The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by August Derleth Enchanted by the world of Sherlock Holmes and reportedly denied permission by author Arthur Conan Doyle to contribute to the official canon, August Derleth went ahead and created his own pastiche in the person of Solar Pons of Praed Street.  August Derleth As evidenced by the title of this volume, he makes no evasion about the provenance of his character.  Rather, he celebrates it, which transforms this series from the contemptible sacrilege it might be seen as to an affectionate homage.  This particular collection of mysteries demonstrates that Doyle’s stories have more than an evocative setting going for them.  Derleth falls short of Doyle’s flare for drama and mystery.  Some of the clues in his tales are painfully amateurish and obvious.  Nevertheless, this series endured for years and even inspired one Basil Copper to carry on after Derleth, making for 17 volumes altogether.  "Solar Pons Surveys" (French) I intend to keep going to...

Writer/Director: Terrence Malick Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri, Alan Vint, Gary Littlejohn, John Carter, Bryan Montgomery, Gail Thelkeld, Charles Fitzpatrick Holly (Sissy Spacek), a 15-year-old girl living in a North Dakota town, falls under the influence of twentysomething social misfit Kit (Martin Sheen).  When her father (Warren Oates) stands in their way, Kit kills him and hits the road with Holly, who thinks she is in love with him.  They hide out in the wilderness for a while, and then go on the run, killing several people along the way.  Director/screenwriter Terrence Malick has given us characters that are emotionally barren, as reflected by the barren landscapes of North Dakota.  They occasionally seem happy together, but most of the time they seem emotionally flat and detached from their own feelings; Holly seems as if she is in a constant state of shock.  Malick's style is almost like that of a documentary, presenti...