Category Archives: Newer films

Strait Undercover

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Mark DuPré

The plot of Strait Undercover is described on IMDB as “A biotech company secretly housing a government contract for terminator seeds and a Nexxus robot is infiltrated by a low-level USDA agent who connects telepathically with nature.” Sounds bizarre, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ben Gonyo, film, horror, I Am Sam, movie-review, movies, Race Eberhardt, reviews, Strait Undercover, The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Theory of Everything, western New York State, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? | Leave a comment

Snow White (2025)

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Oy! Where to begin with Snow White?! Let’s start with the star, Rachel Zegler, the female lead of the recent West Side Story. Her presence outside her newest film has far overshadowed her presence within as the titular character, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Andrew Burnap, Ansu Kabia, Benj Pasek, Gal Gadot, I Like the View from Here, Justin Paul, Mary Poppins, Miss Scarlet, Mother Knows Best, Poor Unfortunate Souls, Princess Problems, Rachel Zeglar, Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsnd the Seven Dwarves, Song of the South, Spirited, Tangles, The LIttle Mermain, West Side Story, Wicked, World on fire | Leave a comment

Quick Takes on Black Bag and No Address

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Mark DuPré

Black Bag is a cross between the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie film Mr. and Mrs. Smith and an Agatha Christie film, albeit modernized and quite slick. It’s a film about marriage (surprisingly supportive of monogamy) and it’s full of schemes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Agatha Cristie, Beverly D'Angelo, Black Bag, Cate Blanchett, Chevy Chase, Julia Verdin, Kay Francis, Maya, Michael Fassbender, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Naomie Harris, No Address, Rene-Jean Page, Steven Soderbergh, Tallulah Bankhead, The Big Sleep, The Merchant of Venice, Tom Burke, Traffic, William Baldwin | Leave a comment

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