Category Archives: Film Reviews

Film reviews and analyses. Most recently published is in front.

Beauty and the Beast

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Mark DuPré

If you loved Beauty and the Beast and just enjoyed it, don’t read the following. Seriously. I usually don’t like to see “event films” or those preceded by great hype, on the opening weekend. I had to wait longer than … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Aaron Tveit, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Be Our Guest, Beauty and the Beast, Belle, Dan Stevens, Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor, Gaston, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, La La Land, Le Fou, Les Miserables, Loving, Luke Evans, Lumiere, Matthew Crawley, Moulin Rouge!, Mrs. Potts, Room, Stanley Tucci, The Imitation Game, The Jungle Book | Leave a comment

Black Narcissus (1947)

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Mark DuPré

I was familiar with the famous British writing and directing team of (Michael) Powell and (Emiric) Pressburger from film school. But until recently, my exposure to their work had been quite limited. I’m in the middle of remedying that. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged A Star is Born, Best Cinematography, Black Narcissus, Deborah Kerr, Emeric Pressburger, Gone with the Wind, Himalayas, Jack Cardiff, Kathleen Byron, Michael Powell, New York Film Critics Best Actress, sexual hysteria, Technicolor, The Garden of Allah, The Red Shoes, The Yearling. David Farrer | Leave a comment

Logan

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Logan is the final installment of the Hugh Jackman Wolverine film series. (Major spoiler alerts ahead). He goes out in style. Or should I say a change of style. Logan is R-rated for a great deal of bloody violence and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged 3:10 to Yuma, Boyd Holbrook, Caliban, Dafne Keen, Dakota Fanning, Gone Girl, Hugh Jackman, Logan, Mel Gibson, Narcos, Patrick Stewart, Spielberg, Stephen Merchant, Walk the Line, War of the Worlds, Wolverine | Leave a comment

Two Semi-Classics: Anne of the Thousand Days and Anastasia

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Being a history nut as well as a film person, I try to fill in the many gaps in my film experience with classic or semi-classic historical films. I recently had the opportunity to see 1969’s Anne of the Thousand … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Academy Award, Anastasia, Anne of the Thousand Days, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Downton Abbey, Gaslight, Genevieve Bujold, Golden Globe Awards, Helen Haye, Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Maggie Smith, National Board of Review, Richard Burton, Roberto Rossellini, Romanov, Romanovs, Russia, Siam, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Ten Commandments, Vladovostok, Yul Brynner, Yuliy Borisovich Briner | Leave a comment

Lion and Loving

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Mark DuPré

I recently saw Lion in the theater and later that day, watched the DVD of Loving. The similarities were striking. Both are based on true stories, one very recent, and the other, still within my lifetime. Both were good-looking films … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Dev Patel, Hidden Figures, In the Heart of the Sea, Joel Edgerton, Lion, Loving, Manchester by the Sea, Nicole Kidman, Red Tails, Rooney Mara, Ruth Negga, Slumdog Millionaire, Sunny Pawar, The Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Imitation Game | Leave a comment

Kong: Skull Island

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Saw the latest King Kong film. A definite mixed bag. And I have no idea why anyone thinks we need another Kong movie at this time. (Of course…duh…it’s making money, especially overseas.) The effects are good. And the action scenes … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Apocalypse Now, Brie Larson, Jack Black, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, King Kong, Kong: Skull Island, Peter Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston | Leave a comment

Passengers

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Mark DuPré

Passengers Passengers arrived months ago with a great deal of marketing but ended up with a rather soft landing. If not for a positive review when I was looking to see a video, I would likely have let it … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Chris Pratt, Ex Machina, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sheen, Morten Tyldum, Passengers, Stanley Tucci, The Imitation Game, The Queen | Leave a comment

Jackie and Hidden Figures

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Mark DuPré

I spent a good portion of my weekend in the early 1960s. First, Jackie, the impressionistic, rather cool story of Jacqueline Kennedy during and shortly after John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Most attention has been paid to Natalie Portman’s masterful … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Billy Crudup, Bobby Kennedy, Brechtian, Capote, Caspar Phillipson, Colin Firth, Free State of Jones, Greta Gerwig, Hidden Figures, Jackie, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jim Parsons, John Hurt, John Kennedy, Kirsten Dunst, NASA, Natalie Portman, Octavia Spencer, Peter Sarsgaard, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Red Tails, Taraji P. Henson, The Blind Side, The Help, The King's Speech | Leave a comment

La La Land

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Mark DuPré

I haven’t seen Moonlight yet (I live in Rochester, New York, not a major city, and it takes awhile for films to get here at times), but La La Land may well be the best film of the year. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged "Shall We Dance", An American in Paris, Britney Spears, Casablanca, Christina Aguilera, Crazy, Damien Chazelle, Emma Stone, Fred Astaire, Gangster Squad, gene kelly, Ginger Rogers, Helena Bonham Carter, Howard Keel, Johnny Depp, Judy Garland, Justin Timberlake, Kathryn Grayson, La La Land, Love, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, Rebel Without a Cause, Ryan Gosling, singin' in the rain, Stupid, Sweeney Todd, The King and I, The Red Balloon, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Tim Burton, Vincente Minnelli, Whiplash | Leave a comment

Rogue One: My Experience

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Mark DuPré

Note: I usually write serious analyses of the films I see. Not so much here. I’m pretty sure I saw Rogue One. My two sons who don’t live around here, their spouses, and their combined seven children have all been … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jim Carrey, Princess Leia, Rogue One, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Social Network, Winklevoss twins | 1 Comment