Archive
BONNEVILLE – Jeff Cardoni
Original Review by Clark Douglas
“Bonneville” stars Jessica Lange as a middle-aged woman taking a road trip with her friends (Kathy Bates and Joan Allen) in order to deliver the ashes of her dead husband to her estranged daughter (Christine Baranski). The soundtrack album kicks off with eight pop/rocks, which are predictably a mixed bag. Donovan does his very best Bob Dylan impression in “Catch the Wind”, and King Floyd’s “I Feel Like Dynamite” is a cool R&B number.
I kind of liked some of the instrumental choices in Lazlo Bane’s cover of “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)”… but sadly, the meaning of this song seems to get further and further away from the intention of Randy Newman’s original with each new cover Read more…
CITY OF MEN – Antônio Pinto
Original Review by Clark Douglas
A follow-up to the popular Brazilian television series of the same title, “City of Men” is a film about the troubled friendship of two young men in Rio (Douglas Silvo and Darlan Cunha). The two friends each discover secrets from their past, and attempt to deal with their violent future as gang members. Over time, a great deal of strain is put on their friendship. The film is well-liked by those who have seen it, but it seems to have pretty much slipped under the radar of just about everyone.
Music is provided by composer Antônio Pinto, who was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. In fact, Pinto has spent the first decade or so of his career scoring Brazilian film and television efforts, including the “City of Men” television show Read more…
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL – Paul Cantelon
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The life of Anne Boleyn has fascinated British historical scholars for centuries. As the second wife of King Henry VIII, she was made Queen of England in 1533, and gave birth to a daughter who would later go on to be Queen Elizabeth I, but was the accused of adultery, incest, and high treason, and subsequently beheaded in 1536. Not only that, she was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Church of England. Director Justin Chadwick’s sumptuous film, The Other Boleyn Girl, is based on the novel by Philippa Gregory, and explores the life of Anne and her sister, Mary, and the political and sexual machinations that led to them becoming rivals in the court of Henry VIII. The film stars Natalie Portman as Anne, Scarlett Johansson as Mary, Eric Bana as Henry, and David Morrissey, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Benedict Cumberbatch in supporting roles. Read more…
PENELOPE – Joby Talbot
Original Review by Clark Douglas
“Penelope” stars Christina Ricci as a girl who is cursed with the nose of a pig. Everyone makes fun of her, but handsome young James McAvoy is able to see past Penelope’s outer flaws and see her inner beauty. Hmmm. I wonder what the film’s message could possibly be? The movie also stars such funny people as Catherine O’Hara, Richard E. Grant, Reese Witherspoon, and Peter Dinklage. The film has gotten generally positive notices, and sounds like a perfectly likable effort (despite the fact that it sat on a shelf for two years awaiting a release).
The film’s score is provided by Joby Talbot, a composer who is probably best known to film score fans for his entertaining work on the 2005 feature film version of “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” Read more…
BE KIND REWIND – Jean-Michel Bernard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Be Kind Rewind is a very unusual comedy from director Michel Gondry, whose previous credits include the cult hit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film stars Mos Def as Mike, a video rental store clerk in suburban New Jersey who is obsessed with the life and work of Fats Waller. One day Mike’s best friend Jerry (Jack Black) – who lives very close to a nuclear power plant – comes into the store, having received an electric shock while attempting to sabotage the plant, and as a result of his ‘magnetism’, accidentally wipes every VHS tape in the store. In attempt to cover up their tracks, the duo comes up with an idea: they will remake every movie themselves on a handheld camcorder. Read more…
CHARLIE BARTLETT – Christophe Beck
Original Review by Clark Douglas
“Charlie Bartlett” is a film about a high school kid (played by Anton Yelchin) who becomes something of a “psychiatrist” for the kids in the school. He gives them the occasional advice, shoulder to lean on, and prescription drugs. From the dialogue clips that are included on this soundtrack album, he also gives them a peculiar monologue about a girl experiencing her first period. Despite the presence of the wonderful Robert Downey Jr., I never had too much interest in seeing the film. What little desire that may have remained was effectively killed by this soundtrack album.
