A to Z Challenge 2020 - Films That Begin With “R”

Red Cliff (2008)
Director: John Woo
Starring: Tony Leung
Brief Thoughts: John Woo became the stereotypical Hollywood action director in the late ‘90s, to the point where he was basically considered a parody. He went back to China (and hasn’t returned), where he came up with Red Cliff, a sprawling war epic that may have hailed a crossover between US and Chinese audiences. Instead, today we have Chinese audiences watching Hollywood blockbusters, watching their own blockbusters, and...still no real interest from the US in Chinese films. If anyone should have been able to cross the divide, it was Woo. And no, Red Cliff does not feel like Face/Off, but with Chinese actors.

Red Dragon (2002)
Director: Brett Ratner
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes
Brief Thoughts: Yes, this initial Hannibal Lecter book was adapted as Manhunter, before Silence of the Lambs, before Anthony Hopkins ever played Lecter. Yes, Hopkins had already reprised Lecter in the exploitative Hannibal. But c’mon, it would’ve been a massive wasted opportunity not to revisit this one, with Hopkins. Still arguably the best Lecter story, with the definitive Lecter actor playing the part. I see no viable reason to pretend it didn’t happen. Backlash nonsense at its finest.

Rent (2005)
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp
Brief Thoughts: I was lucky enough to see a stage production when I was in college. Glad a film version ended up getting made. Rosario Dawson! Never nearly appreciated enough! And Idina Menzel, before “Let It Go” made her immortal (but her name still difficult for, ah, John Travolta to remember). Too many reasons to cherish.

Road to Perdition (2002)
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig
Brief Thoughts: One of the best movies everyone seems to forget exists. Tom Hanks was coming off his long hot streak, so there was probably a lot of fatigue going on, both with audiences and critics, but this is arguably the best thing he made during that period, with the best supporting cast around him, Paul Newman in his last great role, Jude Law as he was still agitating for his place in film, and Daniel Craig years before he broke out, in the role that should have made it obvious, well, years earlier. (But I guess if it had, he might not have gotten heroic parts like James Bond.) Some of the best cinematography in a mainstream Hollywood movie ever. Incidentally, the kid who played Hanks’ son in the movie ended up playing Superman in TV’s Arrowverse.

The Rundown (2003)
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken
Brief Thoughts: Dwayne Johnson’s earliest perfect vehicle, the one that proved he wasn’t chasing a fantasy by pursuing an acting career, leaning into the kind of action he was expected to deliver, but surrounded by an unexpectedly delightful supporting cast in Seann William Scott (still allowed to exhibit, at this point, his unlimited potential) Rosario Dawson, and yes, Christopher Walken, in full-blown deadpan parody mode.

Russian Ark (2003)
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Starring: three hundred years of Russian history
Brief Thoughts: 1917 is the latest movie to revel in a seemingly endless tracking shot, but one of the true visionary employments of the filmmaking technique is Russian Ark, which dances from room to room in Saint Petersburg’s White Palace, interpreting Russian history along the way. A singular achievement.