Film capsules -- 1997-2001

Race the Sun (PG) 100 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
A solar car takes a teacher (Halle Berry) and her students to the Australian desert.

The Rage: Carrie 2 (R) 104 min. Our rating: 4 Review · Clips
A 90210-flavored remake of Brian De Palma's film of Stephen King's novel, about a high school outcast who responds to a major humiliation by unleashing her deadly telekinetic powers. Cruel and unusual punishment. Stars Emily Bergl and Jason London. Directed by Katt Shea. United Artists. Rated R with profanity, extreme graphic violence, nudity and sexuality.

John Grisham's The Rainmaker (PG-13) 133 min. Garner's rating: Review · Clips
A well-made film based on a weak John Grisham novel, about a novice lawyer who goes up against a high-powered insurance company that has purposely defrauded his client, costing his life. Starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito and Jon Voight. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Paramount Pictures. Rated PG-13, with profanity and graphic violence.

Random Hearts (R) 131 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips · Interview
Romantic drama about a cop and a congresswoman who develop a relationship after their respective spouses are among the dead in a tragic plane crash. Stars Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Directed by Sydney Pollack. Columbia. Rated R, with profanity, violence and sex.

Ransom (R) 121 min. Garner's rating: 10 Review · Clips
Mel Gibson stars for director Ron Howard in a suspenseful tale of a wealthy industry mogul who tries to turn the tables on the thugs who've kidnapped his son. Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo and Lily Taylor co-star. This gritty, intense drama is not only an impressive opening salvo in the prestige season of winter movies; it's also likely to be the best thriller of 1996. Touchstone. Rated R, with strong profanity and violence.

Rat Race (PG-13) 112 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A more compact -- and funnier -- updating of the race-to-the-money comedy concept typified by It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This time the ensemble includes Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kathy Najimy and Rowan Atkinson. Jerry Zucker directs. Paramount. Rated PG-13, with profanity and innuendo.

Ravenous (R) 110 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
A truly horrifying Western, about a remote garrison that finds itself falling prey to cannibalism. Extremely graphic in its violence and, at times, surprisingly funny. But it's a horror film and not a comedy. Stars Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle. Directed by Antonia Bird. Twentieth Century-Fox. Rated R with graphic violence, nudity and profanity.

Ready to Rumble (PG-13) 104 min. Our rating: 0 Review · Clips
Moronic comedy about two losers who try to return their favorite professional wrestler to the championship. If you love poop jokes and crotch kicks, this one's for you. Starring David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver Platt. Directed by Brian Robbins. Warner Bros. 104 minutes. Rated PG-13, profanity, violence, adult themes.

The Real Blonde (R) 105 min. Our rating: 7 Review
An engagingly offbeat romantic comedy about several people chasing their dreams in New York. Starring Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener and Daryl Hannah. Directed by Tom DiCillo. Paramount Pictures. Rated R, with nudity, profanity and violence.

Rear Window (PG) 114 min. Garner's rating: 10 Review
Alfred Hitchcock's great 1954 masterpiece on voyeurism and murder, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, splendidly restored and back on the big screen, where it belongs. If you care about movies, this is essential viewing. USA Films. Rated PG, with brief violence and innuendo.

Recess: School's Out (G) 84 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
A badly animated but often entertaining expansion of a Saturday-morning cartoon show, about the adventures of a group of fourth graders during summer vacation. Kids will have fun -- and adults may get a giggle or two as well. Featuring the voices of Dabney Coleman, Robert Goulet and James Woods. Directed by Chuck Sheetz. Walt Disney Pictures. 84 minutes. Rated G.

Red Corner (R) 119 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
An engrossing, cross-cultural courtroom thriller with handsome, gray-haired Richard Gere as a businessman facing murder charges in a Chinese courtroom. And while the film focuses on the trial, it's really the legal structure and restrictive government of China that comes under the gavel. Bai Ling co-stars for director Jon Avnet. MGM. Rated R, with violence, profanity and nudity.

Red Planet (PG-13) 105 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
When the earth becomes unlivable, a team of astronauts travels to Mars to explore that planet's living conditions. After a crash landing damages their spacecraft, the crew faces numerous obstacles to survival. Starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore. Rated PG-13, with science fiction violence, brief nudity and profanity.

The Red Violin Review · Clips
A musical instrument transforms the lives of its owners over a period that spans three centuries and five countries. Samuel L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi and Sylvia Chang are among the people who possess the violin and, in return, become possessed by it. Not rated, with brief nudity and sexual situations, and some rough language.

