Category Archives: Film Reviews

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

An open letter to the creators of Exodus: Gods and Kings

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mark DuPré

Note: Normally, I write a critique of a film in the standard way. After viewing Exodus: Gods and Kings, I felt a note to the director, screenwriters and producers of the film seemed more in order. Dear Mr. Scott, Myriad … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Ben Kingsley, Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, DeMille, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Joel Edgerton, Mel Gibson, Moses, Noah, Pharoah, Ramses, Ridley Scott, Sigourney Weaver, Terminators, The Passion of the Christ, The Ten Commandments | Leave a comment

Big Eyes

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Mark DuPré

When we talk about “story” in my film class, we often talk about how much it means to American moviegoers and how little it can mean to filmgoers from other cultures. Many students come into class professing that their sole … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Amy Adams, Big Eyes, Christoph Waltz, Margaret Keane, Tim Burton, Walter Keane | Leave a comment

Foxcatcher

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Mark DuPré

Foxcatcher is disturbing almost from the first moment, and never stops being so. Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) and only his third feature-length film, it seems the director is attracted to true stories (his other two major films are … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Bennett Miller, Bourne, Brad Pitt, Capote, Captain Phillips, Catherine Keener, Channing Tatum, David Schultz, Foxcatcher, John E. du Pont, Jonah Hill, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Schultz, Moneyball, Paul Greengrass, Steve Carell, Vanessa Redgrave | Leave a comment

The Imitation Game

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The Imitation Game is lovely to look at, features two excellent performances and several good ones, and is something of a mess. That’s not all the film’s fault, as Alan Turing’s life doesn’t fall easily into a three-act structure. Turing … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged 12 Years a Slave, A.O. Scott, Alan Turing, Allen Leech, Atonement, August: Osage County, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bleak House, Bletchley Park, Charles Dance, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Hobbit, Joan Clark, Keira Knightley, Lincoln, New York Times, Pride and Prejudice, Selma, Sherlock, Smaug, The Imitation Game | Leave a comment

Into the Woods

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The long-awaited film adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s Into the Woods has been released, and most of the fears of Disney being involved have thankfully been proven needless. For many, Sondheim is an acquired taste, and that will … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged "Agony", Anna Kendrick, Billy Magnussen, Chicago, Daniel Huddlestone, Disney, Disneyfied, Emily Blunt, Into the Woods, James Corden, James Lapine, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Mamma Mia!, Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge, Robert Marshall, Stephen Sondheim | 1 Comment

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (hereafter referred to as Hobbit 3), was always going to be a big hit. Those who supported the first two-thirds of the trilogy had to see how it was all going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Ian McKellan, Legolas, Lord of the Rings, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Richard Armitage, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Thorin | Leave a comment

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Mark DuPré

In one of the few moments of suspense in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 (which should win most awkward movie title of the year), Finnick (Sam Claflin) speaks and speaks and speaks to mark time and distract folks from an … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Captain Phillips, Elizabeth Banks, Francis Lawrence, Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Liam Hemsworth, Paul Greengrass, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, United 93 | Leave a comment

Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (AKA, Birdman)

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Mark DuPré

I show Annie Hall in my film class sometimes, and one thing I point out about its many virtues and ground-breaking elements is how Woody Allen brought the rhythms of stand-up comedy not only into the humor of the film, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged 12 Years a Slave, 21 Grams, Alejandro Iñárritu, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Babel, Birdman, Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, Biutiful, Edward Norton, Emmanuel Lubezki, jazz, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis | Leave a comment

The Theory of Everything

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Mark DuPré

The Theory of Everything is likely to be the “adult, intelligent, emotional” film of the season, at least until Unbroken opens on Christmas. It’s well produced, very well acted, and brushes up against the idea of great intelligence while not … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Beautiful Mind, Benoit Delhomme, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Iris, James Marsh, Jane Hawking, Lawless, Les Miserables, My Left Foot, My Week with Marilyn, Stephen Hawking, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Theory of Everything | Leave a comment

Interstellar

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Mark DuPré

I haven’t seen plain old Interstellar yet. But I did attend Interstellar: The Imax Experience, which is likely a different animal than the non-Imax version. Seeing—and hearing—the film in this format was as close to sampling Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk as I … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Anne Hathaway, Christopher Nolan, Dallas Buyers Club, Hans Zimmer, Imax, Interstellar, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, Mackenzie Foy, Matthew McConaughey | Leave a comment