Category Archives: Newer films

The Greatest Showman

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Mark DuPré

The Greatest Showman is one of the great movie conundrums of 2017. It was tepidly received my most critics and savaged by others. Yet, over time, it’s become an unqualified popular and financial success. While Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged "The Swedish Nightingale", American Idol, Black Panther, Hugh Jackman, Jenny Lind, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, La La Land, Les Miserables, Michael Gracey, Michelle Wiliams, Oklahoma!, P.T. Barnum, Rebecca Ferguson, singin' in the rain, The Greatest Showman, The Voice, Zac Efron, Zendaya | Leave a comment

The Post

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Mark DuPré

The Post has been called second-tier Spielberg, and that’s true. Of course, second-tier for SS means it’s more finely crafted than 95 percent of other films. But in spite of the political perspectives brought to the film by many viewers … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged All the President's Men, Ben Bagdikian, Ben Bradlee, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, David Cross, Jason Robards, Kitty Genovese, Matthew Rhys, Meryl Streep, National Board of Review, New York Times, Spotlight, Steven Spielberg, The Post, Tom Hanks, Tracey Letts | Leave a comment

Phantom Thread

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Mark DuPré

Phantom Thread is exquisite. That’s neither a compliment nor a criticism, but just a description. It follows the story of a 1950’s London fashion designer described early on in the film as “too fussy.” That’s one way of describing him. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Allison Janney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York, Inherent VIce, J. Alfred Prufrock, Judith Anderson, Laurie Metcalf, Lesley Manville, Mrs. Danvers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread, Pretty Woman, Radiohead, Rebecca, Reynolds Woodcock, The Master, There Will be Blood, Vicky Krieps | Leave a comment

Darkest Hour

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Mark DuPré

What I recently wrote about the 1961 film Two Women (https://film-prof.com/2017/12/31/two-women-1960-1961/) could just as easily applied to Darkest Hour—that the main point of interest was the central performance, but that the evolution of the director’s style was also worth noting. Darkest … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Anna Karenina, Atonement, Ben Mendelsohn, Best Actor, Christopher Nolan, Churchill's Secret, Cinderella, Clemmie Churchill, Darkest Hour, Downton Abbey, Dunkirk, Gary Oldman, Joe Wright, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Pip Torrens, Pride and Prejudice, Romola Garai, Samuel West, Stephen Dillane, The Crown, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Two Women, Winston Churchill, World War II | Leave a comment

Lady Bird

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Lady Bird, for those my age, has nothing to do with a former president’s wife. It’s the story of a high school girl, beautifully acted, focusing on her relationship with boys and with her mother, also beautifully acted. In some … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Doll's House Part 2, Atonement, Brooklyn, Call Me By Your Name, Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird, Laurie Metcalf, Manchester by the Sea, Nicholas Hedges, Roseanne, Saoirse Ronan, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Timothée Chalamet | Leave a comment

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Mark DuPré

The film just received a slew of Golden Globe nominations, which is always both a compliment and something producing a mild guffaw to those familiar with the Globes’ history. But in this case, it seems the nominations are mostly deserved. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Caleb Landry Jones, deus ex machina, Fargo, Frances McDormand, Golden Globes, In Bruges, John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea, Martin McDonagh, Peter Dinklage, Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Woody Harrelson, Zeljko Ivanek | Leave a comment

Quick Hits: Blade Runner 2049 and Thor: Ragnarok

Posted on November 25, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Blade Runner 2049 Both these films—but especially Blade Runner 2049—deserve much more analysis than I provide here. But the first has been written about endlessly, and contains enough filmic (and literary) references to support a doctoral thesis. Like its predecessor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Arrival, Avengers, Blade Runner 2049, Cate Blanchett, Chris Hemsworth, Denis Villeneuve, Harrison Ford, Loki, No Country for Old Men, Roger Deakins, Ryan Gosling, Skyfall, Thor: Ragnarok, Tom Hiddleston, True Grit | Leave a comment

Concussion

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Concussion is a two-year-old film“based on” the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Pittsburgh pathologist who investigates the brain damage in former professional football players, and that is its main strength. His findings challenge the NFL to its core, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Albert Brooks, Bennet Omalu, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Concussion, CTW, Drive, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, NFL, Peter Landesman, Pittsburgh, Will Smith | Leave a comment

Fences

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Sometimes life, responsibilities, and priorities conspire to prevent me from seeing a film I “should” see in the theater. Such was the case with Fences, which was often my number two choice to see, and never managed to make it … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged August Wilson, Broadway, Denzel Washington, Doubt, Fences, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Pittsburgh Cycle, Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Tony Awards, Viola Davis | Leave a comment

Victoria and Abdul

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Mark DuPré

The greatest service this new trifle from director Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen) offers is to put forth a cinematic version of a hitherto unknown story of Queen Victoria’s friendly relationship with a much younger Indian man. The real story … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Abdul Karim, Adeel Akhtar, Ali Fazal, Dame Judi Dench, Dangerous Liaisons, Eddie Izzard, Florence Foster Jenkins, Hindu, Michael Gambon, Mohammed, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Muslim, My Beautiful Laundrette, Philomena, Stephen Frears, The Grifters, The Queen, Tim Pigott-Smith, Victoria and Abdul | Leave a comment