Archive
SEX AND THE CITY – Aaron Zigman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Four years after the enormously popular and successful TV show ended, director Michael Patrick King brought Sex and the City back, this time on the big screen, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon reprising their roles as the four man-hungry socialites, looking for love in the Big Apple. Providing the score for Sex and the City is the ever-busy Aaron Zigman, taking over the reigns for Douglas Cuomo, who scored most of the TV series.
As one might expect, much of Zigman’s music is light and breezy, upbeat and peppy, fitting the modern tone of the protagonists adventures well. Read more…
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – John Williams
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Play the Raiders March to any film music fan – hell, anyone who went to the cinema in the last 20 years or so – and the same imagery will pop into their mind: Harrison Ford, unkempt, unshaven, battered leather jacket, battered fedora hat, whip in one hand, gun in the other, a languorous grin on his face, preparing to dispatch some insidious bad guy standing in his way from rightfully claiming one of the world’s lost archeological artifacts. Such is the power and durability of John Williams’ classic themes that there are inextricably linked with their subject matter, from the sinister cello chords of Jaws to the breathless joy of E.T., to the effortless heroism of Star Wars. There’s no wonder Williams remains one of the most well-respected and well-loved film composers of all time, and why his music remains a pop culture touchstone for millions. Read more…
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN – Harry Gregson-Williams
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The second installment of the new Chronicles of Narrnia trilogy, based on the classic novels by C.S Lewis, Prince Caspian sees the four Pevensie children returning to Narnia, only to find that over 1,000 years have passed since their last visit, and that magical kingdom is now under the control of an evil king, Miraz. Teaming up once more with Aslan the lion, and a host of wild and wonderful creatures, the children attempt to overthrow Miraz and restore the rightful ruler – Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) – to the throne.
The film is more expansive, and significantly darker than its predecessor, The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe, and this shift in tone is also reflected in Harry Gregson-Williams’ score. Read more…
BEFORE THE RAINS – Mark Kilian
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
An Anglo-Indian romantic drama directed by Bollywood stalwart Santosh Sivan, Before the Rains stars Linus Roache as an English spice baron who settles in South India during the waning years of the British Raj in the 1940s, and who throws the local community into upheaval when he has an affair with a beautiful woman from a nearby village. The film co-stars Rahul Bose, Nandita Das and Jennifer Ehle, and has an original score by South African composer Mark Kilian.
As one might expect, given the film’s geographical setting, Kilian’s music makes extensive use of the musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent, notably solo instruments such as the ubiquitous sitar, the sarangi bowed lute Read more…
SPEED RACER – Michael Giacchino
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A cartoonish action adventure inspired by the classic 1960s Japanese animated TV series of the same name (which, I have to admit, I had never heard of prior to this movie), Speed Racer is directed by ‘Matrix’ creators Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, and stars Emile Hirsch as the eponymous hero, a young driver from a racing-crazy family who competes in a series of neon-garish grand prix in various locations around the world. The film also stars Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, and features an original score by Michael Giacchino.
It almost pains me to say it, but Speed Racer follows on from Mission Impossible III as one of the few Giacchino scores I really didn’t like. Like the film itself, the score is a fast-moving, energetic, but ultimately rather chaotic musical collage of styles and influences Read more…
IRON MAN – Ramin Djawadi
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
2008 has been the summer of super heroes. Such is the power of the escapist entertainment provided by the likes of Marvel and DC Comics that three of the top five films at the box office have been about superheroes: The Dark Knight, Hancock, and this movie – Iron Man. Based on a character which appeared in a Marvel comic in 1963 and directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. (in a career-revitalizing role) as wealthy industrialist an inventor Tony Stark, who builds a super-advanced ‘power suit’, which he dons in an attempt to rid the world of the powerful weapons his own company created, and which have now fallen into the hands of terrorists… Read more…
SON OF RAMBOW – Joby Talbot
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Son of Rambow is an English coming-of-age story set in the 1980s about two young boys – one a school bully, the other coming from an oppressive religious family – who, having sneaked in to see First Blood at the local cinema, decide to make their own home-made action movie, with which they hope to win a young filmmakers competition. The film was written and directed by Garth Jennings, and is scored by the supremely talented English composer Joby Talbot, who scored Jennings’ last film, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the cult TV series The League of Gentlemen. Read more…
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