Archive
THE ROCK – Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
One of the major summer blockbusters of 1996, The Rock is possibly the epitome of mid-1990s cinematic excess. Directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, it is a massive action epic of ridiculous proportions, self-important and serious but also somehow incredibly good fun, and it helped solidify Bay and Bruckheimer’s hyper-kinetic, testosterone-fueled, purposefully stylized aesthetic as the default for box-office smashes for several years thereafter. The film stars Nicolas Cage as FBI chemical weapons specialist Stanley Goodspeed, who is called into action to stop General Francis Hummel (Ed Harris). Hummel is a highly decorated Marine who has become increasingly bitter over the U.S. government’s refusal to acknowledge or compensate the families of soldiers killed during covert military operations. Hummel and a group of similarly disillusioned Marines steal a cache of VX nerve gas rockets, seize control of the former prison on Alcatraz Island, and take a group of tourists hostage, threatening to launch the weapons at San Francisco unless the government pays $100 million in reparations to the dead soldiers’ families. Read more…
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME – Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I’m going to make a statement here that might be controversial, but here goes. I think that the score for The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz is the greatest piece of music ever written for a Disney animated feature, going all the way back to 1937 and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Yes, that includes Pinocchio and “When You Wish Upon a Star,” that includes The Jungle Book and “The Bare Necessities,” that includes The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas, and all the others. It is, for me, the most sophisticated, the most dramatically intelligent, the best orchestrated, the darkest, and the most mature of all the Disney scores, and the fact that it isn’t better loved, or better respected, by fans of the genre is, in my opinion, a huge oversight. Read more…
INDEPENDENCE DAY – David Arnold
THROWBACK THIRTY
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When I look back at the time now, it’s increasingly clear to me that the years between 1994 and 1996 were formative in terms of how they shaped my taste in both film and music. Those were the years when I was really let loose on the world of cinema for the first time, enjoying a huge variety of movies and film scores, and many of the films I saw during those 36 months remain some of my all-time favorites. As such, it’s also important to recognize that I tend to look back at that period through rose-tinted glasses, and it’s with that in mind that I come to Independence Day. Read more…
COURAGE UNDER FIRE – James Horner
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Courage Under Fire is a military drama directed by Edward Zwick and written by Patrick Sheane Duncan. Set in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the story follows Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington), whose career and conscience are shaken after he accidentally destroys a friendly U.S. tank during combat, killing one of his own men. To restore his standing, Serling is assigned to investigate whether Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), a helicopter commander killed in Iraq, deserves to become the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor. As Serling interviews the surviving members of Walden’s crew, he discovers that every witness offers a different version of the fatal battle. Some describe Walden as a fearless leader who repeatedly risked her life to protect her soldiers, while others claim she lost her nerve under fire, leading to confusion and tragedy. Determined to uncover the truth despite pressure from military officials eager for a politically convenient decision, Serling pieces together the conflicting accounts and, in doing so, confronts his own wartime guilt and begins to find redemption. Read more…
DRAGONHEART – Randy Edelman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dragonheart was one of the most ambitious fantasy-adventure films of the 1990s. Directed by Rob Cohen and based on an original story by Charles Edward Pogue and Patrick Read Johnson (rather than an existing novel or legend), it starred Dennis Quaid as Bowen, a medieval knight who loses faith in both kings and dragons after his young pupil Einon (played by David Thewlis as an adult) grows into a cruel tyrant despite having his life saved by dragon magic as a child. Years later, Bowen – who now works as a dragon slayer – encounters Draco, the last surviving dragon on Earth, voiced with immense charisma by Sean Connery. When Bowen learns that Draco and Einon literally share the same heart, they form an unlikely friendship and later join forces with rebel leader Kara (Dina Meyer) to overthrow Einon and restore peace to the kingdom. Read more…
