ReelViews for R movies

Much to the delight of those who enjoyed 2014’s John Wick, the second installment of the series (which is intended to be a trilogy, assuming box office performance warrants its continuation) represents a seamless extension of the original film. All...

In the Batman universe, there are two kinds of darkness: the surface-deep emptiness of the Zack Snyder approach and Christopher Nolan’s baked-into-the-DNA aesthetic. For the stand-alone Joker, which is said to be neither prequel nor the star...

If nothing else, the experience of watching Joker: Folie a Deux argues against its very existence. Sitting in movie theater as this motion picture unspools, one can understand any reluctance director/co-writer Todd Phillips may have had developing...

We all know the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses," and so does first time writer/director Darrick Borte, who has used that as the basis for his debut, called (appropriately enough) The Joneses. The subject matter is simple enough: Borte has ele...

The Journey of August King is as close to a flawless motion picture as is likely to be produced by the film industry (independent or mainstream). Featuring strong acting, realistic set and costume design, an intelligent script, solid directing, an...

Looking for a thriller that throws intelligence out the window in favor of mindless entertainment? John Dahl's Joy Ride is what you're in search of. The film, which runs just a little over 90 minutes and is continually well paced, is fast, furious...

When the focus is on comedy, Joy Ride hits and misses with gusto and some of its most outrageous gags deliver big laughs. The problem is that co-creator/director Adele Lim has delusions of crafting a dramatic foundation for the humor and the since...

JT LeRoy, Justin Kelly’s adaptation of Savannah Knoop’s memoir, strives to be more than a run-of-the-mill biopic about two women who perpetrate a con on the literary world. It wants to address issues of gender fluidity and hypocrisy. It wa...

To what extent has the narrative surrounding the Black Panthers been developed by government and law enforcement agencies whose impartiality has been, to put it mildly, suspect? Although it’s beyond question that the Panthers weren’t compr...

One hallmark of great cinema is that, even when the story is tragic, a viewer can leave the theater both reflective and satisfied. Jude, Michael Winterbottom's ambitious, big-screen adaptation of Thomas Hardy's heartbreaking classic, Jude the ...