The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

Director: Jonathan Demme Writers: Ted Tally, based on the novel by Thomas Harris Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Ted Levine, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins deliver amazing  performances as, respectively, Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer called Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), and Hannibal Lector, an imprisoned killer whose psychiatric genius can provide valuable insights that may lead to Bill's capture.   Every element of this film is dead on.   Foster plays Clarice as sensitive and uncertain, yet brave, brilliant, and unwilling to succumb to her fears.  Hopkins gives a performance of such power that the figure of Hannibal Lector immediately attained pop icon status.   Jonathan Demme's direction, incorporating numerous point-of-view shots, draws us right into the story and keeps the tension building.   Ted Tally's screenplay (from the Thomas Harris ...

Director: Yimou Zhang Writers: Feiyu Bi, from the novel by Li Xiao Stars:  Gong Li,  Li Baotian,  Wang Xiaoxiao, Xuejian Li, Chun Sun, Biao Fu, Shu Chen, jiang Liu, Baoying Jiang, Qianquan Yang, Ying Gao In the 1930s, a young boy (Wang Xiaoxiao) is sent to Shanghai from the country  to work for his uncle (Li Baotian), who is a powerful crime boss.  He is made assistant to his uncle's concubine, Bijou (Gong Li), who is also the featured performer in his nightclub.   (The depiction of Shanghai nightlife is one of the charms of this film. We are treated to two wonderful cabaret numbers.)   The boy becomes a silent witness to a life of waste, deception and betrayal.   I have never seen a more heart-breaking finale than the one in this film.   It is a harsh dramatization of how average, hard-working people are so often trampled and destroyed by those with too much power and too few scruples.

Director: Frank Capra Writers: Robert Riskin, based on the short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams Stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Jameson Thomas, Roscoe Karns, Alan Hale, Arthur Hoyt, Blanche Frederici A spoiled socialite (Claudette Colbert) flees her wealthy  father (Walter Connolly) and heads for New York to marry a rich playboy (Jameson Thomas) against her father's will.   The whereabouts of Ellie Andrews and the reward for her return become the stuff of national headlines, so when recently fired reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) recognizes her, he decides to stick close so he can write the story.  Naturally, romance follows, but it's a bumpy and hugely entertaining road to get there.   This is an absolutely wonderful film.   It's such a shame that so many people are not interested in watching an old black-and-white movie.  Good work is timeless.   Gable and Colbert have wonderful chemistry and are both hilarious and touching....

Director: Na Hong-Jin Writers: Won-Chan Hong, Na Hong-Jin, Shinho Lee Stars:  Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Yeong-hie Seo, Kim Yoo-jeong, In-gi Jeong, Jung-woo Choi, Min Kyung-jin, Hyo-ju Park   A pimp (Kim Yoon-seok) sets out to fuck up the asshole  (Ha Jung-woo) who’s stealing his bitches and ends up as a desperate man trying to rescue an injured woman (Seo Young-hee) from a serial killer and recognizing his complicity in her situation.   This film does two things remarkably well.   First, it makes the protagonist’s character arc believable and moving through action alone.   Secondly, there are several plot twists that would seem to deflate the tension in the plot by removing the element of menace (I don’t want to give any spoilers, but an example is the killer’s confession to murder while in police custody fairly early in the film), but developments inevitably bend toward the film’s culminating tragedy.   In an extraordinary debut, first-time wri...