Illustration by Michael DiMilo Lassoing the Moon: Film Review of Fly Me to the Moon ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter To be honest, I’m a little tired of movies that reflect reality—mostly because I’m exhausted by today’s reality. It has nothing to do with the quality of the films, but seeing dystopian flicks like Civil War, The …
Read
Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Civil War”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Life During Wartime: Review of Civil War ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter Civil War is a hard film—although not as hard as some—to pigeonhole. It’s a war movie, it’s a road movie, it’s a political thriller, it’s a journalism movie, and a (sort of) post-apocalyptic film. It also might be argued that it …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Heretic”
House of God: Review of Heretic Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter “Two young women working as missionaries for the Church of Latter-Day Saints—the Mormons—enter the home of a charming middle-aged man and soon find they have walked into the devious puzzle box of a religious fanatic, that they are prisoners of a …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Play Ball!
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I sighted my first robin a few weeks ago. The daffodils and crocuses are starting to peek through the ground. After possibly one of the longest winters in the history of the modern world—at least subjectively speaking–spring has arrived. We can enjoy walks in the sunshine, digging in …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Gorge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★1/2 Long-Distance Relationship: Film Review of The Gorge By Geoff Carter Genre movies have come (or gone) a long way. It used to be that a spy movie was just a spy movie. We could always trust James Bond to be suave, sophisticated, and deadly—and his movies to be fun romps. …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Best of the Irish Cinema
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The Pen in Hand’s Top Ten St. Patrick’s Day Movies By Geoff Carter It’s that time of year again, that special day of days set aside to celebrate the joy of being Irish. Green beer, corned beef sandwiches, the wearing of the green, The Chieftains spinning on your turntable, and a …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Josie and the Pussycats”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★★ What’s New, Pussycat?: Review of Josie and the Pussycats By Geoff Carter Our favorite theater, The Oriental, is part of Milwaukee Film, a non-profit institution dedicated to (according to their mission statement) “entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences… where we are committed to high-quality and accessible film programming.” (MKE …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “The Apprentice”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★1/2 The Art of Greed: Film Review of The Apprentice By Geoff Carter One of the timeliest films to come out this year was The Apprentice, a biopic of Donald Trump’s life as a young man and his subsequent career as a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman. Even fans of Donald Trump might find …
Read
Kickass and Wisconsin Dead Friend Zoe
Attribution: Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, supports the keeper and Phyllis in their updating of the list of political absurdities that define life as a “Badger.” Add to the long-standing MINORITY REPRESENTATION in the legislature, the fact that Wisconsin is one of only two states where the tax structure makes it …
Read
Kickass and “My Dead Friend Zoe”
Attribution: Photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not do movies, which he regrets after listening to the keeper and Phyllis rave about the recently released “My Dead Friend Zoe” which was created, written and produced by the keeper’s grandnephew Kyle Hausman Stokes and is currently in local theaters. It is …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Sing Sing”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Hard Time: Film Review of Sing Sing ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter Prison films have been a Hollywood staple for years. I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Birdman of Alcatraz, The Green Mile, Cool Hand Luke, The Shawshank Redemption, and many, many more have all tried to depict the struggles, …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: An Oscar Rubric
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter . In sports, winners and losers are determined by how many points they score. Some measure success by the size of a bank account or fame, but there are other more subtle metrics. When I taught English, it was a requirement of the job to develop a rubric, …
Read