Archive
THE GREAT DEBATERS – James Newton Howard, Peter Golub
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Denzel Washington’s second feature film as director, The Great Debaters is a worthy and noble film based on the true story of an all-black college debating team fighting for recognition and equality. Washington himself stars as Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas in 1935 who inspired his students to form the school’s first debate team, which went on to challenge the elite, wealthy and all-white Harvard team in the national championship. Films like these challenged institutional racism in the 1950s and 1960s, but are still just as powerful today: it’s also probably no coincidence that Washington seems to be channeling both Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters on the score album’s CD cover. Read more…
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Jonny Greenwood
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
One of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of 2007, director Paul Thomas Anderson’s dramatic character study There Will Be Blood is based on the 1927 novel “Oil!” by Upton Sinclair, and charts the beginnings of the California oil industry. Daniel Day Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a single-minded and opportunistic businessman who, through a combination of bullying, charm, and actual genuine hard work, sets himself up as an oil baron. However, despite his financial and business success, Plainview remains a man with little else in his life, and his ruthless actions make him numerous enemies. Things come to a head when Plainview locks horns with the god-fearing Sunday family, whose land Plainview covets, and whose eldest son Eli (Paul Dano) proves to be more than a match for Plainview’s intimidating ways. The film, which also stars Ciarán Hinds, Kevin J. O’Connor and Dillon Freasier, had been the recipient of a huge amount of critical praise, and looks sure to be a major player at the 2007 Academy Awards. Read more…
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP – James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A delightful little fantasy with a Celtic lilt, The Water Horse is a children’s family film directed by Jay Russell. Set in Scotland, it follows the adventures of a little boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel), who befriends a rather unusual animal: an amphibious ‘water horse’, which causes much mischief and mayhem in the MacMorrow household, but also eventually becomes the source of a much-discussed legend – the Loch Ness monster. The film stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox and David Morrissey in the adult roles, and features a pleasant score from James Newton Howard. Read more…
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR – James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A political comedy-drama from director Mike Nichols and writer Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson’s War tells the outrageously true story of former Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a minor political player in Ronald Reagan’s administration who, through a series of contrived circumstances, finds himself part of a covert plot to supply the Afghan mujahaddin freedom fighters with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. The film also stars Julia Roberts as conservative fundraiser and lobbyist Joanne Herring, Philip Seymour Hoffman as shady CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, and Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Om Puri and Ned Beatty in smaller roles; the film was a critical success, but never really took flight with audiences, and ended up being one of the least-lucrative box office films of Tom Hanks’s career. Read more…
NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS – Trevor Rabin
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Considering the monumental success of the original National Treasure movie, it was almost inevitable that a sequel would be made – and so here we are again, with Jon Turteltaub directing Nicolas Cage as adventurer Ben Gates – although this time he’s trying to get his hands on a mythical “book of secrets” which, if found, will uncover the truth about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and exonerate his great-great-grandfather from the accusations that he collaborated with John Wilkes Booth, the great president’s killer. Along for the ride this time around are Jon Voight, Ed Harris, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel, Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger, as is composer Trevor Rabin, who scored the original. Read more…
P.S. I LOVE YOU – John Powell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A downbeat romantic comedy from director Richard La Gravenese, P.S. I Love You stars Hilary Swank as Holly Kennedy, a happily married young woman whose life is shattered when her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) dies; However, before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly’s birthday in the form of a cake, along with a tape recording from Gerry telling her to get out and “celebrate herself”. In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure. The film also stars Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters, Kathy Bates and Harry Connick Jr., and features a whimsical, touching score from John Powell. Read more…
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET – Stephen Sondheim
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The resurgence of the Broadway movie musical in recent years, off the back of Award-winners like Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Dreamgirls, and this year’s popular Hairspray, is a pleasing one indeed, at least from my perspective. Classic musicals from the golden age of Hollywood, however much they may be considered passé today, were nevertheless hugely enjoyable escapist entertainments, and often introduced a number of showstopping ballads into public consciousness – and making stars of the singers in the process. Whether the new adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd will have the same popular impact remains to be seen – the story is perhaps a little to outlandish to truly cross over – but, from a purely musical perspective, it is an absolute masterpiece. Read more…
THE KITE RUNNER – Alberto Iglesias
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Another powerful drama based on a hugely important and successful novel, director Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner examines 30 years of the history of Afghanistan – from the downfall of the historical monarchy, through the Soviet years, to the stifling influence of the Taliban and beyond – from the point of view of two young friends, Amir and Hassan, whose fates diverge dramatically as a result of a seemingly innocuous childhood incident.
