James Patterson – Movie Reviews – R
MOVIE REVIEWS – R’S
Rambo
Sylvester Stallone has always known how to tell a tight, dramatic story and he proves it again with this film. Look who’s talking, but it’s a little bloodier than it needed to be, or maybe a lot bloodier. Anyway, it’s nice to see Stallone doing what he does well once again. The direction is quite good and Rambo holds up–he looks great for his age. Wish I could say the same.
Rampage
I suspect that whoever put this movie together was very familiar with the Zoo TV series. The direction is definitely better, but the special effects are just as cheesy. Just love that monster alligator climbing up the side of a skyscraper. On the other hand, I always enjoy seeing Dwayne Johnson. B-
Rango
This movie has extraordinary vocal talent and terrific art direction. The part that mystifies me is that there were several families in the theater when we watched the movie. Much of the dialog totally flies over the head of most anyone under 12 or 13, as well as many of us who are quite a bit older.
Ratatouille
Pick of the Week
Love that Brad Bird, who also wrote and directed The Incredibles. This animated movie is funny, charming and warm. But, it is about rats. Occasionally, those rats just aren’t all that cute as they muck around in the kitchen of a French restaurant.
RBG
Unlike most of the movies out there, this one is actually worth a visit. A-
Red
Red is a more sophisticated and sometimes very funny variation on the Expendables theme: an older ensemble group in a shoot-em-up. Ironically, Mary-Louise Parker turns out to be the star. Bruce Willis is very good, too. Morgan Freeman, who I love of course, doesn’t seem all that comfortable in comedies. Helen Mirren appears lost as well. Still, this is an enjoyable stew.
Red 2
Very funny performances from—count ’em—Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and especially Mary-Louise Parker.
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Red Sparrow
Not nearly as good as the novel, which was one of the better thrillers in a while. Never really captures either of the two main characters. Violent at times. Never convincingly sexy. If you want to meet Dominica, you’ll have to read about her. B
Rendition
Is a good thriller with good performances, but for me at least the subject matter is way too serious for a genre movie like this. Hollywood continues to make thrillers and suspense movies that are incredible downers, then wonders what happened at the box office. Plus, any movie called Rendition is fighting an uphill battle. What where they thinking?
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
I suspect this is for people who enjoy videogames and/or light science fiction. I’m not a particular fan of either, but I do think this film’s director has a terrific eye—i.e., it may all be nonsense, but it’s shot very well.
Ride Along
Pick of the Week
Kevin Hart is about to get extremely, insanely hot. I hope that he grows with fame rather than repeating himself until he flames out.
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Ride Along 2
I enjoy Kevin Hart—but this is a really sloppy film. I think it’s the duty of actors and filmmakers to put out a better product when they know millions and millions of people are going to pay their hard-earned dollars to see it. C+
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The Road
I know from personal experience that a very weird thing happens when you send a book out to Hollywood. They look for screenwriters that will offer their “take” on your story. Very often this “take” has little to do with your book. At any rate, I find this procedure to be unbearably strange, especially since many of these screenwriters wouldn’t be capable of writing and publishing a novel, and have mostly created failed movies as well. All of which is a long-winded way of saying that the screenwriter for The Road offered his “take” on Cormac McCarthy’s stunningly good novel. The result certainly isn’t an embarrassment but it isn’t the book, either. Like the book however, it is rather dismal.
On DVD: Amazon
Robin Hood
Prepare yourselves, as this has literally nothing to do with the Robin Hood story you’ve heard since you were a kid. However, I kind of liked it. But I always liked the way Ridley Scott shoots films, and I’m a sucker for Russell Crowe.
Rocketman
I like this a lot – more than I enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody – although I’m a little bigger Queen than Elton John music fan. The elite performance by Aaron Egerton was terrific and the film was really nicely directed. The small glitch for me was that the music and dance tended to gloss over how painful and difficult Elton John’s life seemed to have been. A-
Rock the Kasbah
Love Bill Murray. Love Barry Levinson. Didn’t love this movie. C-
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
I have to confess I’m not a huge Star Wars fan. It’s not that I don’t admire the art in the storytelling—I just have no interest in watching futuristic airplanes flying around and occasionally being blown up. I did find the storyline in this one a little more interesting than the last few. Please pardon me for not being the kind of fan so many of you are. B+
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Roman de gare
Pick of the Week
The French way of doing thrillers is different than the American or British way—big surprise there. The director, Claude Lelouch, does a very nice job with the twists and turns. The cleverness is first rate, as is the acting. The excitement is not at the level of the best American films in this genre, however.
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Denzel Washington is the best, but this wasn’t one of his best. The film is flat in too many places. C+
The Rover
Not a bad movie but a movie I wish I hadn’t spent a couple of hours watching. A downer, with nothing much to say. At least not to me.
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The Ruins
Here’s a true confession—I often leave movies, even movies that I’m somewhat interested in, halfway through. The Ruins was more interesting than I though it was going to be, but my heart and soul—and nervous system—just weren’t ready for the horrors I knew were coming, so I left.
I will undoubtedly go back, and watch the second half, presuming that the theater will allow me to buy a ticket for the second half, which sometimes is actually difficult.
Rules Don’t Apply
The last thing the world needed was another film about kooky Howard Hughes—except for the fact that Warren Beatty is an underappreciated genius. B+
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