Richard Leaf Movies

Curious filmgoers looking to get better acquainted with the silver screen's most notorious cannibalistic serial killer are sure to get their fair share of shocks and thrills as director Peter Webber teams with author Thomas Harris to explore the early life of well-read psychopath Hannibal Lecter. Based on author Harris' gruesome novel of the same name, Hannibal Rising travels back in time to World War II-era Lithuania, where an impressionable, well-to-do young boy named Hannibal (Gaspard Ulliel) was forced to watch helplessly as his family was massacred and his young sister suffered a terrifying fate at the hands of desperate, famished soldiers. After seeking temporary shelter at the Soviet orphanage that was once his family's home, Hannibal later flees to Paris in search of his long-lost uncle. Though his uncle has passed away, his uncle's beautiful Japanese widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li), warmly accepts the frightened orphan into her home. But even the love and kindness of this generous stranger isn't enough to calm the raging storm that is brewing inside this troubled young boy. Plagued by nightmares and determined to seek vengeance on the murderous war criminals who brutalized his family, the profoundly disturbed but academically gifted Hannibal enrolls in medical school in order to hone the skills that will allow him to exact horrific justice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The true story of a major breakthrough in intelligence technology created during World War II provides the backdrop for this blend of mystery, romance, and espionage, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a gifted mathematician who is working with the British government on the development and maintenance of the Enigma machine, an electronic device that allows Allied intelligence agents to decode scrambled messages sent by Germany military officers. But the emotionally fragile Jericho is buckling under both the pressure of his work and the collapse of his relationship with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a co-worker with whom he's fallen deeply in love. After suffering a minor breakdown, Jericho is sent on a leave of absence, but when he returns to work, a crisis awaits: it seems the Germans have instituted a new code that the Enigma is not yet able to crack, and Jericho is needed to help unravel Axis communiqués before an important convoy of troops and materiel sets sail. It is also suspected that a German undercover agent has infiltrated the Enigma project, and Wigram (Jeremy Northam) is determined to ferret them out. In the midst of all this, Jericho receives troubling news that Claire has gone missing -- and that a file of German messages waiting to be decoded was found at her home. As Jericho works against the clock to crack the new German code, he forms an initially uneasy alliance with Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet), Claire's roommate and a fellow member of the Enigma project, as they try to discover Claire's whereabouts. Enigma was co-produced by Mick Jagger, who has a keen interest in the history of the real-life Enigma project, and even owns one of the original Enigma decoding machines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Valerie Martin, this gothic suspense story offers a fresh perspective on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by presenting the material from a different viewpoint -- that of Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts), an Irish servant girl who has come to work for esteemed surgeon Dr. Henry Jekyll (John Malkovich). Mary is fascinated but also intimidated by her new employer, while the doctor seems to take a personal interest in her that goes beyond mere professional courtesy, much to the annoyance of Mr. Poole (George Cole), Jekyll's brutish manservant who also appears to have his eye on her. Jekyll's interest in Mary increases when he learns that she was abused as a child by her violent and repressive father. The doctor seems to take a keen interest in the violent and uncontrollable side of human nature. One day, he announces to his housekeeping staff that his new colleague, Edward Hyde, may be dropping by unexpectedly and not to be alarmed at his presence. Just as she's become attracted to the studious Dr. Jekyll, Mary is fascinated by the brash and impulsive Mr. Hyde, though he carries an air of danger with him at all times -- and Mary doesn't realize at first that he is merely a manifestation of the darker side of Jekyll's personality. Mary Reilly also features Glenn Close as the Madame Mrs. Farraday. Stephen Frears -- who previously worked with Close, Malkovich and screenwriter Christopher Hampton on 1988's Dangerous Liaisons -- directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide