Author Archives: Mark DuPré

About Mark DuPré

Retired (associate) pastor at a Christian church. Retired film professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband for nearly 50 years to the lovely and talented Diane. Father to three children and father-in-law to three more amazing people. I continue some ministry duties even though retired from the pastoral staff position. Right now I'm co-writing a book, co-writing a serious musical drama, and am half-way through writing (on my own a month-long devotional.

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Don’t let the date of the film put you off. This is a delightful dramedy about England’s most notorious king and his six wives. While creaky and primitive by today’s standards, the film itself is a riot and very enjoyable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Alexander Korda, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Best Actor, Binne Barnes, Brief Encounter, Broadway Melody of 1938, Charles Laughton, Come to the Stable, David Lean, Elsa Lanchester, Emeric Pressburger, Everley Gregg, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Great Expectations, Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard, Katherine of Aragon, Katherine Parr, Maria Corda, Merle Oberon, Michael Powell, Oscar, Pygmalion, Robert Donat, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Last of the Mohicans, The Private Life of Henry VIII, The Trouble with Angels, Thomas Culpepper, Wendy Barrie, Witness for the Prosecution | Leave a comment

The Other Oscars: The Juvenile Academy Award

Posted on June 21, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Did you know that July Garland, in spite of her tragic loss of the Oscar in 1955, did win an Academy Award? Other winners in this special Juvenile category include Mickey Rooney (nominated later for four other films as an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Academy Awards, awards, Bobby Discoll, Claude Jarman Jr, Deanna Durbin, film, Fox Film Corporation, Fred Zinnemann, Gone with the Wind, Hayley Mills, In Search of the Castaways, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ivan Jandl, John Mills, Jon Whitely, Judy Garland, Juvenile Academy Awards, Juvenile Oscar, M. Night Shyamalan, Margaret O'Brien, Meet Me in St. Louis, Mickey Rooney, Montgomery Clift, movies, Oscars, Peggy Ann Garner, Peter Pan, Pollyanna, Shirley Temple, So Dear to My Heart, Superman III, The Chalk Garden, The Color Purple, The Little Kidnappers, The Parent Trap, The Search, The Window, The Wizard of Oz, Tiger Bay, Trap, Vincent Winter | Leave a comment

Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Full disclosure: I’ve semi-enjoyed the previous films in the series, but TBH, they all blur in the mind. I made sure I saw the prior film (Dead Reckoning, Part One) the night before I saw this film. That helped me … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged action, Alfie Godfrey, Angela Bassett, Born on the Fourth of July, film, Fraser Taggarty, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Hannah Waddington, Hayley Atwell, Janet McTeer, Leah Remini, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Magnolia, Max Aruj, Mission Impossible, Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning, Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning, movies, Mr. Milchick, Nick Offerman, Ron Swanson, Scientology, Severance, Simon Pegg, Star Wars, The Big Sleep, Tom Cruise, Tramell Tillman, Tropic Thunder, Ving Rhames, White Heat | Leave a comment

Strait Undercover

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Mark DuPré

The plot of Strait Undercover is described on IMDB as “A biotech company secretly housing a government contract for terminator seeds and a Nexxus robot is infiltrated by a low-level USDA agent who connects telepathically with nature.” Sounds bizarre, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ben Gonyo, film, horror, I Am Sam, movie-review, movies, Race Eberhardt, reviews, Strait Undercover, The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Theory of Everything, western New York State, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? | Leave a comment

Yentl

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Mark DuPré

My head is still spinning after my recent rewatch of 1983’s Yentl after originally seeing it in the theater when it was released. Spinning because so much of it was so very good, spinning because much of it was so … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Alan Bergman, Amy Irving, Barbra Streisand, Citizen Kane, David Watkin, Fanny Brice, film, Funny Girl, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Mandy Patinkin, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, movies, music, Orson Welles, Out of Africa, reviews, Richard Gere, Summer of '42, The Thomas Crown Affair, Windmills of Your Mind, Yentl, Yentl the Yeshiva Boy | Leave a comment

Ryan’s Daughter

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Fifty-five years after its release, 1970’s Ryan’s Daughter surely needs another look. The reputation of this David Lean-directed film has suffered over the years for a couple of key reasons: its own genuine weaknesses plus the breadth of its scope. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged 49th Parallel, A Passage to India, Academy Awards, awards, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Christopher Jones, David Lean, Doctor Zhivago, film, Freddie Young, Great Expectations, Hayley Mills, Hobson's Choice, In Which We Serve, It Was a Good Time, John Mills, Julie Cristie, Lawrence of Arabia, Maurice Jarre, movies, Noel Coward, Oliver Twist, Omar Sharif, One of Our Aircraft is Missing, Oscars, Peggy Ashcroft, Pygmalion, Robert Mitchum, Ryan’s Daughter, Sarah Miles, Summertime, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Sound Barrier, Trevor Howard | Leave a comment

Snow White (2025)

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Oy! Where to begin with Snow White?! Let’s start with the star, Rachel Zegler, the female lead of the recent West Side Story. Her presence outside her newest film has far overshadowed her presence within as the titular character, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Andrew Burnap, Ansu Kabia, Benj Pasek, Gal Gadot, I Like the View from Here, Justin Paul, Mary Poppins, Miss Scarlet, Mother Knows Best, Poor Unfortunate Souls, Princess Problems, Rachel Zeglar, Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsnd the Seven Dwarves, Song of the South, Spirited, Tangles, The LIttle Mermain, West Side Story, Wicked, World on fire | Leave a comment

Quick Takes on Black Bag and No Address

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Black Bag is a cross between the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie film Mr. and Mrs. Smith and an Agatha Christie film, albeit modernized and quite slick. It’s a film about marriage (surprisingly supportive of monogamy) and it’s full of schemes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Agatha Cristie, Beverly D'Angelo, Black Bag, Cate Blanchett, Chevy Chase, Julia Verdin, Kay Francis, Maya, Michael Fassbender, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Naomie Harris, No Address, Rene-Jean Page, Steven Soderbergh, Tallulah Bankhead, The Big Sleep, The Merchant of Venice, Tom Burke, Traffic, William Baldwin | Leave a comment

Thoughts and a Few Predictions for the 2025 Oscars

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Note: This entire article is dedicated to Steve Hogan. My first thought on this year’s Oscar show is that it will be the least watched in a long time. There are no big points of interest, except perhaps a win … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged awards, film, movies, news, Oscars | Leave a comment

A Real Pain

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Mark DuPré

A Real Pain is the second film written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (below right), best known in one demographic group as Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and in another as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Real Pain, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Dirty Dancing, film, HBO, Jennifer Grey, Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Lex Luthor, Macauley Culkin, movies, review, Succession, The Social Network | Leave a comment