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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Category:Movies
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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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “True Detective: Night Country”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Because the Night: Review of True Detective: Night Country By Geoff Carter While The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies typically focuses on—well, movies, we will occasionally stray into the realm of the small screen—which is not so small anymore, mostly because that since HBO premiered series like Oz, Six Feet …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “El Conde”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Bloodlines: Review of El Conde By Geoff Carter The popularity of the vampire movie, encompassing everything from Dracula to Interview with a Vampire to the Twilight Series to From Dusk Till Dawn to The Lost Boys to Let the Right One In, and on and on and on, has been a staple of the cinema. These movies encompass comedies like Love at First Bite, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Dream Scenario”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Welcome to My Nightmare: Film Review of Dream Scenario By Geoff Carter Back in the early days of cinema, the gold standard for the sight gag was the pratfall, usually someone slipping on a banana peel. Laughing at someone else’s misfortune always seemed funny—until one considered that the butt of the …
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Kickass as Movie Critic
Attribution: Lorie Shaull, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s credentials as a movie critic ran out sometime shortly after “Bambi” so he was out of his league when he took in “Bad River” at the Fitchburg theatre. After first managing to sit through the incredibly …
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