lift (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Jan 13
Lift (2024)

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s nothing like a good action movie, right? We can’t get enough of those thrills, chills, and spills. Or can we? That’s the question I asked myself when I saw Netflix’s new espionage movie, Lift, which is a combination of

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"The Wizard of Oz" Turns 85

Rebecca Deniston
·
Jan 31
"The Wizard of Oz" Turns 85

What is there to say about The Wizard of Oz, a movie that’s been talked about and written about for over eight decades? When a movie is this personal to so many people, there are so many thoughts to latch onto and so many angles to come from that it’s almost too much of a good thing. Oz is a world that needs taking in, even if it’s not the first time or even the hundredth.

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The Greatest Night In Pop (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
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Feb 14
The Greatest Night In Pop (2024)

Those of us who are over forty and Gen-Xers in particular remember when the music industry stepped up to raise money for Ethiopian famine relief, and one of the ways they did that was the 1985 megapop hit, “We Are the World,” featuring a gigantic choir of luminaries. Huey Lewis. Michael Jackson. Diana Ross. Lionel Ritchie. Stevie Wonder. Kenny Loggins. Tina Turner. Too many to name, really.

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The Abyss (2023)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Feb 24
The Abyss (2023)

It’s not the James Cameron movie, obviously. It’s not even a remake of the James Cameron movie, not even close. Oh, no, this Abyss is of a different kind. A very, very different kind. The amazing thing is, its connection to the true story it’s based on is tenuous at best, at least for the relatively immediate future.

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They Called Him Mostly Harmless (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
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Mar 2
They Called Him Mostly Harmless (2024)

In July of 2018 two hikers discovered a man’s emaciated body in a tent in some woods in Florida. No identification of any kind. No cell phone. No indications of what caused his death. Just random belongings and a lot of questions. The police were baffled, but as often happens in these kinds of situations, the solution was to go to the source, and even then questions still remain.

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Imaginary (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Mar 16
Imaginary (2024)

We’ve all heard the birdhouse analogy: The birdhouse we see in our head is not the birdhouse we actually build. I can’t help but believe Imaginary’s filmmakers envisioned a different movie than the one they ended up with. At least, I hope they were shooting for better, because that’s not what comes out on the screen.

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Immaculate (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Mar 23
Immaculate (2024)

When I saw Immaculate I didn’t know what to expect except that it looked like an Omen prequel collided with Rosemary’s Baby and the Nun movies. Amazingly enough, I had the whole screening room to myself which meant I could react in any way I wanted to, and it wasn’t long before I was extremely glad to be alone.

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Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids' TV (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
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Apr 10
Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids' TV (2024)

Barbara Walters could have squirmed all she wanted when Corey Feldman blew the whistle, but Hollywood is not the benigningly cutthroat industry it wants people to think it is, and children are often the greatest casualties. Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids’ TV

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Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
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Apr 17
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion (2024)

Fast fashion is a relatively new concept, at least fast fashion the way Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion defines it; as in, this is fashion that is promoted through social media, especially Instagram, its target demographic is teen girls, and by owning the clothes, the brand promises its young customers a piece of their action. If you own our clothes, you can look like the girls in our promos. Happy. Popular. Desirable. Thin.

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Unfrosted (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
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May 4
Unfrosted (2024)

Ah, Pop-Tarts. Love ‘em or not, they are a part of American culture, and Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted is a crazy paen to that quintessential American junk food. And when I say crazy, I mean crazy. It’s both satirical and commercial and it doesn’t let up for a second. Fans of historical accuracy should look elsewhere.

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"Steel Magnolias" Turns 35

Rebecca Deniston
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May 11
"Steel Magnolias" Turns 35

Steel Magnolias is thirty-five. Yeah, yeah, I know time passes and all that stuff, but it’s an ageless movie. For the most part, anyway, the numerous puffy dresses and poufy hair notwithstanding. Those who have seen the movie know exactly what I’m talking about. Those who haven’t seen it…well, what are you waiting for?

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Thelma (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Jun 22
Thelma (2024)

Ninety-something Thelma Post lives alone, with her family popping in on her every day, especially her grandson, Danny. She spends her days reading, sending e-mails and puttering around Instagram, or watching TV while doing needlepoint. She and Danny marvel at Tom Cruise’s running abilities. She’s a little hard of hearing and has had some health problems, but she’s doing all right.

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Despicable Me 4 (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Jul 6
Despicable Me 4 (2024)

Ah yes, the long-anticipated Despicable Me 4! We all know the trailer’s been shown everywhere multiple times and people chuckle every time it comes on, but we also all know there’s often a funny thing about trailers: They may show the best parts of a movie.

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Touch (2024)

Rebecca Deniston
·
Jul 17
Touch (2024)

Touch seems to start out like an arthouse film, with about a dozen Icelandic men in tuxes singing in the snow. We also see the main character, Kristofer at his doctor’s office, where he’s told he needs an MRI because he’s forgetting things and losing mobility. His doctor already thinks it’s pretty serious because he cautions Kristofer to get his affairs in order while he still can.

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