Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter B + Movie: Review of Godzilla Minus One Godzilla has been around as long as—well, the dinosaur, and he has managed to stick around longer than the in-laws at Thanksgiving dinner. Over the years, the big green boy has entertained us by battling adversaries like King Kong, Mothra, …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: A Tribute to Father’s Day
Photo by Sabine van Straaten on Unsplash A Tribute to Father’s Day: Ten Unforgettable Celluloid Dads By Geoff Carter (Originally published June 12th, 2023) It’s that time of year when we’re once again celebrating the patriarch, the pater familia, the big man, the king daddy, and the head of the family. It’s Father’s Day. Master of the grill, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Dune: Part Two”
Attribution: Illustration by Michael DiMilo Desert Storm: Review of Dune: Part Two By Geoff Carter The long-awaited—and latest—star-studded mega-production of Dune has finally landed. Of course, this is hardly news. The hype surrounding the second installment of this science-fiction saga has been so constant and ubiquitous, it’s became as annoying as the popcorn container with the mouth …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Kim’s Video”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Digital Killed the Video Store: Review of Kim’s Video By Geoff Carter The documentary is one of the few cinematic genres that consistently defies expectations. It covers a huge range of content from the journalistic to the sublime, reconstructing history, muckraking corruption, exposing social ills, documenting human experience, or—as in the …
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Kickass and Clint’s Birthday
Attribution: English: “© Universal Pictures”. Photographer unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses with the keeper to wish Clint Eastwood a happy 94th birthday and notes that Clint is still directing movies, cracking jokes and is totally “with it.” This is encouraging for the keeper who is in Clint’s …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Drive-Away Dolls”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Since their first feature film Blood Simple premiered in 1984, the Coen Brothers have been churning out their signature brand of quirky and unique movies like nobody’s business—and no one makes movies like the Coens. They’ve brought us The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona, and Fargo—among many others. Their …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Homesman”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Where No Man Has Gone Before: Film Review of The Homesman By Geoff Carter Compared to the primordial age of films and television during the twentieth century, we live in an embarrassment of riches. Although the groundbreaking miniseries Roots and The Holocaust debuted on network television in 1977, the general entertainment TV fare consisted of …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Unfrosted”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Sugarcoated: Review of Unfrosted By Geoff Carter One of my fondest childhood memories as a baby boomer was waking up early on a Saturday morning, going to the kitchen and fixing myself a big bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes, Sugar Pops, Sugar Smacks, Coco Krispies, or whatever the hot new cereal …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Judge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a well-known adage—and rightly so—that cinema is a collaborative process. A wide-ranging conglomerate of artists ranging from cinematographers, stuntmen, screenwriters, make-up artists, costume designers, production designers, composers, musicians, actors, producers, and finally—ultimately–the director. And this is only a sampling of the artists and technicians who make movies …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Surrounded”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo The Middle of Nowhere: Film Review of Surrounded By Geoff Carter The film Surrounded is set in the stunning landscape of New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, the setting of other notable westerns like The Missing, 3:10 to Yuma, and Wyatt Earp. While Surrounded contains many of the formulaic elements of that genre, including a sociopathic outlaw, the snotty …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Into the Western Wilderness
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter During our recent annual visit to New Mexico, we took a day trip to the beautiful Ghost Ranch, which is situated in a valley surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful rock formations streaked with a veritable rainbow of colors. In past years, we have been lucky enough to visit other …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “A Ghost Story”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Haunted: Film Review of A Ghost Story By Geoff Carter Sometimes, despite the best efforts of The Pen in Hand to stay hip and current, we find ourselves hopelessly behind the times. The other night as I was surfing through Max (HBO 2.0), I ran across a fascinating little film called A …
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