ReelViews for R movies

The Gambler is a solid remake - a film that retraces the path of the original while carving out its own identity. The 2014 iteration isn't as good as its 1974 predecessor but it offers its share of small pleasures, not the least of which is the c...

Game Night is canny enough to go full-throttle with the absurd and not bother trying to do much with its meager dramatic and/or sentimental elements. Character-building occurs through the comedy and doesn’t extend beyond what’s needed to k...

Alfred Hitchcock used the term "refrigerator movie" to describe certain films. According to the great director, refrigerator movies are well-paced thrillers that work effectively while being watched, but fall apart upon later examination (whil...

I wonder if Gamer might make a good game; it certainly doesn't make a good movie. However, add an element of interactivity into the hyperkinetic, repetitive action, plodding narrative, and stupefyingly obvious social commentary, and the potential ...

There seems to be little doubt that Ruben Fleischer, the director behind the well-received Zombieland and the less well-received 30 Minutes or Less, is a Brian De Palma fan. How else to explain the kinship that exists between Fleischer's latest, Ga...

Garden State is one of those movies that fails to stay with the viewer for an extended period of time. It's a forgettable film featuring a throw-away story with unmemorable characters and unremarkable performances. That's not to say it's bad, bec...

Gemma Bovery is a celebration of author Gustave Flaubert and actress Gemma Arterton. Much like Claude Lelouch's 1995 Les Miserables, this is less an adaptation of a classic novel (in this case, Madame Bovary) than a transition of themes, ideas, s...

For any Downton Abbey fans desirous of hearing Lady Mary Crawley drop the f-bomb, Guy Ritchie has you covered. Not only does Michelle Dockery spew profanity with enough frequency and vigor to keep up with her numerous male co-stars, but she kn...

The typical Garry Marshall film (Pretty Woman, Raising Helen) can be classified by a few words: contrived, insipid, and predictable. Georgia Rule, while not the worst work Marshall has done, is a limp misfire. There are moments during the course ...

"Why is the price of justice so high?" - Maheude, Germinal Germinal, based on the landmark novel by Emile Zola, presents a startlingly authentic and powerful look into the tumultuous, tragedy-riddled lives of 19th century French coal miners. ...