so, 2007 is over, another year of movies and scores bites the dust… but before we get into the business of giving out awards and deciding who was the best at what, here’s a recap of everything we at Movie Music UK heard and saw in the past 12 months, including some which didn’t get coverage at the time.
CODE NAME: THE CLEANER 
GEORGE S. CLINTON
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Code Name: The Cleaner as heard in the film.
FREEDOM WRITERS 
MARK ISHAM
Review by Jonathan Broxton. There have been a lot of ‘inspirational teacher’ movies over the years – from Goodbye Mr. Chips to Dead Poets Society to Dangerous Minds – and director Richard La Gravenese’s Freedom Writers is the latest to join that list. Hilary Swank stars as pedagogue Erin Gruwell, who takes up a post at a tough inner-city school, and seeks to change her students lives for the better through writing, poetry, the power of words inspirational stories about the Holocaust. A fairly well-received drama, the film also stars Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn and Imelda Staunton. As befits the gritty urban setting, Isham peppers his familiar dramatic orchestra writing with a healthy dose of hip-hop, working in collaboration with former Black Eyed Pea William Adams, better known as will.i.am. Isham’s score is generally soft and introspective, making lovely use of intimate piano writing and a lush string wash, and occasionally featuring acoustic guitars prominent within the orchestral mix, although some cues adopt a vibrant jazz/funk theme reminiscent of something Lalo Schifrin, or Isaac Hayes, might have written in the 1970s. “Museum of Tolerance”, “Mies Giep” and “You Are My Hero” are especially noteworthy pieces, working a solemnly beautiful violin solo which works as a recurring leitmotif to highlight the plight of the six million which is so important to the story. The commercial soundtrack, which was a popular crossover success, features three Isham cues – “Riots”, “Eva’s Theme” and “Anne Frank” – alongside a number of rap and hip-hop tracks from artists such as Talib Kweli, Cypress Hill and Common. Isham’s personal score promo features 14 score tracks, amounting to just under 25 minutes of music.
TRACK LISTING (PROMO): 1. Eva’s Theme (1:50), 2. Riot (2:05), 3. Line Game (1:45), 4. Museum of Tolerance (2:37), 5. Hotel Dinner (2:17), 6. Miguel’s Diary (1:44), 7. Miep Gies (0:51), 8. You Are My Hero (1:34), 9. I Want to Come Home (1:46), 10. Eva Testifies (2:17), 11. Breakup (2:18), 12. Twelve Angry Men (0:49), 13. Last Meeting (1:11), 14. Anne Frank (1:40) [Promo, 24:32].
HAPPILY N’EVER AFTER
PAUL BUCKLEY
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Happily N’Ever After as heard in the film.
ALPHA DOG
AARON ZIGMAN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Alpha Dog as heard in the film.
PRIMEVAL
JOHN FRIZZELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Possibly one of the most mis-marketed movie in history, director Michael Katleman’s film Primeval had the tag-line “inspired by the true story of the most prolific serial killer in history” – and actually turned out to be about a giant crocodile in South Africa attacking a news crew who are in town to cover the story. The film which stars Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones and a slumming Jürgen Prochnow, was generally badly received, and did very little business at the international box office. Composer Frizzell’s score is actually very effective and ominous, considering its tawdry subject matter, blending traditional orchestral and electronic writing with the traditional Burundian musical story-telling technique inanga chochotee, where a soloist plays a low pitched harp and whispers in an ominous tone, as well as powerful Burundian drumming. Several tracks overlay African vocals over a tumultuous orchestral performance to create a sense of action and menace, while cues such as “Shaman’s Blessing” use the Burundian drumming and vocals to unnerving effect. Some of the action cues – “Jojo Alive” for example – are also pretty exciting, often overlaying rapid electronic beats over the orchestra. However, for all its geographical authenticity and despite the great effort Frizzell clearly made to make his score appropriate, its difficult to shake the feeling that Primeval is still little more than a fairly run-of-the-mill action/thriller score, with very little true originality to offer the listener. The soundtrack for Primeval was not released commercially, but was made available as an 18-track promo by Frizzell’s publicists at Costa Communications.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Mass Graves (2:04), 2. Peace Keeper (1:26), 3. Happy Village (0:44), 4. At Krieg’s House (1:30), 5. Krieg’s Pain (1:19), 6. Shaman’s Blessing (2:21), 7. Humping Cage (1:00), 8. The Dart (2:54), 9. Shaman’s Head (2:57), 10. Jojo Alive (2:11), 11. What Happened? (1:27), 12. Krieg Shot (2:23), 13. Lekker Fish (1:26), 14. Matt Gets Killed (1:04), 15. I Hate Africa (2:56), 16. Mr. T vs. Mr. Man (1:33), 17. Beeper Speeds (1:42), 18. Flying Home (1:04). [Promo, 31:46].
CASHBACK
GUY FARLEY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Director Sean Ellis’s remake of his own 2004 Oscar-nominated short film, Cashback is a vivid drama about a young man named Ben who, after a painful breakup, develops insomnia, and begins working the late night shift at the local supermarket. While his mind wanders and his sanity begins to crack, Ben’s artistic imagination runs wild – after a while, he begins to think he can stop time in its tracks, and undress women with his eyes so he can sketch their portraits! The film stars Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Shaun Evans and Michelle Ryan, and features a lovely score from up-and-coming British composer Guy Farley. After a lush rendition of the Vincenzo Bellini’s famous aria “Casta Diva” from his 1831 opera Norma, Farley’s score proves to be quiet and understated, with soft, mournful piano chords and delicate strings dominating the proceedings. Once in a while the orchestra rises to thematic, dramatic heights, notably during the fourth cue; while in other cues Farley’s piano takes on a lush, painfully romantic flourish, making this score a delightful and unexpected surprise which earmarks Farley as a talent to watch in future. In addition to the score, the CD features an unexpected burst of Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter” from The Planets Suite in Track 9, a second helping of Bellini in Track 14, plus couple of modern songs, two of which – “Inside” by Bang Gang and “She” by Grand Avenue – are actually quite superb. The soundtrack album for Cashback is not commercially available; Farley’s promo of the score features 16 unnamed tracks, running just over half an hour. The CD does, however, feature one of the more striking cover art images in many years!
TRACK LISTING: 16 unnamed cues. [Promo, 34:40].
CATCH AND RELEASE
BRIAN TRANSEAU and TOMMY STINSON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A gentle romantic drama starring Jennifer Garner and directed by Susannah Grant, Catch and Release follows the fortunes of young thirtysomething Gray Wheeler (Garner), whose idyllic life is thrown into turmoil when her fiancé is accidentally killed on his bachelor party weekend. Struggling to come to terms with the loss, as well as the fact that she may not have known her husband-to-be as well as she thought she did, she turns to his three best friends, Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), Dennis (Sam Jaeger) and Sam (Kevin Smith), to help her move on. Trance music composer Brian Transeau, better known as “BT”, teamed up with Guns ‘n’ Roses bass player Tommy Stinson to write Catch and Release’s score – which, considering the backgrounds of the composers – turned out to be light and undemanding, with little or no influence from either the trance music or metal scene. Synths, strumming acoustic guitars and soft pianos dominate proceedings, and as befits the tone of the film, the music is hopeful, subtly upbeat and reconciliatory. Cues such as “Fritz and Gray”, “Ski Skates Mellow”, “River Opening” and “Fritz Leaves” are all quite attractive in their way, but sound more like soft country-rock instrumentals than a traditional film score, and ultimately don’t leave much of an impression once the CD has elapsed its 34 minute running time. It’s very different from the aggressive music BT wrote for The Fast and the Furious in 2001, and different again from the vaguely threatening ambiences he provided for Monster in 2003, but it at least provides something of a new side to the man from Maryland.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Bathroom Intro (0:19), 2. Mr. Yummy (1:16), 3. Grady’s House (2:43), 4. Lawyer’s Office (0:35), 5. Maureen’s Messages (1:05), 6. Fritz and Gray Walk the Creek (1:58), 7. Ski Skates Mellow (0:35), 8. Gray Removes Ring (1:13), 9. Gray Overhears Maureen (1:00), 10. Candlelight Dinner (1:12), 11. Gray’s Confessions (2:32), 12. River Opening (1:17), 13. Gray Ties Mattie’s Shoe (2:18), 14. Gray and Fritz Cook (2:07), 15. Massage Montage (1:00), 16. Sweet Nothings (2:04), 17. Dennis and Persephone Date (1:34), 18. Farmers Market (1:52), 19. Planer Fight (0:44), 20. Fritz Leaves (1:44), 21. Not His Kid (1:28), 22. Maureen Apologizes (2:21), 23. Gray’s Memorial Speech (1:13). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6679, 34:11].
EPIC MOVIE
EDWARD SHEARMUR
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Epic Movie as heard in the film.
SMOKIN’ ACES
CLINT MANSELL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Smokin’ Aces.
BECAUSE I SAID SO
DAVID KITAY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A romantic comedy which is one part sweet and entertaining, yet one part highly irritating, director Michael Lehmann’s chick flick was one of the successes of the early part of the year. Mandy Moore stars as Milly Wilder, a young chef whose lackluster love life is cause for concern for her overbearing, overprotective mother Daphne (Diane Keaton); so, in a last-ditch attempt to finally find a dream husband for her daughter, Daphne begins auditioning potential suitors, and forces straight-laced architect Jason (Tom Everett Scott) in Milly’s direction. Meanwhile, and without Daphne’s knowledge, Milly begins dating jazz musician Johnny (Gabriel Macht) – the polar opposite of Jason, but in whom Milly sees a future… The sweet and entertaining parts all revolve around Mandy Moore, who is a talented comedic actress with a sweet smile and an appealing screen presence. The irritating parts all revolve around Diane Keaton, who is simply awful: screechy, chaotic, and whose physical comedy timing seems to have completely abandoned her. The score for Because I Said So is by rom-com veteran David Kitay, who seems to recapturing some of his 1980s glory off the back of hits such as this film, Bad Santa and Date Movie. Kitay’s music is light and unassuming, focusing expressive acoustic guitar writing to capture the modern setting, occasional sensitive string and piano writing for the more low-key romantic moments, and several boisterous and jazzy romps for when Diane Keaton is doing her schtick (“Computers”, “Spy Mom”). There’s often a distinct calypso vibe, notably in the infectious “Weddings and Things”, while cues such as “Chemistry” and “Mothers Love Advice and Boy” are more emotionally. The widely-available song CD features a series of actually highly enjoyable cuts, notably the groovy “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall, and several by the classic all-girl R&B group The Shirelles, while the less-widespread score CD features 25 brief but enjoyable cues from Kitay.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Love Is Coming (1:11), 2. Weddings and Things (1:16), 3. Ice Cream Can Be Cold (1:56), 4. Please Talk To Me (2:42), 5. Hearts and Hands (1:37), 6. God Invented Mothers (1:20), 7. Pretty Windows Maybe (2:03), 8. Candlesticks (2:31), 9. Answer It and Talk (1:13), 10. Personals and Other Looks (1:34), 11. Your Kid (0:48), 12. I Never Did (1:22), 13. Your What (1:03), 14. Chemistry (1:35), 15. What Kind Of Oil (0:50), 16. Clean Lines and Wishes (1:26), 17. Computers (1:52), 18. Spy Mom (1:37), 19. Mothers Love Advice and Boy (4:26), 20. Bracelets and Boys (0:40), 21. Conference Calls (1:13), 22. Be Right There (0:46), 23. Whistling Couch (2:29), 24. There Is Time For You (1:02), 25. I Should’ve Known It Was He (1:40). [Bulletproof Records BPF 1022,40:12].
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS
JANE ANTONIA CORNISH
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Island of Lost Souls.
HANNIBAL RISING
ILAN ESHKERI and SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Hannibal Rising as heard in the film.
NORBIT
DAVID NEWMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Norbit.
BREACH
MYCHAEL DANNA
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Breach as heard in the film.
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
AARON ZIGMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Bridge to Terabithia.
GHOST RIDER
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The first of Christopher Young’s two major 2007 releases, Ghost Rider is a super hero movie with a twist. Directed by Mark Steven Johnson and starring Nicolas Cage, Peter Fonda, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott and Wes Bentley, the film follows the life of daredevil stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze (Cage). When his father falls terminally ill with cancer, Blaze strikes a deal with the devil: his soul to save his father’s life. The deal, however, backfires on Johnny, turning him into a skeleton-headed motorbike-riding demon with a blazing inferno raging from his skull and hands! If this sounds all a bit hokey, you could well be right, but the fight between Cage’s urban cowboy superhero and Bentley’s evil son-of-the-devil strikes the right balance between over the top action and downright silliness. As befits the character, Young treats his protagonist almost as a modern day cowboy outlaw, cruising around the West on his trusty hog. The score is low, bass-heavy, action-packed, and makes liberal use of a throng of electric guitars which grunt down in the mix and underpin the entire work. The opening track, “Ghost Rider” is quite magnificent, a full-on gothic orchestral powerhouse with dark, trilling brasses and a powerful choir which hearkens back to the days of Hellraiser. Unfortunately, the rest of the score doesn’t maintain the same level of intensity, only even coming close during the driving “More Sinister Than Popcorn”, the operatic “Blood Signature”, and the conclusive, Latin chant heavy “The West Was Built on Legends”. The romantic theme, first heard in “A Thing for Karen Carpenter” is sweet and lush, with a prominent acoustic guitar element, “San Veganza” sounds like a refugee from a Morricone western with its lonely solo trumpet refrain, and some of the action cues, notably “Cemetery Dance” and “Nebuchadnezzar Phase” are impressive in their volume and intensity, although some of them do come across more like Metallica rock instrumentals than a traditional film score.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Ghost Rider (3:16), 2. Blackheart Beat (3:06), 3. Artistry in Death (4:13), 4. A Thing for Karen Carpenter (2:01), 5. Cemetery Dance (5:31), 6. More Sinister Than Popcorn (5:40), 7. No Way to Wisdom (2:15), 8. Chain Chariot (6:18), 9. Santa Sardonicus (3:36), 10. Penance Stare (5:26), 11. San Venganza (3:22), 12. Blood Signature (2:08), 13. Serenade to a Daredevil’s Devil (1:53), 14. Nebuchadnezzar Phase (5:52), 15. The West Was Built on Legends (3:59). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6789, 58:36].
