Movie Reviews
Titles starting with R
Ray
It’s a formula biopic, okay? There are absolutely no surprises, and even though it’s all pretty much real, Ray Charles’ life was a success cliché: came from nowhere, struggled against his handicap with the help of a mother who wouldn’t let him be a cripple, has this musical genius, finds his sound, breaks out, turns on his early friends at Atlantic, makes a public moral stand, is almost ... Read more »
The Reader
Michael is 15, Hanna (Kate Winslet in her Oscar-winning role) is 30-something. It’s Germany in 1958, and they’re having a torrid affair. But she wants him to read to her before they have sex. Then she leaves him. Years later (I think about 1965, but the movie jumps around a lot and can get confusing) he is in law school and learns she is on trial with five other women as an SS ... Read more »
Ready Player One
It’s possible that deeply addicted computer game players will find this gigantic mess fun. I recognized some of the figures from games of the past. But it’s basically just Fast and Furious in cyberspace, and it was so boring and pointless we stopped watching after about thirty minutes. I mean, if this stupid chase with nothing at stake was how it started out, it ... Read more »
Ready to Wear
Many people, critics and everyone else, seem to really, really hate this film, and I’m not sure why. Just take a look at some of the user reviews at the IMDb. It is Robert Altman once again trying to re-capture the magic of Nashville, with its multiple story lines, very large cast, and lack of a real plot. He tried it earlier, with varying degrees of success, in ... Read more »
Real Women Have Curves
Could be a good double feature with Raising Victor Vargas. A “traditionally built” (as Mma Precious Ramotswe from The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books would put it) Latino teen in Los Angeles wants to go to college but is being pressured by her overweight mother to (1) lose weight, and (2) go to work in the family dress ... Read more »
Rear Window
This is my choice for Alfred Hitchcock’s finest film, even better than Psycho, even better than Shadow of a Doubt. I recall seeing a trailer (we called them “previews” back then) for Rear Window when it was just coming out. I believe it featured Hitchcock himself, and he was showing us around his huge indoor ... Read more »
Rear Window
PRODUCED / DIRECTED by Alfred Hitchcock
SCREENPLAY by John Michael Hayes
BASED ON A STORY by Cornell Woolrich
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Franz Waxman
CINEMATOGRAPHY by Robert Burks
ART DIRECTION by J McMillan Johnson & Hal Pereira
This was another tough call. I’ve seen almost all of Hitchcock’s films, including some very early silents. There’s a lot of ... Read more »
Rebecca
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” That’s one of the most famous opening lines of any book. I’ve never been quite sure why—it doesn’t do anything for me—but there it is. The movie opens that way, too.
The story is that Laurence Olivier wanted Vivien Leigh, his current squeeze, to star as the first-nameless protagonist. (All through the movie I kept trying to recall ... Read more »
Rebel Without a Cause
I know it’s heresy, I know this was an incredibly influential movie, but, frankly, I thought it was pretty bad. I’ve never been a James Dean fan, I thought he was a haircut in search of a personality. His character here, Jim Stark, is a big crybaby. He don’t get enough love and understanding from his parents for his totally inexplicable angst and alienation, which he ... Read more »
Rebellion
The Easter Rising of 1916 in Ireland was the beginning of the most recent of the many rebellions against the British, the long-time invaders of the Emerald Isle. In a way the aftermath of that rising is still being played out today, though they have calmed down in recent years. A cease-fire between the Brits and the IRA only happened in 1997, and a formal end to the campaign in 2005. A lot ... Read more »