Tag Archives: Tom Hanks

A Man Called Otto/A Man Called Ove

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Mark DuPré

Tom Hanks’ new film is an American remake of Sweden’s submission for 2016’s Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, A Man Called Ove, which also received an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. It’s enjoyable, or what … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Man Called Otto, A Man Called Ove, Da Vinci Code, Elvis, Mariana Trevino, The Ladykillers, Tom Hanks | Leave a comment

Elvis

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Mark DuPré

I’m normally not a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s films. I enjoyed (and still enjoy) Moulin Rouge!, where the director’s overheated energy worked well with the material. Not so much Romeo + Juliet, and especially not Australia and The Great Gatsby. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Atonement, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Keira Knightley, Moulin Rouge!, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, Tex Watson, The Great Gatsby, The Ladykillers, Tom Hanks | Leave a comment

Downton Abbey: A New Era

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Mark DuPré

The Downton movies are comfort food, like a good chicken pot pie on a cold winter day. A New Era is no exception. There is nothing surprising, and there are no real shocks (except one minor but surprising action that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Captain Phillips, Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey-A New Era, Hugh Bonneville, Julian Fellowes, Kevin Doyle, Maggie Smith, Matthew Goode, singin' in the rain, Tom Hanks | Leave a comment

News of the World and The Dig: Two slow films for a fast-paced culture

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Mark DuPré

I’ve seen a lot of films lately, but two have stuck out for their amazingly slow pace. One is the new(ish) Tom Hanks film, News of the World. The second is a new Netflix film starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Captain Phillips, Carey Mulligan, Cate Blanchett, Flight 93, Helena Zengel, Jason Bourne, Netflix, News of the World, Nicole Kidman, Paul Greengrass, Promising Young Woman, Ralph Fiennes, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Tom Hanks, Western | Leave a comment

2020 Oscar Show

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Mark DuPré

Predictable. Shocking. Way too long, with way too much music. Again, we had an Oscar show that had all the potential of actually being good, and again it grabbed defeat out of the jaws of victory. It all started well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged Billie Eilish, Brad Pitt, Chrissy Metz, Cynthia Erivo, Eminem, Jane Wyman, Janelle Monáe, Joaquin Phoenix, Johnny Belinda, Joker, Judy, Laura Dern, Lose Yourself, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, Oscar, Parasite, Patty Duke, Renee Zellweger, The Miracle Worker, Tom Hanks, Utkarsh Ambudkar | Leave a comment

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Posted on December 7, 2019 by Mark DuPré

Most of the positive press about this film has to do with “how much we need a movie like this right now,” and there’s a good deal of validity to those sentiments. An openly emotional movie that neutralizes cynicism is … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, aspect ratio, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Fred Rogers, Grand Budapest Hotel, Lloyd Vogel, Marielle Heller, Matthew Rhys, Mr. Rogers, The Americans, Tom Hanks, Tom Junod, Wes Anderson | 2 Comments

The Post

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Mark DuPré

The Post has been called second-tier Spielberg, and that’s true. Of course, second-tier for SS means it’s more finely crafted than 95 percent of other films. But in spite of the political perspectives brought to the film by many viewers … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged All the President's Men, Ben Bagdikian, Ben Bradlee, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, David Cross, Jason Robards, Kitty Genovese, Matthew Rhys, Meryl Streep, National Board of Review, New York Times, Spotlight, Steven Spielberg, The Post, Tom Hanks, Tracey Letts | Leave a comment

Three by Boyer: Liliom (1934), Algiers (1938), and Love Affair (1939)

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Mark DuPré

Charles Boyer was thought of as retro and a subject of satire when I was young. He was somewhere between the worlds of my parents and grandparents, and most of us knew that he was the model for Pepé Le … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Older Films | Tagged Algiers, An Affair to Remember, Carousel, Cary Grant, Casablanca, Charles Boyer, Charles Farrell, Deborah Kerr, Ecstacy, Ekstase, Fritz Lang, Gene Lockhart, Hedy Lamarr, Hungary, Irene Dunne, James Wong Howe, Jean Gabin, June Lockhart, Liliom, Michael Curtiz, One Way Passage, Pépé le Moko, Pepé le Pew, Rita Wilson, Rogers and Hammerstein, Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks, Victor Garber, Walter Wanger | Leave a comment

The Big Sick

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Mark DuPré

I’ve been telling my film students for the last 20 years that they have been raised during one of the worst periods for romantic comedies in film history. I’ve encouraged them to pretty much ignore what passes for both comedy … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews, Newer films | Tagged Annie Hall, Billy Crystal, Emily V. Gordon, Holly Hunter, Judd Apatow, Kumail Nanjiani, Meg Ryan, Michael Showalter, Notting Hill, Ray Romano, The Big Sick, Tom Hanks, Zoe Kazan | Leave a comment

2017: Thoughts on Oscar

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Mark DuPré

This year’s nominations are anything but shocking, though you’d think there was drama galore according to some reports. But that’s just an attempt to wring some strum und drang from what is a pretty normal year. Yes, it’s a big … Continue reading →

Posted in Film-Related Articles | Tagged 13th, Amy Adams, Arrival, Casey Affeck, Colin Firth, Denzel Washington, Eddie Redmayne, Fences, Florence Foster Jenkins, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, Hugh Grant, I am Not Your Negro, Kubo and the Two Strings, La La Land, Lion, Lobster, Loving, Manchester by the Sea, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Moana, O.J.: Made in America, Ruth Negga, Screen Actors Guild, strum und drang, Sully, The Color Purple, The King's Speech, The Theory of Everything, The Turning Point, Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Zootopia | Leave a comment