Illustration by Michael DiMilo (Originally published 10/23/20) By Geoff Carter Election season is upon us—with a vengeance. Besides the usual bombastic rhetoric, excessive patriotic fervor, and annoying media ad blitzes, we are also dealing with a disinformation campaign that may very likely affect the integrity of the voting process. Artificial intelligence, foreign election interference, and …
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Category:Michael DiMilo
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Red Rocket”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Rock Bottom: Film Review of Red Rocket By Geoff Carter ★★★☆☆ There has been a tradition in American cinema–and narrative fiction–to romanticize the poor and unfortunate as noble and determined. The Grapes of Wrath, Sounder, Precious, and Slumdog Millionaire are examples of narratives that valorize the struggles of the lower class to fight for …
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The Orange Plague
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Over the last eight years, we have seen a widespread and pernicious sort of moral blight that has infected the very heart of our country, which is the doing of one man: Donald J. Trump. Trump lies, he bullies, he cheats, he denigrates women, he deceives, he does …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Tuesday”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Death Be Not Proud: Review of Tuesday ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter There is no greater mystery than death. Its inevitability, its ubiquitousness, its power, and the question of life afterwards are awe-inspiring and fearsome questions. It is the last great unknown, and conversely, the one final certainty. The depiction of Death …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Hiding Under the Bed: The Spookiest Halloween Movies of All Time
Photo by Skyler Sawyer on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Originally published on October 31, 2020) I grew up in the sixties and seventies, in what might be called the golden age of the horror movie. Not only were we able to see films The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Scream and Scream Again at the drive-in theater, but every Saturday afternoons we …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Wolfs”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Bad Buddies: Review of Wolfs ★★★☆☆ There is a lot to like in Jon Watts’ new film Wolfs. In many ways, it’s like curling up in the family room recliner. It’s familiar, comfortable, and reassuring. It features well-known actors in roles we’ve seen them in before; it is a genre we’re familiar …
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The New Normal
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We once had a dog, a cute little schnoodle named Lucy. We got her as a puppy and raised her as a member of our family. Our daughter grew up alongside her. As Lucy grew older, we noticed normal signs of aging: lower mobility, hearing and sight issues, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “I Saw the TV Glow”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo The Road to Nowhere: Film Review of I Saw the TV Glow ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter Films about teen angst have been with us forever and have taken on as many iterations as there are film genres. There are vampire flicks like the Twilight series, psychological studies like Ladybird, thrillers like Elephant, and horror …
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The Fascist Cookbook
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I grew up during the late sixties and early seventies when youth counterculture was king. Rock and roll, pot, LSD, free love, and political activism were all part of the scene. The country was sharply divided along political lines—just as it is now. Protests and clashes, sometimes violent, …
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What’s New, Pussycat?
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter They are mysterious and elegant creatures who only pretend to be domesticated by humans. They are not unquestioningly compliant like cattle or sloppily subservient like dogs. They are independent. Cats relate to people—tolerate them really—on their own terms. A cat will do as it pleases, when it pleases, …
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The Most Horrible Terrible Thing Anyone Has Ever Seen…
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Written September 7, 2024 Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris will be meeting on the debate stage this Tuesday, September 10th, an event sponsored by ABC News. It is being billed as the verbal match of the century. Ms. Harris is a former attorney general, US Senator, and …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Kinds of Kindness”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Cruel to Be Kind: Film Review of Kinds of Kindness ★★★★☆ Yorgos Lanthimos creates films that balance on a razor’s edge between pain and pleasure. They are generally funny—sometimes wincingly so—but can be extremely difficult to watch. They can be as labyrinthine as the Villa Pisani, as puzzling …
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