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 …
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Category:Movies
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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, …
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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 …
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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 …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Sentimental Value”
Family Values: Review of Sentimental Value ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo Leo Tolstoy once said, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” and every unhappy family can show their misery in a myriad of ways—they’re only limited by their imaginations. Whether that unhappiness erupts in …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Ten Best Valentine’s Day Movies
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Top Ten Romantic Films By Geoff Carter (Originally published on February 14, 2024) 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 …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “F1”
Formulaic: Film Review of F1 ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Artificial Intelligence is the newest face of runaway technology. Will it corrupt the minds (and academic skills) of our children, destroy human creativity, and—as in the nightmares of dystopian sci-fi fans (see The Terminator or Blade Runner) enable machines to take over civilization? It just …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Blue Moon”
★★★1/2 Words Fail Me: Film Review of Blue Moon Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Cinema can be magnificent and breathtakingly epic or intensely, even painfully, intimate. David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia and Ryan’s Daughter presented brilliantly photographed landscapes that at times seemed to dwarf seemingly lesser aspects of the human condition. Films like Twelve Angry Men, My Dinner …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Song Sung Blue”
Play it Again: Film Review of Song Sung Blue ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Part of a pleasant cinematic experience is the comfort of familiarity, knowing what to expect, when to expect it, and who to expect it from. The average viewer can walk into a theater, got some snacks, sit down …
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