ReelViews for R movies

Red Sparrow is a deliciously perverse, unflinchingly violent thriller – a modern-day espionage tale that breaks with the tradition of making the spy business the purview of suave and debonair characters. With a story that argues that the Col...

Most directors, upon entering a genre with which they lack familiarity, adhere strictly to "the book." David Mamet, however, throws "the book" out the window. The resulting movie, a mixed martial arts concoction called Redbelt, is different than ...

Ever had a bad day? Of course you have. We all have. But in The Ref, Denis Leary experiences what it's like when Murphy's Law is in full force. This man just can't catch a break. As a statement that crime doesn't pay, this film sure gets the p...

Reign Over Me has the best of intentions but, despite its desire to show how the perseverance of a good man can produce profound results, it bungles the attempt. This is a shameless and clumsy tearjerker - a film that inadvertently comes across as...

With the possible exception of the talent involved, everything about Reindeer Games smacks of a B movie, the kind of film that, with a lesser cast, would have been shipped directly to Cinemax or Showtime. Reindeer Games suffers from a poorly writt...

Religulous is the much-anticipated collaboration between one of the guys responsible for Borat and Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry Charles) and the Politically Incorrect stand-up comedian (Bill Maher). The problem with the movie, whose title compresse...

Renaissance is the latest in a growing range of screen titles with a graphic novel sensibility. Coming in the wake of Sin City, Renaissance treads through similar territory, but with a striking difference: director Christian Volckman uses rotoscop...

Much as I might like to, I cannot heap praise upon director Gavin Hood's Rendition, a political thriller with aspirations of being so much more that it is. The film treads into the minefield of debate that exists surrounding the question of Constit...

The last time Nicolas Cage bared his fangs – in 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss – his performance was widely criticized (and, in some circles, praised) for being outlandishly campy. Now, some 35 years later, Cage has channeled the same zany zeitgeis...

Reno 911!: Miami represents an argument against taking 22-minute TV comedy shows and expanding them to 80-minute feature films. Something that entertains over a short period when watched from the vantage point of a couch or a recliner does not nece...