Domination Nation: Film Review of Wuthering Heights ★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the romantic epic spanning generations has been made, remade, reimagined, mounted onstage, and has even been transformed into a musical, an opera, and a graphic novel. It is a narrative whose thematic threads have been co-opted by elements …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Bride”
Hot Mess: Review of The Bride ★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We’re all familiar—all too familiar—with the tale of Frankenstein. We’ve seen enough iterations of it over the years, a trend that shows no signs of slowing. Recently, from Guillermo del Toro’s lavish and faithful 2025 production of the original story to …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Going Above and Beyond
In Honor of Memorial Day, 2026 The Ten Best War Movies Attribution: Capt. Saska Ball, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally published in June, 2019) By Geoff Carter “…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “In the Blink of an Eye”
The Edges of Humanity: Film Review of In the Blink of an Eye ★★★ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter One of the great overarching themes of literary thought when I was a student, an ideology that has since been overshadowed by postmodernism, postcolonialism, new feminism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction—all advances that served to include …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Anemone”
Family Matters: Film Review of Anemone ★★★ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Fathers pass down the family name, family traditions, history, religious beliefs, as well as the odd bits of wisdom to their sons. They may also, perhaps unwittingly, pass down their prejudices, hate, and fears—both personal and familial. Our parents are, after …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Pitt”
Making Medicine: Television Review of The Pitt ★★★★ By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo I—and many of my boomer friends—grew up watching TV medical dramas. They were everywhere. Medical Center, St. Elsewhere, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Marcus Welby, M.C., M*A*S*H*, and dozens of others kept popping up like weeds on network television. Most were dramas, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Sirat”
Road to Nowhere: Movie Review of Sirat ★★★★ By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo The language of cinema is a sophisticated complex of image, words, actions, rhythm, color, and motion. It encompasses the familiar and describes—if not defines—the unknown. From traditional narratives like Citizen Kane, Casablanca, or even One Battle After Another to movies that eschew normal …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Ten Best Baseball 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, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Rapture: Film Review of The Testament of Ann Lee ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter There are films that are not only worlds—cinematic universes—unto themselves, but that immerse the audience into that experience so thoroughly and deeply that when the film ends, it almost seems to the viewer as if he might be …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Perfect Neighbor”
Handling the Truth: Review of The Perfect Neighbor ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Ever since the Lumiere Brothers produced “actuality films” (single shot recordings of real-life events like train arrivals and galloping horses), various iterations of cinematic travelogues, and Joseph Flaherty’s groundbreaking 1922 documentary Nanook of the North, documentary filmmakers have sought to …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Nuremberg”
★★★ History 101: Review of Nuremberg Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We all know the famous Santayana quote, “”Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, yet we continue to stupidly ignore—and thereby repeat—our past mistakes. War, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and human trafficking have not only continued to exist—they have …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Honey Don’t!”
That Empty Feeling: Review of Honey Don’t! ★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Coen Brothers films have been a delight for decades. From the twisty turns of Blood Simple to the absurdist curves of Raising Arizona to Barton Fink to “The Dude” to Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? to Buster Scruggs and everything in between, their films’ unexpected and shocking plot surprises have …
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