THE PHANTOM – David Newman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Phantom is a superhero adventure film directed by Simon Wincer, based on the classic comic-strip character created by Lee Falk in 1936. The film stars Billy Zane as the masked hero known as “The Ghost Who Walks.” The story follows Kit Walker, the latest in a centuries-long line of heroes who assume the identity of the Phantom to fight piracy, crime, and corruption. Operating from the fictional African nation of Bengalla, the Phantom battles ruthless businessman and criminal mastermind Xander Drax (Treat Williams) and his seductive femme fatale henchwoman Sala (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who are searching for three mystical skulls said to grant immense destructive power. Alongside his former love Diana Palmer (Kristy Swanson), Kit races across jungles, oceans, and New York City to stop Drax from unleashing chaos. Read more…
TWISTER – Mark Mancina
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The summer of 1996 contained some of the best and most crowd-pleasing blockbuster movies of the entire decade, and the one that kick-started the trend was Twister. Directed by Jan de Bont and written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, it stars Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as Jo Harding and her estranged husband Bill, both meteorologists and tornado researchers, who reunite during a massive storm outbreak in Oklahoma. Along with a ragtag team of eccentric storm chasers – played by character actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Jeremy Davies, and Oscar-nominated director Todd Field – and with Bill’s entirely unprepared new fiancée Melissa (Jami Gertz) along for the ride, they race to deploy “Dorothy,” an experimental device designed to collect data from inside a tornado, while facing competition from a rival group of storm chasers led by the smarmy Jonas (Cary Elwes). As increasingly powerful tornadoes form, Jo and Bill must confront both the dangers of the storms and the unresolved tensions in their relationship. Read more…
EXECUTIVE DECISION – Jerry Goldsmith
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Executive Decision is a rather far-fetched and very silly high-concept action thriller built around a hijacked airplane and a ticking bomb, directed by veteran film editor Stuart Baird, in what was his directorial debut. The film centers on a high-stakes crisis when a commercial airliner is hijacked by a group of terrorists demanding the release of a captured leader. What initially appears to be a political hostage situation quickly escalates when authorities discover the plane is carrying a highly dangerous weapon, putting countless lives at risk if it reaches its destination. In response, a specialized military team is assembled, led by U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal), which carries out a daring midair operation to secretly board the aircraft. One of the team members is intelligence analyst David Grant (Kurt Russell), who becomes an essential part of the mission despite having little field experience. Once aboard, the team must work carefully to assess the situation, deal with the unpredictable hijackers, and find a way to regain control of the plane without triggering disaster. Read more…
MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND – Hans Zimmer, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Several years before he and Klaus Badelt effectively redefined the musical sound of the Hollywood swashbuckler with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Hans Zimmer dipped his toes into the genre with a very different kind of pirate movie: Muppet Treasure Island, directed by Brian Henson. It is very loosely based on the famous 1883 novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and follows the adventures of young Jim Hawkins, who discovers a mysterious map that leads to a legendary pirate treasure. He joins a sea voyage to search for it, traveling with a crew that includes the charming but mutinous Long John Silver and the more forthright Captain Smollett. As the journey unfolds, Jim realizes not everyone can be trusted, and danger grows as secrets and rival loyalties emerge on the island. The twist, of course, is that the majority of the cast is comprised of members of the Muppets, notably Kermit the Frog as Captain Smollett and Miss Piggy as a gender-swapped Benjamina Gunn, the queen of a native tribe of pigs. The human cast stars young Kevin Bishop as Jim and Tim Curry as Silver, plus Billy Connolly and Jennifer Saunders in supporting roles. Read more…
FARGO – Carter Burwell
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Fargo is a groundbreaking crime drama written, directed, produced, and edited by filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. It is a masterpiece of 1990s cinema, a brilliant film that merges noir-style crime storytelling with pitch-black humor. The central figure in the story is Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a financially desperate car salesman in Minneapolis who is deeply in debt and eager to get his hands on money without alerting his wealthy father-in-law, Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell). In a reckless scheme, Jerry hires two criminals – Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi), a talkative con man, and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), a silent and intimidating enforcer – to kidnap his wife, Jean. Jerry’s plan is to have Wade pay a large ransom, from which he intends to secretly skim a portion. The kidnapping initially goes according to plan, but things unravel almost immediately when Gaear kills a highway patrol trooper, as well as two witnesses who happen upon the scene. Enter Marge Gundersen (Frances McDormand), the pregnant police chief of Brainerd, Minnesota. With her calm demeanor, sharp intuition, and methodical approach, Marge begins investigating the roadside murders. She quickly notices inconsistencies and starts connecting the crime to a suspicious vehicle and, eventually, to Jerry’s dealership – at which point he begins to panic and desperately tries to cover his tracks. Read more…
