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 Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Mark DuPré

The Second Exotic Marigold Hotel is the first film I’ve written about where I have to throw my hands up and declare it officially critic-proof. Not that I couldn’t sit back and analyze it from several different perspectives. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Downton Abbey, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Leave a comment

Still Alice

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Still Alice is practically an afterthought at this point, and will likely only be remembered as the film that finally brought Julianne Moore her first Oscar (she won as Best Actress earlier this year) after a number of nominations. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Alec Baldwin, Annie Hall, Blue Jasmine, Colin Firth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Eddie Redmayne, Julianne Moore, Kate Bosworth, Kristin Stewart, My Left Foot, Nine Months, Philadelphia, Still Alice, The Hunger Games, The King's Speech, The Lost Weekend, The Snake Pit, The Theory of Everything, Woody Allen | 2 Comments

Selma, Black Actors and Oscar

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Throwing some thoughts into the mix…. There’s always some kind of “scandal” surrounding the Oscar nominations, and the key word is “snub.” If you were magnificent in a film but people in Hollywood don’t like you, they say you’re snubbed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged "Glory", Albert Finney, American Sniper, Angelina Jolie, Ava DuVernay, Barkhad Abdi, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture, Cake, Captain Phillips, Carmen Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Nolan, Clint Eastwood, Dallas Buyers Club, David Fincher, David Oyelolo, Dorothy Dandridge, Dreamgirls, Ethel Waters, Forest Whitaker, Ghost, Gone Girl, Gone with the Wind, Grace Kelly, Halle Berry, Hattie McDaniel, Hud, Interstellar, Jamie Foxx, Jared Leto, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Hudson, Judy Garland, Lilies of the Field, Lupita Nyong'o, Malcolm X, Marion Cotillard, Million Dollar Baby, Mo'Nique, Monster's Ball, Morgan Freeman, Oscar, Paramount, Paul Newman, Pinky, Precious, Ray, Selma, Sidney Poitier, The Color Purple, The Last King of Scotland, The Lego Movie, The Turning Point, Tom Jones, Training Day, Two Nights One Day, Unbroken, Whoopi Goldberg | Leave a comment

Selma

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Selma is the companion piece to American Sniper in terms of being a Rorschach test for America in early 2015. Those loving neat categories would place Selma on the left and American Sniper on the right, and might find some … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged American Sniper, Angelina Jolie, Ava DuVernay, Carmen Ejogo, Coretta King, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelolo, Dr. King, George Wallace, J. Edgar Hoover, Martin Sheen, Oprah, Oscar, Selma, Steve Carell, Voting Rights Act | Leave a comment

American Sniper

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure… To this Biblical passage I add, “to the political, all things are political.” This goes for film critics as well as politicians, and that has posed a few problems in covering … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged American Sniper, Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Sandra Bullock, Sienna Miller, The Blind Side, The Green Berets, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty | Leave a comment

2015 Oscar Thoughts, #1

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Today the Oscar nominations came out. There were a few surprises, and the usual bellyaching about snubs. Whatever…. BTW, I’ve posted the nominations below. Best Picture Only 8 nominees for Best Picture out of 10. No Into the Woods, no … Continue reading →

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged Amy Adams, Ava DuVernay, Big Eyes, Boyhood, Cake, Foxcatcher, Golden Globe, Into the Woods, J.K. Simmons, Jennifer Aniston, Laura Dern, Marion Cotillard, Mark Ruffalo, Meryl Streep, Oscar, Oscar nominations, Patricia Arquette, Ralph Fiennes, Selma, Steve Carell, The Fault in Our Stars, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Lego Movie, Two Days One Night, Wild | Leave a comment

Unbroken

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Analyzing Unbroken so far after its release, and the day that the Oscar nominations came out, makes this a different kind of analysis: Unbroken is a great sophomore effort by a young director with limited directorial experience. She happens to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Angelina Jolie, Billy Graham, Gone with the Wind, Jack O'Connor, Louis Zamperini, POW, Roger Deakins, Unbroken | Leave a comment

An open letter to the creators of Exodus: Gods and Kings

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Note: Normally, I write a critique of a film in the standard way. After viewing Exodus: Gods and Kings, I felt a note to the director, screenwriters and producers of the film seemed more in order. Dear Mr. Scott, Myriad … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ben Kingsley, Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, DeMille, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Joel Edgerton, Mel Gibson, Moses, Noah, Pharoah, Ramses, Ridley Scott, Sigourney Weaver, Terminators, The Passion of the Christ, The Ten Commandments | Leave a comment

Big Eyes

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Mark DuPré

When we talk about “story” in my film class, we often talk about how much it means to American moviegoers and how little it can mean to filmgoers from other cultures. Many students come into class professing that their sole … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Amy Adams, Big Eyes, Christoph Waltz, Margaret Keane, Tim Burton, Walter Keane | Leave a comment

Foxcatcher

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Foxcatcher is disturbing almost from the first moment, and never stops being so. Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) and only his third feature-length film, it seems the director is attracted to true stories (his other two major films are … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Bennett Miller, Bourne, Brad Pitt, Capote, Captain Phillips, Catherine Keener, Channing Tatum, David Schultz, Foxcatcher, John E. du Pont, Jonah Hill, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Schultz, Moneyball, Paul Greengrass, Steve Carell, Vanessa Redgrave | Leave a comment