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.

First Thoughts on 2023 Oscar Nominations

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Mark DuPré

The 2023 Academy Award nominations came out today, and the first wave of published responses will be who got an unexpected nomination, and who got “snubbed,” a ridiculous phrase for an imprecise idea. My thoughts, however, turn to who got … Continue reading →

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged All About Eve, All Quiet on the Western Front, Angela Bassett, Argentina 1985, Avatar: The Way of Water, Babylon, Barry Keoghan, Baz Luhrmann, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Born Yesterday, Brendan Fraser, Brendan Gleeson, Cate Blanchett, Catherine Martin, Claudio Miranda, Daniel Kwan, Daniel Sheinert, Diane Warren, Disney's Pinocchio, Dos Oruguitas, Elvis, Encanto, Everything Everwhere All at Once, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro, Guillermo del Toro's PInocchio, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, Last Picture Show, Lift Me Up, Martin McDonagh, Michelle Yeoh, My Heart Will Go On, Naatu Naatu, Razzie nominations, RRR, Sarah Polley, Stephanie Hsu, Steven Spielberg, Sunset Boulevard, Tár, Tell It Like a Woman, The Bansees of Inisherin, The Daniels, The Fabelmans, The Whale, Titanic, Top Gun: Maverick, We Don't Talk About Bruno, Women Talking | Leave a comment

Show People (1928)

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Mark DuPré

Silent and early sound film star Marion Davies was a wonderful comedienne when given the chance, and perhaps there was no greater opportunity for her to show her talents than in 1928’s Show People, her last major role in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged A Star is Born, Bill Gates, Blazing Saddles, Charles Chaplin, Charles Foster Kane, Citizen Kane, Claire Windsor, Dorothy Comingore, Dorothy Sebastian, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Eileen Pringle, Elon Musk, Estelle Taylor, George K. Arthur, Jeff Bezos, John Gilbert, Karl Dane, King Vidor, Louella Parsons, Mank, Marianne, Marion Davies, Norma Talmadge, Renée Adorée, San Luis Obispo, San Simeon, Show People, singin' in the rain, What Price Hollywood?, William Hart, William Randolph Hearst | Leave a comment

Avatar: The Way of Water

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Mark DuPré

Thirteen years after the record-breaking Avatar was released, we finally get the first of several sequels. I managed to see it under the best of (visual) circumstances, in our local IMAX theater. Yes, it’s stunning to the eye, and actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, Imax, Jack Champion, Jake Sully, James Cameron, Job, Moby Dick, Neytiri, Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, YA, Zoe Saldana | Leave a comment

Quick Takes: Disenchanted and Spirited

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Mark DuPré

OK, there are a lot of new Christmastime movies to watch, and usually I wait awhile to see them. But this time, I saw two of the most promoted ones early on. Here are my quick thoughts: Disenchanted My wife … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Christmas Carol, Aladdin, Alan Menken, Amy Adams, Andalasia, Beauty and the Beast, Charles Dickens, Disenchanted, Enchanted, Frozen, Gabriella Baldacchino, Hercules, Idina Menzel, Jesus, Octavia Spencer, Patrick Page, Ryan Reynolds, Scrooge, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Tracy Morhan, Wicked, Will Ferrell | Leave a comment

She Said

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Mark DuPré

From l: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Andre Braugher, and Patricia Clarkson in She Said She Said is the “coulda-shoulda” disappointment of the Oscar movie season thus far. The story is still great—reporters, who have real lives outside of their work, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged All the President's Men, An Education, Andre Baugher, angela Yeoh, Ashley Judd, Carey Mulligan, Ernst Lubitsch, Gloria Allred, Harvey Weinstein, Jennifer Ehle, Lisa Bloom, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Friedman, Promising Young Woman, Spotlight, Succession, The Big Sick, Zoe Kazan | Leave a comment

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Mark DuPré

In the wake of the death of the legendary Angela Lansbury, I thought I’d take another look at her third Oscar-nominated performance in the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate. It’s a film that disappeared for a while, so it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Angela Lansbury, Beauty and the Beast, Blow-Out, Blow-Up, China, Cold War, Edgar Wright, Frank Sinatra, Gaslight, James Brooks, John Frankenheimer, Joss Whedon, Laurence Harvey, Marathon Man, Murder She Wrote, Patty Duke, political thriller, Psycho, Ridley Scott, Robert Altman, Sidley Lumet, Soviet Union, The Conversation, The Manchurian Candidate, The Miracle Worker, The Parallax View, The Picture of Dorian Gray | Leave a comment

Thor: Love and Thunder

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Mark DuPré

Thor: Love and Thunder is a film as disjointed as its name. It’s not so much a film as a patchwork of ideas, tones, and narrative directions that ultimately don’t add up. It also gives us a Thor we don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Black Swan, Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Downton Abbey, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jackie, Jojo Rabbit, Leon: The Professional, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor: Ragnarok | Leave a comment

Jurassic World Dominion

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Mark DuPré

So what do you get when you put together all the previous Jurassic movies, the James Bond movies, Alien, Aliens, all the Bourne films, all the Mission Impossible films, King Kong, The Good Earth, The Birds, a soupçon of Apocalypse … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Alien, aliens, Apocalypse Now, B.D. Wont, Bryce Dallas Howard, Campbell Scott, Chris Pratt, Colin Trevorrow, DeWanta Wise, Dichen Lachman, Ethan Hunt, Isabella Sermon, Jason Bourne, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, King Kong, Laura Dern, Lupin, Mamoudou Athie, Michael Giacchino, Mission Impossible, Omar Sy, Ratatouille, Sam Neill, Severance, Steven Spielberg, The Birds, The Book of Henry, The Good Earth, The Intouchables, Up, Vanessa Kirby, Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past | Leave a comment

Elvis

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Mark DuPré

I’m normally not a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s films. I enjoyed (and still enjoy) Moulin Rouge!, where the director’s overheated energy worked well with the material. Not so much Romeo + Juliet, and especially not Australia and The Great Gatsby. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Atonement, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Keira Knightley, Moulin Rouge!, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, Tex Watson, The Great Gatsby, The Ladykillers, Tom Hanks | Leave a comment

Top Gun: Maverick

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Mark DuPré

It’s summertime, and folks have found a reason to go back to the movie theater. Apparently, what we needed were loud blockbuster remakes. Jurassic Park: Dominion, a film getting mixed reviews, was the second salvo, but the first, getting surprisingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Anthony Edwards, Ed Harris, Glen Powell, Goose, Iceman, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Maverick, Miles Teller, Rooster, Tom Cruise, Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Val Kilmer | Leave a comment