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…
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY – George S. Clinton
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The sequel to the surprise 2004 hit Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay sees the two perennial stoners – John Cho and Kai Penn – attempting to travel to Amsterdam so Harold can pursue a budding romance with his neighbor Maria (Paula Garces). After running into Kumar’s old girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris) and her obnoxious fiancèe at the airport, Kumar remembers his old feelings for her and decides to try to win her back. However, when Kumar is mistaken for a terrorist, the pair are sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp – from which, as the title of the film suggests, they must escape. Read more…
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – Danny Elfman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Watching Danny Elfman grow into a sophisticated and technically excellent film composer over the last few years has been one of the most satisfying parts of reviewing soundtracks. His score for Standard Operating Procedure – a devastating documentary by Errol Morris about the appalling events surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison torture abuse scandal in Iraq in 2004 – is probably the most mature and intellectual film score of his entire career.
Morris usually hires Philip Glass to score his films, so it perhaps comes as no surprise that a shorthand way of describing Standard Operating Procedure is ‘Elfman doing Glass’, but should in no way insinuate that Elfman is merely copying Glass Read more…
THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES – James Horner
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Life Before Her Eyes is a quietly devastating drama based on the novel by Laura Kassischke, directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Uma Thurman as a woman who, 15 years after surviving a Columbine-like school tragedy in which her best friend was killed, finds herself becoming increasingly withdrawn and distant from her family, and increasingly wracked by survivors guilt, especially after attending a memorial service for the event. It’s a moving, gently shattering motion picture which features a standout performance by Thurman, and solid support by young actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Eva Amurri. Read more…
PATHOLOGY – Johannes Kobilke, Robert Williamson
Original Review by Clark Douglas
I didn’t see “Pathology”, but most critics seem to agree that it’s yet another dreary horror film without much artistic merit. Starring Milo Ventimiglia of “Heroes”, the film tells the grisly tale of a group of doctors using their medical skills to perform nasty murders. Most film scores for this sort of thing tend to be incredibly boring unless they’re being written by the likes of Christopher Young. Sadly, “Pathology” is no exception.
The music is provided by composers Johannes Kobilke and Robert Williamson, who both had a breakout year in 2008; in addition to “Pathology”, they were also given the horror film “The Midnight Meat Train”. Read more…
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM – David Buckley
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Martial arts fans got a small treat during the summer of 2008 when popular genre stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li appeared together in “The Forbidden Kingdom”. The film received generally positive reviews, and was warmly received by most moviegoers. The score was provided by relative newcomer David Buckley, who had previously scored some very minor features and written additional music for several films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams.
As you might have guessed at this point, Buckley comes from Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control factory, but his work on “The Forbidden Kingdom” proved to a be a bit more inspired than one might expect. Read more…
THE VISITOR – Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Original Review by Clark Douglas
If you missed “The Visitor”, I strongly suggest giving it a look. It’s a very fine independent drama starring the wonderful Richard Jenkins, who gives one of the finer performances of his increasingly compelling career. The film also receives a score from Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won an Oscar for his pretty “Finding Neverland” score. The win didn’t appear to do Kaczmarek any favors, as he hasn’t exactly received many high-profile scoring assignments. While I don’t think Kaczmarek deserved an Oscar win in the first place, he’s certainly a talented composer who typically provides very pleasant albums of music. For “The Visitor”, Kaczmarek provides a low-key chamber music score that is sentimental without ever getting too soppy. Read more…
LEATHERHEADS – Randy Newman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
George Clooney’s third film as a director – Leatherheads – is a real departure from his first two efforts, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night and Good Luck. Whereas those films were serious political dramas, Leatherheads is a light-hearted 1920s caper about the early days of professional American football. Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, captain of the struggling Duluth Bulldogs, who convinces a good looking college football star and war hero, Carter “the Bullet” Rutherford (John Krasinski), to join his team. However, before long, the two men find themselves competing for the attentions of Chicago newspaper reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), a stereotypical flapper whose beauty belies her hard-bitten journalistic temperament. Read more…
NIM’S ISLAND – Patrick Doyle
Original Review by Clark Douglas
The rather silly family adventure film “Nim’s Island” tells the story of a young girl (Abigail Breslin) who is stranded on a deserted island when her father (Gerard Butler) is lost at sea. The girl requests the assistance of her favorite author (Jodie Foster), who in turn reluctantly attempts to rescue the young child.
The “Romancing the Stone”-influenced flick is scored by Patrick Doyle, who provides a perfectly pleasant lightweight action score. Things begin on a bit of a predictable note, with a sweet main theme for piano, strings, and acoustic guitar. It’s a nice piece, if not especially memorable. It pops up every now and then, but the album features a reasonably diverse array of thematic ideas. Read more…
Shop at the Movie Music UK Store
Member of the
MOVIE MUSIC UK 