Category Archives: Newer films

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

Quick Takes on Two Netflix Movies: Back in Action and The Six Triple Eight

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Netflix has two movies out right now (I can’t really justify calling them films) that are both second-rate. That works well for one, but not for the other. The one it works for is Back in Action, a title that … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged "Glory", A Soldier's Story, Annie, Back in Action, Cameron Diaz, D.W. Griffith, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Mem;phis Belle, Men of Honor, Red Tails, Six Triple Eight | Leave a comment

A Complete Unknown

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Mark DuPré

A Complete Unknown, which covers the very young Bob Dylan from his arrival in New York at 19 to his ground-breaking electronic performance at the 1968 Newport Folk Festival, does a few things very well, and its central performance is … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A. Complete Unkiown, American History X, Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, Bob Dylan, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Fight Club, Ford v Ferrari, Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold, Logan, Monica Barbato, The Wolverine, Timothée Chalamet, Walk the Line | Leave a comment

Wicked

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Mark DuPré

Seeing Wicked (a.k.a. Wicked Part 1) brings up old-fashioned terms, such as “movie-movie,” “beautifully mounted,” and “lovingly produced”. All are true, and all are doubled-edged swords, meaning simply that many of the film’s great strengths are also some of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ariana Grande, Crazy Rich Asians, Cynthia Erivo, Dancing Through Life, DEfying Gravity, Elphaba, Ethan Slater, Everything Everwhere All at Once, Fiyero, Galinda, Glinda, Harriett, In the Heights, Jeff Goldblum, John M. Chu, Jonathan Bailey, Kristen Chenowith, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Wicked | 1 Comment

Gladiator II

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Mark DuPré

So the big question of course is, “Are you entertained?”, which was the famous quote from the original Gladiator. For the sequel, the answer is basically yes. But being an entertaining movie is not the same as being a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Charles Laughton], Denzel Washington, Gladiator, Gladiator II, John Mattieson, Julius, Lucila, Maximus, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe, The Mandalorian, The Sign of the Cross | Leave a comment

Conclave

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Mark DuPré

Conclave is a beautifully directed, stunningly gorgeous, carefully sound-designed, very well acted production, and is also an ultimate disappointment. For those that were curious but haven’t yet decided to see the film, it’s the story of the death of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Leave a comment

Saturday Night

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Mark DuPré

OK, what movie has dazzling cinematography, contains at least two supporting performances that could easily be nominated for Oscars and came and went so fast that almost no one saw it? Yes, if you read the title here, it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Academy Awards, Andy Kaufmann, Chevy Chase, film, Gabriel LaBelle, Garrett Morris, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jason Reitman, John Belushi, Juno, Lamorne Morris, Lorne Michaels, Matt Wood, Milton Berle, movie, movies, Nicholas Braun, Oscars, Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live, Up in the Air | Leave a comment

Twisters

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Mark DuPré

Twisters Bottom line: Twisters is the perfect movie to see in the theater if you want to just kick back and let it take you on its ride, OR it’s the perfect movie to wait to see until it hits … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Anthony Ramos, Anyone But You, Bill Paxton, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Downton Abbey, Glen Powell, Hamilton, Harry Hadden-Paton, Helen Hunt, Hit Man, In the Heights, Lee Isaac Chung, Minari, Twister, Twisters, Under the Banner of Heaven, Where the Crawdads Sing | Leave a comment

Quick Takes on Four Recent Rom-Coms: Anyone But You, The Idea of You, A Family Affair, and Hit Man

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Mark DuPré

I remember often telling my college film class students that they really didn’t know how wonderful romantic comedies could be, as we were then living in an age of wretched films in that genre. I emphasized that though it might … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Family Affair, Adria Arjona, Anne Hathaway, Anyone But You, Brad Pitt, Crazy Rich Asians, Glen Powell, Hit Man, Joey King, Matthew McConaughey, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nicole Kidman, Nietzsche, Notting Hill, Palm Springs, Shop Around the Corner, Sydney Sweeney, The Big Sick, The Favourite, The Idea of You, Twisters, We Were the Lucky Ones, You've Got Mail, Zac Efron | Leave a comment

A Quiet Place: Day One

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Mark DuPré

A Quiet Place: Day One isn’t at all what one might expect based on the first two films. It is altogether different in emphasis, tone, and degree of warmth. It’s a well-crafted and well-acted prequel to the other two films, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged 12 Years a Slave, A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II, A Quiet Place: Day One, Alex Wolf, Amistad, Apocalypse Now, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Blood Diamond, Dakota Fanning, Denis Villeneuve, Djimon Hounsou, Dune, Game of Thrones, Gladiator, In America, Joseph Quinn, Lupito Nyong'o, Martin Sheen, Oppenheimer, Pig, Shelley Duvall, Stranger Things, The Shining, War of the Worlds | Leave a comment