THE SIMPSONS MOVIE – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Clark Douglas
By now the subject has been talked to death… but at a first glance, it is a little confusing that Hans Zimmer is scoring “The Simpsons Movie”. Why not Danny Elfman, who wrote the classic main theme for the television show? Was he not available, or uninterested, or what? And if not Elfman, why not Alf Clausen, who has been tirelessly writing fun music for the television show for nearly two decades? The choice of Zimmer probably comes from the fact that James L. Brooks has always been involved with the Simpsons, and Zimmer has had several successful collaborations with Brooks (“As Good as it Gets”, “I’ll Do Anything”, and “Spanglish”). Read more…
THIS IS ENGLAND – Ludovico Einaudi
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A gritty, challenging film from the critically acclaimed British filmmaker Shane Meadows, This Is England examines the skinhead subculture which permeated much of English society in the early 1980s from the point of view of a 12-year old boy named Shaun, whose adoption into a mischievous, but misunderstood skinhead gang in the northern English city of Nottingham provides the him with a new family who understands him better than his one at home does. Featuring, as usual, a cast of unknown amateur actors, Meadows’ film is a reflection on one of the most turbulent periods in recent British history, whose political and social outlook was shaped by events like the Falklands War, the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher, and the influence of the punk movement on the music scene. Read more…
HAIRSPRAY – Marc Shaiman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Marc Shaiman took a break from the film scoring world in the early 2000s to embark on a Broadway career in the company of his lyricist partner Scott Wittman. The result of their collaboration was Hairspray, a charming and effortlessly sunny musical based on the 1988 film by John Waters, about an overweight teenager named Tracy Turnblad who, in 1960s Baltimore, dreams of performing on a popular TV dance show. Huge acclaim and several Tony Awards later, and things have come full-circle with the movie version of Shaiman’s musical, with Shaiman adapting his own music for the screen. With a stellar cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, John Travolta in drag, and newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy, the movie version of Hairspray is a camp, nostalgic delight. The whole thing is steeped in late-50s and early-60s rock and roll, a sort of cross between American Bandstand and Grease, and is chock-full of toe-tapping tunes, clever lyrics, great vocal performances, catchy orchestral arrangements, and an overall sense of fun and vitality that just makes it a delight from start to finish. Read more…
SUNSHINE – John Murphy, Underworld
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A daring and somewhat cerebral sci-fi action movie from director Danny Boyle, based on the novel by Alex Garland, Sunshine stars Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh as part of a team of astronauts who, fifty years in the future, embark on a dangerous and potentially suicidal mission: to attempt to re-ignite the Sun, whose internal energy has been slowly dying, and as a result is also a threat to all life on Earth. It’s a fascinating premise – sort of like the flip side to Armageddon – but which was not entirely successful, with some critics citing its pseudo-religious overtones and slightly mis-handled action scenes as stumbling blocks on the way to success. Read more…
CAPTIVITY – Marco Beltrami
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Despite being reviled by pretty much every film critic who saw the film, Captivity nevertheless managed to become a popular and successful underground hit, and a memorable entry in the ‘torture porn’ sub-genre of horror films. Somewhat unexpectedly, the film is directed by Roland Joffé, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of The Mission and The Killing Fields, and stars Elisha Cuthbert as Jennifer Tree, a popular tabloid Hollywood starlet who awakens to find herself a prisoner in a grubby cellar, being systematically tortured by an attacker whose motives are unclear. And, basically, that’s it. Young Miss Cuthbert spends the movie enduring one sickening physical and psychological attack after another, until the movie ends. And this is what passes for entertainment these days? Read more…
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX – Nicholas Hooper
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s always enormously gratifying when a new, untested composer gets a chance to score a major, high-profile studio film for the first time in their career. While others may have wrung their hands in anguish about Nick Hooper’s appointment to score the fifth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I always tend to see these things as a mouth-watering prospect, full of potential. Remember, Howard Shore was the creepy thriller composer before Lord of the Rings came along. Even John Williams was typecast as a silly comedy/disaster movie composer before two unknown directors called Steven Spielberg and George Lucas came along and got him to score their little movies. On Order of the Phoenix, it’s the daunting shoes of Williams that Hooper has to fill, which is no mean feat in itself, and his career may fly or flounder purely on the response to his score for, and the box-office performance of, this film. Read more…
OCEAN’S THIRTEEN – David Holmes
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The third of director Steven Soderbergh’s crime capers, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon reprising their roles from the previous films, Ocean’s Thirteen sees the erstwhile Danny Ocean and his gang of affable crooks attempting to sabotage the grand opening of a new Vegas casino owned by the nefarious Willy Bank (Al Pacino), in retaliation for a goon attack on Ocean’s friend Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould).
