Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Treading Water: Film Review of Nyad ★★★☆☆ Biopics can be tricky. Creating a film about the life of a notable person can either transcend the material and become more than just one person’s life story or become enamored of—or mired in—sundry details of that life to the point …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Best Valentine’s Day Movies
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Top Ten Romance Films By Geoff Carter It’s Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air, but those of us who choose to enjoy a warm and cozy evening inside, finding that perfect romantic movie is the perfect way to enjoy that special someone. So, rather writing one of my garden variety …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “American Fiction”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo True Stories: Film Review of American Fiction The buzzwords inclusion and diversity are common these days. Through DEI and other programs, they have been touted as necessary tools to establish cultural equity, yet racial stereotyping, cultural expectations, and insipidly clueless racism continue. They are everywhere. The film American Fiction delves into issues of …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The Power of Love: Film Review of Past Lives By Geoff Carter ★★★★☆ The mythos surrounding love, infatuation, and desire is woven throughout the fabric of human existence. Classic romances like Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Orpheus and Eurydice, or Wuthering Heights only begin to tell love’s grand story. This story is everywhere. It permeates …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The Oscars: A No-Win Situation By Geoff Carter Like many fans of the cinema, we at The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies took a keen interest in the announcement of the 2024 Academy Award nominations, mostly because 2023 was such a phenomenal year for films. From the cutting-edge, envelope-pushing …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Anatomy of a Fall”
Artwork by Michael DiMilo ★★★★1/2 The Slippery Truth: Film Review of Anatomy of a Fall Truth, especially in today’s age of informational—and misinformational—excess, is an elusive beast. We are surrounded by conspiracy theorists, science skeptics, and straight-out liars. Politicians, pundits, and opportunists twist and bend the truth into weapons to further their—usually—personal and professional agendas. …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Poor Things”
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The Wide Wild World: Film Review of Poor Things By Geoff Carter The films of Yorgos Lanthimos tiptoe the blurry lines between fantasy and reality as they explore the tenuous relationships between subjectivity, reality, and existentialism. They are beautiful, but anything but typical. His films The Lobster, The Killing of Sacred Deer, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Gangsters of the West: Film Review of Killers of the Flower Moon ★★★★★ Attribution: Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Martin Scorsese is one of the most versatile and gifted film directors working today. He has directed movies in a variety of genres, including psychological thrillers (Shutter …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “The Holdovers”
Attribution:Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons All the Lonely People: Film Review of The Holdovers ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ By Geoff Carter The films of Alexander Payne are quintessential quest stories. In The Descendants, a middle-aged man tries to come to terms with his wife’s imminent death, understand her infidelities, …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: Ringing in the New Year
Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash (Originally posted in December, 2020) By Geoff Carter We’re almost there. We only have one more day of 2023 to endure. It’s been a year of firsts. Some we would like to celebrate, others not so much. But New Year’s Eve is a time to look forward to fresh starts and renewed …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “Maestro”
Attribution: Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Asking the Right Questions: Film Review of Maestro By Geoff Carter To say that a creating a biopic of one of the most revered figures in the history in American music is an ambitious undertaking is a bit of an understatement. Yet Bradley …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “A Disturbance in the Force”
(The Worst TV Christmas Special Ever) Photo by Jake Hills on Unsplash When Worlds Collide: A Review of A Disturbance in the Force By Geoff Carter Own work based on unknown original creator, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Sitting in a crowded theater watching a movie is in many ways a solitary act. Viewers don’t—they’re not supposed to, …
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