Reindeer Games (R) 96 min. Garner's rating: 5 Review
An overly contrived, credibility-stretching thriller from director John Frankenheimer, with Ben Affleck as an ex-con forced back into crime by his girlfriend's brother. Charlize Theron and Gary Sinise co-star. Dimension Films. Rated R, with strong violence, profanity, sex and nudity.

The Relic (R) 116 min. Garner's rating: 3 Review · Clips
Forget all the bogus science jargon, this is about a big, horrific monster in the basement of the local museum -- and he's going to rip your head off. Been here, seen that. Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt and James Whitmore co-star for director Peter Hyams. Paramount. Rated R, with profanity and gore, including decapitations.

Remember the Titans (PG) 113 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
Denzel Washington stars as a black coach in charge of a volatile Virginia high school football, forced into integration in 1971. Though overly sentimental, the film still succeeds, thanks to its appealing range of characters and Washington's charisma and integrity. Will Patton is strong in support for director Boaz Yakin. Disney. Rated PG, with mild profanity.

The Replacement Killers (R) 88 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A violent, high-energy American action film, in the Hong Kong tradition. Chow Yun-Fat makes his English-language debut as a reluctant assassin who tries to do the right thing. Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, and Jurgen Prochnow co-star for director Antoine Fuqua. Rated R, with relentless violence.

The Replacements (PG-13) 109 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A funny, crowd-pleasing football comedy about a rag-tag gang brought in to play pro football during a players' strike. Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman star for director Howard Deutch. Warner Bros. Rated PG-13, with moderate profanity, sexual innuendo and sports violence.

Requiem for a Dream (U) 102 min. Not reviewed.
Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi, creates a searing portrait of a family devastated by drug use. Jared Leto and girlfriend Jennifer Connelly are heroin addicts planning the big score, while his mother (Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn) is hooked on diet pills. Unrated, with sex, violence, rough language and drug abuse.

Restoration (R) 113 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
An opulent portrait of the Age of Enlightenment, with a playful monarch restored to the throne, and a young court physician restored to purpose. Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, and Meg Ryan co-star for director Michael Hoffman. Check nudity, sex, violence. Robust period drama with ribald sexuality; for mature teens and adults only.

Return to Me (PG) 115 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
A comic romantic fable about a young widower (David Duchovny) who falls in love with a sweet Chicago waitress (Minnie Driver), not knowing she's a former transplant patient who carries his late wife's heart. Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Joely Richardson and the director, Bonnie Hunt, co-star. MGM. Rated PG.

Return to Paradise (R) 110 min. Rating: 7 Review · Clips
Two men (Vince Vaughn and David Conrad) must decide whether to go to Malaysia and face prison terms in order to save the life of a friend (Joaquin Phoenix). Co-starring Anne Heche and Jada Pinkett Smith. Rated R, with profanity, nudity, drug use and violence.

Return of the Jedi -- see Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi

Return With Honor (Unrated) 105 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
Tom Hanks presents this stirring, understated account of a group of American prisoners of war in Vietnam, their struggle to survive and their resolve to "return with honor." Unrated, with descriptions of torture and other POW ordeals.

Rhyme & Reason (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review
An empassioned new feature-length documentary by Peter Spirer, that examines rap from the street-corner parties of the 1970s in the South Bronx to the violent death of Tupac Shakur last year in Las Vegas. Rhyme & Reason is part history, part sociology and part entertainment. It details the roots, purposes and influence of hip-hop culture on a generation of mostly poor urban Americans. Rappers interviewed include Kurtis Blow, Ice-T, Heavy D, Salt-N-Pepper and dozens more. Miramax. Rated R, with strong profanity and drug use.

Richard III (R) 105 min. Garner's rating: 10 Review · Clips
Ian McKellen relocates one of Shakespeare's great villains into an imagined fascist England in the 1930s. Strong violence; recommended for teens and adults.

The Rich Man's Wife (R) 95 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
Halle Berry plays a tremulous victim, stalked and framed for her husband's murder by a madman. Or maybe not. Despite weakness and a few predictable shocks, the story cranks up a respectable degree of suspense. Disney. Rated R, for violence and language.

Ride (R) 142 min. Not reviewed. Clips
Hi-jinks rule when inner-city kids ride a bus from Harlem to Miami.

Ride With the Devil (R) 138 min. Our rating: 7 Review · Clips
An intriguing, if occasionally slow-moving story about young Confederate sympathizers in Civil War-era Missouri, who get more than they bargained for when they become guerrillas battling the Union forces on the Kansas-Missouri border. Starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jewel. Directed by Ang Lee. USA Pictures. 138 minutes. Rated R, profanity, graphic violence and adult themes.