MUSIC AND LYRICS
ADAM SCHLESINGER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Music and Lyrics as heard in the film.
AMAZING GRACE
DAVID ARNOLD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Amazing Grace.
THE ASTRONAUT FARMER
STUART MATTHEWMAN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Astronaut Farmer as heard in the film.
THE NUMBER 23
HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. I’m always excited when Jim Carrey plays is straight, having witnessed his superb performances in films like The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and The Majestic; however, his run of dramatic successes had to end eventually – and end it did, with director Joel Schumacher’s paranoiac thriller The Number 23. Carrey plays oridinary family man Walter Sparrow, a dog catcher for the Department of Animal Control, with a loving wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen), and a teenage. However, after Agatha buys an odd novel with the central premise concerning the number 23 as a birthday gift for Walter, his life quickly unravels: he becomes obsessed with the story, believing the mystery about the number 23 to be true, and finding many coincidences and parallels between the book and his own life. Harry Gregson-Williams’ music creates an unsettling aural world of fear and confusion. Nervous, skittery string work overlaid with a plethora of moody electronic effects build an atmosphere of chaos and suspicion. Martin Tillman’s electric cello, plus various other wailing string instruments, keep the listener teetering on the edge of sanity, while being called beyond it by sampled cooing choral effects. “Fingerling’s Childhood” offers the album’s only melodic respite, and thereafter the score settles down into a rhythm of muted orchestral performances overlaid by electronic percussion, sampled vocal effects, and surprisingly effective ethnic flutes, which somehow give the score an unusual, exotic tinge. It’s not easy listening by any means – the score is dense, and claustrophobic, and never really allows the listener chance to process the off-kilter noises, but its effective in context. The conclusive cue, “Atonement”, while remaining true to the style of the score which preceded it, adopts a darkly satisfying orchestral sweep to bring things to a fine finish.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (3:51), 2. Fingerling’s Childhood (3:02), 3. Suicide Blonde (7:31), 4. Ned (2:56), 5. 11:12 p.m. (3:58), 6. Finishing The Book (9:03), 7. Laura Tollins (3:17), 8. Room 23 (5:34), 9. Atonement (4:55). [New Line Records NLR-39081, 44:07].
BLACK SNAKE MOAN
SCOTT BOMAR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An extremely peculiar film from Craig Brewer, the director of Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan is a deep-South drama covering topics as diverse as promiscuity, religion, redemption, love, and Blues music. Samuel L. Jackson plays farmer and part-time blues musician Lazarus, who wakes up one morning to find a young woman named Rae (Christina Ricci), badly beaten and unconscious, lying half-naked in his yard. A childhood victim of sexual abuse, Rae had developed into the town tramp, using her sex addiction as a replacement for the love she has never felt in her life. Lazarus, however, seeing a chance to redeem both himself and Rae, takes it upon himself to ‘cure’ Rae of her illness – and proceeds to chain her to the radiator of his remote farmhouse, forcing her to endure sexual cold turkey. And so begins a truly unusual friendship between the pair – and, as always happens in these things, they learn more about life from each other than they ever expected. As one might expect, the film’s music is heavily rooted in the musical heritage of the deep South, especially that of blues artists such as R.L. Burnside, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House and the North Mississippi Allstars. Jackson performs a number of himself, his distinctive deep voice sounding very authentic when performing tracks like the forlorn “Just Like a Bird Without a Feather”, the rollicking “Alice Mae”, the angry/funny/dirty-sounding “Stack-o-Lee”, and the languorous, eponymous “Black Snake Moan”. Composer Scott Bomar’s score is limited to just three cues and around 5 minutes in length, comprising mainly blues instrumentals, electric guitars, and ambient electronic textures, although his work arranging the blues tracks heard in the movie is important and impressive in context. Not really one for score fans, but recommended for fans of modern blues.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Theme (0:38), 2. Ain’t But One Kind Of Blues (performed by Son House) (0:12), 3. Just Like A Bird Without A Feather (performed by Samuel L. Jackson) (2:23), 4. When the Lights Go Out (performed by The Black Keys) (3:13), 5. Standing In My Doorway Crying (performed by Jesse Mae Hemphill) (4:40), 6. Chicken Heads (performed by Bobby Rush) (2:23), 7. Black Snake Moan (performed by Samuel L. Jackson) (4:05), 8. Morning Train (performed by Precious Bryant) (3:01), 9. The Losing Kind (performed by John Doe) (2:23), 10. Lord Have Mercy On Me (performed by Outrageous Cherry) (3:05), 11. Ronnie and Rae’s Theme (1:08), 12. The Chain (2:51), 13. Alice Mae (performed by Samuel L. Jackson) (3:48), 14. Stack-o-Lee (performed by Samuel L. Jackson) (3:30), 15. Old Black Mattie (performed by R.L. Burnside) (4:11), 16. That’s Where The Blues Started (performed by Son House) (0:22), 17. Mean Ol’ Wind Died Down (performed by North Mississippi Allstars) (7:32). [New West Records, 49:35]
WILD HOGS
TEDDY CASTELLUCCI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A silly, but warm-hearted and enjoyable comedy road movie starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy, Wild Hogs follows the fortunes of four suburban husbands – each obsessed with motorbikes – who find themselves having a mid-life crisis. Eager to capture their youth, and yearning for life on the open road, the hapless quartet set out on a road trip from the Midwest to California – but get more than they bargained for when they fall afoul of the ruthless New Mexican biker gang the Del Fuegos, and their psychotic leader, Jack (Ray Liotta). Teddy Castellucci, finally beginning to shake of the shackles of being Adam Sandler’s in-house composer, provides the film with an inoffensive country-themed score, making use of a cache of acoustic guitars, fiddles, harmonicas, twangy percussion, and various other western music clichés to set the scene. Once in a while Castellucci breaks out into a barnstorming orchestral hoedown which will make anyone familiar with James Horner’s The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper smile, and there’s a dangerous-sounding dirty-rock theme for Jack and the Del Fuegos which keeps the album flowing. This is tempered by some more light-hearted orchestral caper music, as well as a surprisingly lovely guitar-led theme for the budding romance which develops between Macy’s bumbling biker and Marisa Tomei’s spunky country waitress. Castellucci’s score was not released commercially, but exists as a 22-minute promo, comprising 12 unnamed cues. It’s not exactly earth-shattering stuff, but well worth picking up if you happen to find a copy.
TRACK LISTING: 12 unnamed cues. [Promo, 21:28].
ZODIAC
DAVID SHIRE
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Zodiac.
300
TYLER BATES
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of 300 as heard in the film.
ANGEL
PHILIPPE ROMBI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Angel.
THE ULTIMATE GIFT
MARK McKENZIE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Based on the best-selling book by Jim Stovall, The Ultimate Gift is the story of man being forced to find out what life if all about. When his impossibly rich grandfather Red Stevens (James Garner) dies, selfish layabout Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) thinks he’s in for the financial windfall of his life; however, Red ha other ideas. Before he can receive his inheritance, Jason must successfully complete twelve tasks – “gifts” – which Red devised in order for his ungrateful, distant grandson to experience the reality of life, each challenging Jason in an improbable way. Directed by Michael O. Saibel and with a quirky but impressive supporting cast that includes Abigail Breslin, Brian Dennehy and Lee Meriweather, The Ultimate Gift is one of those film music rarities: a feature film score from the massively talented Mark McKenzie. After a misleadingly dark opening, McKenzie’s main theme kicks in, yet another one of those gloriously rich orchestral melodies which seem to his flow from his pen like water from a spring. If any one man can claim to be this generation’s Georges Delerue, it’s McKenzie; the sensitive string and piano writing which anchors the score is excellent. By the time the theme receives an emotional recapitulation in “Plane Wreckage”, it has become the cornerstone of the score. By the time it gets to “Redemption”, it is literally yanking at your heartstrings. Unexpectedly, McKenzie engages in some fun, energetic country-bluegrass music in “City Boy in Texas”, vibrant collisions of harmonicas, fiddles and percussion, and gives a lively pop-culture edge to “Bum’s Bench” and “Park Picnic”. Elsewhere, he sets a South American mood with pan pipes and florid guitars in “Arrival in Ecuador” and “Childhood Letter”, and even writes some powerful action music for “The Firing Squad”. This is a quite lovely score from a man who writes lovely scores with consummate ease, and is recommended for anyone who knows, and likes, his style.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Ultimate Gift Main Title (3:03), 2. City Boy in Texas (1:23), 3. Bum’s Bench (0:47), 4. Emily’s Chemo (1:24), 5. I’ve Seen What Money Can Do (1:03), 6. Those Arms Are For You (1:20), 7. Park Picnic (0:44), 8. Arrival in Ecuador (1:00), 9. Childhood Letter (1:16), 10. Family Thanksgiving (3:27), 11. Plane Wreckage (3:06), 12. Captivity (2:56), 13. The Firing Squad (3:12), 14. One Shouldn’t Lose A Son (0:51), 15. What’s Your Dream? (2:37), 16. Emily’s Legacy (2:37), 17. Redemption (1:30), 18. Red’s Goodbye (1:36), 19. Texas Christmas/A Perfect Day (2:08), 20. Two Billion (1:43), 21. Something Changed (performed by Sara Groves) (3:46), 22. Legacy (performed by Ed Goggin) (3:03). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6809, 44:32].
DEAD SILENCE
CHARLIE CLOUSER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The popularity of the Saw and Hostel franchises, and the subsequent arrival of the so-called ‘torture porn’ sub-genre, has spawned a number of imitations, one of which is this film: Dead Silence. Directed by James Wan and starring Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg and Bob Gunton, the film is a mean-spirited horror flick about a man who, having endured his wife’s ghastly and unexplained death, returns to his home town, to try to find the connection between a series of grisly murders and the old ghost tale of Mary Shaw and her vengeful ventriloquists dummies. Charlie Clouser, the New Hampshire-born composer/keyboardist/percussionist, has come a long way recently. For those who aren’t familiar with his musical background, he was part of Trent Reznor’s hugely successful industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1994 to 2000, and worked as a successful producer and remixer, before coming to prominence in the soundtrack world with his score for the surprise 2004 horror hit Saw. Since then he has scored both score sequels, the TV series Las Vegas and Numb3rs, and is making a name for himself in the horror genre. Until this score I hadn’t heard anything he’s written that I’ve liked; Dead Silence has finally broken the trend. Once you get past the clichéd music box lullaby theme which opens the “Main Titles”, Dead Silence is a surprisingly nuanced electro-orchestral horror score, albeit one steeped in Clouser’s industrial/rock background. The strings slash at and ravish the listener, sampled choral effects create a sense of creepy unease, pianos tinkle ominously in the background, synthesized effects growl and gurgle down in the depths of the mix, and vivid stingers jolt the listener to life on a number of occasions. Cues such as “Dad’s House”, “Guignol”, “All the Dolls”, “Mary Shaw” and “Dummy” are all impressive, for varying reasons. Dead Silence reminded me or a slightly more electronic version of Brian Tyler’s Darkness Falls, a score which I loved, and kudos should go to Clouser for shattering my preconceptions of his work and actually impressing me.
TRACK LISTING: 1. We Sleep Forever (performed by Aiden) (3:23), 2. Main Titles (2:56), 3. Sheet (1:08), 4. Blood (1:41), 5. Apartment (1:28), 6. Raven’s Fair (0:59), 7. Dad’s House (0:49), 8. Ella (1:29), 9. My Son (1:03), 10. What Poem? (1:31), 11. Caskets (1:57), 12. Motel Hearse (1:22), 13. It Can’t Be (1:40), 14. Funeral (0:49), 15. Billy (2:42), 16. Perplexed (1:25), 17. Steal Billy (0:50), 18. Lips Moving (1:57), 19. Coffin (2:16), 20. Photos (1:36), 21. Map Drive (0:49), 22. Guignol (1:57), 23. He Talked (3:06), 24. It’s Soup (2:09), 25. Full Tank (1:49), 26. Doll Wall (1:37), 27. All the Dolls (1:07), 28. One Left (0:27), 29. Mary Shaw (0:31), 30. Dummy (1:05), 31. Family Album (0:37). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339122, 48:15].
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
MARCUS MILLER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of I Think I Love My Wife as heard in the film.
