THE LOST CITY – Pinar Toprak
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Lost City is a fun throwback action-adventure romcom directed by the Nee brothers Adam and Aaron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox, from a story conceived by Seth Gordon. It’s an intentional homage to 1980s movies like Romancing the Stone, and stars Sandra Bullock as Loretta Sage, a depressed romance novelist who is kidnapped by a multi-billionaire played by Daniel Radcliffe; he believes that her latest book contains genuine archaeological information that will help him locate a long-lost treasure, missing for generations on a remote island. However, Loretta’s airheaded book cover model Alan (Channing Tatum) – who adopts a Fabio-esque persona and the pseudonym Dash McMahon – tracks Loretta to the island and embarks on a daring rescue mission that takes the mis-matched couple on an epic journey through the island’s jungles. The film is a light, breezy, funny, entertaining romp, featuring some terrific physical comedy from Bullock, and a hilarious cameo from Brad Pitt as an ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative hired to help Alan find Loretta. It received popular acclaim from audiences and critics, who mostly enjoyed the central relationship between Bullock and Tatum, and praised their screwball chemistry. Read more…
BASIC INSTINCT – Jerry Goldsmith
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Basic Instinct was one of the most commercially successful but socially controversial films of 1992. A murder-mystery thriller with strong sexual content, the film was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven. Michael Douglas starred as San Francisco police detective Nick Curran, who becomes involved in an intense sexual relationship with Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a mysterious and confident novelist, despite the fact that she is the prime suspect in the murder of her wealthy rock star boyfriend, who was stabbed to death with an ice pick while in flagrante. The film, which co-starred George Dzundza and Jeanne Tripplehorn, was controversial for several reasons – for its depiction of the ‘heroic detective’ as an amoral cocaine addict, for its brutal violence (including the opening murder and a subsequent rape sequence), and especially for its explicit sexual content, which included the now notorious scene where Sharon Stone flashes her vagina at police officers during an interrogation. Of course there had been successful mainstream erotic thrillers before – Dressed to Kill, Body Heat, Nine ½ Weeks, Fatal Attraction, and Jagged Edge, which Eszterhas also wrote – but Basic Instinct caught a wave of popularity and social zeitgeist, becoming one of the biggest grossing films of the year, and catapulting Sharon Stone to stardom. Read more…
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2022, Part 1
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The new year has hopefully brought a new lease of life to world cinema, and at the end of the first quarter of 2022 I’m absolutely delighted to present the latest instalment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world. This article covers nine scores for projects from all over the globe, and includes dramatic TV series from Kuwait and Japan, an exploration of childhood nostalgia and a contemporary action-thriller from France, a giallo thriller from Italy, a fantasy epic from Russia, a religious drama from Spain, and an intimate drama from Denmark, among others!
BLACK PATCH – Jerry Goldsmith
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
The genesis of the film lay with producer-director-writer-actor George Montgomery best known for his work in the Western genre. In February 1957 he announced his latest project, “Decision At Sundown” based on an original screenplay by Leo Gordon. The title was later changed to “Black Patch”. His own production company Montgomery Productions would finance the project, with Allen Miller tasked with production as well as directing. A fine cast was assembled with Montgomery starring as Marshall Clay Morgan. Joining him would be Sebastian Cabot as Frenchy De Vere, Diane Brewster as Helen Danner, Tom Pittman as Flytrap (Carl), Leo Gordon as Hank Danner, House Peters Jr. as Holman Lynn Cartwright as Kitty and Jorge Trevino as Pedoline. Read more…
THE OUTFIT – Alexandre Desplat
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Outfit is the directorial debut of the Oscar winning screenwriter Graham Moore, who took home the golden boy for the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game in 2014. The film is set in Chicago in the 1950s, and stars Mark Rylance as Leonard Burling, an English tailor who runs a store in a neighborhood protected by the Irish mob. Leonard’s store is overrun one night by Richie, the son of mob boss Roy Boyle, and Boyle’s chief enforcer Francis, with Ritchie having been shot by a rival gang. So begins an edge-of-seat thriller involving FBI informants, secret tapes, personal bitterness and rivalries, double-crosses, and murders, as Leonard tries to negotiate his way out of his difficult circumstances, outwit the mobsters who all seem to have hidden agendas, and make it to morning alive. The film is anchored by a bravura performance by Rylance, who has received plaudits from critics, and is ably supported by Zoe Deutsch, Dylan O’Brien, Johnny Flynn, and Simon Russell Beale. Read more…
