ReelViews for R movies

When I first saw High Tension at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival, I wrote the following: " [High Tension] has virtually no chance of finding a North American distributor. After all, what's the market for slasher films with subtitles?" Imagine my ...

The story of celebrated cellist Jacqueline du Pré is too good not to have been made into a movie. However, the most gratifying thing about director Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie is that it not only does it tell the tale, but does it so a uniqu...

The Hills Have Eyes II is a sequel to a remake but not a remake of a sequel. Curiously, Horrormeister Wes Craven has been involved in all four movies featuring the words "hills" and "eyes" in the title. He wrote and directed the 1977 original and ...

One could make a solid argument that the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes is superior to the 1977 original. The story has been tightened up, the acting is better, and the blood-and-gore effects aren't as hokey. Unfortunately, the biggest stumbli...

Sitting in the theater watching Him, I had an unpleasant flashback to The Neon Demon. As the movie lurched forward, growing ever more incoherent and alienating, I became convinced that the filmmakers, director Justin Tipping and his credited co-wr...

Note: Although this review does not contain explicit spoilers, careful reading may make it possible to discern plot points. Consider this a warning. David Cronenberg, the director of such films as Dead Ringers and The Fly, has a reputation for b...

For an action comedy, it's generally advisable that the movie be (a) exciting, (b) funny, or (c) both of the above. In the case of Hit & Run, the unfortunate choice is (d) none of the above. A slow, meandering misfire of a movie, this co-directoria...

Few working directors display the versatility of Richard Linklater. Equally comfortable making high-concept art films, experimental outings designed for mass consumption, and multiplex-friendly fare, Linklater has brought to the screen projects as...

1986's The Hitcher is not representative of a classic of the 1980s horror boom, so the decision by Michael Bay and company to re-make it is merely unnecessary, not sacrilegious. 20 years later, the original stands up well; there is no need to re-i...

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a throwback to the mixed-race buddy films of the 1990s. Think Bruce Willis/Damon Wayans in The Last Boyscout or Willis (again)/Samuel L. Jackson in Die Hard with a Vengeance. Those movies, and others like them, emph...