The score for The Kite Runner is by Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias, and as one might expect a fair amount of the score contains the increasingly-familiar Middle Eastern inflections, in the writing, the orchestration, the rhythms and the vocal effects Read more…
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH – Osvaldo Golijov
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
An unusual and highly personal drama from director Francis Ford Coppola, Youth Without Youth is based on the novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade, and stars Tim Roth as 70-year-old linguist and philosopher Dominic Matei who, dismayed by the onset of World War 2 and unable to finish his life’s work, contemplates suicide. However, after Matei is struck by lightning, he wakes up to discover that he has miraculously made a full recovery, has been rejuvenated with the body of a 35-year-old man, and can store limitless amounts of information in his brain simply by passing his hand over a book… a phenomenon that quickly becomes famous within the scientific community, and which sends the Gestapo and Hitler’s top scientists in his direction. Read more…
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS – Christopher Lennertz
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Ever since those adorable little critters, the Chipmunks, first burst onto airwaves and screens in the United States in the 1950s, they have been a mainstay of American popular culture. Over the years the anthropomorphic trio – Alvin, Simon and Theodore – and their human manager David Seville have enjoyed numerous hit records, featured in TV shows both animated and live action, and now feature in a new movie directed by Tim Hill, starring Jason Lee, and featuring the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney.
Alvin and the Chipmunks was one of the surprise box office hits of 2007, taking in over $200 million domestic. It’s also by far the biggest film to date of Christopher Lennertz’s career Read more…
I AM LEGEND – James Newton Howard
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Dear reader, I would like to ask you a question. Which sort of film frustrates you more: a film that is bad from start to finish, or a good film that features some bad moments? I find myself picking the latter. I can sit through a stupid movie and accept it for what it is… it’s often a painless and clinical experience for me. However, when a movie is as frequently good as “I Am Legend” is, it really hurts me to see it turn sour. “I Am Legend” is often such a thoughtful popcorn movie that you might as well not even bring the popcorn. It’s a big-budget extravaganza that spends most of it’s time paying attention to more important things than explosions. Most of it’s time. Read more…
ATONEMENT – Dario Marianelli
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A romantic drama based on the acclaimed 2001 novel by Ian McEwan, Joe Wright’s film Atonement is a period drama about lies, regret, and redemption. Keira Knightly and James McAvoy star as Cecilia and Robbie, two young lovers in 1930s England whose blossoming relationship is halted by the intervention of Cecilia’s 13-year-old sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan), who accuses Robbie of a heinous crime – but is he guilty, or simply the victim of a young girl’s fantasy? As a result their two lives diverge: Robbie becomes a soldier, fighting on the beaches of Dunkirk in World War 2, while Cecilia becomes a nurse caring for the sick and injured returning from the trenches. Briony, meanwhile, grows up to become a successful novelist – but is continually haunted by the consequences of her childhood actions. Read more…
THE GOLDEN COMPASS – Alexandre Desplat
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
One of the most successful, popular and well-respected children’s fantasy books in history, Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials is a breathtaking, intelligent examination of religion, science and philosophy presented as a fantasy adventure tale, which features a young girl as its protagonist. New Line Cinema’s big-screen version of the first novel, The Golden Compass, is an ambitious attempt to condense Pullman’s expansive vision into box-office gold, and if all goes well will be the first installment of a three-film series. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as Lyra Belacqua, a young girl in an alternate-reality England, whose best friend Roger is kidnapped by The Magisterium, a mysterious organization allied to the Church, led by the icily evil Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman). Teaming up with a group of ragtag stragglers known as the Gyptians, and Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellen), the deposed king of the Panserbjørne (a race of intelligent armored polar bears), Lyra journeys to the frozen north of the Arctic to save her friend – but encounters a greater adventure than she could have ever imagined. The film has a stellar cast, including Daniel Craig as Lyra’s adventurer uncle Lord Asriel, Jim Carter and Tom Courtney as the leaders of the Gyptians, Eva Green as the witch queen Serafina Pekkala, and Sam Elliott as the heroic hot air balloon pilot Lee Scoresby, as well as Ian McShane, Kathy Bates, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Christopher Lee and Derek Jacobi in smaller roles. Read more…
ENCHANTED – Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It occurred to me recently that Disney animated movies are entering a second period of decline. The first Golden Age lasted roughly 20 years from 1937 to 1959, and encompassed classics such as Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. After a lean period through the sixties, seventies and early eighties, the second Golden Age (Silver Age?) began with The Little Mermaid in 1989, and continued on through Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame – and it is probably no coincidence that this was also the time when Alan Menken was the King of the Mouse House’s musical department. Recently, though, their output has been lackluster at best; it’s highly unlikely that The Emperor’s New Groove or Chicken Little will be mentioned in the same breath as their esteemed predecessors. Again, and ignoring the horrible misfire that was Home on the Range, it’s also likely to be no coincidence that Alan Menken has largely been absent from their most recent efforts. Read more…
THE MIST – Mark Isham
Original Review by Clark Douglas
I’m a fan of director Frank Darabont. I like his steady direction, and I like the way he gives the characters in his films time to breathe. His adaptation of the Stephen King story “The Shawshank Redemption” is one of the most beloved films of all time, frequently being mentioned in the same breath as “Casablanca”. Darabont turned to King again for his next film, “The Green Mile”, a moving drama with some good characters. Yet another Stephen King story is the basis for Darabont’s latest film, “The Mist”. Unlike the first two King stories, “The Mist” is not an uplifting drama, but rather a straight-ahead horror story. I knew that the film would have to be different in tone than the first two King adaptations Darabont directed… but this? “The Mist” is absolutely bonkers. Read more…
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