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GNOMEO & JULIET – Chris Bacon, James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
There’s not a lot you can say about gnomes, really. They’re ugly little buggers, with their pot bellies and their pointy hats and beards and pipes and fishing rods. They look benign, like little miniature Santa Clauses, but they have evil in their hearts, every one of them. Beloved the world over by seriously deluded expatriate Germans and middle-aged gardeners who have run out of things to do with their flowerbeds, they have become figures of ridicule, in British culture at least – but this hasn’t stopped Touchstone from making a feature length animated film featuring the loathsome little bastards. Incredibly, Gnomeo & Juliet takes the classic Shakespeare story of tragic romance and re-imagines it with gnomes and Elton John songs. Directed by Kelly Asbury, the film has attracted an astonishingly distinguished voice cast – James McAvoy as Gnomeo, Emily Blunt as Juliet, and supporting turns from Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters and Ozzy Osbourne – as well as a contribution from world famous rock artist Elton John. Read more…
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – Thomas Newman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Looking back over Thomas Newman’s career to date, it’s interesting to note how much his musical style has altered over the years. During the late 1980s and 1990s he was very much his father’s son; scores such as The Shawshank Redemption, Little Women, Oscar and Lucinda, Meet Joe Black and The Horse Whisperer showcased his lush, theme-driven, string-heavy music, and made him a popular favorite within the film music world. Then, in 1999, he wrote American Beauty, and from then on began his gradual transformation into a composer whose music relies on sound design, instrumental texture and unusual instrumental combinations than the straightforward orchestral through-composing that made many – including me – such an admirer. Since the turn of the millennium, for every Cinderella Man or Angels in America, there have been a half-dozen other “quirky” scores dominating his filmography: Erin Brockovich, White Oleander, In the Bedroom, Jarhead, Little Children, Revolutionary Road. These scores show flashes of the orchestral brilliance of which he is capable, but more often than not eschew the lyricism in favor of rhythm and texture, with very little thematic content to grab hold of. Unfortunately, The Adjustment Bureau is more of the same. Read more…
LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER/THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER – Philippe Sarde
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
La Princesse de Montpensier – The Princess of Montpensier – is a French period drama based on a classic novel by Madame de Lafayette and directed by Bertrand Tavernier. Set during a period of religious turmoil in 16th century France, the film stars Mélanie Thierry as Marie, a young noblewoman who falls in love with the dashing Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel). However, in order to further her father’s political ambitions, she is forced to marry instead the well-connected Philippe de Montpensier (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), a career soldier who quickly leaves for war. Left alone in the care of an aging nobleman, Marie soon finds her life becoming more complicated as she begins to encounter the different political – and sexual – manipulations of her new world. Read more…
AMÁLIA – Nuno Malo
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Amália da Piedade Rodrigues was a Portuguese singer and actress whose life and work helped popularize fado – a specific genre of Portuguese folk music – on a worldwide scale. From the 1940s until her death in 1999 Amália was known as Rainha do Fado (the Queen of Fado) and was immensely popular in her native country, selling hundreds of thousands of records. Carlos Coelho da Silva’s film Amália, which stars Sandra Barata Belo in the lead role, is the story of her life. Although the film played in theaters in Portugal in 2008, it is only just now beginning to surface in other countries; to coincide with this wider exposure, Moviescore Media has released the film’s score, by US-based Portuguese composer Nuno Malo. It’s absolutely wonderful. Read more…
LA HERENCIA VALDEMAR/THE VALDEMAR LEGACY – Arnau Bataller
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
La Herencia Valdemar is the first film of a two-part Spanish mystery-horror-thriller series written and directed by José Luis Alemán. Steeped in Lovecraftian imagery and themes, it stars Silvia Abascal as Luisa Lorente, an expert on inheritance tax relating to old buildings, who visits an enormous Gothic mansion called Valdemar to conduct an audit following the death of the owner. When she disappears in mysterious circumstances, her boss hires a private detective named Nicolás Tremel (Oscar Jaenada) to find out what happened to her. However, upon his arrival at Valdemar, Nicolás discovers much more than he bargained for – an-age old horror beyond imagination. The film, which also stars Daniele Liotti, Laia Marull and Rodolfo Sancho, was a popular success in it’s native Spain when it opened there in January 2010, but by far the most impressive aspect of the entire production is the score by 33-year old composer Arnau Bataller. Read more…
CLASH OF THE TITANS – Laurence Rosenthal
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
This film presents a classic Greek myth that tells the tale of the demi-god Perseus (son of Zeus) who secures the mandate of Heaven as he takes on an epic quest to slay the forces of darkness and rescue his love. The renowned master of stop motion animation Ray Harryhausen who was enamored with Greek and Arabic mythology conceived the film. MGM agreed to the project and provided a generous budget based on his previous successes with his three Sinbad films as well as Jason and the Argonauts. The film featured an all-star cast that included Laurence Olivier (Zeus), Maggie Smith (Thetis), Ursula Andress (Aphrodite), Burgess Meredith (Ammon), and the handsome newcomer Harry Hamlin as Perseus. The storytelling was first rate and the stop motion animation superb. While not a critical success, the film was a commercial success, more than covering its production costs of $15 million to make $41 million. Read more…
FLESH + BLOOD – Basil Poledouris
