Illustration by Michael DiMilo Immortal Sins: Movie Review of Sinners ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Movies can be larger than life which is—of course—a great part of their appeal. It always has been. Spectacles like D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance, the 1963 Twentieth Century-Fox version of Cleopatra, or the more recent Babylon, movies featuring “a cast of thousands”, lavish sets, and …
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Category:Movies
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Going Above and Beyond
The Ten Best War Movies Capt. Saska Ball, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally published in June, 2019) By Geoff Carter “…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “September 5”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ The Agony of Defeat: Film Review of September 5 I remember, in my first week as high school sophomore, watching Mark Spitz swimmer dominate the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Spitz was a sensation, winning a total of seven gold medals that year. As always, the Olympics provided a variety …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Companion”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Body and Soul: Review of Companion ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter What is it that makes us human? Is it sentience, emotional awareness, empathy, intelligence, or the knowledge of our own mortality? Is it the ability to manipulate our environment? We share many of these qualities with our fellow creatures. Birds build their …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Room Next Door
Illustration by Michael DiMilo A Friend in Need: Review of The Room Next Door ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Film, like painting, is mostly–but arguably–a surface medium. While voiceovers and internal dialogues might allow audiences access to a character’s thoughts or intentions (think Sin City, Taxi Driver, or A Clockwork Orange), the audience is mostly constrained—as we are …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “We Live in Time”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Measured by the Heart: Review of We Live in Time ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter The tragic love story has been with us forever. From the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet(and West Side Story) to Love Story to The Notebook to Titanic to Brokeback Mountain—and many, many more—these tales of love and loss and regret draw audiences like flies …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The White Lotus”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Ugly Americans: Review of The White Lotus ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter We’ve seen it all before. Privileged Americans come to an exclusive resort and find fun—and murder, jealousy, sex, and decadence—all of which makes for great TV. This, of course, is the formula for the wildly successful MAX show The White Lotus, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Fly Me to the Moon”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Lassoing the Moon: Film Review of Fly Me to the Moon ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter To be honest, I’m a little tired of movies that reflect reality—mostly because I’m exhausted by today’s reality. It has nothing to do with the quality of the films, but seeing dystopian flicks like Civil War, The …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Civil War”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Life During Wartime: Review of Civil War ★★★☆☆ By Geoff Carter Civil War is a hard film—although not as hard as some—to pigeonhole. It’s a war movie, it’s a road movie, it’s a political thriller, it’s a journalism movie, and a (sort of) post-apocalyptic film. It also might be argued that it …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Heretic”
House of God: Review of Heretic Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter “Two young women working as missionaries for the Church of Latter-Day Saints—the Mormons—enter the home of a charming middle-aged man and soon find they have walked into the devious puzzle box of a religious fanatic, that they are prisoners of a …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Play Ball!
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I sighted my first robin a few weeks ago. The daffodils and crocuses are starting to peek through the ground. After possibly one of the longest winters in the history of the modern world—at least subjectively speaking–spring has arrived. We can enjoy walks in the sunshine, digging in …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Gorge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★1/2 Long-Distance Relationship: Film Review of The Gorge By Geoff Carter Genre movies have come (or gone) a long way. It used to be that a spy movie was just a spy movie. We could always trust James Bond to be suave, sophisticated, and deadly—and his movies to be fun romps. …
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