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL – Thomas Newman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Up Close & Personal is a romantic drama film directed by Jon Avnet that sought to turn the then-incandescent star power of Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer into Hollywood gold. The film was written by husband-and-wife team Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne – highly acclaimed, prize-winning journalists – and was originally intended to be an adaptation of Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch, a 1988 book about the troubled life of American news anchor Jessica Savitch. However, over the course of many years and numerous revisions, the film was altered substantially to the point that the finished product bears almost no resemblance to Savitch’s life. Read more…
BEFORE AND AFTER – Howard Shore
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
It’s always fascinating to me how a movie, on paper, can have the absolute best possible pedigree in terms of filmmaking and acting talent, and yet completely flop at the box office and immediately fade into obscurity. Before and After is one of those films. It’s directed by Barbet Schroeder, who received an Oscar nomination for directing Reversal of Fortune in 1990, and later went on to make Single White Female in 1992. It was adapted from the original novel by Rosellen Brown by Ted Tally, who won an Oscar for writing The Silence of the Lambs. The cast is led by Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson, alongside Alfred Molina and Edward Furlong, fresh from his breakout role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Read more…
MARY REILLY – George Fenton
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review byJonathan Broxton
In the mid-1990s there were a series of big-budget Hollywood films which adapted classics of the horror genre to the big screen, with the most famous being Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992 and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1994. One of the films which is now somewhat forgotten is this one: Mary Reilly, an adaptation of a 1990 novel by Valerie Martin, which was itself inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The twist here is that this story is told from the point of view of Henry Jekyll’s housemaid, the Mary of the title, who falls in love with her master, but then makes an enemy in the form of Jekyll’s “assistant,” Edward Hyde. The film stars Julia Roberts as Mary, John Malkovich as Jekyll and Hyde, and has an excellent idiosyncratic supporting cast that includes Michael Sheen, Glenn Close, and Michael Gambon, plus British TV stalwarts like George Cole of Minder and Kathy Staff of Last of the Summer Wine. It was written by Christopher Hampton and directed by Stephen Frears, who had previously worked together on Dangerous Liaisons in 1988. Read more…
CITY HALL – Jerry Goldsmith
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
An underrated movie co-written by Nicholas Pileggi, the former investigative journalist best known for his work on Goodfellas, City Hall is a political crime thriller directed by Harold Becker. Set against the murky political landscape of New York City, the film stars Al Pacino as Mayor John Pappas and John Cusack as his idealistic deputy mayor, Kevin Calhoun, alongside a supporting cast that includes Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, and then-recent Oscar winner Martin Landau. The story begins with a tragic shooting in which a young boy is killed during a botched police operation targeting a suspected Mafia figure. The incident appears to be a routine case of excessive force, but Calhoun begins to suspect that the circumstances surrounding the event are more complicated than they initially appear. As he digs deeper, Calhoun uncovers a tangled web of connections linking the police department, the district attorney’s office, organized crime figures, and even members of the mayor’s own administration. Read more…
HEAT – Elliot Goldenthal
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Widely considered one of the best action thrillers of the 1990s, and notable for marking the first time that legendary actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino appeared together in the same scenes on screen (they were both in The Godfather Part II but did not feature in the same scenes), Heat follows the intense cat-and-mouse conflict between a meticulous professional thief and a relentless police detective in Los Angeles. De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a highly disciplined career criminal who leads a small crew of expert thieves. After a planned armored car robbery goes disastrously wrong, the gang attracts increased attention from law enforcement in the shape of Vincent Hanna (Pacino), an LAPD robbery-homicide detective. As Hanna becomes obsessively focused on tracking McCauley and his team – alienating his wife and daughter in the process – McCauley’s crew prepares for an even bigger and more dangerous bank heist, placing both men in each other’s crosshairs. Read more…
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