LA MÔME (LA VIE EN ROSE)
CHRISTOPHER GUNNING
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The legendary singer Edith Piaf, who died in 1963, remains a national icon of French musical culture to this day, whose razor-blade voice was unmistakable, and whose massive stage presence belied her diminutive stature. Director Olivier Dahan’s biography of Piaf, La Môme (released internationally as “La Vie en Rose”, after one of her most famous songs), stars Marion Cotillard in an extraordinary performance as the Little Sparrow, and features supporting turns from such respected Gallic actors as Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner and Gérard Depardieu. For the music, Dahan surprisingly turned to English composer Christopher Gunning, who hasn’t written music for this high profile a film since Firelight a decade ago. As one might expect, Gunning’s music is distinctly French in tone, replete with tinkling pianos, cooing choirs and almost clichéd accordions, but has a surprisingly light, almost-fairytale like waltz quality in the opening “L’Eveil”. The main theme, “Mon Legionnaire”, depicts the relationships between Piaf and the various men in her life, and is a quite solemn and stately piano solo, seemingly echoing the private tragedy that dogged Piaf’s public life; it appears later in the score during “La Mort de Leplée” and “Mon Légionnaire/Arrestation”. With the exception of the sweeping, tragedy-laden finale “Dernière Nuit” it’s generally a fairly lightweight score, pleasant in tone, but seeming content to play the supporting role to Piaf and her voice. Still, it’s gratifying to see Chris Gunning getting a modicum of international exposure. The songs of Piaf, of course, play a massively important part of the soundtrack album, and all in all eleven of her most famous performances are captured on the CD, including the legendary trio “Rien de Rien”, “La Vie en Rose” and her signature piece, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”, which I’m sure no-one with an ounce of French blood can hear without getting chills. The middle section of the CD is given over to selections from Gunning’s score, while the final third is dedicated to modern re-interpretations of Piaf classics, including several by Parigote singer Jil Aigrot.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Heaven Have A Mercy (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:40), 2. Milord (performed by Edith Piaf) (4:29), 3. Rien de Rien (performed by Edith Piaf) (2:20), 4. La Foule (performed by Edith Piaf) (2:55), 5. Cri du Coeur (performed by Edith Piaf) (2:37), 6. La Vie en Rose (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:24), 7. Padam Padam (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:16), 8. Mon Dieu (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:26), 9. L’Hymne à l’Amour (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:24), 10. Mon Manège à Moi (performed by Edith Piaf) (3:00), 11. Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (performed by Edith Piaf) (5:21), 12. L’Eveil (1:06), 13. Mon Légionnaire – Piano Solo (1:23), 14. Lisieux (2:33), 15. La Mort de Leplée (1:09), 16. Apparition (1:31), 17. L’ABC (2:28), 18. Mon Légionnaire/Arrestation (1:18), 19. L’Idylle (2:30), 20. Dernière Nuit (7:30), 21. Mon Homme (performed by Jil Aigrot) (1:28), 22. Les Mômes de la Cloche (performed by Jil Aigrot) (3:56), 23. Les Hiboux (performed by Jil Aigrot) (1:05), 24. Fascination (performed by Maya Barsoni) (1:56), 25. Il m’a Vue Nue (performed by Mistinguett) (3:15), 26. La Poupée (1:43), 27. La Vie en Rose - Accordeon (2:11). [EMI Music France 0946-3861082-3,74:54].
NOMAD
CARLO SILIOTTO
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Nomad.
PREMONITION
KLAUS BADELT
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Premonition as heard in the film.
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY
GEORGE FENTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The winner of the Palme D’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, The Wind that Shakes the Barley is a film from left-wing director Ken Loach, about the Republican movement in early 20th century Ireland, prior to the separation of the country under British and Irish rule, which eventually led to the long-lasting bloody conflict known as ‘The Troubles’ between Catholics and Protestants. Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney star as brothers Damien and Teddy, whose lives are torn apart by the increasing sectarian violence, and the political struggles which taint their formerly peaceful lives. George Fenton has been Ken Loach’s composer through almost a dozen films now, from Land and Freedom and My Name is Joe, to Carla’s Song and The Navigators. Usually, their collaborations have been low-key, with Fenton’s music playing a much smaller role than it does in other films. The Wind that Shakes the Barley is more of the same – a small, intimate orchestral score, albeit one with much more tension and a little more action than one would expect of a Ken Loach film. The main theme has an Irish lilt, as one might expect, and there is heavy emphasis on extended string chords and soft, muted woodwinds. The action music – cues like “Gogan Releases Lads” and “Ambush” – is led by percussion and piano, and is more about an enhanced rhythmic presence than anything else; this is tempered by some mournfully beautiful passages in “Chris Arrested”, which seem to echo the tragedy befalling the entire country at that time. The score for The Wind that Shakes the Barley was never released commercially, but Fenton did release a promo CD on his own record label, Debonair, in late 2007.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Lads Walk to Farm (1:23), 2. Michael’s Death (1:22), 3. Damien Arrives (1:38), 4. Training (1:13), 5. Steady Boy’s Fag Box (1:09), 6. Attack on the Barracks (1:26), 7. British Attack Street (1:13), 8. Dawn Raid (2:01), 9. He’s My Brother (1:03), 10. Damien in Cell With Dan (1:25), 11. Gogan Releases Lads (2:20), 12. Chris Arrested (2:25), 13. Chris Executed (0:58), 14. Damien and Sinead in the Wood (2:08), 15. Ambush (4:53), 16. Sinead and Damien Kiss (1:23), 17. Training - Sick Child (1:47), 18. Attack on Free Staters (2:42), 19. Damien Walks Away From Teddy (1:07), 20. Dan is Shot (1:26), 21. Damien Writes to Sinead (1:19), 22. Teddy Gives Order To Fire (0:59), 23. Teddy Goes To Sinead (2:21), The Wind That Shakes The Barley Closing Titles (3:18). [Promo,74:54].
JOURNEY FROM THE FALL
CHRISTOPHER WONG
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Mikael Carlsson’s groundbreaking record label Movie Score Media has been responsible for releasing some hidden musical gems over the last couple of years, but Christopher Wong’s score for the Oriental drama Journey From the Fall is one of the best. The film, which was directed by Ham Tran, tells the story of a Vietnamese family who, thirteen years after the end of the American involvement in the conflict there, still cope with the repercussions of the war on their every day lives. Eventually the family uproots from their spiritual home and moves to America, only to find that life in the new world is no less difficult. Wong, a former student of Jerry Goldsmith, is clearly a man with a lot of talent, and a clear mastery of his ensemble. Journey from the Fall is a lush, thematic score for a full orchestra and various Asian soloists, Wong’s score captures perfectly that indescribable marriage between East and West that so often in music ends up being pastiche rather than authentic. Solo performances characterize much of Wong’s music, from the poignant clarinets in “Fraternity” and “Finding Letters” and the forlorn piano/orchestra combo in “Drifting in the Rain”, to the solo keyboard in “Family Photos”, the gentle acoustic guitars in “The Promise”, the breathy ethnic woodwinds in “Life in the Camp” and “Take the Family”, the more contemporary acoustic guitars in “Mai’s Decision”, and the traditional dan tranh Vietnamese zither, which lends its unique, twangy texture to a number of cues – notably “Packing Up” - giving the score a pleasing geographic specificity. The general mood of the score is one of sorrowful reflection and introspection, but this is not to say that the music is depressing; on the contrary, such is the beauty and delicacy of Wong’s orchestrations that one easily becomes enraptured in the thing. Once in a while Wong allows his orchestra to do something a little unusual – experience the unsettling rumblings and strident ethnic percussion of “The Escape” for example – but for the most part, Journey From the Fall is an exercise in tasteful, lyrical beauty. The final 7-minute cue is simply spellbinding. Also included on the limited edition soundtrack CD is one cue from Wong’s score for the 2003 short film “The Anniversary”, and a 16-minute suite of cues from the 2003 feature drama “First Morning”.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Legend of Le Loi (2.50), 2. The Night Market (1.30), 3. Fraternity (1.07), 4. The Escape (1.48), 5. Drifting in the Rain (2.22), 6. Family Photos (1.13), 7. The Promise (1.08), 8. Packing Up (1.21), 9. Life in the Camp (1.27), 10. The Long Voyage (1.27), 11. Finding Letters (1.58), 12. Take the Family (1.00), 13. Mai's Decision (1.10), 14. Holding Hands (0.58), 15. A New Beginning (1.23), 16. Journey from the Fall (7.54), 17. Music from ‘The Anniversary’ (2:36), 18-23. Music from ‘First Morning’ (16:03). [MovieScore Media MMS-07015, 49:07].
THE LAST MIMZY
HOWARD SHORE
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Last Mimzy as heard in the film.
PRIDE
AARON ZIGMAN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Pride as heard in the film.
REIGN OVER ME
ROLFE KENT
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The serious side of Adam Sandler gets a rare outing in director Mike Binder’s film Reign Over Me. Sandler plays Charlie Fineman, a dentist whose entire family - wife, kids, dog - was wiped out in the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York. Since then, Charlie has shut himself off completely from the outside world, unable to cope with the trauma of his life; that is, until he meets up with old college roommate and former fellow dentist Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), who is having personal and professional problems of his own. Recognizing Charlie’s grief, Alan attempts to rekindle their friendship and bring Charlie out of his depression – hoping that, in doing so, it will bring him out of his own. After receiving critical acclaim and Award nominations for Sideways in 2004, I expected big things from Rolfe Kent, but for one reason or another it hasn’t quite happened for him – although his score for Reign Over Me continues to show he is a composer with talent. Balancing the obvious tragedy inherent in the story with the numerous lighter moments the film contains must have been a difficult task for Kent to undertake, but his score works well. The musical stylistics are similar to those he employed on Sideways – a small ensemble with prominent sax and guitar solos, vaguely jazzy textures, as well as hints of pop and even calypso music – and the eclectic nature sums up the vibrant New York setting of the film, while still making Charlie’s emotional angst very real. The opening “Learning What Has Happened to Charlie”, as well as “So Broken” and the lovely, delicate “Alan Open’s Up” are amongst the most resonant cues, while “Alan’s Parents” and others have that light, pseudo-Thomas Newman suburban sound which seems to be so popular these days. It’s not an album which will fly off the shelves or convert thousands of listeners into Rolfe Kent fans, but it achieves its stated aims successfully.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Learning What Has Happened to Charlie (1:44), 2. Alan’s Parents (1:25), 3. Disturbed by Questions (1:00), 4. Can He Come Out? (1:51), 5. Coffee in Grand Central Station (1:43), 6. The Loss of a Father (2:15), 7. Remar’s Scent (1:15), 8. Alan Recognises/Breakfast Alone with the Family (2:09), 9. The Desire to Help (0:55), 10. Taxi Stand-Off (2:51), 11. Evaluation (1:28), 12. There’s Going to be a Hearing/I Hated Kitchen Talk (2:54), 13. Playing Collossus (1:14), 14. So Broken (1:52), 15. New Life (3:29), 16. Alan Opens Up (1:16), 17. Pictures in Court (2:33), 18. Charlie’s Theme (2:13), 19. Remar’s Theme (2:48), 20. Alan and Charlie (2:14), 21. A Lonely Life (2:56). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33913,42:18]
SHOOTER
MARK MANCINA
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Shooter.
TMNT (TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES)
KLAUS BADELT
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as heard in the film.
BLADES OF GLORY
THEODORE SHAPIRO
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Blades of Glory.
THE LOOKOUT
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Lookout as heard in the film.