With a stellar cast and general air of good-natured bad boys having fun, the music for the film is a perfect reflection of the mood of the piece. Irish composer David Holmes returns, having scored the previous two installments; however, whereas Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 12 tended to sound like random instrumentals Read more…
RESCUE DAWN – Klaus Badelt
Original Review by Clark Douglas
I’ve been watching the third season of the surprisingly wonderful American version of “The Office” on DVD. Those of you who don’t know anything about the show, bear with me… I’ll talk about the music in a second. Anyway, there’s this one episode where the ever-hungry Kevin is attempting to decide whether to go to the office party where all the fun is, or the office party with brownies and cupcakes being held by the most un-fun lady in the office (named Angela). Kevin looks at the camera, and ponders aloud… “Hmm… Brownies (smile)… Angela (frown)… Brownies (smile)… Angela (frown).” Read more…
TRANSFORMERS – Steve Jablonsky
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Fanboys are funny creatures. On the one hand they are often derided for being misguidedly devoted to a particular composer to the point of obsession, and dismissed by film music ‘elder statesmen’ as being ignorant or – worse still – indifferent to the Golden Age glories of the past, or of any kind of musical endeavor outside their narrow genre preferences. On the other hand, they are also the lifeblood of the mainstream soundtrack industry, gleefully lapping up the latest new releases from the top of the box office charts, spending their money and spreading their enthusiasm far and wide, investing in the market, and thereby allowing it to thrive. One thing you can’t ignore is the power of their collective voices – as evidenced by this rather belated release of Steve Jablonsky’s score for the 2007 summer blockbuster Transformers, which exists thanks, in a large part, to the incessant clamoring for it by the aforementioned fanboys. Read more…
EVENING – Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A thoughtful film about life, death and regret, based on the popular novel by Susan Minot, Evening stars Vanessa Redgrave as Ann Lord, an old woman at the end of her life, being cared for by her two daughters, Nina and Connie (Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson). As Ann lies in bed, waiting for the inevitable, her mind wanders back to a pivotal moment in her life: the summer of 1955, when as a young woman (Clare Danes) she attended the Rhode Island wedding of a friend, and was forced to make a decision which ultimately shaped the rest of her life. But was it the right one? As she ponders her choices, she imparts a long-held secret to her enthralled daughters, the repercussions of which are felt far and wide. With a stellar supporting cast that includes Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Eileen Atkins, and Close’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer, Lajos Koltai’s film is a moving and dramatic character study that is much more than simply a “chick flick”. Read more…
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD – Marco Beltrami
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A rather belated fourth entry into the Die Hard franchise, 12 years after the last installment (Die Hard With a Vengeance), Live Free or Die Hard sees Bruce Willis back as John McClane in the role which made him an 80s action star. Here, McClane is an aging NYPD cop with a teenage daughter who is forced to do battle against an Internet-based terrorist organization who is systematically shutting down the technological capabilities of the entire United States, plunging the country into crisis.
The film also stars Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long and Hong Kong action star Maggie Q, and features a bombastic score from Marco Beltrami. The late, great Michael Kamen’s musical fingerprints were all over the first three movies in the Die Hard franchise Read more…
RATATOUILLE – Michael Giacchino
Original Review by Clark Douglas
First of all, let me say that I often have trouble just getting past the opening of this album… because I love it so very much. It’s a song called “Le Festin”, performed in French by Camille, and written by Michael Giacchino. It’s one of those lovely tunes that can make a hot room feel cool and a cold room feel warm. You know the sort of song… the kind that makes flat-footed klutzes like me feel like dancing, the kind of song that makes you want to rush out and kiss someone (my co-workers have grown increasingly uncomfortable around me over the past couple of months). Read more…
1408 – Gabriel Yared
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
An effective little horror movie directed by Mikael Håfström and based on a short story by Stephen King, 1408 stars John Cusack as Mike Enslin, a man who specializes in debunking paranormal phenomena and supernatural occurrences. While researching a new book, and in attempt to disprove another myth, he checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel in New York, which has a grisly and famous history. Despite the misgivings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), Mike settles in… and soon finds that not all fables are fake.
I can’t think of the last time Gabriel Yared scored a horror movie – or even if he’s ever done one – but the results on 1408 are pretty impressive. A string orchestra augmented by synths is the order of the day Read more…
EVAN ALMIGHTY – John Debney
Original Review by Clark Douglas
A kinder, tamer follow-up to the semi-controversial comedy “Bruce Almighty”, Tom Shadyac’s “Evan Almighty” takes one of the small supporting characters from the original film (played by Steve Carell) and turns him into the lead character. Morgan Freeman once again returns to play God, and the supporting cast includes John Goodman, Wanda Sykes and Lauren Graham. The film contains an even heavier spiritual element than the first, with God instructing Senator Evan Baxter to build an ark, for purposes that shall remain a secret. Read more…
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER – John Ottman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The popular sequel to the 2005 super-hero movie Fantastic Four, ‘Rise of the Silver Surfer’ sees super heroes Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis returning to do battle with another super-hero from another galaxy – the titular Silver Surfer – whose intergalactic travels invariably result in the destruction on whichever planet he visits. I wasn’t a huge fan of John Ottman’s score for the first Fantastic Four movie, and criticized it for its desperate over-use of choir and for the general limpness of the main super-hero theme. Two years later, and I’m afraid the problems haven’t really been fixed. Read more…
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