The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

Halloween Reviews 2020 Director: Cheol-soo Jang Writer: Kwang-young Choi Stars: Seong-won Ji, Yeong-hie Seo, Min-ho Hwang, Min Je, Ji-eun Lee, Jeong-hak Park  A beautiful but ice-cold loan officer (Seong-won Ji) returns to the island where she grew up and becomes reacquainted with her childhood friend, Bok-nam (Yeong-hie Seo), who has been begging her to come visit.  The reason becomes clear--she longs to escape with her daughter from her debased existence as the slave of the small island community, raped by her husband and brother-in-law and reviled by the gaggle of old women they support.  There are many shades to this drama that can be overshadowed by its more sensational aspects.  The potential dangers of the unrestrained male id.  The ways the sins and tragedies of the past can poison the future.  The desire to forget and deny the place and the people in one’s past.  Seo Young-hee gives a tour-de-force performance; she shows us an e...

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) Halloween Reviews 2020 Directors: Daniel Farrands, Andrew Kasch Writer: Thommy Hutson Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Stacey Alden, Erika Anderson, Marshall Bell, Fran Bennett, Howard Berger, Charles Bernstein A FOUR-HOUR documentary about the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films.  That seems like an awful long time to spend on the ins and outs of a wildly inconsistent franchise.  However, there is a lot of affection for Freddy and his victims out there, and I must say, they did a very good job on this film, even though FOUR HOURS is a long time to invest for even the most rabid fan.  I got through by watching it in manageable chunks.  Since it is conveniently divided into a 20-30 minute section for each film from the original to “Freddy vs. Jason” (including the short-lived TV series that I had completely forgotten about), it is probably best viewed as a companion to a rewatch of the series.  If you love the franchise,...

Sibs (1991) by F. Paul Wilson Halloween Reviews 2020 Kara Wade returns to New York to investigate the death of her sister, who leapt from a hotel window after having sex with two strangers.  Although the police consider it a suicide, Kara is not convinced and joins forces with her cop ex-boyfriend.  This is a creepy novel with some nice twists that I enjoyed even though I was able to see most of them coming.  Some of the characterization is weak; there are several points where some of the confusion could have been cleared up if the characters would just talk to each other and it's not clear why they don't, but none of these are fatal to the plot.  Author F. Paul Wilson also makes much of Kara being a feminist, which sometimes makes the book feel as if it were sitting in his drawer for 15 or 20 years before being published. F. Paul Wilson                                     ...

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) Halloween Reviews 2020 Directors:    Steve Box, Nick Park Writers: Steve Box & Nick Park & Mark Burton and Bob Baker, based on characters created by Nick Park Creator Nick Park and co-director Steve Box prove that Wallace and Gromit, the stars of several award-winning short features, are worthy of moving to the feature-length format.  First of all, the meticulous clay animation is a joy to watch.  The story, in which a small English town is terrorized by the monster of the title while preparing for a big vegetable competition, is a very funny spoof of horror films.  Park's W&G films feature secondary animal characters that are cute without being cloying, such as sheep or evil penguins.  This time, there are scores of bunnies.  I'm not sure why their noses look like pig snouts, but it works. This enjoyable film is appropriate for kids, but also has some good jokes for adults that...

Monsters (2010) Halloween Reviews 2020 Director/Writer: Gareth Edwards Stars: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides, Annalee Jeffries, Justin Hall, Ricky Catter, Paul Archer A crashed space probe results in giant Cthulhu-looking octopus monsters occupying a large swath of Mexico, which makes it difficult for a freelance photographer (Scoot McNairy) to chaperone the daughter (Whitney Ables) of a rich publisher back to the US.  It seems that writer/director Gareth Edwards must be trying to say about the US/Mexico relationship, but I don't quite get it. This is a monster movie that is short on thrills but is redeemed by a completely immersing sense of atmosphere and a weird beauty.

Monsturd (2003) Halloween Reviews 2020 Directors/Writers: Rick Popko, Dan West Stars: Paul Weiner, Beth West, Dan Burr, Dan West, Rick Popko, Dan Ellis, Timm Carney, Hannah Stangel, Brad Dosland I watched a movie called "Monsturd." I got exactly what I deserved.

The Hobbit (1937) by J.R.R. Tolkien A mild-mannered hobbit who thinks he loves nothing better than home and hearth finds the spark of adventure fanned in his breast when a wizard and thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep in search of a burglar in their quest to regain their lost gold from a dragon.  It's been many years since I last read JRR Tolkien’s classic fantasy tale and I was pleased to find that it still held up.  The narrative drive may flag a bit at times, especially toward the end, when things should really be moving quickly, but the craft and thought that Tolkien put into his characters and his world-building is what really impresses here.  I read along with Corey Olsen’s chapter by chapter analysis on his podcast “The Tolkien Professor,” which greatly enhanced my understanding and pleasure.  Professor Corey Olson It's a fun way to explore a book.

  Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) Director: Peter Webber Writers: Olivia Hetreed, based on a novel by Tracy Chevalier Stars: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, Joanna Scanlan Based on a novel by Tracy Chevalier, this film tells the story behind the Vermeer painting that shares its title with the film. In this imagining, the model is Griet (Scarlett Johanssen), a peasant girl with a natural artistic temperament.  Before long, she and the painter Vermeer (Colin Furth) recognize each other as kindred souls who understand each other because they both understand and love the technique and artistry of painting.  Thankfully, this film does not have them fall into bed together but rather recognizes that such a union could never come to pass.  In this way, it is a poignant story of lost opportunity and unrequitable passion.  This film also presents a fascinating, detailed, beautifully photographed portrait of ...

  Zatoichi (2003) Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano, based on novels by Kan Shimozawa Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michio Tasuda, Taka Guadalcanal, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Yui Natsukawa I wanted to love Beat Takeshi's reimagining of the popular Japanese hero Zatoichi, but it just didn't stand up to the original.  Unfortunately, I found it to be overpopulated with sketchily drawn characters.  In addition, I could not identify a good reason for some important actions on the part of several characters, which I can't get into without revealing key plot points.  Some reviewers disliked the percussive, almost musical segments, but I found these to be a strength of the film.  I had heard about these segments in reviews and was looking forward to them but even here, although I did enjoy them, I was also disappointed.  I expected and wanted them to be presented as Zatoichi's personal experience of the world; such a unique recognition o...