MEET THE ROBINSONS
DANNY ELFMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Walt Disney’s 46th feature length animation, and their major animated effort for 2007, Meet the Robinsons surprisingly fell under the radar, and was a comparative box office failure. It tells the story of a young orphan inventor named Lewis, who embarks on a series of extravagant, time-traveling adventures with various members of the futuristic Robinson family as he attempts to find his real family. The film was directed by Steve Anderson and featured the voice talents of the likes of Angela Bassett and Tom Selleck, as well as an original score by Danny Elfman. The film sees Elfman in what one could call “madcap mode”, in much the same way as he was on scores such as Flubber and Mars Attacks. The score see-saws between emotional, heartfelt orchestral themes – notably “The Prologue”, “A Family United” and the sumptuous finale “Setting Things Right” - and Elfman’s brand of patented wackiness. The zaniness first emerges in the quirkily helter-skelter “To the Future”, and continues through the funky retro grooves of “Meeting the Robinsons” and the rampaging Beetlejuician tones of “The Science Fair”. There’s even a duet between a Theremin and Elfman’s patented la-la choir in “Pop Quiz and The Time Machine Montage”, in case you had forgotten which composer had written the music and needed a reminder. It’s all fun, undemanding stuff, and firmly rooted in the offbeat Elfman sound that many people love, but when compared to Elfman’s wider body of work it seems a little insubstantial. The songs which pad out the CD running time are actually all pretty decent, ranging from cover versions by the sultry-voiced Jamie Cullum to the quirky title track, “Another Believer”, by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, which will likely be up or Oscar consideration.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Another Believer (performed by Rufus Wainwright) (4:39), 2. Little Wonders (performed by Rob Thomas) (3:45), 3. The Future Has Arrived (performed by The All-American Rejects) (3:05), 4. Where Is Your Heart At? (performed by Jamie Cullum) (2:23), 5. The Motion Waltz [Emotional Commotion] (performed by Rufus Wainwright) (2:35), 6. Give Me the Simple Life (performed by Jamie Cullum) (2:04), 7. The Prologue (1:24), 8. To the Future! (1:16), 9. Meeting the Robinsons (1:56), 10. The Science Fair (2:47), 11. Goob’s Story (1:01), 12. A Family United (1:37), 13. Pop Quiz and The Time Machine Montage (3:45), 14. The Evil Plan (4:13), 15. Doris Has Her Day (4:58), 16. Setting Things Right (6:00), 17. There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (performed by They Might Be Giants) (2:00), 18. Kids of the Future (performed by Jonas Brothers) (3:18). [Walt Disney Records D000024602,52:46]
BLACK BOOK (ZWARTBOEK)
ANNE DUDLEY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Director Paul Verhoeven’s first Dutch-language film since 1983 – and arguably his most critically acclaimed since then too – Black Book, aka Zwartboek, is a World War 2 drama starring Carice Van Houten as Rachel, a Jewish woman in German-occupied Netherlands, who infiltrates the regional SS office on behalf of the Dutch Resistance. Working undercover in the office of the Commandant, Ludwig Muntze (Sebastian Koch), and reporting back to her allies on the activities of the Nazis, Rachel soon finds herself questioning her loyalties when she unexpectedly falls in love with the man on whom she is spying – and who, she knows, is likely to eventually meet his death at the hands of her comrades. Oscar winner Anne Dudley’s score for the film is fully orchestral, but quite dark and subdued in tone, as one might expect given the film’s dramatic subject matter, and also contains its fair share of dramatic tension and action. The central motif, “Rachel’s Theme”, is a sorrowfully beautiful string lament which forms the cornerstone of later cues such as “In Too Deep”, and during the tragedy-laden finale from “Victims of the Occupation” through to “The Endless River”. Dudley has often shown a surprising aptitude for solid action and suspense music in her scores, and here cues such as “Escape Through the Marshes”, the marvelously exciting “In Pursuit”, the icy “Escape Plans”, and the dramatic “Escape by Sea” continue the trend. Every now and again there’s a fleeting moment, a phrase here, a brief performance technique, that sounds like something Basil Poledouris or Jerry Goldsmith might have written – Verhoeven’s two career-long collaborators who have now of course passed away – which makes you wonder what one of them might have brought to the table here. But, irrespective of that, Dudley’s score is more than accomplished, and is one of 2007’s better efforts in the genre.
TRACK LISTING: 1. A Hundred Years From Today (performed by Carice Van Houten) (2:15), 2. Ich Bin Die Fesche Lola [Live] (performed by Carice Van Houten) (0:56), 3. Ja, Das Ist Meine Melodie (performed by Carice Van Houten) (3:22), 4. Ich Tanze Mit Dir in den Himmel Hinein (performed by Carice Van Houten) (3:30), 5. Rachel’s Theme (1:28), 6. The Black Book (2:18), 7. Escape Through the Marshes (2:42), 8. In Pursuit (3:03), 9. Rachel’s Plan (1:38), 10. In Too Deep (1:56), 11. Shot at Dawn (2:00), 12. Sleeping With the Enemy (3:01), 13. Escape Plans (3:01), 14. The Insider (1:57), 15. Falling Into the Trap (1:45), 16. Confessions of the Night (3:13), 17. Escape By Sea (1:33), 18. A Hero of the Resistance (3:19), 19. Intelligence Gathering (2:05), 20. Rumours of Liberation (2:16), 21. Victims of the Occupation (1:34), 22. Rachel’s Retribution (4:40), 23. The Endless River (2:04). [Milan M2-36525,55:36]
FIREHOUSE DOG
JEFF CARDONI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An inoffensive family comedy, Firehouse Dog is about a Hollywood celebrity dog named Rexx – think Rin Tin Tin or Lassie crossed with Paris Hilton (actually, don’t…) who goes missing off the set of his latest film and ends up in a run-down suburban fire station in danger of closure due to the generally lackadaisical nature of the firemen within it. However, the arrival of the new canine in the firehouse has a surprisingly positive effect – Rexx has a surprising talent for locating people trapped in burning buildings, and before long becomes a valued member of the fire crew… until Hollywood comes calling wanting its star back, that is. The film was directed by Todd Holland, starred Bruce Greenwood, Bill Nunn and Steven Culp, and had a score by newcomer Jeff Cardoni. Cardoni has written a lot of episodic TV music for shows like CSI and Entourage over the years, but his cinematic exploits have been limited to just a couple of major features, notably Just Friends and the Dixie Chicks documentary Shut Up and Sing. Cardoni’s score is a fully-orchestral affair, fun and enjoyable, often surprisingly exciting, but overall a little lightweight – not that one has high expectations for a film about a dog in a fire station, but great score have been composed for more unlikely movies, so you never know! A pretty decent action cue, “Conner Rescues Shane”, opens the score selections, and is immediately followed by the stirring “Finale”, in one of the most peculiar examples of album sequencing in 2007. The rest of the score fluctuates between some surprisingly strident orchestral action music (“Loft Fire”, “Tunnel Rescue”, “Dogpound’s on Fire”) that occasionally recalls the work of James Newton Howard or Randy Edelman, some softer and more sentimental material (“Trey Takes Back Rexx”), and light-hearted and energetic caper music featuring urban percussion, electric guitars and pan-flutes alongside the orchestra (“Rexx Meets Shane”, “Dog Catcher”, “Four Alarm Fire”). It’s enjoyable, undemanding stuff, and is a decent enough purchase for those who like this sort of thing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Count on Me (performed by The Meadows) (3:03), 2. Lost Till I Found You (performed by Scotch Ellis Loring) (4:56), 3. I Fought the Law (performed by Left Alone) (2:13), 4. Conner Rescues Shane (5:30), 5. Finale (3:27), 6. Dust Bunnies (3:03), 7. Loft Fire (4:56), 8. Rexx Meets Shane (1:18), 9. Tunnel Rescue (5:41), 10. Dog Catcher (1:33), 11. Beach Flashback (1:00), 12. Uncle Mark’s Theme (1:31), 13. Four Alarm Fire (1:03), 14. Arsonist (5:12), 15. Trey Takes Back Rexx (2:23), 16. City Hall’s Behind It (2:34), 17. Dogpound’s on Fire (3:33), 18. Medal Ceremony (1:34). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339052,53:30]
THE REAPING
JOHN FRIZZELL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Reaping.
DISTURBIA
GEOFF ZANELLI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Disturbia.
PATHFINDER: LEGEND OF THE GHOST WARRIOR
JONATHAN ELIAS
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior.
PERFECT STRANGER
ANTÔNIO PINTO
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Perfect Stranger.
YEAR OF THE DOG
CHRISTOPHE BECK
Review by Jonathan Broxton. One of those ‘indie comedy-dramas’ which come and go without much fanfare throughout the year, Year of the Dog starred Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard in a film about a lonely, but content office worker whose life is shattered by the sudden death of her little dog. Struggling to come to terms with her surprisingly bitter feelings about her pet’s death, she struggles from one failed romantic possibility to another – until, eventually, she finds new meaning in her life: the animal rights movement, and specifically her intention to save a pound full of incarcerated pooches. This quirky little tale was directed by Mike White and features an equally quirky score by Christophe Beck. From the beginning, it’s clear that Beck was going for a variation on the Thomas Newman-American Beauty sound, with orchestrations that feature little plucked strings, strummed guitars, little fiddle textures, marimbas, pianos, and twinkly percussion via xylophones and glockenspiels. The score’s thematic material is built around “Pencil’s Theme” (Pencil being the fated fido in question), a generally quite sweet and fluffy piece, but all just a little too insubstantial and understated to be truly engaging. And it’s quirky. There’s that word again - quirky. “Death of a Pencil” features a bittersweet piano solo, “Fifteen Dogs, One Car” builds up a funky vibe through the use of bass guitars and accordions, and the conclusive “Peggy’s Goodbye” restates the core thematic material with the addition of a soulful solo cello, but beyond these brief highlights the score maintains the light, idiosyncratic tone throughout the score’s running time, making for an enjoyable but somehow strangely uninvolving album. Oh, the reason “Music for a Found Harmonium” by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra is familiar is because it featured prominently in the soundtrack to Napoleon Dynamite!
TRACK LISTING: 1. Year of the Dog (2:05), 2. Pencil’s Theme (0:46), 3. Tee-Tee (1:20), 4. Death of a Pencil (2:42), 5. Veganism (0:34), 6. Cupcakes (1:02), 7. The Bookstore (0:33), 8. Leaving Newt (0:51), 9. Forgery (0:49), 10. Road Trip (0:53), 11. Paradise Farm (1:45), 12. Welcome Back (0:42), 13. Looking for Valentine (1:42), 14. Fifteen Dogs, One Car (1:53), 15. Crowded House (0:28), 16. Snail Bait (1:38), 17. To Be Hunted (2:01), 18. Peggy’s Goodbye (1:57), 19. Music for a Found Harmonium (performed by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra) (2:42), 20. Steady State (performed by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra) (3:34), 21. Lose Yourself in Nature and Find Peace (performed by The Naysayer) (2:23). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33916,32:20]
FRACTURE
MYCHAEL DANNA and JEFF DANNA
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Fracture as heard in the film.
HOT FUZZ
DAVID ARNOLD
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Hot Fuzz as heard in the film.
VACANCY
PAUL HASLINGER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Vacancy as heard in the film.
THE INVISIBLE
MARCO BELTRAMI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Invisible as heard in the film.
NEXT
MARK ISHAM
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Next.
AWAY FROM HER
JONATHAN GOLDSMITH
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A small-scale US/Canadian drama directed by one-time child actress Sarah Polley, Away From Her would likely have passed straight under everybody’s radar if it wasn’t for Julie Christie’s emotionally shattering, Oscar-nominated leading performance. She plays Fiona Anderson, a loving wife and mother, whose happy married life is shattered when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Reluctantly, Fiona’s husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) places her into a nursing home – and for the first time in five decades they are forced to undergo a long-time separation since the nursing home has a "no-visitors" policy for the first 30 days of a patient's stay. However, when Grant visits Fiona after the orientation period, he is devastated to find out that not only has the disease caused her to seemingly forget him, but that she has transferred her affections to another man – Aubrey (Michael Murphy), a wheelchair bound mute patient at the nursing home. The music for Away From Her is by veteran Canadian composer Jonathan Goldsmith (no relation to Jerry), best known to soundtrack aficionados for his score for the 1998 Anglo-Indian feature Such A Long Journey. His music for Away From Her is small and intimate, much like the film itself, relying mainly on synths and electro-acoustic guitar textures, the majority of which were performed by Goldsmith too. The restraint Goldsmith shows in his music is admirable; it surely would have been all-to-easy to descend into the schmaltzy, mawkish disease-of-the-week overkill which would have rendered Christie’s performance obsolete – instead, we are treated to a series of pretty, understated themes which accentuate the prevailing mood of the film: reflection, sadness, and resignation. There is no commercial soundtrack CD of Goldsmith’s music for Away From Her; the 14-track promo runs for just under half an hour and provides an adequate and enjoyable reflection of Goldsmith’s score. Track 1, Track 6 and Track 12 are of special note.
TRACK LISTING: 14 unnamed cues. [Promo, 24:41].
LUCKY YOU
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Review by Jonathan Broxton. In addition to his horror and thriller scores, for some reason, Christopher Young often gets hired to score films about playing cards, or which are set in Las Vegas: titles like Shade, Rounders, and The Big Kahuna, for example. Lucky You, the latest film from director Curtis Hanson, is both about playing cards AND set in Las Vegas, so it’s almost inevitable that Young would end up scoring it! The film stars Eric Bana as hotshot poker player Huck Cheever, who arrives in Nevada to play in a major tournament. However, Huck has personal demons – recklessness, compulsiveness, and a long-term rivalry with his poker-playing father (Robert Duvall). Just as Huck seems to be fighting a losing his battle, waitress Billie (Drew Barrymore) enters his life, who inspires him to turn things around and set him on the road to both personal and professional recovery. Much like those earlier Vegas scores, Lucky You has a definite jazz/rock vibe, pitting the orchestra against a bank of electric and acoustic guitars, pianos, Hammond organs, synths, and a nifty-sounding jazz combo trio, in a variety of upbeat tempos ranging from vaguely Latino or Hawaiian, to country-western. It’s always surprised me just how good Young is at writing this kind of authentic-sounding jazz, especially when his forte is often considered to be avant-garde orchestral horror writing, and it’s always pleasing to hear his work when he revisits this genre. The opening cue, “Lucky You”, has the right level of optimism and urbane cool, and some of the more intimate moments (“Everybody Has a Blind Spot”, “Billie’s Blues”, “It Pays To Be Prudent”) have an enticing, lonesome-sounding soft-rock attitude, like the reflective underbelly of the modern American midwest. Other cues worth noting include the vocally-inflected “Runner-Runner”, the vaguely grungy “The Blaster”, the unexpected mandolin element in “A Pigeon With Pocket Rockets”, the gospel-inspired “Are You Slumming?”, the magnificently-named “Stewed Prunes and a Toothpick”, and the more downbeat piano element in “A Good Win, A Bad Win”. Although Lucky You had only 26 minutes of score in the final cut of the film, Young wrote nearly 2½ hours of additional demoed themes and cues that never made it into the final film; this 2-CD promo contains the vast majority of the music that Young wrote, and provides a hugely enjoying overview of his work. The score was originally due to be released as a regular CD by Varese Sarabande, but it was cancelled at the last minute for reasons which remain unclear, leaving this release as the only place to hear Young’s work.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Lucky You (3:36), 2. Everybody Has a Blind Spot (3:19), 3. King In The Whole (4:26), 4. Ode to Chico Banh (3:33), 5. Billie's Blues (1:37), 6. Trying Too Hard With No 8's (3:28), 7. Sometimes Nothing Is Enough (3:57), 8. Runner-Runner (3:28), 9. My Ignorant End (1:13), 10. Better Not Jacks (0:50), 11. Johnny Railbird (2:43), 12. It Pays To Be Prudent (1:42), 13. The Blaster (3:45), 14. Goin' Down With the Green (1:22), 15. Living on Wild Cards (3:10), 16 A Dead Man's Hand (3:35), 17. The Big Bobtail (2:46), 18. A Pigeon With Pocket Rockets (2:18), 19. Burnt Cards (3:00), 20. Are You Slumming? (2:47), 21. A Tell (1:10), 22. Mites and Lice (2:47), 23. Therapy With a Deck of Cards (3:22), 24. Nubian Slaves (2:22), 25. Stewed Prunes and a Toothpick (2:49), 26. A Good Win, A Bad Win (1:35), 27. Bad Beat (3:43), 28. Four Strikes and You're Out (1:53), 29. Telephone Jack (2:45), 30. Rewarded For Lying (1:57), 31. Left Pocket Money (3:57), 32. Return to the Rat Hole (1:41), 33. Lucky Me (3:38). [Promo, 91:36].
