PASSENGERS – Thomas Newman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Passengers is a romantic drama with a sci-fi twist, a love story amongst the stars with an unusual moral dilemma at its core, and with an action movie climax that stands at odds with much of the gentle comedy of the first half of the movie. Directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Jon Spaihts, the film stars Chris Pratt as Jim Preston, one of 5,000 colonists on board a state-of-the-art starship traveling to a new life on Homestead II, a distant planet. The journey takes 120 years, and the passengers are all in hibernation, but a malfunction on board the ship causes Jim to accidentally wake up 90 years early. After unsuccessfully trying to put himself back into hibernation, Jim resigns himself to his fate; despite having access to the ship’s luxurious facilities, Jim only has an android bartender (Michael Sheen) for company, and after a year of isolation decides to commit suicide. It is at this lowest point that Jim comes across Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence), a fellow passenger, whose cryo-tube is still working, and the film’s moral dilemma emerges: should Jim, who believes he has fallen in love, wake Aurora up for companionship, knowing that doing so will result in her never reaching Homestead II? Read more…
LION – Dustin O’Halloran, Volker Bertelmann
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Director Garth Davis’s film Lion is a warm-hearted real life drama based on the non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley and Larry Buttrose, which stars Dev Patel as a young Indian-Australian man caught between two cultures. As a child in rural India, 5-year old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) and his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) eke out a meager living, finding and selling rocks and cleaning trains. One day, Saroo accidentally finds himself stuck on a train bound for Calcutta; completely alone in a megalopolis of almost 15 million people, and with no way home, Saroo lives among the city’s homeless children until he is eventually taken in by an orphanage, who arrange for him to be adopted by an Australian couple, Sue and John Brierley (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). Twenty years later, the adult Saroo has forgotten much of the detail about his childhood, but gradually becomes obsessed with finding his birth parents, spending all his time feverishly searching Google Earth, and alienating his girlfriend Lucy (Rooney Mara). What emerges is a moving story about cultural identity, family, and the strength and dedication Saroo shows in trying to discover the truth about his past. Read more…
JACKIE – Mica Levi
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Jackie is an acclaimed biopic directed by Pablo Larraín, which looks at the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, the first lady of the United States, in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, in November 1963. The film stars Natalie Portman in the lead role, features Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and John Hurt in supporting roles, and has been the recipient of a great deal of critical praise, mostly for Portman’s dazzling central performance, but also for its score by British composer and songwriter Mica Levi. Read more…
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 7
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The seventh and final installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world returns to the Asian continent, and highlights a half dozen more outstanding scores from Japan and China. This set of reviews features everything from epic action fantasy films, sweet animated adventures, horror films, and historical dramas, and concentrates strongly on music by one particular composer who is writing some of the best film music anywhere in the world today, and who should be most more respected and acclaimed in the west: Naoki Sato.
Academy Award Nominations 2016
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 89th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2016.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- NICHOLAS BRITELL for Moonlight
- JUSTIN HURWITZ for La La Land
- MICA LEVI for Jackie
- DUSTIN O’HALLORAN and VOLKER “HAUSCHKA” BERTELMANN for Lion
- THOMAS NEWMAN for Passengers
These are the first Oscar nominations for Britell, Hurwitz, Levi, O’Halloran and Bertelmann, although Hurwitz did win the Golden Globe for Best Original Score earlier during the season. It is the 14th Oscar nomination for Newman, but he has never won, thus ensuring that this year’s winner will be a first time Oscar champion.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- JUSTIN HURWITZ, BENJ PASEK, and JUSTIN PAUL for “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land
- JUSTIN HURWITZ, BENJ PASEK, and JUSTIN PAUL for “City of Stars” from La La Land
- LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA for “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
- JOSHUA RALPH and GORDON SUMNER (STING) for “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story
- JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, MAX MARTIN, and KARL JOHAN SCHUSTER (SHELLBACK) for “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from Trolls
The winners of the 89th Academy Awards will be announced on February 26, 2017.
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 6
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The sixth installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films from Spain and Portugal. I have long been of the opinion that, pound for pound, the best film music in the world is being written on the Iberian peninsula, and this year’s nine entries more than confirm that theory yet again.
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 5
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The fifth installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films and television from my home country, the United Kingdom. This year’s crop of British beauties includes a lovely animation score from a respected veteran, an exciting drama score from an increasingly impressive talent, and several outstanding scores for television.
