ReelViews for R movies

It’s hard to imagine that something as vapid and chaotic as Birds of Prey (full title: Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) transpires in the same “universe” (the DCEU) as Joker. With its John Wick-inspire...

D.W. Griffith’s 1915 silent movie, The Birth of a Nation, remains one of the most controversial epics ever committed to film. The bold, innovative techniques employed by the director are offset by a repugnantly racist second half that depicts m...

Black Bag belongs on an Endangered Species list – a spy thriller that relies on uncovering motivations and unraveling narrative knots to generate suspense. There’s nary a car chase to be found nor a shootout to dodge during the course of this ...

Perhaps the best way to approach Black Bear is to watch it as two distinct short films (each a little under an hour in length) featuring the same primary trio of actors: Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Gadon, and Christopher Abbott. Putting aside the “conne...

In the 1980s and 1990s, Paul Verhoeven made a name for himself in Hollywood, directing such high-profile films as Robocop, Basic Instinct, and Starship Troopers. Before arriving in America, however, Verhoeven had a flourishing career in the Netherl...

If all that mattered in movie-making was that the end result was pretty to look at, I would be giving Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia a rave review. There's no denying the film's visual virtues: the cinematography, the set design, the costumes, ...

1998's Saving Private Ryan introduced a new era of war movies. Gone are the bloodless tales of gallantry which portrayed the battlefield as a place where the fruits of bravery are victory. Replacing them are stories steeped in the gritty reality ...

For Black Mass, Johnny Depp has dusted off his A-game, which has lain dormant for far too long. The actor's transformative portrayal of Whitey Bulger reminds us that Depp, when motivated, can do impressive work. By inhabiting the character rather...

The thing to like about The Black Phone 2 is how it expands the canvas rather than simply tracing over the elements and plot points of its 2021 predecessor. The earlier film worked primarily because its suspense, dread, and level of viewer engagem...

The Black Phone is a throwback to a time when horror was more about fear and suspense than blood and gore. Oh, there’s some of the latter in the movie but far too little to sate the appetites of those who attend the genre purely to be entomb...