This cd is a mess. After opening with the aforementioned monologue, it gives us two quick snips of Christophe Beck’s score, which feature hand-clapping and snappy rhythms Read more…
VANTAGE POINT – Atli Örvarsson
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Vantage Point may be unique in that it represents the first time an Icelandic composer has written the music for a mainstream Hollywood film. Björk, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, and Sigur Ros have all contributed music to motion pictures in the past, but Atli Örvarsson may be the first to actually make a career out of it.
His film, Vantage Point, is a political action thriller directed by Pete Travis and starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt. The plot revolves around the attempted assassination of the United States president while addressing a rally in Salamanca, Spain, and the different perspectives of what happened by those who witness the event Read more…
DEFINITELY MAYBE – Clint Mansell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A pleasant-natured romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and Rachel Weisz, and directed by Adam Brooks, Definitely Maybe tells the story of a political speech-writer (Reynolds) recounting the stories of how he met his ex-wife, and some of his other earlier romances, to his precocious and inquisitive daughter, Maya (Breslin).
It’s one of those nice, warm-hearted movies in which everyone has a happy ending, and in order to capture the contemporary flavor of the story, the director turned to composer Clint Mansell for the music – an unusual choice, considering Mansell’s background as a musical with the band Pop Will Eat Itself, but one which turns out well. Read more…
JUMPER – John Powell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Jumper is an enjoyably dumb action adventure movie about people who can teleport anywhere they wish, and the people who wish to stop them. Star Wars’s Hayden Christensen stars as David Rice, a young man who discovers that, through a genetic anomaly, he can teleport himself anywhere, at any time. After severl years of enjoying the carefree existence, he comes in contact with a fellow jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell), who tells him that there have been jumpers through time, and that a war has been raging between these people, and a group of people dedicated to exterminating them – one of whom is the ruthless Roland (Samuel L. Jackson). The film was directed by Doug Liman, the director of the original Bourne Identity, and as such brought his regular composer, John Powell, on board with him. Read more…
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES – James Horner
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Once upon a time, James Horner was considered one of the kings of fantasy film music. Brassy, exciting efforts from the early part of Horner’s career included “Krull”, “Aliens”, “Brainstorm”, “Cocoon”, and two “Star Trek” films. Around the mid-1990’s, Horner seemingly dropped the fantasy genre (and indeed, many other genres) to focus pretty much exclusively on prestigious dramatic efforts. With rare lighthearted exceptions like the “Zorro” films and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, Horner’s writing has been quite serious and introspective. While this certainly isn’t a bad thing, many wondered when the composer would return to something more fanciful. Read more…
FOOL’S GOLD – George Fenton
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A romantic comedy action-adventure directed by Andy Tennant and starring Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland, Fool’s Gold follows the fortunes of Benjamin and Tess Finnegan – soon-to-be-divorced deep sea treasure hunters in the Caribbean who, despite being on the verge of a bitter separation, team up for one last adventure when they find directions to a lost Spanish treasure. Cue the light hearted action, the playful banter between the protagonists, and McConaughey with his shirt off and his abs on display, as is usually the case in films like this. Read more…
IN BRUGES – Carter Burwell
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh has made the leap to the big screen with his directorial debut, “In Bruges” (which he also wrote, of course). The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as a couple of hit men hiding out in the lovely city of Bruges after a hit goes sour. Ralph Fiennes also plays a supporting role, and reviews have mostly been quite positive (including a four-star rave from Roger Ebert). McDonagh seems to be a pretty intelligent guy, and like a lot of intelligent directors in Hollywood (such as Joel and Ethan Coen, Spike Jonze, David Mamet, David O. Russell, and others), he has picked Carter Burwell to provide the score. Only Thomas Newman is able to rival Burwell in his ability to snag high-profile indie film assignments. Read more…
THE EYE – Marco Beltrami
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The remake of a very good Thai horror movie from 2002, directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, The Eye stars Jessica Alba as a young woman named Sydney Wells, blind from birth, who undergoes a revolutionary new surgical procedure to transplant her corneas, which successfully restores her eyesight. However, before long, Sydney begins to realize that, in addition to having to readjust to life in a sighted world, she has something else to cope with: she can see ghosts.
The film, which also stars Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey and Rade Serbedzija, features an original score by Marco Beltrami, who is very good at this sort of thing. It begins with a contemporary main title for guitars, strings and voice Read more…
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