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 …
Read
Category:Movies
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, …
Read
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 …
Read
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 …
Read
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 …
Read
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 …
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 “It Was Just an Accident”
An Eye for an Eye for an Eye: Review of It Just an Accident ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo We’re all familiar with the seemingly endless iterations of the revenge story. We’ve seen everything from Kill Bill(along with a lot of other Tarantino offerings), Nevada Smith, John Wick, Promising Young Woman, The Godfather, Sweeney …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Secret Agent”
Swimming With Sharks: Review of The Secret Agent ★★★★ By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo Some movies are great fun and don’t try to be anything more. They grab you by the lapels and take you with them into galaxies far, far away, or on fantastic quests for magic rings, or put you in …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Walking on a Wire: Review of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Parenting isn’t easy. This a lesson most of have learned the hard way. An even harder lesson is that perhaps not all of us were not cut out to be the supportive, loving, helpful, …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Father Mother Sister Brother”
Echoes: Film Review of Father Mother Sister Brother ★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo It’s strange and sometimes funny how patterns and motifs emerge in our experience as something more than coincidence. Last week, I wrote a review of the film Sentimental Values, a movie about an egregiously dysfunctional family. Shortly afterwards, we went …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Robert Duvall
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally published August 15, 2022) By Geoff Carter One of our greatest actors passed away yesterday. He lit up the stage, the big screen, and graced our homes with his indomitable presence. From blockbusters like The Godfather saga, Lonesome Dove, or Apocalypse Now …
Read