Category Archives: Newer films

In the Heart of the Sea

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Mark DuPré

In the Heart of the Sea was originally scheduled for a March 2015 release. It was finally released this month (December 2015). Sometimes such delays are a bad sign of a weak film, but current thinking is that the release … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Beautiful Mind, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Apollo 13, Ben Whishaw, Benjamin Walker, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Brendan Gleeson, Cape Cod, Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Herman Melville, In the Heart of the Sea, Joseph Mawle, Moby Dick, Nantucket, Ron Howard, Star Wars, The Force Awakens, Tom Nickerson | Leave a comment

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part Two

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Mark DuPré

It’s only been a month since the last installment of The Hunger Games was released, but in the dominant glow of the latest Star Wars film, it seems much longer ago than that. Part of the reason for that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Gale, Glenn Close, Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Nuremberg, Part Two, Peeta, President Snow, Stanley Tucci, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, The Third Man, Triumph of the Will, Woody Harrelson | Leave a comment

Spotlight

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Spotlight was supposed to be the critical hit of the year. It was supposed to be our era’s All the President’s Men. It’s got the greatest cast since…whatever. Apparently the awards are not working out that way at this point, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged All the President's Men, Ben Bradlee, Ben Bradlee Jr., Bill Murray, Billy Crudup, Brian d'Arcy James, Foxcatcher, Jamey Sheridan, Jason Robards, John Slattery, Josh Singer, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Masanobu Takayanagi, Michael Keaton, Million Dollar Arm, New York Film Critics Circle, Rachel McAdams, Screen Actors Guild, Silver Linings Playbook, Smash, Spotlight, Stanley Tucci, Star Wars, Straight Outta Compton, The Big Short, The Boston Globe, The Station Agent, The Warrior, Tom McCarthy, Trumbo | Leave a comment

Creed

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Let’s hope that Creed doesn’t get completely lost in the rush of end-of-year films, including major franchise entries such as Mockingjay, Part Two and that upcoming Star Something…. Creed is both nostalgic and original, fresh and old-school. Yes, it can … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Boston Online Film Critics Association, Come Saturday Morning, Creed, Michael B. Jordan, Ricky.2, Rocky, Ryan Coogler, Sylvester Stallone | Leave a comment

The Good Dinosaur

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Bottom line: Not so “good.” Probably the best part of this latest Pixar film was the marketing decision to release it during the long Thanksgiving weekend, when its competition consisted of more grown-up offerings. TGD is just OK at best, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Inside Out, Pixar, relevation, TGD, The Good Dinosaur, Toy Story | Leave a comment

Spectre

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Mark DuPré

The latest Bond film is beautiful to look at, well acted, and a bit disjointed. In spite of some well-done action scenes, it’s surprisingly laidback. It’s not quite limp, but it clearly lacks the dramatic tension of its immediate successor … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ben Whishaw, Blofeld, Bond girl, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Craig, Godfather Part Two, Gordon Willis, Her, Hoyte Van Hoytema, Interstellar, Judi Dench, Lea Seydoux, M, Monica Belluci, Naomie Harris, Prince of Darkness, Ralph Fiennes, Roger Deakins, Sam Mendes, Skyfall, Spectre, Tarantino, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Leave a comment

Bridge of Spies

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Mark DuPré

The newest Spielberg film is out, and while it’s second-level Spielberg, that means it’s only better than 95 percent of what else is out there. Bridge of Spies is based on the true story of an American lawyer’s defense of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Amistad, Amy Ryan, Bridge of Spies, Catch Me If You Can, Cold War, Gary Powers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Janusz Kaminski, Jimmy Stewart, Lincoln, Mark Rylance, Minority Report, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Munich, Oscar Schindler, Rudolph Abel, Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg, The BFG, The Terminal, Thomas Cromwell, War Horse, War of the Worlds, Wolf Hall | Leave a comment

Clouds of Sils Maria

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Though the film is fascinating in several aspects, I saw this film for one reason: to see if all the hype about Twilight’s Kristen Stewart was legitimate. A young actress who became something of a laughingstock for her limited expressions … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Clouds of Sils Maria, Jerry Lewis, Julianna Moore, Juliet Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Olivier Assayas, Still Alice, Twilight | Leave a comment

Sicario

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Mark DuPré

This is going to be a short one. I read the great reviews and decided to see Sicario, the story of, as described by IMDB, “an idealistic FBI agent [who] is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Into the Woods, Josh Brolin, Marion Crane, Norman Bates, Psycho, Roger Deakins, Sicario, The Devil Wears Prada, Traffic | Leave a comment

The Martian

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Intelligent, well-crafted Hollywood films are supposed to be narrowly focused and possess a mid-sized budget—think All the President’s Men, The Social Network, and Moneyball. Space films are supposed to be bloated and/or full of dangerous other-worldly creatures. Then came Gravity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Alien, American Sniper, Apollo 13, Blade Runner, Cast Away, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Lean, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Gladiator, J. Edgar, Jeff Daniels, Jersey Boys, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Lawrence of Arabia, LOTR, Mark Watney, Matt Damon, Michael Pena, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Sean Bean, The Martian, Tom Hanks | Leave a comment