Ridicule (R) 105 min. Our rating: 9 Review · Clips
A sumptuous and thought-provoking film about the casual cruelty of life in the court of France's King Louis XVI. Starring Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort and Fanny Ardant. Directed by Patrice Leconte. In French with English subtitles. Miramax Zoe. Rated R, with partial nudity, profanity and violence.

Riding in Cars with Boys (PG-13) 125 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
An entertaining new comedy-drama from director Penny Marshall, depicting a young woman's resilient life as she overcomes parents who aren't supportive, a teenage pregnancy and child-bride marriage, and a ne'er-do-well husband. Drew Barrymore is fabulous in the Oscar-worthy lead role. Columbia. Rated PG-13, with profanity, sex and drug issues.

Rififi (R) 115 min. Not reviewed.
A veteran criminal (Jean Servais) is released from prison to a Paris he no longer recognizes. To attempt one last jewel heist, he persuades three of his crew to come out of retirement. In French with English subtitles.

Ringmaster (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 0 Review · Clips
Jerry Springer -- the master exploiter of the nation's social and sexual outcasts -- stars in this trashy, cheap semi-fictional look at a day in the life of his awful (but popular) TV show. Neil Abramson directs (sort of). Artisan Entertainment. Rated R, with profanity, nudity, sex and violence.

The Road Home (G) 100 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review
After the death of his father, a Chinese businessman returns to a small village for the funeral. To honor his mother's wishes, traditional customs are followed and the son must spend a day at the school where his father taught. Starring Zhang Ziyi. In Mandarin with English subtitles.

The Road to El Dorado (PG) 83 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
An amusing, animated buddy comedy, with two inept, 16th Century adventurers in the New World's fabled City of Gold. Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Rosie Perez provide entertaining voices, but the score by Elton John and Tim Rice is bland and uninspired. DreamWorks. Rated PG, with mild profanity and slapstick violence.

Road Trip (R) 92 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
Crude and uneven, this story of four college students traveling from Ithaca to Texas to retrieve an incriminating videotape has some of the biggest laughs of the year -- but you need to love bad-taste humor to enjoy it. Starring Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott and Tom Green. Directed by Todd Phillips. DreamWorks Pictures. Rated R, with profanity, nudity and violence.

The Rock (R) 141 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
A misguided Army general (Ed Harris) takes Alcatraz hostage; Nicolas Cage plays the FBI expert out to stop him, and Sean Connery is the former ``Rock'' inmate who must help him break in. Violence, profanity; frequent, extreme violence limits this to mature teens and adults.

Rocket Man (PG) 101 min. Our rating: 5 Review
An innocuous kids' comedy about a goofus who is picked to be an astronaut to Mars. Somebody apparently believes newcomer Harland Williams is the next Jim Carrey; the evidence here indicates otherwise. Starring Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy and Beau Bridges. Directed by Stuart Gillard. Walt Disney Pictures. Rated PG, with mild profanity and bodily function humor.

Rock Star (G) 106 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
A simplistic but modestly entertaining saga about a young man who realizes his dream to front a big-time rock band. Mark Wahlberg is convincing in the role, while Jennifer Anison and Timothy Spall co-star, along with various real-life heavy metal notables. Stephen Herek directs. Warner Bros. Rated R, with profanity, sex, drug use.

Rock the Boat (Unrated) 89 min. Unreviewed.
Documentary about the efforts of 12 HIV-positive men competing in the TransPac boat race from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Unrated.

Rolling Stones at the Max (G) 90 min. Not rated.
A full-length concert film featuring the Rolling Stones during their 1990 "Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle" tour. Includes performances of "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction." Rated PG with adult language.

(William Shakespeare's) Romeo and Juliet (PG-13) 113 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review
Baz Luhrmann's wildly imaginative interpretation of the classic romantic tragedy, set in an imagined modern world where the warring families battle with guns. The language, though, is pure Shakespeare, and the lovers are wonderfully played by Leonardo DiCapro and Claire Danes. This adaptation will shock traditionalists, but might be just the thing to draw teens back to the bard. Twentieth Century Fox. Rated PG-13, with strong violence and implied sexual situations.

Romeo Must Die (R) 105 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
Jet Li's fight scenes are the whole point of this otherwise uninventive gangsta-rap riff on Shakespeare, about competing ethnic crime families on the Oakland waterfront. Starring Jet Li, Aaliyah and Delroy Lindo. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Warner Bros. Rated R, with profanity, nudity and graphic violence.