BAFTA Nominations 2016
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 70th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2016.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- JUSTIN HURWITZ for La La Land
- JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON for Arrival
- ABEL KORZENIOWSKI for Nocturnal Animals
- MICA LEVI for Jackie
- DUSTIN O’HALLORAN and VOLKER “HAUSCHKA” BERTELMANN for Lion
This is the third BAFTA nomination for Jóhannsson, and the second nomination for Levi. All the other four nominees are first-time recipients, although Korzeniowski did win a BAFTA TV Award in 2015 for his television score Penny Dreadful. None of the nominees have previously won a British Academy Film Award.
The winners of the 70th BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 12, 2017.
Golden Globe Winners 2016
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have announced the winners of the 74th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2016.
In the Best Original Score category composer Justin Hurwitz won the award for his score for the original musical La La Land. In his acceptance speech, Hurwitz said:
“Thank you, thank you. HFPA, everybody who worked on the movie, everybody at Lionsgate, all the LA musicians. I could start going through names, but I would have to pick and choose and leave so many names out, and then I would feel bad and then I would also start imagining that people were angry at me for not saying their names, so, just kind of across the board everyone who worked on the movie. I feel like it was the kind of movie where … well, first of all I was lucky to get to work, because it was a musical, I got to work with or at least know, pretty much all the departments, and there was just this spirit across the movie where people kind of worked harder than I think they’re used to working, and went to bed later than they’re used to going to bed, and wore more hats than they’re used to, and because I think we were all … we didn’t believe that this movie was getting made, and we didn’t believe that Damien had created something so unique that allowed us to put so much of ourselves into it, so, we didn’t want to take it for granted, and everybody worked so hard, and so passionately, so thank you to everybody, and this is very much appreciated.”
The other nominees were Nicholas Britell for Moonlight, Jóhann Jóhannsson for Arrival, Dustin O’Halloran and Volker “Hauschka” Bertelmann for Lion, and Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, and Benjamin Wallfisch for Hidden Figures.
In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul for their song “City of Stars” from La La Land.
The other nominees were Lin-Manuel Miranda for “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, James Osterberg (Iggy Pop), Daniel Pemberton, Stephen Gaghan, and Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) for “Gold” from Gold, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Schuster (Shellback) for “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Trolls, and Stevie Wonder, Ryan Tedder, and Francis Farewell Starlite for “Faith” from Sing.
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 4
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The fourth installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films from Scandinavia, one of the world’s most impressive sources of excellent scores. One score from Finland, one score from Sweden, and a veritable plethora of scores from Norway are showcased this year.
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 3
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The third installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films from Eastern Europe. Here you will find two scores from Russia – one by a complete newcomer, one by an esteemed veteran – plus one score from Romania (via France and Israel), and three scores from Poland, all of which were written by one of that country’s film music rising stars.
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 2
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The second installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films from Western Europe – in this instance, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands (Spain & Portugal, and the UK will get their own pages later!). The film music covered in this installment includes several outstanding dramatic works, animated films, fantasy action adventures, and more!
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2016, Part 1
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
The first installment in my annual series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world concentrates on music from films from the Asian continent – in this first case, Japan, China, Vietnam, Korea, and Israel. The film music coming from the Eastern hemisphere is among the best being written anywhere in the world right now, and my first look at the area features five scores by some of my favorite contemporary composers, including Naoki Sato, Christopher Wong, and one especially impressive newcomer. There will be more to come from Asia later!
ROGUE ONE – 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.
When the Walt Disney company bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, the company’s new CEO Kathleen Kennedy announced that not only would they continue the Star Wars story by releasing episode seven, The Force Awakens, in 2015, but that they had also commissioned a handful of spin-off stories that flesh out the Star Wars cinematic universe and focus on side-stories not directly connected to the main saga. The first of these is Rogue One, written by Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy, John Knoll, and Gary Whitta, and directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards. Although strictly not a part of the linear Star Wars saga, the film can be considered an immediate prequel to the original 1977 film, as it tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance took possession of the plans to destroy the original Death Star. Read more…
MOONLIGHT – Nicholas Britell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Moonlight is a critically acclaimed drama film from director Barry Jenkins, which follows the life of a young black man growing up under difficult circumstances in contemporary America. As a child, “Little” Chiron deals with bullies, and a an abusive relationship with his crack-addicted mother, but finds a father figure in the shape of Juan, a crack dealer who takes him under his wing and shows him more love and compassion than his family. Later, as a teenager, Chiron continues to suffer an abusive home life, while simultaneously struggling to find himself as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love while grappling with his own sexuality. The film is based on the stage play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and stars Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali, who appears to be the front runner for the 2016 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Read more…
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