SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY – Michael Giacchino
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE FILM, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER WAITING UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE DONE SO TO READ IT.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the 38th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the fourth to focus on Spider-Man as the lead character since the reboot prior to Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. It again stars Tom Holland as the web-slinging superhero and is a direct sequel to Spider-Man: No Way Home, although it also contains plot strands from Thunderbolts, the Disney+ movie The Punisher: One Last Kill, and (to a lesser extent) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The story follows Peter Parker, five years after the events of No Way Home, when Dr. Strange cast a spell that made the world forget that he is Spider-Man – including his girlfriend MJ Watson (Zendaya) and best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). Read more…
THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN – Werner Janssen
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1936 Paramount Pictures came upon an unpublished manuscript by novelist Charles G. Booth inspired by the real-life exploits of Morris “Two-Gun” Cohen. Cohen was a colorful, British-born Jewish adventurer who traveled to China and became a general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as the personal bodyguard to Sun Yat-sen, leader of the 1911 revolution that toppled the Qing Dynasty. The studio was impressed, purchased the film rights, and signed Booth to a multi-film writing deal. William LeBaron was assigned to the production, Oscar-winning director Lewis Milestone was recruited, and Booth would collaborate with Clifford Odets to write the screenplay. The studio wanted marquee star power for the film, so Gary Cooper would star as O’Hara, joined by Madeleine Carroll as Judy Pierre, Akim Tamiroff as General Yang, Dudley Digges as Mr. Wu, Porter Hall as Peter Pierre, and Philip Ahn as Oxford. Read more…
INDEPENDENCE DAY – David Arnold
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When I look back at the time now, it’s increasingly clear to me that the years between 1994 and 1996 were formative in terms of how they shaped my taste in both film and music. Those were the years when I was really let loose on the world of cinema for the first time, enjoying a huge variety of movies and film scores, and many of the films I saw during those 36 months remain some of my all-time favorites. As such, it’s also important to recognize that I tend to look back at that period through rose-tinted glasses, and it’s with that in mind that I come to Independence Day. Read more…
HER PRIVATE HELL – Pino Donaggio
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Her Private Hell is the latest film from the acclaimed cult Danish film director and screenwriter Nicolas Winding Refn, and it is his first theatrically released film since The Neon Demon in 2016. The film is a surreal, dystopian psychological thriller that combines elements of sci-fi, film noir, fairy tale, slasher horror, and melodrama into a deliberately dreamlike narrative. It takes place in a futuristic metropolis where a mysterious, unnatural mist spreads across the city; the fog seems to unleash (or perhaps reveal) a deadly supernatural presence while reality itself becomes increasingly unstable. The story primarily follows Elle (Sophie Thatcher), a troubled young woman searching for her estranged father, who crosses paths with Private K (Charles Melton), an American GI convinced that his young daughter has been abducted. Their journeys slowly converge around the legend of the “Leather Man,” an elusive, almost mythical killer or monster whose identity could prove the key to the mystery. Read more…
THE INVISIBLE RAY – Franz Waxman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were coming off the success of their recent film, The Raven (1935), and Universal Pictures producer David Diamond wanted to cast them in a new film to be called Bluebeard. However, the script proved unsatisfactory, and the studio put the project on hold. A new film, The Invisible Ray, was chosen; however, it quickly went off track when director Stuart Walker left because he was dissatisfied with the script. Undeterred, Edmund Grainger was placed in charge of production with a large $168,875 budget, Lambert Hillyer was hired to direct, and Howard Higgin and Douglas Hodges were assigned to write the screenplay. For the cast, Boris Karloff played Dr. Janos Rukh, Bela Lugosi played Dr. Felix Benet, joined by Frances Drake as Diana Rukh, Frank Lawton as Ronald Drake, and Violet Kemble Cooper as Mother Rukh. Read more…
COURAGE UNDER FIRE – James Horner