RUBY – John Scott
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
November 22, 1993, marked the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, and in the years leading up to that memorial several films and TV shows were made looking at the details surrounding the event. The JFK assassination had fascinated the American public for decades, and the stories and conspiracy theories surrounding it had become stock-in-trade for filmmakers and authors. The most high profile film made during that period was JFK, written and directed by Oliver Stone and released in late 1991, but the spring of 1992 saw another film about the event – Ruby, directed by John Mackenzie. It takes a look at the life of one of the other important figures of the event: Texas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who shot and killed JFK’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement garage of a Dallas city police station two days after JFK’s death. The film starred Danny Aiello as Ruby, and has a supporting cast that included Sherilyn Fenn, Arliss Howard, David Duchovny, and Tobin Bell. Read more…
UNCHARTED – Ramin Djawadi
Original Review by Christopher Garner
Uncharted is a long-delayed action-adventure film based on a video game franchise (that was in turn inspired by Indiana Jones), but this new film feels more like National Treasure than anything else. It tells the story of Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), a young thief who meets Sully (Mark Wahlberg), a seasoned treasure hunter that used to work with Nate’s long-lost brother. Nate teams up with Sully to find Magellan’s lost treasure and encounters plenty of bad guys and double-crosses along the way. Critics have been hard on the film, but I thought it was more fun than its tomatometer score would suggest, despite the ridiculous finale. Uncharted is directed by Ruben Fleischer, who helmed the Zombieland films and the first Venom film, and it has probably done well enough at the box office ($330+ million) to get a sequel, though none has been announced yet. Read more…
A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Franz Waxman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
MGM Studios decided that they wanted to bring the 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens to the big screen. They secured the film rights and assigned Joseph L. Mankiewicz to production. Hugo Butler was hired to adapt the novel and write the screenplay, however, the studio insisted that the final product be a “Family Film” as was its historic practice with literary adaptations. As such, much of the grimmest, and scariest elements of Dicken’s tale was excised, which robbed the film of much of its potent social commentary. Edwin L. Marin was tasked with directing and after recasting the lead actor role, a great cast was assembled, including Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge, Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit, Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit, Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim Cratchit and Barry MacKay as Fred. Read more…
Academy Award Winners 2021
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the winners of the 94th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2021.
In the Best Original Score category composer Hans Zimmer won the award for his score for Dune, the epic science fiction adventure based on the classic novel by Frank Herbert, directed by Denis Villeneuve. This is Zimmer’s second Oscar, him having previously won for The Lion King in 1994. Zimmer was not present at the ceremony to accept the award as he was in the middle of his concert tour in Europe, but he later posted a video on his official Facebook page in which he made an impromptu speech – while dressed in pyjamas and a bathrobe! – in the lobby of his hotel in Amsterdam, and said:
“Who else has pyjamas like this! Actually, let me say this, and this is for real: had it not been for you, and most of these people in this room, this would never have happened. You know it I mean, had it not been for Guthrie [Govan]’s amazing bagpipe, had it not been for Loire [Cotner]’s incredible vocal, had it not been for all the incredible musicians in this band, all the musicians in my life, who have given me the confidence to go and do these things. And had ultimately it not been for Denis Villeneuve quietly one day saying to me ‘have you ever heard of a book called Dune?” and I instantly knew I had found a soulmate. I mean, seriously, usually you discuss things with a director, with Denis, he starts a sentence I finish it, I start a sentence he finishes it, so… you know… that! That’s it!”
The other nominees were Nicholas Britell for Don’t Look Up, Germaine Franco for Encanto, Jonny Greenwood for The Power of the Dog, and Alberto Iglesias for Parallel Mothers.
In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for “No Time to Die” from the James Bond film of the same name.
The other nominees were Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Darius ‘Dixson’ Scott for “Be Alive” from King Richard, Lin-Manuel Miranda for “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto, Van Morrison for “Down to Joy” from Belfast, and Diane Warren for “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days.