SPIDER-MAN 3
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Spider-Man 3 as heard in the film.
28 WEEKS LATER
JOHN MURPHY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. 28 Weeks Later is the sequel to Danny Boyle’s nightmarish 2002 horror movie 28 Days Later, this time directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau and Catherine McCormack. Set in the immediate aftermath of the horrific ‘Rage’ virus that either wiped out the majority of Britain’s population or turned them into rabid zombies, it tells the story of a family of survivors who were neither killed nor ‘infected’, and their efforts to re-integrate into a similarly uninfected community being protected by US and NATO troops, while all the while avoiding the still ever-present threat posed by the remaining plague zombies. Returning to fulfill scoring duties is English composer John Murphy, who has been getting much higher profile scoring assignments lately. It opens with the hypnotic electric guitar-led “28 Theme”, which is oddly disquieting in its simplicity, as the best horror scores often are – remember Halloween and Friday the 13th. Murphy’s score is generally more electronic than orchestral, more ambient and atmospheric than theme-led, but despite this less-than-promising sounding description, much of the music is very engaging, creating a sort of distorted and detached atmosphere of dream-like fear which perfectly accentuates the film’s sense of horrific hyper-reality. The action cues – “Helicopter Chase” tend to play like industrial rock instrumentals, with incessant electronic rhythms, intentionally jarring music editing, and processed effects dominating. There’s also some quite haunting and elegiac stuff, notably in cues such as “Fire-Bombing London”, “London Deserted” and the surprisingly moving “Kiss of Death”, which clearly is adopting the tried-and-tested juxtaposition technique by playing harmonically attractive music over scenes of desperation and deprivation to heighten their emotional impact. Its good stuff, and I actually surprised myself by liking it as much as I did, considering that my musical tastes don’t usually extend into this style of writing. Murphy’s score was never released commercially in stores, and is only available as an iTunes download.
TRACK LISTING: 1. 28 Theme (3:57), 2. Welcome to Britain (2:25), 3. Helicopter Chase (1:41), 4. Fire-Bombing London (2:38), 5. Theme 1 (1:53), 6. Walk to Regents Park (2:54), 7. Kiss of Death (2:53), 8. Don Abandons Alice (2:59), 9. London Deserted (2:24), 10. Go Go Go! (2:10), 11. Theme 2 (2:33), 12. Knock Knock/Cottage Attack (2:30), 13. Night Watch (1:56), 14. Code Red (2:29), 15. Going Home (2:38), 16. Tammy Kills Her Dad (2:20), 17. Crowd Breaks Out (1:48), 18. Outbreak (3:06), 19. Leaving England (2:36), 20. Theme 3 (End Credits) (2:38). [Fox Music iTunes exclusive,50:32].
SHREK THE THIRD
HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Shrek the Third.
BUG
BRIAN TYLER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Bug as heard in the film.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
HANS ZIMMER
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
GRACIE
MARK ISHAM
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Gracie.
KNOCKED UP
LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III
Review by Jonathan Broxton. One of the surprising comedy successes of 2007, director Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up starred Katherine Heigl as successful TV presenter Alison Scott, who has a one-night-stand with layabout, perennially high party animal Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) – and ends up pregnant. What follows is a hugely funny, surprisingly touching and romantic comedy about two clearly mis-matched parents-to-be learning to love each other despite their differences, for the good of their unborn child. Knocked Up’s music was provided by sardonic singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, who wrote a handful of original songs for the film, as well as a small amount of transitional score music for guitars and a small string quartet. However, rather than release a traditional soundtrack album, Wainwright turned his contribution into a new solo album, entitled “Strange Weirdos”, which features material that Wainwright had written before the film score that the director wanted to use, other cuts that are instrumental snippets in the movie but are songs with lyrics on the album, and still others that take thematic inspiration from the film. Wainwright’s songs occasionally have a touch of Randy Newman about them, especially the honkytonk “So Much To Do” and the bluesy “Doin’ the Math”, while still others riff on the soul-destroying ordinariness of life in suburban southern California, such as “Valley Morning”, and the introspective “Grey in L.A.”, which plays over one of the film’s more thoughtful montage sequences. Two instrumentals – “Ypsilanti” and “Naomi” – were written by Wainwright in collaboration with guitarist Joe Henry. So, not your traditional soundtrack album by any means, but still a worthwhile effort for those into this sort of thing. It’s likely that the film would have been overwhelmed by a more traditional orchestral rom-com score anyway, so Wainwright’s efforts actually come as a little bit of a refreshing change of direction.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Grey in L.A. (3:15), 2. You Can’t Fail Me Now (3:45), 3. Daughter (3:32), 4. Ypsilanti (1:51), 5. So Much To Do (3:26), 6. Valley Morning (3:44), 7. X or Y (2:53), 8. Final Frontier (3:47), 9. Feel So Good (2:02), 10. Lullaby (3:10), 11. Naomi (4:02), 12. Doin’ the Math (5:30), 13. Strange Weirdos (4:06), 14. Passion Play (2:54). [Concord Records (2007)].
MR. BROOKS
RAMIN DJAWADI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Mr. Brooks.
HOSTEL PART II
NATHAN BARR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. I have never fully appreciated, nor understood, the general public’s lust for the new ‘torture porn’ genre of films. I saw the first Saw, but none of its sequels. I saw Cabin Fever, and thoroughly disliked it. I have not seen any of the Hostel movies, and have no intention of doing so. Nevertheless, the box office takings don’t lie, so here we have Hostel Part II, directed by Eli Roth, and starring Lauren German, Bijou Phillips and Heather Matarazzo as three young women who, over the course of 93 minutes, are systematically bound, gagged, tortured, murdered and mutilated by a succession of sick individuals who pay good money to Slovakian criminals to enable them to do this kind of thing. Wholesome fun for all the family. Composer Nathan Barr returns to the franchise after undertaking scoring duties on the first movie. Unexpectedly, the opening suite – “Amid a Crowd of Stars” – is a quite beautiful eastern European neo-classical lament anchored by a tragic-sounding combination of solo violin, solo oboe and harp which gradually swells to encompass the entire orchestra in a sweeping theme. It’s a mesmerizing, completely astonishing beginning, and sets the tone for the rest of the score, which continues to inhabit the orchestral realm and oscillate between excellent action/horror writing and moments of surprisingly sublime beauty. Cues such as “Beautiful Skin”, “Bidding War”, the grotesquely mesmerizing “The Bath” and the exciting “Turning Tables” are distinctly Herrmannish in tone, with their skittery strings, whooping brasses and frenetic pacing. “Paxton Meets Sasha” goes for shock value with boo-gotcha stingers jumping out of beds of ominous, bass-heavy violin and cello writing. “Portrait” and “Elevator” go for the jugular with chaotic dissonance and immensely powerful and threatening piano chords which resonate in the deepest recesses of your stomach. “Montage” incorporates sinister and ghostly-sounding vocal effects. The beginning of “Stuart” sounds like something Krzysztof Penderecki might write in his darker moments. It’s all quite superbly imaginative stuff, and really showcases Barr’s talent for creating unnerving moods. One thing worth mentioning also is the almost total absence of any obvious ‘electronic enhancements’ in Barr’s score. The confidence he shows in writing simple, clean orchestral music is to be commended in this day and age. It’s perhaps indicative of my own cinematic prejudices, but I find myself rather disappointed that music this excellent was written for a film this unpleasant – but irrespective of one’s feelings about the film itself, Nathan Barr’s score is a perfect example of modern, lyrical, orchestral horror movie music at its best.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Suite – “Amid a Crowd of Stars” (6:33), 2. Beautiful Skin (2:22), 3. Train (1:45), 4. Paxton Meets Sasha (2:09), 5. Bidding War (2:44), 6. Portrait (2:16), 7. Montage (3:08), 8. The Kiss (0:55), 9. Stuart (2:26), 10. Boat Ride (1:37), 11. The Bath (3:39), 12. Elevator (1:54), 13. Escape (2:27), 14. Todd (2:14), 15. Turning Tables (3:57), 16. Snip (1:16), 17. Axelle (0:40). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6831,42:02].
OCEAN’S THIRTEEN
DAVID HOLMES
Review by Jonathan Broxton.
The third of director Steven Soderbergh’s crime capers, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon reprising their roles from the previous films, Ocean’s Thirteen sees the erstwhile Danny Ocean and his gang of affable crooks attempting to sabotage the grand opening of a new Vegas casino owned by the nefarious Willy Bank (Al Pacino), in retaliation for a goon attack on Ocean’s friend Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould). With a stellar cast and general air of good-natured bad boys having fun, the music for the film is a perfect reflection of the mood of the piece. Irish composer David Holmes returns, having scored the previous two installments; however, whereas Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 12 tended to sound like random instrumentals rather than a ‘proper’ score, Ocean’s 13 does at least attempt some kind of mood development and formal score structure, making it probably the most satisfying musical effort of the trilogy. Holmes’s ensemble remains consistent: a modern string section, jazz percussion, Hammond organs and blaring horns, bass woodwinds and electric guitars to be the order of the day throughout the score, encompassing perfectly the permeating feel of Vegas cool that has run through the entire film series to date. Loungy 1960s rhythms which sound like they could have come from pen of a young John Barry or Jerry Goldsmith combine with a heavy dose of 1970s funk, and although most of the tracks are very much rooted in the same style and feel, the album as a whole is a pleasing diversion. Isao Tomita’s space-age performance of Debussy’s “Suite Bergamasque” from Claire De Lune on a Moog synthesizer is a nostalgic oddity, but you can never go wrong with a bit of Sinatra to round things out, proving once and for all that the Rat Pack reigns supreme.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Not Their Fight (1:17), 2. 11, 12 & 13 (1:57), 3. Benedict Returns (1:48), 4. Kensington Chump (1:40), 5. Trapdoor Man (1:07), 6. Laptops (0:56), 7. Zippo’s (0:41), 8. Shit! Shit! Shit! (2:02), 9. Dice Men (1:54), 10. Diamond Location (1:08), 11. The Nose (2:30), 12. Caravan (performed by Puccio Roelens) (3:28), 13. Suite Bergamasque, Claire De Lune, No. 3 (performed by Isao Tomita) (5:51), 14. Grand Opening (2:12), 15. Earthquake (1:35), 16. Fender Roads (2:38), 17. Snake Eyes (2:57), 18. All Sewn Up (3:14), 19. This Town (performed by Frank Sinatra), (3:02), 20. Soul Town (performed by The Motherhood) (2:29). [Warner Sunset/Warner Brothers 147964-2,44:20]
SURF’S UP
MYCHAEL DANNA
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Surf’s Up as heard in the film.
