The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Edgar Rice Burroughs The second novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Venus series.   Space-faring earthman Carson Napier was separated from his beloved  princess Duare at the conclusion of the previous novel.   Now, he is after her once again, determined to get her home safely to her kingdom of Vepaja, and the result is the literary equivalent of one of the old Saturday morning serials with just a pinch of social commentary.   From the Room of the Seven Doors, down the River of Death to the City of the Dead, where a mad scientist presides over a kingdom of zombies, and the beautiful city of Havatoo, which is a paradise but only if your lineage is pure, Carson and Duare bounce from predicament to predicament.   Will they survive their adventures?   Will Duare drop her haughty facade and accept Carson's love?   Is there any doubt?   Not really, but the fun is in getting there.   This series benefits by being more humorous than most of Burroughs's...

by Jean-Paul Sartre Although I would not say that I am uninterested in philosophy, it is not a subject to which I have given a great deal of attention.   Therefore, I may not be the best audience for this literary explication of existentialism.   Having said that, I found Jean-Paul Sartre's prose frequently evocative, but his hero, Roquentin, was extremely frustrating.   Jean-Paul Sartre Indeed, his bouts of existentialist horror triggered by such commonplace realia as chairs, trees, and hands made him seem mentally disturbed.  Of course, I don't believe that all existentialists are crazy, but I do wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg--is this philosophy a clear-eyed look at reality that naturally leads to ennui, or is it a rationale for inaction and fear constructed by highly intelligent depressives?   Perhaps Woody Allen said it best: "The mind is the most over-rated organ in the body."   If it makes us catatonic with horror at the sight of a t...

by F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel, left uncompleted because of the author's death,  tells the story of Monroe Stahr, a hotshot Hollywood producer facing his mortality and longing for a second chance at love.   The Hollywood sections, which were informed by the time Fitzgerald spent as a screenwriter, are wonderful, featuring the snappy dialogue and fast pace of a screwball comedy from the 40s.  The prose in the romantic parts is a bit overheated and sappy, but no doubt that would have been improved by the author had he lived long enough.   A brilliant scene near the end, in which three children encounter the wreckage of a plane crash, makes me ache to read the novel that will never be.

  by Arthur C. Clarke The technology of the space elevator is interesting, but Clarke failed to build a compelling story around it. Plot elements, such as the sojourning spacecraft and the king who wanted to build a stairway to the stars, come and go without amounting to a unified whole.   Character does not seem to be a major concern for Clarke, which is fine if you have as strong a plot as he did in, for example, "Rendezvous with Rama," but I did not find the struggle to build the space elevator sufficiently interesting in and of itself to satisfy me.

by C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis hit on a brilliant device for exploring Christianity by adopting the persona of a senior demon, Screwtape, writing a series of letters to a lesser one, Wormwood, providing helpful hints on undermining the burgeoning faith of a developing Christian. Hell is depicted as the ultimate bureaucracy, staffed by tempters who are motivated by the fear of punishment (not unlike Christians motivated by the fear of damnation?).   Lewis frequently displays great insight when dissecting the less charitable elements of human nature. C.S. Lewis However, he also comes across as disdainful, dismissive, and condescending toward non-Christians. At times, he reveals prejudices that, in my eyes at least, disqualify him from being the moral authority that many believe him to be. The best example of this can be found in the epilogue, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," in which Lewis laments the tendency of some to interpret the political ideal of "equality" as a moral j...

Director: Toshiya Fujita Writers: story by Kazuo Kamimura & Kazuo Koike, screenplay by Norio Osada Stars: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza, Shinichi Uchida, Takeo Chii, Noboru Nakaya Born in a filthy Japanese prison of the 19th century, a girl is raised to exact vengeance for the murder of her father and the rape of her mother.  A harsh priest trains her to be a lethal combatant, and she spends her life hunting the band of criminals.   Although revenge may be one of the basest human motivations, a movie like "Lady Snowblood" reveals its seductive nature as well, because director Toshiya Fujita understands how satisfying it can be to watch an implacable agent of destruction track down and annihilate a richly deserving target.   Meiko Kaji embodies the steely heroine convincingly as she dispatches her victims in exuberant sprays of blood.   Gory, but fun.

Director: Walter Hill Writers: Bill Bryden, Steven Smith, Stacy Keach & James Keach, Walter Hill (uncredited) Stars: David Carradine, Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, James Keach, Stacy Keach, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid Three groups of outlaw siblings (James Keach Stacy Keach David Carradine Keith Carradine Robert Carradine *big gasp* Randy Quaid and Dennis Quaid) split up and lay low after a bank robbery goes wrong, but the forces of the law won’t give up the chase.  Director Walter Hill’s gritty western walks the tightrope between exploring the humanity of these brigands and remaining honest about their basic criminal nature.   It meanders a bit in the middle as the focus shifts among the members of the disbanded gang, but numerous compelling scenes hold interest. How come the horses never get hit?

by Peter Hoeg A six-year-old boy falls to his death from a rooftop in Copenhagen, causing a half-Inuit, half-Danish woman to launch an investigation of his death that will end in the frozen barrenness of the Arctic Circle. Author Peter Hoeg's main achievement is the creation of his protagonist, Smilla, who is brilliant, sardonic, cold, and misanthropic. Peter Hoeg She kept me reading, even when the plot turns became too confusing or convenient. I love the way he could show us how love began to form cracks in her icy heart without introducing a hint of sentiment.

Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly Writers: Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan Stars: Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, Bill Murray, Chris Elliott, William Jordan, Richard Tyson, Lin Shaye Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a former state bowling champion whose hand was destroyed by gamblers.   Years later, broke and down on his luck, he gets a second chance when he meets an Amish bowling whiz named Ishmael (Randy Quaid).  The two head for a million-dollar bowling tournament in Reno. Bill Murray is excellent in a small role as Munson's nemesis.   The Farrelly brothers are quite good at making raunchy, disgusting films with characters that we can still care about.   This film also boasts an excellent soundtrack.

Writer/Director: Jack Hill Stars: Lon Chaney, Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, Sid Haig, Mary Mitchel A faithful family servant (Lon Chaney, Jr.) acts as caretaker for the crazed remnants of a dying family (Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, and Sid Haig) until members of another branch of the family (Carol Ohmart and Quinn Redeker) arrive, seeking to gain sole control of the family fortune.   Wow, I did not expect this.   The opening credits and song set the perfect tone for a creepy yet goofy and heartfelt low-budget gem.   It sat on the shelf for years after completion and was finally tacked on to the back half of a drive-in double bill, but quality won out and it has attained the cult status it deserves.   Lon Chaney, Jr. gives a terrific performance in one of his last roles, delivering a tearful monologue late in the film that reveals its emotional core.  As depraved as they are, it’s just impossible to hate these...