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (R) 91 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
This comedy from director David Mirkin proves that Dumb and Dumber is an equal-opportunity concept. With unbridled enthusiasm, Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino and Friends star Lisa Kudrow dive headlong into this shaggy saga about two dimwit blonde friends who go back to their 10-year high school reunion. Touchstone. Rated R, with profanity and sex-oriented humor.

Ronin (R) 121 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
John Frankenheimer, the veteran filmmaker responsible for some of the most memorable thrillers of the '60s and '70s, is back in top form with this riveting, fast-paced espionage thriller. Set in Paris, it stars Robert De Niro, Jean Reno and Natascha McElhone. United Artists. Rated R, with profanity and violence.

Rosewood (R) 140 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
A powerful, disturbing drama about a real, little-known incident -- the destruction of a black community in Central Florida in 1923 by a mob of incensed white racists from a neighboring town. Ving Rhames, Jon Voight, Esther Rolle and Don Cheadle co-star for director John Singleton. Warner. Rated R, with relentless racial violence, rape, sex and spousal abuse.

Rounders (R) 93 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
Matt Damon stars as a reformed gambler who returns to playing big-stakes poker to help a friend pay off a loan shark. Co-starring Edward Norton, John Malkovich and Martin Landau. Rated R, with strong language, brief violence. Miramax.

The Royal Tenenbaums (R) 103 min. Our rating: 10 Review · Clips
Director Wes Anderson scores with this quirky, funny tale of a dysfunctional family of geniuses who learn not to over think everything in their lives. Starring Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Anjelica Huston. Directed by Wes Anderson. Touchstone Pictures. Rated R, with profanity, sexuality and violence.

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (G) 76 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
The Pickles gang and their little friends share an adventure at a Parisian amusement park, as little Chuckie Finster tries to find a Mommy. The sequel offers more story than the first Rugrats movie, and features the trademark parodies that help Mom and Dad enjoy the films with their kids. Susan Sarandon and John Lithgow had their voices to the series regulars. Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer co-direct. Paramount.

The Rugrats Movie (G) 79 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
The animated feature-length debut of the popular Nickelodeon TV series about a gang of rambunctious pre-schoolers and their misadventures after the disrupting arrival of a newborn in their midst. Norton Virgien and Igor Kovalyov co-direct. Paramount. Rated G, with just enough baby pee-pee and gas jokes to please the kids and gross out Mom and Dad.

Rules of Engagement (R) 127 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
A moderately engaging court martial drama with Samuel L. Jackson as a career marine officer made a scapegoat for deaths of civilians in a Middle East incident. Tommy Lee Jones co-stars as the officer's close friend and defending military attorney. Veteran William Friedkin directs with skill. Paramount. Rated R, with strong profanity and intense battle violence.

Rumble in the Bronx (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review
An uneven tale of a Hong Kong visitor who takes on a teen-age gang as well as mob jewel thieves while visiting his uncle in the Bronx. The film is Jackie Chan's attempt to break through to the American market, after years of superstardom in Asia. Profanity and frequent, often light-hearted violence; for ages 15 and older.

Run Lola Run (R) 85 min. Our rating: 8 Review · Clips
Two young lovers get involved in a shady deal, and the girlfriend literally has to run to the rescue. Starring Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu. Directed by Tom Tykwer. In German with English subtitles. Rated R, with profanity of violence.

Runaway Bride (PG) 110 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
Garry Marshall's picture-perfect summer romance, a comedy that sparkles like champagne, but offers the down-home flavor of fresh-squeezed lemonade. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere conjure old-fashioned Hollywood charm in this tale of a cynical columnist who finds himself falling for the woman he skewered in a recent column. Paramount. Rated PG, with mild profanity.

Rush Hour (PG-13) 95 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
The plot isn't much, but the comedy of Chris Tucker and the eye-popping action of Jackie Chan -- as well as the comic chemistry between the two of them -- make this an entertaining if wholly forgettable outing. Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker. Directed by Brett Ratner. New Line Cinema. Rated PG-13.

Rush Hour 2 (PG-13) 90 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return in another amusing chop-chop, chuckle-chuckle buddy-cop romp, once again directed by Brett Radner. The action and jokes are what you expect; and the villains are top of the line, played by the formidable John Lone and the stunning Zhang Ziyi. New Line. Rated PG-13, with bloodless action violence and sexual innuendo.

Rushmore (R) 92 min. Our rating: 10 Review · Clips
A charmingly funny and unexpected film about a teen at a private school who decides that one of the school's teachers is his romantic match. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. Directed by Wes Anderson. Touchstone Pictures. Rated R, with profanity, violence and adult themes.