Archive
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surviving a Columbine-like school tragedy in which her best friend was killed, finds herself becoming increasingly withdrawn and distant from her family, and increasingly wracked by survivors guilt, especially after attending a memorial service for the event.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…
21 – David Sardy
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A volatile thriller about the surprisingly dangerous world of counting cards in Vegas, 21 is the latest film from director Robert Luketic. Based on a true story, the film stars Jim Sturgess as MIT math genius Ben Campbell, who is recruited into an elite team of card-counting blackjack players by his professor, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). Ben, Micky and his team travel to Vegas each weekend and make thousands of dollars with consummate ease; however, despite having been seduced by his new decadent lifestyle, and despite his budding relationship with fellow card counter Jill (Kate Bosworth), Jim finds that the life of a Vegas card shark can be dangerous – especially when he crosses paths with ruthless casino ‘loss prevention’ officer Laurence Fishburne. Read more…
STOP-LOSS – John Powell
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In US military terminology, a stop-loss is the involuntary extension of a soldier’s active duty beyond their initial end of term of service date – in other words, the powers-that-be force them to return to active duty once their tour is up. Director Kimberly Pierce’s film is an examination of this controversial policy from the point of view of Iraq War veteran Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), who deserts his comrades and refuses to return to the front lines following the end of his deployment in the Gulf. The film, which also stars Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is an effective anti-war drama, exposing the US government’s apparent disregard for its servicemen. Read more…
SHUTTER – Nathan Barr
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Yet another entry into the annals of the “American remake of an Asian horror”, Shutter is the Hollywood studio version of a 2004 Thai film of the same name. Directed by Masayuki Ochiai, it stars Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor as Ben and Jane Shaw, a newlywed American couple who relocate to Japan when Ben lands a well-paid job as a corporate photographer. Soon after they arrive, while driving down a dark forest road, hit and apparently kill a young girl with their car; later, Ben begins noticing strange white blurs in his photographs, leading Jane to believe that dead girl is haunting them through spirit photography, and may be seeking vengeance. Read more…
BAJO LA MISMA LUNA/UNDER THE SAME MOON – Carlo Siliotto
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Under the Same Moon – also known in its native Spanish as La Misma Luna – is a road movie with a twist, about a young Mexican boy named Carlitos who, following the death of his grandmother, must find a way to cross the US-Mexican border to find his mother, Rosario, who has been living and working illegally in the United States. The film is directed by Patricia Riggen, stars Kate Del Castillo and Adrian Alonso, and features an original score by Italian composer Carlo Siliotto.
Despite having gained a little bit of international fame following his scores for The Punisher and Nomad, Siliotto remains a little bit of a peripheral figure in the film music world, but I sincerely hope that this changes soon, because Under the Same Moon is gorgeous Read more…
DOOMSDAY – Tyler Bates
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Doomsday is a very peculiar, genre-bending British action movie – part Mad Max, part Night of the Living Dead, part Escape from New York – directed by Neil Marshall, who previously made the hugely entertaining Dog Soldiers and The Descent. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, some years after Scotland has been quarantined due to the onset of a deadly virus. When the virus emerges in London, the corrupt political leaders send Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) to Scotland to find a cure, only to find that the country has become a lawless wasteland overrun by vicious punk rock marauders and armor-clad medieval warriors. The film also stars Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowall, and I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it on a mindless, purely visceral level.
Read more…
HORTON HEARS A WHO! – John Powell
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Though far from being a classic family film, “Horton Hears a Who” is far and away the most successful feature-length Dr. Seuss adaptation to date, easily topping the horrid “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat and the Hat” theatrical films. The film features the voice talent of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, and Seth Rogan. 20th Century Fox’s go-to guy for animated features in recent years has been the talented John Powell, who returns with yet another energetic effort here.
Powell supplies his trademark blend of zippy themes and slick orchestration, creating a rather entertaining if somewhat familiar listening experience. The themes are engaging enough, but Powell grabs the listener’s attention with the steady stream of eclectic curveballs he throws into the mix Read more…
SLEEPWALKING – Christopher Young
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
2007 was one of the best years of Christopher Young’s career in terms of his international profile, when he scored two of the highest grossing films of his career, Spider-Man 3 and Ghost Rider. Sleepwalking is a return to his indie roots; a coming-of-age drama directed by William Maher, the film stars Anna Sophia Robb as Tara, an 11 year old girl struggling to come to terms with her abandonment by her dropout mother Joleen (Charlize Theron), and the subsequent impact on Tara’s older brother James (Nick Stahl), who is left to pick up the pieces. As befits the film, Young’s score is small and intimate, making use of a reduced orchestra, augmented by solo guitar, solo piano, and ambient synth tones. Young has always been better than a lot of his contemporaries at making this kind of understated music interesting, and this is again the case here. Read more…
10,000 B.C. – Harald Kloser, Thomas Wander
Original Review by Clark Douglas
Director Roland Emmerich has a reputation for helming preposterously silly cinematic epics. Films such as “Stargate”, “Independence Day”, and “Godzilla” are the highlights of his resume. Despite the goofiness of all of these movies, it could be argued that they provided a small measure of carefree fun. Take that away, and the films are completely worthless. Guess what? Emmerich decided to start taking himself seriously with “10,000 BC”, and the result is the worst film the director has ever made.
Interestingly enough, the screenplay was co-written by Emmerich and composer Harold Kloser. The film tells the story of a young mammoth hunter who is forced to go to battle with some bad guys Read more…
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