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Flesh + Blood was director’s Paul Verhoeven’s first American film as well as his first collaboration with Basil Poledouris. The tale is set in the darkness that was 16th century Europe during the era of the great plague. It stars Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tom Burlinson. Our ‘hero’ Martin (Rutger Hauer), who was commissioned by the King, leads a band of brutal mercenaries. When the King reneges on his deal, Martin and his band of men strike back by kidnapping Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is betrothed to Prince Steven (Tom Burlinson). They take control of a castle and prepare for the attack by royal forces under the command of the aggrieved Prince Steven. Fate would have it that Agnes begins to fall in love with Martin which brings her into conflict with Celine (Susan Tyrell) who also loves him. To say that this film excelled in graphic, gratuitous, brutal violence and carnal imagery is an understatement! Verhoven shows everything without restraint or shame, and the film is not for the squeamish. Commercially the film was a bust, with a production cost of $6,500,000 it grossed only $100,000. Read more…
BATMAN RETURNS – Danny Elfman
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Studios execs used a significant salary increase and offer of creative control to induce resistant Tim Burton to reprise his role and direct the next installment in the Batman franchise. Burton rejected a sequel, stating “I wanted to treat this like it was another Batman movie altogether.” So, a new Batman, new villains and a grim and darker Gotham City were introduced. The plot pits Batman against an evil tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), who seeks to enrich himself by monopolizing the city’s power supply, the pathetic deformed and inwardly mutated Penguin who harbors unresolved anger for being abandoned by his parents, and lastly the schizophrenic and mercurial Catwoman played by Michelle Pfeiffer. The film was not a critical success, however it was a commercial success and so spawned a third installment in the franchise. Read more…
STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER – Jerry Goldsmith
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Star Trek V is at its heart a mystical quest film concerned with a question that has aroused humanity’s curiosity for millennia. It explores our search for that sacred omphalos from whence we arose – the Garden of Eden. In metaphysics Eden symbolizes primordial perfection, the source of all life and the state of perfect communion between humanity and God. It is from this inner longing, this yearning that the saga which is Star Trek V unfolds. William Shatner lobbied very hard to direct the film and although he managed to win the directorship, he regretfully would not enjoy critical success. Production and financing problems forced a dramatic scaling back of the movie’s climactic scene where he had planned a dramatic display of immense stone gollums and the earth opening up to reveal scenes of Dante’s ten levels of Hell. It suffices to say that the lack of resources served to mortally wound the story’s narrative and resulted in what many believe to be the weakest film in the Star Trek franchise. Read more…
HOME ALONE – John Williams
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Writer-producer John Hughes, best known for his 80’s teen movies “16 Candles”, “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” conceived a new twist on the holidays when he took on “Home Alone”. The story opens with the McAllister family preparing for a Christmas vacation in Paris, France. As the family is packing, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) gets into a scuffle with his older brother Buzz and is sent to his room on the third floor. As the out of control family rushes to depart the next morning, Kevin is somehow overlooked and left “Home Alone.” When Kevin awakes and finds himself alone he makes the best of it, as any kid would, by having fun, eating pizza, making a mess and jumping up and down on his parents’ bed. The real fun begins however when Kevin discovers two burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) planning to rob his house on Christmas Eve and devises all sorts of booby traps and outrageous schemes to defend his house at all costs. The film stretched credulity from the start, but through its slap-stick humor, Christmas sentimentality and Culkin’s endearing screen persona, it won the hearts of the public and became a huge commercial success. The film made Culkin an instant star, spawned a sequel and to this day remains an enduring holiday favorite. Read more…
TRUE GRIT – Carter Burwell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
True Grit is the latest film from Joel and Ethan Coen, the writing-directing-producing brothers who brought us such classic movies as Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou and No Country For Old Men. True Grit is a new version of the well-respected 1968 novel by Charles Portis which chronicles the adventures of grizzled marshal Rooster Cogburn at the end of the Wild West era in the 1920s, who is hired by 14-year-old Mattie Ross to track down the drifter who murdered her father. John Wayne won his first and only Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Cogburn in the original 1969 version of the story. This time around, the cast features Jeff Bridges in the leading role, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin in supporting roles, and an original score from the Coens’ regular composer, Carter Burwell. Read more…
BEN-HUR – Miklós Rózsa
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
This 1959 film version of General Lew Wallace’s best-selling novel achieved Oscar legend as it went on to win 11 Academy Awards including Best Score for Miklós Rózsa. The film tells the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur, played in exemplary fashion by Charlton Heston, who lives in Judea with his family during the time of Jesus Christ circa 33 C.E. Judah’s childhood Roman friend Messala returns to Judea as an ambitious Tribune intent on achieving fame and his destiny at any cost. When Judah refuses to provide Messala with the names of local Jewish dissidents, an offended Messala contrives a pretext to exact a terrible revenge. Messala orders the arrest of Judah and his family on patently false charges. Judah is then condemned to certain death on the Roman galleys, while his mother and sister are given life imprisonment.
