Road Trip: Film Review of It Ends ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In the film Groundhog Day, protagonist Phil (Bill Murray) is caught in some sort of metaphysical time loop and forced to relive one particular day—Groundhog Day—over and over again. Trying everything from larceny to suicide as ways to find release from …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to Elevated Horror Films: The Next Generation
Attribution: Photo by Daniel on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Revised October 22, 2026) The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer, and there’s a chill in the air. Frost is on the pumpkin. The leaves are turning color. All this means one thing—Halloween is just around the corner. And that means horror movies. Lots of them. …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Coyote -vs- Acme”
Lawyers, Puns, and Bunnies: Film Review of Coyote -vs- Acme ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As early as 1919, animation pioneer Max Fleischer was experimenting with combining live-action film with his cartoon creations, culminating in his groundbreaking Koko the Clown films. In the 1920s, Walt Disney produced the Alice Comedies in which Alice, a live actress, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Invite”
Tainted Love: Film Review of The Invite ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s not often when a film combines sexual sophistication, bedroom farce, and the bloody marrow of marital strife into a watchable film, let alone one of the most watchable films in recent memory. The Invite is one of those few instances where …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Anne Hathaway
Attribution: Anne_Hathaway_at_the_2007_Deauville_American_Film_Festival-01.jpg: Mireille Ampilhac derivative work: Caspian blue, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Any fan of the movies knows Anne Hathaway’s work; as a teen, she starred in the megahit Princess Diaries and has graduated from the Disney stable of squeaky-clean stars to appear in everything from intense psychological dramas to comedies, action thrillers, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Mayday”
From Russia With Love: Film Review of Mayday ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Top Gun was an incredibly popular film and, some may argue, a significant cultural phenomenon. It even spawned a sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, thirty-six years after the original. With incredibly well-staged battle scenes, state-of-the-art military technology, and the independent audacity of …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Mother Mary”
Connective Tissue: Film Review of Mother Mary ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The Hollywood buddy film is a time-tested audience favorite. Movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Odd Couple, and Lethal Weapon have been immensely popular, spawning endless sequels and spinoffs. Of course, the concept of two guys teaming up …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Normal”
The New Normal: Film Review of Normal ★★☆☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a familiar story; a stalwart lawman comes to a wild town and tames it. We’ve seen John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and many other Hollywood sheriffs do it. It’s a time-honored and somewhat worn cinematic trope, as are …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Drama”
Or For Worse: Movie Review of The Drama ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In the film Michael Clayton, Richard Bach—as played by Sydney Pollack—one of the partners in the law firm Michael works for, responds to Michael’s question about why another lawyer committed suicide with “Why? Because people are fucking incomprehensible.” He’s right. No …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass”
Tit for Tat: Review of Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Slapstick, satire, parody, black comedy, the rom-com, and screwball comedies. Everything from Duck Soup to Dr. Strangelove to A Fish Called Wanda to Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail to Bringing up Baby to Young Frankenstein to Idiocracy falls under the umbrella of film comedy, but …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Last House”
★★★☆☆ A House Divided: Review of The Last House Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter There has been an abundance of movies about isolation, particularly pertaining surviving alone in the natural world. Castaway, Gravity, The Revenant, Into the Wild, All is Lost and 127 Hours exemplify this man (or woman) versus nature narrative. Another not uncommon subgenre is …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Best 21st Century Drive-In Double Features
Attribution: RoyBuchanan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter A former cultural mainstay of my youth, the drive-in movie theater, is dying a slow death. Once one of the most ubiquitous entertainment institutions in the country—and what could possibly be more American? A venue that combines cars, movies, and parties. Of course. I, and millions …
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