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
JOHN OTTMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The popular sequel to the 2005 super-hero movie Fantastic Four, ‘Rise of the Silver Surfer’ sees super heroes Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis returning to do battle with another super-hero from another galaxy – the titular Silver Surfer – whose intergalactic travels invariably result in the destruction on whichever planet he visits. I wasn’t a huge fan of John Ottman’s score for the first Fantastic Four movie, and criticized it for its desperate over-use of choir and for the general limpness of the main super-hero theme. Two years later, and I’m afraid the problems haven’t really been fixed. Ottman still has his choir belting out ululations at every opportunity, negating their emotional impact due to over-exposure, and the central Fantastic Four theme still sounds as uninspiring as it did before, even when played at full-tilt in cues like “Botched Heroics” or “Springing the Surfer”. However, one thing this film DOES have in its favor is a pretty impressive new theme for the Silver Surfer, which manages to be both ominous and imposing, but also contain a hint of something slightly forlorn, and something approaching sympathy. After a preliminary appearance on “Silver Surfer Theme”, it goes on to appear prominently in cues such as “Chasing the Surfer”, and the sweeping finale, “Silver Savior”. In many ways, this theme would have better served the Fantastic Four themselves, as in general it makes for a much more satisfying musical statement. There are a couple of interesting spacey ambiences, in cues such as “Galactus Destroys” (which actually seems to make use of Jerry Goldsmith’s blaster beam from Star Trek!), and some of the action music is quite energetic, especially in “Pursuing Doom” and the jarringly dissonant “A Little Persuasion”, but despite generally being a better score than its predecessor, there is still something missing from Rise of the Silver Surfer which makes it feel like a missed opportunity. One cannot help but hope that someone, eventually, realizes that John Ottman just really isn’t very good at this sort of thing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Silver Surfer Theme (4:21), 2. Galactus Destroys/Opening (1:53), 3. Pursuing Doom (3:12), 4. Wedding Day Jitters (1:21), 5. Chasing the Surfer (2:32), 6. Camp Testosterone/Meeting the Surfer (3:35), 7. A Little Persuasion (2:07), 8. Botched Heroics (4:26), 9. Someone I Once Knew (2:24), 10. The Future/Doom’s Deal (2:58), 11. Sibling Switch (1:41), 12. Outside Help (2:38), 13. Springing the Surfer (1:57), 14. Doom’s Double Cross (2:41), 15. Mr. Sherman/Under the Radar (1:55), 16. Four in One (3:04), 17. Silver Savior/Aftermath (5:55), 18. Gunshot Wedding (1:18), 19. Norrin Radd (0:49). [Sony Classical 88697-10888-2,50:47].
IL SOLE NERO
WOJCIECH KILAR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. As much as I love Wojciech Kilar’s film scores, he does have a tendency to stick to writing music that is well within his comfort zone; such is the case with his score for Il Sole Nero, a revenge drama directed by Krzysztof Zanussi and starring Valeria Golino as Agata, a young widow who, after the learning the identity of her husband’s killer, struggles with whether to forgive the killer or avenge her husband’s death. Kilar and Zanussi have worked together on 45 different films over the years, so the two know each other well, and Zanussi clearly knows what he wants his composer to provide in terms of music; a modest, introspective meditation on whatever meaningful facet of life is being explored at any given time. Il Sole Nero is just that. This extremely short release by the Italian label CAM Original Soundtracks – it only runs for just over 13 minutes – provides the main themes from Kilar’s score, plus a couple of variations. Kilar’s music is always precisely structured and intricately orchestrated, but on this occasion it sounds very much like a ‘greatest hits’ compilation of solemn, string-and-piano led themes from a dozen earlier scores for Polish films, many of which were also directed by Zanussi. The main theme, “The Black Sun”, is a deliciously dark piano rhapsody very much in the vein of his score for The Portrait of Lady, backed by a bed of dense, tragedy-laden strings and a morose, almost funereal tempo. “Agata’s Theme” is a softer, slightly gentler variation on the main Black Sun theme, while “Salvo’s Theme” has an unsettling, see-sawing effect in the piano writing which is quite hypnotic. The whole score has a brooding, pseudo-classical aspect that fans of Kilar’s music will appreciate; however, your tolerance of it will depend on with how much of his previous work you are familiar (as it is VERY derivative of other works), and how much doom and gloom you can take in your orchestral writing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Black Sun (2:35), 2. The Black Sun - Version 1 (1:49), 3. Manfredi’s Death (2:00), 4. The Funeral (1:43), 5. Agata’s Theme (1:53), 6. Salvo’s Theme (1:10), 7. The Fall (1:10), 8. Agata’s Theme - Version 1 (0:58). [CAM Original Soundtracks CAM 515404-2,13:18].
1408
GABRIEL YARED
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An effective little horror movie directed by Mikael Håfström and based on a short story by Stephen King, 1408 stars John Cusack as Mike Enslin, a man who specializes in debunking paranormal phenomena and supernatural occurrences. While researching a new book, and in attempt to disprove another myth, he checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel in New York, which has a grisly and famous history. Despite the misgivings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), Mike settles in… and soon finds that not all fables are fake. I can’t think of the last time Gabriel Yared scored a horror movie – or even if he’s ever done one – but the results on 1408 are pretty impressive. A string orchestra augmented by synths is the order of the day, and by and large all the boxes are ticked: a generally low-key opening which gradually adding layers of tension to generate an atmosphere of fear and oppression; unusual and innovative electronic textures to add to the surrealism of the atmosphere (“Room 1408”); and a misleadingly pretty and innocent lullaby theme in “Katie’s Theme”, before all hell breaks loose in the album’s second half. “Ship in a Painting” is the first of many gargantuan action/horror cues to unsettle the listener, with a full chorus and large orchestral forces in play. “Sinking Ship” continues the trend, sounding like something Jerry Goldsmith or Christopher Young might have written for one of their landmark horror efforts, but like nothing Yared has written before – at least in the mainstream. Other cues feature impressionistic instrumental performances and various acoustic creaks and groans to crank up the sense of unease. The madness and chaos is tempered by the slightly twisted “Mike’s Fugue” and by the lovely “Olin in the Minibar”, which revisits the warm romance sound for which Yared is best known – but the respite doesn’t last long, as “Back to 1408” and “Don’t You Love Me Any More?” contain some of the most striking dissonance and outlandish orchestral textures heard for quite some time. Considering the raw deal Yared received on Troy, and bearing in mind that, for the most part, he is still seen as a European romance composer only capable of scores like The English Patient, this is impressive work indeed, and worth seeking out if only to hear a different side to the composer’s musical personality.
TRACK LISTING: 1. 10 Haunted Hotels (3:04), 2. The Dolphin Hotel (1:45), 3. Room 1408 (7:45), 4. The Doppelganger (2:10), 5. Katie’s Theme (2:48), 6. Ship in a Painting (1:39), 7. Bleeding Walls (4:59), 8. Out on a Ledge (5:25), 9. Mike’s Fugue (2:43), 10. Inside the Vent (4:11), 11. Olin in the Minibar (5:50), 12. Sinking Ship (3:11), 13. Waking up in LA (1:56), 14. Back to 1408 (1:50), 15. Don’t You Love Me Any More? (2:21), 16. Fire! (4:41). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6828,56:22].
EVAN ALMIGHTY
JOHN DEBNEY
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Evan Almighty.
EVENING
JAN A.P. KACZMAREK
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A thoughtful film about life, death and regret, based on the popular novel by Susan Minot, Evening stars Vanessa Redgrave as Ann Lord, an old woman at the end of her life, being cared for by her two daughters, Nina and Connie (Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson). As Ann lies in bed, waiting for the inevitable, her mind wanders back to a pivotal moment in her life: the summer of 1955, when as a young woman (Clare Danes) she attended the Rhode Island wedding of a friend, and was forced to make a decision which ultimately shaped the rest of her life. But was it the right one? As she ponders her choices, she imparts a long-held secret to her enthralled daughters, the repercussions of which are felt far and wide. With a stellar supporting cast that includes Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Eileen Atkins, and Close’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer, Lajos Koltai’s film is a moving and dramatic character study that is much more than simply a “chick flick”. The score for Evening is by Oscar-winning Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek who, like many before him, rather vanished under the radar after picking up his golden boy for Finding Neverland in 2004. His score for Evening is generally quiet, reflective, and romantic, with special emphasis on piano, strings, woodwinds, and an occasional ethereal female voice. The “Opening Title” is a perfect example of Kaczmarek’s brand of reflective intimacy, as he offsets Justyna Streczkowska’s voice with gossamer harp and cello solos to beautiful effect. Later, “Before the Wedding” has a slightly more nimble feel to its piano performance, although this is quickly turned in on its head by the darker “Anne and Harris in Love”, which re-interjects the longing cello theme back into the mix. In fact, the whole score has a sense of being a romantic score that never quite manages to be romantic. I appreciate that this sounds like an oxymoron, but it fits the tone of the film – that of love lost, love missed, and lifelong regrets. Polish virtuoso pianist Leszek Mozdzer’s performances really are the emotional driving force throughout the score, and in several cues – notably “Memories of Evening”, “The Dream Continues” and “Remembering Buddy” – his lively, intricate finger work provides the thematic, timbral and emotional foundation onto which everything else is built. The final cue, “Evening”, provides the lush and emotionally heightened conclusion to the score’s various elements, and rounds thing off in a touching, satisfying way. In many ways, Evening is the kind of score that Rachel Portman, or someone of her ilk, might have written for a similar film, and as such it is more than likely that fans of her light, personal writing will find plenty to appreciate here. The soundtrack, on Verve records, features 8 tracks from Kaczmarek’s score alongside a collection of smoky period jazz ballads performed by the likes of Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (3;00), 2. Time After Time (performed by Ella Fitzgerald) (3:31), 3. Anne Arrives (1:58), 4. Pretend Steve (performed by Ash) (1:38), 5. I've Got The World On A String (performed by Michael Bublé) (2:47), 6. Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You (performed by Peggy Lee) (3:24), 7. Before the Wedding (2:05), 8. Anne and Harris In Love (2:14), 9. You're My Thrill (performed by Peggy Lee) (3:25), 10. Memories of the Evening (2:19), 11. The Dream Continues (2:27), 12. Stairway to the Stars (performed by Sarah Vaughan) (4;46), 13. Remembering Buddy (3:05), 14. Stella By Starlight (performed by Anita O'Day) (2:06), 15. Evening (5:37). [Verve Records B0009205-02, 44:22].
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD
MARCO BELTRAMI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A rather belated fourth entry into the Die Hard franchise, 12 years after the last installment (Die Hard With a Vengeance), Live Free or Die Hard sees Bruce Willis back as John McClane in the role which made him an 80s action star. Here, McClane is an aging NYPD cop with a teenage daughter who is forced to do battle against an Internet-based terrorist organization who is systematically shutting down the technological capabilities of the entire United States, plunging the country into crisis. The film also stars Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long and Hong Kong action star Maggie Q, and features a bombastic score from Marco Beltrami. The late, great Michael Kamen’s musical fingerprints were all over the first three movies in the Die Hard franchise, so it should come as no surprise to learn that Beltrami has tried to remain respectful to Kamen’s musical legacy (notably through his use of certain rhythms and textures which those familiar with Kamen’s work will recognize), while putting his own spin onto things. For all intents and purposes, Live Free or Die Hard is a non-stop action and suspense score; almost every cue is an exercise on aggressive rhythmic orchestral writing, with heavy emphasis on thrusting string ostinati, low brasses, an almost limitless amount of varied percussion, and occasionally a noticeably beefed-up electronic element. Cues such as “Traffic Jam”, “Copter Chase”, “Hurry Up” and “The F-35” are really very impressive indeed, and stand as great examples of some of the best pure action music composed anywhere in 2007. Elsewhere, Beltrami adds to the tension with cues like “Farrell to D.C”, doggedly exiting suspense writing that provides brief moments of downtime in between the action set pieces. Actually, the problem with album as a whole is that there’s no breathing room. The score starts with an action cue, ends with an action cue, and has a whole load of action cues in the middle, leaving the album a curiously unsatisfying listening experience that could be quite an endurance test for the under-prepared. The qualify of writing cannot be faulted, nor can the pains Beltrami took to ensure that his music inhabits the sonic world created by Kamen for the first three films, but by the end of it all, sitting and listening to the CD is quite exhausting.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Out of Bullets (1:08), 2. Shootout (3:41), 3. Leaving the Apartment (2:08), 4. Dead Hackers (1:31), 5. Traffic Jam (4:13), 6. It’s a Fire Sale (2:57), 7. The Break-In (2:28), 8. Farrell to D.C. (4:36), 9. Copter Chase (4:41), 10. Blackout (2:03), 11. Illegal Broadcast (3:48), 12. Hurry Up! (1:23), 13. The Power Plant (2:01), 14. Landing (2:28), 15. Cold Cuts (2:00), 16. Yippee Ki Yay (4:43), 17. Break a Neck (2:47), 18. Farrell is In (4:22), 19. The F-35 (4:13), 20. Aftermath (3:12), 21. Live Free or Die Hard (2:56). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6824,63:190.
RATATOUILLE
MICHAEL GIACCHINO
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Ratatouille.
RESCUE DAWN
KLAUS BADELT
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Rescue Dawn.
TRANSFORMERS
STEVE JABLONSKY
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Transformers.