Doomed to die chained to a galley oar, Judah’s hatred and the desire for vengeance fuels his will to live. Soon the hand of fate intervenes and he gains his freedom. Empowered with the help of a Roman General and a wealthy Arab sponsor he returns to Judea and challenges Messala to a chariot race. In an epic struggle Judah emerges triumphant while Messala lays defeated on the track, his body mangled irreparably by horses that trampled him. Meeting for a last time as surgeons wait to amputate Messala’s legs, Judah realizes the hollowness of his victory, of how unquenching it is to drink from the cup of revenge. He leaves Messala to death and rescues his family from a leper colony. Later he sees them cured as the pounding rains born of the crucifixion storm cleanses the sores from their bodies. Read more…
THE KING’S SPEECH – Alexandre Desplat
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The United Kingdom suffered one of its worst constitutional crises in living memory in the early 1930s. Following the death of King George V, his eldest son David ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII, but his insistence on marrying Wallis Simpson – a commoner, a divorcee, and worst of all an American – brought criticism from the political and religious leaders of the time. Forced with a choice between his kingdom and the woman he loved, Edward chose the latter, leaving his younger brother Bertie to reluctantly take over as King George VI. However, suddenly becoming the monarch of over a third of the world’s population did not sit well with the new king, who was forced to deal with two issues at the beginning of his reign: firstly, the growing influence of German chancellor Adolf Hitler threatening peace in Europe, and secondly the King’s own terrible stutter, which often rendered him literally speechless on important occasions. To counteract the latter, the King sought out the help of an unconventional Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Director Tom Hooper’s excellent film The King’s Speech tells the story of the unconventional friendship of the pair; it stars Colin Firth as George VI, Geoffrey Rush as Logue, and Helena Bonham-Carter as Queen Elizabeth, Guy Pearce as Edward, and Michael Gambon as the ailing George V. Read more…
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER – David Arnold
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third contemporary film based on the Chronicles of Narnia saga by C. S. Lewis. Directed by Michael Apted, it tells the story of the two youngest Pevensie children, Lucy and Edmund, who return to the fantastical land of Narnia with their insufferable cousin Eustace to assist the noble Prince Caspian and the heroic mouse warrior Reepicheep aboard the royal ship, the Dawn Treader. Caspian is attempting to solve the mysterious disappearance of eight Narnian lords in the remote islands of the Western seas, and must do battle with slave traders, sea serpents, dragons, and the spectral legacy of the Snow Queen along the way. The film stars Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes and Will Poulter, the voice work of Liam Neeson and Simon Pegg, features cameos from Tilda Swinton, Anna Popplewell and William Moseley, and has an original score by David Arnold. Read more…
JADE – James Horner
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Weintraub Entertainment purchased the script for Jade from the famous writer Joe Eszterhas, who had gained earlier acclaim and commercial success for sexual thrillers such as Jagged Edge and Basic Instinct. Paramount Studios eventually came to select William Friedkin (of The Exorcist and The French Connection fame) to direct. The film deals with a woman’s secret life and a classic love triangle consisting of psychologist Dr. Katrina Gavin (played by Linda Florentino), her husband Matt Gavin (played by Chazz Palminteri) and politically ambitious District Attorney David Corelli – her ex-boyfriend – played by David Caruso. Read more…
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