Attribution: Governo do Estado de São Paulo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Over a career that has spanned nearly four decades, Keanu Reeves has done a little bit of everything. With films like Speed, Point Break, Matrix, and John Wick, he has established himself as one of the industry’s most bankable action stars. His early …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Kinds of Kindness”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Cruel to Be Kind: Film Review of Kinds of Kindness ★★★★☆ Yorgos Lanthimos creates films that balance on a razor’s edge between pain and pleasure. They are generally funny—sometimes wincingly so—but can be extremely difficult to watch. They can be as labyrinthine as the Villa Pisani, as puzzling …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Logan Lucky”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Oceans 7 Eleven: Review of Logan Lucky ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter One of the benefits of streaming TV is access to lesser known independent, international, and obscure films. I like to try and keep up with the latest, but movies like A Ghost Story, Gueros, Problemista, El Conde, and Hit Man would have flown …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Hit Man”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The Real Me: Review of Hit Man ★★★★1/2 Some film genres are easier to define than others. Comedies make you laugh, horror movies scare the hell out of you, and romantic comedies make you laugh and cry. Recognizing some film genres is sort of like Supreme Court Justice …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Problemista”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Dreamweaver: Film Review of Problemista ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter It’s an oft-told tale. A young man has a big dream. He goes to the big city to make his fortune and encounters seemingly insurmountable obstacles but through perseverance, encouragement, determination, and a little bit of luck, he finally succeeds. Take this …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Love Lies Bleeding”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Killing Me Softly: Film Review of Love Lies Bleeding ★★★★ 1/2 By Geoff Carter Film noir, which never really left us, is undergoing a radical transformation. From its beginnings in classics like Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, Laura, The Killers, and—more recently—Body Heat and Chinatown, we have taken that long dark highway from that …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Wildcat”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★ 1/2 For the Love of God: Review of Wildcat By Geoff Carter The creative process is a mystery. Understanding how and why individuals are driven to give up their time, wealth, energy, even their happiness in the pursuit of artistic perfection can make for compelling cinema, but trying to capture …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Woody Allen
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter He is a legendary filmmaker whose career has spanned fifty-some years—and has worked with everyone from Diane Keaton to Cate Blanchett to Scarlett Johannson to John Cusack to Michael Caine—and more. He has worked in nearly every film genre imaginable—slapstick, romantic comedy, historical features, mystery, documentary, psychological drama–everything …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Steven Van Zandt: Disciple”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo A Force of Nature: Review of Steven Van Zandt: Disciple By Geoff Carter There are celebrities, there are rock stars, there are music icons, and then there are forces of nature. For one force of nature to exist and work in the shadow of another larger force of nature cannot be …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Fancy Dance”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Mother Daughter Dances: Review of Fancy Dance It seems to be the era of the woman in film—and it’s about time. In the past few years, Barbie, Wicked Little Letters, She Said, Nyad, Promising Young Woman, and Drive Away Dolls have emerged at the forefront of a new wave of movies celebrating the struggles of …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Wicked Little Letters”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Poison Pen Pals: Review of Wicked Little Letters ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter If you take a mystery, wrap it in a comedy, sprinkle in some feminist trappings, and then top off with a pinch of clownish but mean-hearted patriarchal mulishness, you end up with the wonderfully amusing but deceptively intricate film Wicked …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Pale Blue Eye”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo History Lessons: Review of The Pale Blue Eye By Geoff Carter ★★★ 1/2 The speculative film, alternate history, or just plain fantasy film is, at first glance, more common than one might think. The Nine Percent Solution, in which Sherlock Holmes encounters Sigmund Freud, The Man in the High Castle, which explores what …
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