CAPTIVITY
MARCO BELTRAMI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Despite being reviled by pretty much every film critic who saw the film, Captivity nevertheless managed to become a popular and successful underground hit, and a memorable entry in the ‘torture porn’ sub-genre of horror films. Somewhat unexpectedly, the film is directed by Roland Joffé, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of The Mission and The Killing Fields, and stars Elisha Cuthbert as Jennifer Tree, a popular tabloid Hollywood starlet who awakens to find herself a prisoner in a grubby cellar, being systematically tortured by an attacker whose motives are unclear. And, basically, that’s it. Young Miss Cuthbert spends the movie enduring one sickening physical and psychological attack after another, until the movie ends. And this is what passes for entertainment these days? Unlike Nathan Barr, who went down the melodramatic grand guignol road with his Hostel scores, Marco Beltrami’s score for Captivity is almost as nasty at the movie. A detuned piano and a slightly depraved-sounding zither twinkle over the top of the grating, grinding synths in the opening “Captivity”, like some kind of twisted circus march dancing to the tune of the unseen, unknown kidnapper. This motif is recapitulated later, in slightly warmer fashion, in “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, making it the score’s only identifiable thematic content. Sound design plays a large role in the score, courtesy of Beltrami’s regular collaborator Buck Sanders; cues such as “Buzzard”, “Flashlight” consist of angry, irritating buzzes and industrial textures which achieve their aims in the context of the film, but make for a horrific listening experience outside of it. The action music, such as it is, are mainly relentless electronic rhythms which pulsate with slightly more urgency than the others – “Car Theft” and the conclusive “Eyedrops” are interesting examples of this, the former most notably for its inclusion of junkyard scrap in the percussion section – but beyond these few brief highlights, there isn’t much else to recommend, although Beltrami does have a knack for making this kind of thing music more interesting than the majority of his contemporaries. The score for Captivity was not released commercially, and exists only as a 13-track 25 minute composer promo. Beltrami fans may find it an interesting experience, but beyond them (or fans of the movie, if there are any), I can’t see this one generating much of a following.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Captivity (1:34), 2. Buzzard (1:56), 3. Did You See Saw? (1:21), 4. Cops Converse (0:41), 5. Flashlight (1:28), 6. Did You See Saw Too? (1:15), 7. Car Theft (2:25), 8. Wardrobe Malfunction (1:03), 9. Window Pain (1:48), 10. Puttin’ on the Ritz (3:38), 11. Gung-Ho Gary (2:12), 12. Knifed (2:08), 13. Eyedrops (3:49). [Composer Promo,25:12].
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
NICHOLAS HOOPER
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
HAIRSPRAY
MARC SHAIMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Marc Shaiman took a break from the film scoring world in the early 2000s to embark on a Broadway career in the company of his lyricist partner Scott Wittman. The result of their collaboration was Hairspray, a charming and effortlessly sunny musical based on the 1988 film by John Waters, about an overweight teenager named Tracy Turnblad who, in 1960s Baltimore, dreams of performing on a popular TV dance show. Huge acclaim and several Tony Awards later, and things have come full-circle with the movie version of Shaiman’s musical, with Shaiman adapting his own music for the screen. With a stellar cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, John Travolta in drag, and newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy, the movie version of Hairspray is a camp, nostalgic delight. The whole thing is steeped in late-50s and early-60s rock and roll, a sort of cross between American Bandstand and Grease, and is chock-full of toe-tapping tunes, clever lyrics, great vocal performances, catchy orchestral arrangements, and an overall sense of fun and vitality that just makes it a delight from start to finish. The highlights include the opening number, “Good Morning Baltimore”, a glorious ode to the delights of urban Maryland, which is so insanely upbeat that only the hardest of hearts could suppress a smile when the vivacious Blonsky belts it out – she sings with a huge, beaming smile on her face, and you can hear it in her voice. Pfeiffer revisits the sultry showgirl style she hasn’t shown since The Fabulous Baker Boys in “The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs”, a wonderfully narcissistic ode to the attitudes of small-town beauty queens. The life-affirming and irresistibly optimistic “Welcome to the 60s” sounds like it should have been recorded by Diana Ross back in the day. Travolta and Walken have a wholly unconventional romantic duet in “You’re Timeless to Me”, and Latifah performs a show-stopping Gospel ballad in the uplifting and defiant “I Know Where I’ve Been”. And who knew James Marsden could croon like Sinatra or Martin in “It’s Hairspray”? The jitterbuggy “Ladies’ Choice” and “Come So Far, Got So Far to Go” are the songs new to this version of Hairspray, although “The New Girl in Town” was originally written for, but dropped from, the Broadway production; these three represent Shaiman and Wittman’s best chance of Oscar recognition in 2007. Movie musicals often get short shrift on film score websites, purely because of that: they’re musicals, not scores. However, when they’re as good as Hairspray is, sometimes it pays just to stop, listen, and appreciate it for what it is.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Good Morning Baltimore (3:54), 2. The Nicest Kids in Town (2:42), 3. It Takes Two (3:04), 4. The Legend of Miss Baltimore Crabs (4:08), 5. I Can Hear the Bells (4:14), 6. Ladies’ Choice (2:28), 7. The New Girl in Town (2:16), 8. Welcome to the 60’s (5:13), 9. Run and Tell That (3:51), 10. Big, Blonde and Beautiful (2:35), 11. Big, Blonde and Beautiful - Reprise (1:06), 12. You’re Timeless to Me (4:47), 13. I Know Where I’ve Been (4:13), 14. Without Love (3:40), 15. It’s Hairspray (2:20), 16. You Can’t Stop the Beat (5:25), 17. Come So Far, Got So Far to Go (4:17), 18. Cooties (2:42), 19. Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now (3:19). [New Line Records NLR-39089,66:05].
SUNSHINE
JOHN MURPHY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A daring and somewhat cerebral sci-fi action movie from director Danny Boyle, based on the novel by Alex Garland, Sunshine stars Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh as part of a team of astronauts who, fifty years in the future, embark on a dangerous and potentially suicidal mission: to attempt to re-ignite the Sun, whose internal energy has been slowly dying, and as a result is also a threat to all life on Earth. It’s a fascinating premise – sort of like the flip side to Armageddon – but which was not entirely successful, with some critics citing its pseudo-religious overtones and slightly mis-handled action scenes as stumbling blocks on the way to success. The score, a collaboration between by English composer John Murphy and the electronic band Underworld, is of the ambient electronic variety, and one of the least successful efforts of the year. I’m not averse to electronic scores in general, but Sunshine is little more than an extended exercise in how to write sound effects. Apparently Underworld’s members were heavily inspired by avant garde composer György Ligeti in the creation of their part of the music, but whatever influence there is very minimal. There’s very little melody or thematic content, and certainly no “hook” to grab on to – instead, Murphy seems to have taken the route of providing the film with cue after cue of textural ambience, which whooshes, grinds, pings, beeps, thumps and grates but rarely ever actually sounds like music. Cues such as “Repairs” sound like little more than recorded industrial white noise – one minute it sounds like a telephone dial tone, the next it sounds like the inner churnings of a storage heater. Elsewhere, there’s occasionally some tinkling percussion, or a brief hint of something intangible which one hopes will develop into a theme, but it never comes, and we’re back to the musical gutter almost as soon as we left it. The one track everyone raved about – “The Surface of the Sun” – has a more traditional-sounding musical aspect, a clear piano line, and a semi-ecclesiastical overtone to it, which makes easily the single standout cue on the album, but it takes a long time to get to this one high point, and even then the cue isn’t that good. I’m sure this music adds to the alienation and coldness of the film, but away from its inspiration, it is completely redundant.
TRACK LISTING: 1. A Star Within a Star (1:59), 2. Searl See the Sun (1:08), 3. The Last Message (1:36), 4. The Time/Commander of the Icarus I (3:37), 5. Mercury (1:00), 6. Two Last Hope Are Better Than One (1:26), 7. The New Angle (3:36), 8. Repairs (4:29), 9. What Do You See (2:36), 10. The Icarus I (3:33), 11. From Inside/Minus 273 Degrees Celsius (3:09), 12. We Love You (0:21), 13. Tray (2:08), 14. The Fifth Crew Member (1:36), 15. An Angel/Cory’s Dead (1:37), 16. Pinbacker (0:35), 17. Mace’s Dead (1:18), 18. Unlock the Airlock (1:21), 19. The Surface of the Sun (3:59), 20. All to Heaven/A Particularly Beautiful Day (3:13). [iTunes Exclusive Download,44:14].
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME
JOEL McNEELY
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of I Know Who Killed Me.
NO RESERVATIONS
PHILIP GLASS and CONRAD POPE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A gastronomical romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart, No Reservations follows the fortunes of top New York chef Kate (Jones), and the way her life changes when she unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her young niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine). Director Scott Hicks’s cute romance was a comparative box-office success, but had a somewhat checkered musical history. Originally Philip Glass – yes, Philip Glass! – was hired to write the music for his first Hollywood romantic comedy, and recorded a full score; however, during the film’s post-production the executives at Castle Rock decided that a warmer and more traditional romantic score was required in certain places, so in came composer and popular orchestrator Conrad Pope to work in some new material. The resulting soundtrack CD contains two of Glass’s original cues – “Zoe & Kate Watch Video” and “Zoe Goes to the Restaurant” – as well as one Pope piece (“Truffles and Quail”) and a whole load of popular bel canto Italian opera because, you know, the film’s about food, and opera and good food go together. Pope’s piece is a pizzicato-filled, whimsical little dance featuring a lovely clarinet melody, while Glass’s music has a slightly wistful quality that retains his familiar minimalist sound, but somehow managed to adopt a warmer, more enticing sound which admirers of his work in film will surely find appealing. The opera, of course, is uniformly magnificent: it doesn’t get much better than Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland and Renata Tebaldi performing arias from classic works like Aida, Gianni Schicchi, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Madam Butterfly, La Gioconda and Turandot. I defy anyone not to melt into raptures upon hearing Pavarotti belt out his signature tune, “Nessun Dorma”, or not to lament his untimely passing. The other songs are also pretty darn good, including Canadian jazzer Michael Bublé performing the classic “Sway”, and the incomparable Paolo Conte delivering one of his idiosyncratic signature tunes, “Via Con Me’. It’s not a traditional score soundtrack by any means (there’s only just under 6 minutes of actual score on Decca’s album) – but when the music’s this good, it’s sometimes nice to take a slightly different road.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Truffles and Quail (written by Conrad Pope) (1:34), 2. Sway (performed by Michael Bublé) (3:10), 3. Celeste Aida (Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Luciano Pavarotti) (3:32), 4. O Mio Babbino Caro (Giacomo Puccini, performed by Renata Tebaldo) (2:13), 5. Zoe & Kate Watch Video (written by Philip Glass) (2:11), 6. Libiamo Ne Lieti Calici (Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Joan Sutherland & Carlo Bergonzi) (3:04), 7. Via Con Me (performed by Paolo Conte) (2:32), 8. La Donna E Mobile (Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Joseph Calleja) (2:13), 9. Un Bel Di (Giacomo Puccini, performed by Renata Tebaldo) (4:56), 10. Zoe Goes To The Restaurant (written by Philip Glass) (1:32), 11. Cielo E Mar (Amilcare Ponchielli, performed by Luciano Pavarotti) (5:02), 12. Mambo Gelato (performed by Ray Gelato) (2:58), 13. Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini, performed by Luciano Pavarotti) (2:57), 14. Count On My Love (performed by Liz Phair) (3:40). [Decca B0009397-02,41:34]
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
HANS ZIMMER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Simpsons Movie.
THIS IS ENGLAND
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A gritty, challenging film from the critically acclaimed British filmmaker Shane Meadows, This Is England examines the skinhead subculture which permeated much of English society in the early 1980s from the point of view of a 12-year old boy named Shaun, whose adoption into a mischievous, but misunderstood skinhead gang in the northern English city of Nottingham provides the him with a new family who understands him better than his one at home does. Featuring, as usual, a cast of unknown amateur actors, Meadows’ film is a reflection on one of the most turbulent periods in recent British history, whose political and social outlook was shaped by events like the Falklands War, the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher, and the influence of the punk movement on the music scene. The original score for the film was written by the popular Italian classical composer Ludovico Einaudi. His four cues – “Ritornare”, “Fuori Dal Mondo”, “Oltremare” and “Dietro Casa” – actually run for just over 22 minutes, giving a fairly decent representation of his contribution. The music is dominated by a solo violin and an expressive solo piano, and adopts a generally melancholy tone throughout that is occasionally reminiscent of the work of Michael Nyman. Although each of the four are virtually identical in style, some of the individual melodic passages are quite lovely in an understated way, and offer a telling reflection of the general mood of the country at the time, and of young Shaun’s dreary life. Einaudi’s own piano performances are sensitive and delicately rendered, occasionally rhapsodic, and always attractive, while the string accompaniment provides a beautifully nuanced counterpoint that is easy to recommend. The rest of the soundtrack is made up of cuts by some of major skinhead, ska, reggae and punk artists of the day; notably the irrepressibly infectious “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, the confrontational “Do the Dog” by the groundbreaking two-tone band The Specials, the popular goth-tinted “Since Yesterday” from Strawberry Switchblade, and several songs from Toots and the Maytals, one of the best known and most influential Jamaican reggae vocal groups. All in all, this is a very enjoyable package, and even the dialogue tracks are funny, although they are likely to be unintelligible to anyone who didn’t grow up in northern England. “Hello, I’m Harvey, and I’ve come to give you gyp…”
TRACK LISTING: 1. 54-46 Was My Number (performed by Toots and the Maytals) (3:13), 2. Come On Eileen (performed by Dexys Midnight Runners) (4:02), 3. Tainted Love (performed by Soft Cell) (2:42), 4. Underpass/Flares (dialogue) (1:09), 5. Nicole (performed by Gravenhurst) (5:14), 6. Cynth/Dad (dialogue) (0:59), 7. Morning Sun (performed by Al Murray and the Cimarons) (2:57), 8. Shoe Shop (dialogue) (1:43), 9. Louie Louie (performed by Toots and the Maytals) (5:46), 10. Pressure Drop (performed by Toots and the Maytals) (2:54), 11. Hair in Cafe (dialogue) (1:01), 12. Do the Dog (performed by The Specials) (2:09), 13. Ritornare (8:48), 14. This Is England (dialogue) (1:25), 15. Return of Django (performed by The Upsetters) (2:31), 16. Warhead (performed by UK Subs) (3:04), 17. Fuori Dal Mondo (4:58), 18. Since Yesterday (performed by Strawberry Switchblade) (2:55), 19. Tits (dialogue) (1:33), 20. The Dark End of the Street (performed by Percy Sledge) (2:45), 21. Oltremare (5:04), 22. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (performed by Clayhill) (3:43), 23. Dietro Casa (3:49), 24. Never Seen The Sea (performed by Gavin Clark) (3:18). [Universal Music 9848363,67:53].
