ReelViews for R movies

John Wick is a rousing action thriller of the sort rarely encountered in theaters these days. The once popular genre, which was headlined by the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger during its heyday, has been a dying breed during the past two deca...

The John Wick series, now on cruise control for its third installment, has fallen into a trap. The filmmakers have become so intent on delivering “more of the same” that they have lost all sense of proportion. While hyper-violent, quasi-co...

John Wick has lost his mojo. The aspect of this franchise that made it compulsively watchable for the first two installments has degraded during the last two. John Wick has always been a comic book-style property (although Chapter 4 feels more lik...

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...