ReelViews for R movies

I admire filmmakers who take chances and defy expectations. Admittedly, that sort of thing doesn't always work, and there are flaws aplenty in After.Life, but the criss-crossing between drama, thriller, and horror is nothing if not arresting. It ...

Although it’s being marketed as a love story, The Aftermath is more about grief and recovery than romance. In fact, the film’s illicit relationship is a cold, passionless affair that generates as much heat as a dying ember in a snowstorm. ...

If you take away Albert Nobbs' twist, all that's left is a project that would have been at home on Masterpiece Theater during its heyday. It's the "downstairs" portion of Upstairs, Downstairs - a tale of servants and service during the twilight of ...

To sum up Alexander in three words, I would choose the following: three-hour miscalculation. Although some aspects of Oliver Stone's sword-and-sandals epic are worthy of mention (and even praise), they are dwarfed by the missteps and examples of b...

When it comes to movies about dysfunctional family relationships and emotionally damaged individuals, few active filmmakers do a better job than veteran French director André Techiné (whose films, especially Wild Reeds, have been modest art-house...

When Alien was first released during the summer movie season of 1979, science fiction films were all the rage. The trend had been started two years earlier with the unexpected box office success of Star Wars, and, by 1979, anything even remotely co...

Way to go Fox. Way to kill off a franchise where the first two installments were among the best around. Sadly, as bad as Alien 3 is – and it’s really bad – it’s only the beginning of a process. Few films that began with episodes as grea...

First, there was the creepy horror of Ridley Scott's atmospheric Alien. Then, some six years later, James Cameron took elements from the first and crafted one of the best science fiction/action films of all time: Aliens. After two such superior...

Alien Nation arrived during a period when science fiction-themed action movies were all the rage. All sorts of variations on familiar themes were tried. Some, like James Cameron’s Aliens, were successful. Others, like Alien Nation, left some...

If nothing else, Alien Resurrection emphasizes something that became apparent five years ago with Alien 3 -- the series hasn't only run out of steam, it's getting thin on new ideas. No one seems willing to take any chances with the franchise, ...