STREET ANGEL – Luting He
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Director-Actor-Screenplay writer Yuan Mushi was seeking to direct the second film of his career. As part of his vision, he wrote a screenplay in support of China’s “Left Wing Movement” in cinema, which sought reveal the harsh struggle and bitter life of the poor urban underclass. Filmed during tumultuous times against the backdrop of the Second Sino-Japanese war, the film proved to be trendsetting by its innovative use of thematic music, singing, and choreographed art. Yuan secured financial backing and distribution support from the Mingxing Film Company. Yuan would also direct the film, and brought in a fine cast, including Zhou Xuan as Xiao Hong, Zhao Huishen as Xiao Yun, Zhao Dan as Chen Shaoping, and Wei Heling as Wang. The film would be the company’s last as it was shut down by the war. Read more…
WIND – Basil Poledouris
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In the years immediately prior to his death in 2006, composer Basil Poledouris essentially retired from scoring and moved from the Los Angeles area to Vashon Island, off the coast of Seattle, Washington, where he indulged in his second greatest passion after music: sailing. Many composers are well known for their non-film music endeavors. Alan Silvestri owns a vineyard and makes his own wine, for example, and James Horner famously (and tragically) loved flying vintage planes. Once in a while the two passions are able to intersect, and for Poledouris that happened with the only score he wrote in 1992 – Wind. The film is a romantic adventure set in the world of America’s Cup yachting, which stars Matthew Modine and Jennifer Grey, and was directed by Carroll Ballard. The film is mostly forgotten today, but film music fans would be remiss if they forgot Poledouris’s score for it, because it allowed him to fully embrace the emotional rush that sailing provided for him, and inspired him to write one of his most personal scores. Read more…
ANOTHER DAWN – Erich Wolfgang Korngold
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1935 Warner Brothers Studio executive Jack L. Warner decided that the 1919 play “Caesar’s Wife” by W. Somerset Maugham offered opportunity for a big screen adaptation. He purchased the film rights, provided a budget of $552,000, and would personally join Harry Joe Brown and Hal B. Wallis in producing the film. William Dieterle was tasked with directing and sought to capitalize on rising star Errol Flynn by casting him as Captain Denny Roark. Bette Davis was originally cast to play Julia Ashton Wister but her suspension by the studio resulted in Kay Francis winning that role; they were joined by Ian Hunter as Colonel John Wister. Read more…
BAFTA Winners 2021
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have announced the winners of the 75th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2021.
In the Best Original Music category, the winner was Hans Zimmer, who won the award for his work on the sci-fi epic Dune, based on the classic novel by Frank Herbert. This was Zimmer’s first BAFTA win, but he was not present in London to accept the award as he was on tour in Europe with Hans Zimmer Live.
The other nominees were Nicholas Britell for Don’t Look Up, Alexandre Desplat for The French Dispatch, Jonny Greenwood for The Power of the Dog, and Daniel Pemberton for Being the Ricardos.
WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD – Rachel Portman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Where Angels Fear to Tread was one of several cinematic adaptations of novels by the British writer E. M. Forster in the 1980s and early 1990s, the others being A Passage to India, A Room With a View, and Howard’s End. Like all of Forster’s work it is a scathing examination of the British class system, its rigid mores and morals, and how those formal rules butt up against the passions bubbling underneath the proverbial stiff upper lips. This film adaptation is directed by Charles Sturridge and stars Helen Mirren as Lilia, a recent widow who travels from London to Tuscany in 1905 with her young companion Caroline (Helena Bonham-Carter). Shockingly, Lilia falls in love with a handsome and roguish Italian named Gino (Giovanni Guidelli), marries him, and falls pregnant, much to the dismay of her conservative and status-obsessed siblings (Rupert Graves and Judy Davis) back in England. As the two halves of the family fight over Lilia’s perceived unsuitable relationship, especially as it relates to the future of her unborn child, the disagreements quickly turn to tragedy for all involved. The title comes from the famous line in Alexander Pope’s 1711 poem ‘An Essay on Criticism’: for fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Read more…
SCL Award Winners 2021
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has announced the winners of the third annual SCL Awards, honoring the best in film and television music in 2021. The SCL is the premier professional trade group for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working in the motion picture, television, and game music industry, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The winners are:
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM
- GERMAINE FRANCO for Encanto
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM
- DANIEL HART for The Green Knight
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION OR STREAMING PRODUCTION
- CRISTOBAL TAPIA DE VEER for The White Lotus
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR VISUAL MEDIA – DRAMA/DOCUMENTARY
- BILLIE EILISH and FINNEAS O’CONNELL for “No Time to Die” from No Time to Die
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR VISUAL MEDIA- MUSICAL/COMEDY
- NICHOLAS BRITELL, ARIANA GRANDE, SCOTT MESCUDI, and TAURA STINSON for “Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
- HILDUR GUÐNADÓTTIR and SAM SLATER for Battlefield 2012
DAVID RAKSIN AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT
- STEPH ECONOMOU
SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION AWARD
- ETHAN COEN, JOEL COEN, and CARTER BURWELL
Shop at the Movie Music UK Store
Member of the
MOVIE MUSIC UK 