Category Archives: reviews

Life is But a (Lucid) Dream

Posted on June 2, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Vanilla Sky (2001) I believe this is the first time I’ve seen this film again since it first premiered in 2001. The world was a different place, after 9-11, and the premise of the film could somehow make sense, if … Continue reading →

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This is the Third Italian-Based Film We’ve Seen This Year

Posted on May 25, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) After being stuck at home during the pandemic, the ladies are ready to let loose. And, boy, do they ever. Since the concept of the book club is a review of a book, there … Continue reading →

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Meals Like Grandma Used to Make

Posted on May 18, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Nonnas (2025) Since it came out on Mother’s Day, this Netflix film has already had a good run. Nonnas is a 2025 American biographical comedy-drama film[2] directed by Stephen Chbosky, written by Liz Maccie, and starring Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro with Linda Cardellini and Susan Sarandon. The film is … Continue reading →

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It’s a Coming-of-(Spiritual)-Age Story

Posted on May 15, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give a film like this a second glance. Coming-of-age stories can be interesting, if they’re set in the right time frame. This one is dated 1970. (I also suspect … Continue reading →

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This Black Comedy is a Wake-Up Call to Seniors

Posted on May 11, 2025 by cdsmiller17

I Care a Lot (2020) At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch this one, and then I warmed to the subject matter because of the deliciously nasty way that the main characters acted. The storyline is simple: find … Continue reading →

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It’s Called “Stream of Consciousness”

Posted on May 4, 2025 by cdsmiller17

The Song of Lunch (2010) From the opening minutes of the filmed adaptation of this book, I knew that the narrative came from the written word. We do this all the time, but are mostly unaware that we’re doing it. … Continue reading →

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We’re In This Together

Posted on April 23, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Leo’s Lunch Box (April 22, 2025) A powerful modern-day story about sharing what you have, based on the biblical Feeding of the Five Thousand, by Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock. It’s lunchtime at school, and Leo knows exactly what he’s going … Continue reading →

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All the Signs of Intimate Partner Violence

Posted on April 20, 2025 by cdsmiller17

American Murder: Gabby Petito (2025) The three part series on Netflix documents the lead up to Gabby Petito‘s disappearance in August, 2021. Hindsight is only available after the fact, but the signs were there that something awful was going to … Continue reading →

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She was Only 13 Years Old When She Wrote:

Posted on April 8, 2025 by cdsmiller17

The Life List (2025) As an antidote to yesterday’s post, here’s a sweet little film about a young woman who needs to get her life figured out, in the year after her mother dies. For some this will require a … Continue reading →

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A Film about MMIWG*

Posted on March 29, 2025 by cdsmiller17

Wind River (2017) *Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada It’s interesting that a previously under-reported issue should suddenly come into the public awareness. What caught our eye was the bleakness of the film’s environment. It didn’t take … Continue reading →

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