Archive
THE EMPEROR’S CLUB – James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Movies about inspirational teachers, while not exactly ten-a-penny, are certainly genre mainstays, with a cinematic language of their own. Robin Williams played one in Dead Poets Society, Richard Dreyfuss played one in Mr Holland’s Opus, and now Kevin Kline joins their league with his performance in director Michael Hoffman’s The Emperor’s Club as William Hundert, a enthusiastic, well-respected, if a little stuffy professor at a boy’s school in 1972. All is well, and Hundert is happy in his work, until a disruptive force arrives in the shape of young Sedgewick Bell (newcomer Emile Hirsch), who immediately throws the status quo into disarray. As Hundert and Bell lock horns, deep moral and ethical questions raise their heads, leading to a confrontation, the repercussions of which could last a lifetime… Read more…
DIE ANOTHER DAY – David Arnold
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
You know, I’m beginning to think that David Arnold is running out of ideas. When he burst onto the film music scene in 1996/97 with Stargate, Independence Day and so on, he was a breath of fresh air, bringing new life and orchestral acumen to a genre which generally suffers from a lack of emerging talent. When he took over from Eric Serra after the lamentable GoldenEye as the composer of choice for the Bond movies, it was heralded as a step in the right direction, and he has proved himself to be the only composer to “get” the series in the way John Barry did. Die Another Day is Arnold’s third Bond movie score. It is also, by a long way, his weakest. Read more…
ARARAT – Mychael Danna
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In many ways, Ararat is Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s Schindler’s List: an intensely personal film which tackles a little-known cultural tragedy with the same depth and sensitivity Steven Spielberg lent his account of the Holocaust. Egoyan, whose parents were born in Armenia, is best known as an art-house auteur who, occasionally, directs a crossover mainstream hit, such as Exotica or the Oscar-nominated The Sweet Hereafter. It is difficult to know whether this film will follow in their footsteps, especially given its difficult subject matter and unusual structuring, but one thing is for sure: the accompanying music CD is well worth a listen. Read more…
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS – John Williams and William Ross
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s funny how John Williams always manages to get himself attached to supremely successful movie franchises: whether through skill and good judgement, or simply because of his vast reputation, the man still regarded as Hollywood’s premier composer has lucked out in being involved with the Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones and now Harry Potter, the series of movies based on J.K. Rowling’s enormously popular tales of witchcraft and wizardry. The Chamber of Secrets is the second in the series of films, following Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and is, in every conceivable way, both in terms of movie AND music, a more pleasing experience. Read more…
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