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Courage Under Fire is a military drama directed by Edward Zwick and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. Set in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the story follows Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington), whose career and conscience are shaken after he accidentally destroys a friendly U.S. tank during combat, killing one of his own men. To restore his standing, Serling is assigned to investigate whether Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), a helicopter commander killed in Iraq, deserves to become the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor. As Serling interviews the surviving members of Walden’s crew, he discovers that every witness offers a different version of the fatal battle. Some describe Walden as a fearless leader who repeatedly risked her life to protect her soldiers, while others claim she lost her nerve under fire, leading to confusion and tragedy. Determined to uncover the truth despite pressure from military officials eager for a politically convenient decision, Serling pieces together the conflicting accounts and, in doing so, confronts his own wartime guilt and begins to find redemption. Read more…
THE ODYSSEY – Ludwig Göransson
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Odyssey, written approximately 2,700 years ago by the ancient Greek poet Homer, is one of the foundational works of Western literature. It follows the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he struggles for 10 years to return home after the Trojan War. Along the way, he encounters gods, monsters, and supernatural dangers – including the Cyclops Polyphemus, the enchantress Circe, the Sirens, and the sea god Poseidon, who repeatedly prevents him from reaching home. Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus are surrounded by men trying to take Odysseus’s place and marry Penelope. The story ultimately becomes not just about surviving the voyage, but about returning home, reclaiming one’s identity, and restoring order. Read more…
SANSHO THE BAILIFF – Fumio Hayasaka
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Director Kenji Mizoguchi was inspired by Mori Ōgai’s 1915 novella Sanshō Dayū. Its tale about the tragic realities of human trafficking in feudal Japan resonated with him because of his own harrowing childhood experience of being given up for adoption. Also influential were his Marxist-feminist politics and his belief that post-WWII Japan needed to re-examine its brutal and oppressive past. Mizoguchi decided to use this historical tragedy to create a morality play exploring themes of resilience, human dignity, and the universal need for compassion. In the early 1950s, Mizoguchi’s career was ascendant, and although jidaigeki (period dramas) were not popular with the Japanese public, Daiei Film decided to back the project. Masaichi Nagata was assigned to produce, Mizoguchi would direct, and Fuji Yahiro and Yoshikata Yoda would write the screenplay. A fine cast was assembled, including Kinuyo Tanaka as Tamaki, Kyōko Kagawa as Anju, Eitarō Shindō as Sanshō, and Yoshiaki Hanayagi as Zushiō. Read more…
UGETSU – Fumio Hayasaka
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Producer Masaichi Nagata of Daiei Film Studio decided to offer renowned director Kenji Mizoguchi a new project following the critical and commercial success of his previous film, The Life of Oharu (1952). He sweetened the deal by granting Mizoguchi complete artistic control and a large budget. Mizoguchi accepted the offer, with Masaichi Nagata overseeing production. Screenwriters Matsutarō Kawaguchi and Yoshikata Yoda were instructed to draw inspiration from two stories in Ueda Akinari’s Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moon and Rain, 1776): Asaji ga Yado (The House in the Thicket) and Jasei no In (The Lust of the White Serpent), resulting in this film: Ugetsu. For the cast, Machiko Kyō starred as Lady Wakasa, joined by Mitsuko Mito as Ohama, Kinuyo Tanaka as Miyagi, Masayuki Mori as Genjūrō, and Sakae Ozawa as Tōbei. Read more…
THE LIFE OF OHARU – Ichiro Saito
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Politically, director Kenji Mizoguchi was a leftist and a frequent critic of Japan’s historical patriarchal and misogynistic culture, which persisted after World War II. He wanted to make a morality film that would force audiences, particularly men, to confront and pity the suffering of marginalized women. He found inspiration in the 17th-century classic The Life of an Amorous Woman by Saikaku Ihara. He and longtime collaborator Yoshikata Ihara wrote the screenplay, and Koi Production Company agreed to finance the film. Hideo Koi and Mizoguchi oversaw production, with Mizoguchi also directing. For the cast, Kinuyo Tanaka starred as Oharu Okui, joined by Toshiro Mifune as Katsunosuke, Hisako Yamane as Lady Matsudaira, Jūkichi Sugai as Shinzaemon Okui, Tsukie Matsuura as Tomo Okui, Eitarō Shindō as Kahe Sasaya, and Eijirō Yanagi as Kikuoji. Read more…
