Category:Michael DiMilo

Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ The Grand Scheme of Things: Review of The Phoenician Scheme By Geoff Carter There are certain filmmakers whose work could never be mistaken for another’s. Scorsese, Tarantino, or Spielberg films all bear the obvious fingerprints of their creators, but the stylistic quirks of no auteur is more obvious—or enjoyable—than those …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ The Disposable Man: Review of Mickey 17 By Geoff Carter You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get with a Bong Joon Ho film. From the linear class battle laid out in Snowpiercer to the convoluted twists and hidden spaces of Parasite to the heart-rending pathos and bioethics of Okja, his movies tend to …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo Immortal Sins: Movie Review of Sinners ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Movies can be larger than life which is—of course—a great part of their appeal. It always has been. Spectacles like D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance, the 1963 Twentieth Century-Fox version of Cleopatra, or the more recent Babylon, movies featuring “a cast of thousands”, lavish sets, and …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ The Agony of Defeat: Film Review of September 5 I remember, in my first week as high school sophomore, watching Mark Spitz swimmer dominate the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Spitz was a sensation, winning a total of seven gold medals that year. As always, the Olympics provided a variety …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo Body and Soul: Review of Companion ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter What is it that makes us human? Is it sentience, emotional awareness, empathy, intelligence, or the knowledge of our own mortality? Is it the ability to manipulate our environment?  We share many of these qualities with our fellow creatures. Birds build their …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo A Friend in Need: Review of The Room Next Door ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Film, like painting, is mostly–but arguably–a surface medium. While voiceovers and internal dialogues might allow audiences access to a character’s thoughts or intentions (think Sin City, Taxi Driver, or A Clockwork Orange), the audience is mostly constrained—as we are …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo Measured by the Heart: Review of We Live in Time ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter The tragic love story has been with us forever. From the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet(and West Side Story) to Love Story to The Notebook to Titanic to Brokeback Mountain—and many, many more—these tales of love and loss and regret draw audiences like flies …
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Illustration by Michael DiMilo Ugly Americans: Review of The White Lotus ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter We’ve seen it all before. Privileged Americans come to an exclusive resort and find fun—and murder, jealousy, sex, and decadence—all of which makes for great TV. This, of course, is the formula for the wildly successful MAX show The White Lotus, …
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