NAMELESS STARS – Dong-Jin Kim
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1959, director Kang-Yoon Kim persuaded Asea Films to support a “Chosun Ilbo” (national spirit) film commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Student Independence Movement of 3 November 1929. He collaborated with screenwriter Keum-Dong Choi to craft a story that utilized the concept of han in depicting what was a defining moment of national sacrifice. Han is a collective feeling of unresolved grief and injustice, and it frames the students’ patriotic uprising against the brutal and oppressive Japanese occupiers. Jae-Myeong Lee was assigned to oversee production, while Kim also served as director. Remarkably, this was the first and last film he would direct. A fine cast was assembled, including Hae-Nam Hwang as Sang-Hun Kang, Mi-Lyeong Jo as Choi Young-Ae, Nam-Hyeon Choi as Mr. Song, Ok Jeon as Sang-Hun’s mother Seung-I, Bin-Hwa Lee as Mr. Song’s daughter, Myeong-Su Choi as Tae-Min Lee, and Seok-Yang Chu as the Japanese policeman Nakajima. Read more…
THE HIDDEN FORTRESS – Masaru Sato
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Director Akira Kurosawa believed that, after the sad and tragic narratives of his previous two films, Throne of Blood and The Lower Depths (both released in 1957), it was time for a change. As he explained in an interview, “I want to make a 100% entertainment film, full of thrills and fun.” To that end, he conceived a jidaigeki adventure film – a Japanese period piece. He collaborated with writers Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Shinobu Hashimoto to create an original screenplay and secured funding from the Toho Company. Kurosawa oversaw production alongside Sanezumi Fujimoto and also directed the film. For the cast, Toshiro Mifune starred as General Makabe Rokurota, joined by Minoru Chiaki as Tahei, Kamatari Fujiwara as Matashichi, Susumu Fujita as General Hyoe Tadokoro, Takashi Shimura as General Izumi Nagakura, and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. Read more…
DISCLOSURE DAY – John Williams
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE FILM, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER WAITING UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE DONE SO TO READ IT.
Steven Spielberg has been obsessed with aliens since he was a small child. His first short film, shot on a Super 8 camera in and around his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, was a story about a mysterious alien encounter and invasion called Firelight; he was 17 in 1964 when he made it. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) was a groundbreaking masterpiece. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) remains, for me, one of the greatest films ever made. War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) also featured aliens in different capacities. Now, with his new film, Disclosure Day, Spielberg has returned to the genre that has arguably defined his career. Read more…
THE FLOWER IN HELL – Mok-In Son
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
During the Korean War, director Sang-Ok Shin chose to share an apartment with a prostitute because it provided greater comfort than government evacuation housing, which often accommodated several families. During this time, he became familiar with the misfits, losers, and outcasts of society. Drawing upon these experiences, he conceived a film that revealed the bleak underbelly of Korean society inhabited by its lower classes. He secured financing from Seoul Films Company, Ltd. and personally oversaw both production and directing, while Jeong-Seon Lee was hired to write the screenplay. For the cast, Shin selected his wife, Choi Eun-Hee, a rising star of Korean cinema, for the starring role of So-Nya. Joining her were Kim Hak as Yeong-Shik, Hae-Won Jo as Dong-Shik, and Sun-Hee Kang as Julie. Read more…
DRAGONHEART – Randy Edelman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dragonheart was one of the most ambitious fantasy-adventure films of the 1990s. Directed by Rob Cohen and based on an original story by Charles Edward Pogue and Patrick Read Johnson (rather than an existing novel or legend), it starred Dennis Quaid as Bowen, a medieval knight who loses faith in both kings and dragons after his young pupil Einon (played by David Thewlis as an adult) grows into a cruel tyrant despite having his life saved by dragon magic as a child. Years later, Bowen – who now works as a dragon slayer – encounters Draco, the last surviving dragon on Earth, voiced with immense charisma by Sean Connery. When Bowen learns that Draco and Einon literally share the same heart, they form an unlikely friendship and later join forces with rebel leader Kara (Dina Meyer) to overthrow Einon and restore peace to the kingdom. Read more…
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