BECOMING JANE
ADRIAN JOHNSTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. With the likes of Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility being such popular works of both the written and visual media, it was only a matter of time before someone made a screen biography of their author, the erstwhile Jane Austen. Julian Jarrold’s film Becoming Jane is just such a film; American star Anne Hathaway adopts an English actress to play the pre-fame author, growing up in 18th century Hampshire, and falling in love with a handsome Irishman named Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy); Jane’s encounters with him, and her dalliances with the societal niceties of the day seek to shape her literary style and her outlook on life. The film, which also features Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith and Ian Richardson in supporting roles, has an original score by English composer Adrian Johnston, who remains best known for his work on several British TV Masterpiece Theater productions, as well as feature films such as Jude and Kinky Boots. Like Patrick Doyle and Dario Marianelli before him, Johnston scores the romance inherent in Austen’s life and work, resulting in a score which swoons with passion, but retains that unmistakable air of polite Englishness that so typifies films of this kind. Solo piano, solo violin, soft strings, and verdant woodwinds are the order of the day, illustrating the romantic flights of fancy to which Austen was prone, but also capturing the essence of Austen’s own trials and tribulations as a forward-thinking woman in an age when such women were rare. Cues such as “A Game of Cricket” are lively and effervescent, while others, such as “To the Ball”, “Goodbye, Mr Lefroy”, “Distant Lives”, “An Adoring Heart”, “The Loss of Yours” and “To Be Apart”, and have a kind of sad, longing quality to them, especially when Anthony Pleeth’s mesmerizing cello solos kick in. There’s a faint Irish lilt to be found in cues such as “Selbourne Wood”, likely to subtly acknowledge Austen’s suitor’s heritage; this gives way to the utterly gorgeous “Rose Garden”, the score’s thematic and romantic high point, a true delight. Elsewhere, “Bond Street Airs” has a flurry of Elgar-style pomp and panache about it, while “The Basingstoke Assembly” and “Laverton Fair” are authentic-sounding period dances to which one can imagine people strutting at a manor house ball. Comparisons between Johnston’s work here and Dario Marianelli’s Oscar-nominated score for Pride & Prejudice are unavoidable, and in truth the two have very much in common, both in terms of sound and style – which is certainly not a bad thing. This is an accomplished and enjoyable work, and anyone who felt an affinity for any of the lush and languid scores mentioned in this review will certainly find plenty of equally appealing music here.
TRACK LISTING: 1. First Impressions (2:25), 2. Hampshire (0:40), 3. Bond Street Airs (1:48), 4. The Basingstoke Assembly (2:03), 5. A Game of Cricket (2:47), 6. Selbourne Wood (2:29), 7. Lady Gresham (2:10), 8. Advice From A Young Lady (1:06), 9. Laverton Fair (0:58), 10. To The Ball (3:17), 11. Rose Garden (2:31), 12. Mrs. Radcliffe (2:24), 13. Goodbye, Mr. Lefroy (1:48), 14. Distant Lives (2:57), 15. The Messenger (1:22), 16. An Adoring Heart (1:21), 17. Runaways (2:01), 18. A Letter (1:50), 19. The Loss of Yours (1:05), 20. To Be Apart (2:33), 21. Deh Vieni Non Tardar (from “Le Nozze di Figaro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (3:25), 22. Twenty Years Later (1:21), 23. A Last Reading (2:39). [Sony Classical SK-710429,47;00].
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
JOHN POWELL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Bourne Ultimatum.
HOT ROD
TREVOR RABIN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Hot Rod as heard in the film.
SKINWALKERS
ANDREW LOCKINGTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Skinwalkers is a Canadian horror-action film about werewolves, directed by James Isaac and starring Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, and Tom Jackson. It follows the fortunes of a young boy named Timothy (Matthew Knight) who, unbeknown to him, is a member of a ‘good’ werewolf family, and who upon his thirteenth birthday will begin to fulfil an ancient prophecy and “cure” his family and other werewolves of their lycanthropy. However, a gang of other werewolves, who have embraced their flesh-eating ways, are searching for the boy, determined to stop the prophecy from coming true. It’s an interesting premise which, unfortunately, lost something in translation between the page and the screen, and generated some surprisingly negative reviews. One aspect which has stood up well, however, is the score by Canadian composer Andrew Lockington. Lockington spent much of the early part of his career working with fellow Canuck Mychael Danna, which has clearly stood him in good stead; Skinwalkers is a generally impressive contemporary horror score all around. A combination of a large modern orchestra with subtle electronics and all manner of tribal percussion, the score starts fairly slowly with shifting orchestral textures in “Cabin Meeting”, and even some brief familial lightness in “Huguenot”. However, after a taste of things to come in the exciting “Gunfight”, the score bursts into life in “Feeding”, a breathless cue with a memorable theme, and from then on the music barely lets up. Cues such as “Hospital Battle”, “Can’t Go Back”, “Jonas’s Trap” and the impressive “Midnight” combine seething action with skittery, nervous tension that seems to rise up out of nowhere, while elsewhere Lockington’s intelligent use of synthesizers seems to echo the best work of composers like David Arnold and John Powell – notably pieces like “Red Moon”. The thematically rich finale, “Transformation”, is especially satisfying. The soundtrack was released initially as a digital download by Mikael Carlsson’s groundbreaking label MovieScore Media, and thereafter in a small run as a pressed CD; either way, it’s definitely worth checking out.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Forest Presence (1:26), 2. Cabin Meeting (4:00), 3. Raising Timothy (2:49), 4. Huguenot (2:37), 5. Varek Arrives (1:50), 6. Gunfight (3:45), 7. Legend (4:10), 8. Feeding (2:41), 9. Lake (3:04), 10. Hospital Battle (5:49), 11. Red Moon (4:11), 12. Can’t Go Back (1:55), 13. Cat Returns (1:35), 14. Jonas’s Trap (2:34), 15. Midnight (5:28), 16. Transformation (2:09), 17. Epilogue (1:45), 18. Destitutorial (performed by Braintoy) (3:32). [MovieScore Media MMS-07008,55:22].
UNDERDOG
RANDY EDELMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. All you really need to know about Underdog is that it’s about a canine super-hero voiced by Jason Lee, based on an animated cartoon series which debuted in 1964. That one line plot description gives you ample opportunity to decide what Frederik Du Chau’s film is all about – and whether it’s a worthwhile investment of time to seek it out. Despite a fairly impressive supporting cast that includes Amy Adams, Brad Garrett, James Belushi and Peter Dinklage, the film was a comparative commercial failure; this lack of financial success also ultimately led to the mainstream cancellation of the planned soundtrack CD, which would have featured Randy Edelman’s original score. Ultimately, Edelman’s music would be released as a digital download exclusive – which is probably a the best it could hope for, because Underdog is a disappointing and generally sub-standard score. In the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, Randy Edelman was regularly writing a half dozen scores per year. In recent years, however, his highly personal synth-orchestra style seems to have gone out of fashion somewhat, but despite this Underdog is an Edelman score through and through, occasionally echoing the sound (but never capturing the spirit) of some of his most famous scores, including Dragonheart and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. The main Underdog fanfare – a pseudo-heroic brass motif which appears at the end of “Simon’s Lab & Experiment” and later in “Breaking News As Our Tale Continues”, “Costume Change”, “A Stirring First Date” and others - is quite enjoyable in itself, and has a flighty refrain, but is somewhat inconsequential as super hero themes go. The action music, such as it is, tends to be of the ‘light-hearted caper’ variety, while the more emotional scenes (“Riff Raff Meets Shoeshine”, “Backyard Argument”, “Excuse Me, Did You Talk?”, “Family Discussion”) feature sensitive piano and woodwind solos and acoustic guitars. The rest of the time, there’s a lot of insubstantial mickey-mousing and low-key suspense music which neither piques the interest nor stimulates the interest. Underdog isn’t a bad score per se – it just doesn’t have anything especially noteworthy to say, and I don’t think you can blame that on the film because movies with fewer artistic ambitions than Underdog have often elicited surprisingly accomplished scores. Maybe Randy Edelman’s style of composing has simply passed out of fashion.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Underdog Raps (performed by Kyle Massey) (2:36), 2. Sadly Unemployed (2:22), 3. Simon’s Lab & Experiment (4:23), 4. Riff Raff Meets Shoeshine (2:23), 5. Backyard Argument (0:49), 6. Trashing the Diggs (1:37), 7. Excuse Me, Did You Talk? (2:16), 8. Out In Traffic (1:34), 9. Family Discussion (1:49), 10. All American Pastime (1:55), 11. Breaking News As Our Tale Continues (1:27), 12. Costume Change (1:39), 13. A Stirring First Date (2:12), 14. Bonding Buddies (1:18), 15. Coming Together (6:21), 16. Underdog Saves The Day (3:24), 17. Our Shining Hero/Finale (1:36). [Hollywood Records Digital Download,39:42].
RUSH HOUR 3
LALO SCHIFRIN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Rush Hour 3.
STARDUST
ILAN ESHKERI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Stardust as heard in the film.
THE INVASION
JOHN OTTMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The umpteenth remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers to reach big screens since Don Siegel’s 1956 original, the latest version – The Invasion – was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (the acclaimed German director of Der Untergang) and stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jeremy Northam, and again tells the tale of an alien organism which comes to earth and begins to systematically overtake humanity by creating emotionless clones of people, which then murder their human counterpart and assume their identity. John Ottman’s score is one of his better recent efforts, a creepy orchestral and choral score which also uses a healthy dose of electronics to impressive effect. The opening cue, “Life Goes On/Dance of the Cells”, is actually slightly reminiscent of the way Denny Zeitlin opened his score for the 1978 version of the story, with unsettling electronic effects dance around the orchestra and chorus to illustrate the notion of an alien presence insinuating itself into the world. The action music is similarly exciting, with a rhythmic orchestral undercurrent and innovative electronic textures that actually accentuate the music rather than detracting from it. Pieces such as “Escape with Ollie/Basement”, “Carol and Ben Plot” and “Carol’s Wild Ride” are effective and enjoyable, while elsewhere Ottman allows his orchestra to enter the realms of the avant-garde, performing a series of increasingly dissonant and experimental ides. Cues such as “Mid-Transformation”, “Subway/Blending In” stand as some of the most compositionally interesting tracks we have heard from Ottman in years; occasionally, they sound like throwbacks to something Alex North or Jerry Fielding might have written in their most challenging moments, which is praise indeed! Similarly, the electronics are used to add a depth and sonic range to the music which the orchestra alone could not provide; when synths are used this way, as an extension to the orchestral palette rather than a replacement for it, their inclusion is most welcome. The Invasion is not a score which easy to listen to often, or easy to like, but as an example of the kind of interesting, innovating music John Ottman is capable of composing it’s definitely worth checking out.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Life Goes On/Dance of the Cells (3:46), 2. Escape with Ollie/Basement (3:30), 3. All Aboard (2:15), 4. Mid-Transformation (3:49), 5. Subway/Blending In (4:04), 6. Census Taker/Search on a Whim (2:32), 7. Carol and Ben Plot (3:36), 8. Warning Wendy/Taster’s Choice (1:45), 9. Hit and Sit/Dropping Off Ollie (2:04), 10. Under the Microscope/Call for Help (1:50), 11. Trick or Treat/Bad Boy (1:51), 12. Family Bliss/It’s a Pickle (2:33), 13. Carol’s Wild Ride (3:24), 14. I Need You/I Already Slept (2:40), 15. Falling Asleep/We Touched It (3:49), 16. Wake Up!/A Better World? (3:31), 17. Final Escape (1:57). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6837,48:57).
THE LAST LEGION
PATRICK DOYLE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A historical action-drama set in the final, crumbling days of the western Roman Empire, The Last Legion stars young Thomas Sangster as 12-year-old Romulus Augustus, whose previously privileged life takes a terrible turn when, on the day he is crowned emperor of Rome, the empire falls into terrible anarchy. Banished to the island of Capri to live for the rest of his life, Romulus learns of the legend of a mystical sword which was once owned by Julius Caesar, and which he believes may help him return to power. With the help of his teacher Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley) and the last loyal legionnaire Aurelius (Colin Firth), Romulus escapes the island, and goes to the distant province of Britannia, to search for the sword and gather together a legion of soldiers who will fight for the final glory of the Roman Empire. Doug Lefler’s film, which also features Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai and Scottish actors Peter Mullan, John Hannah, Kevin McKidd and Iain Glen, is a curious mix of Roman epic and Arthurian legend, which despite its promising-sounding premise, never really captured the imaginations of audiences. Patrick Doyle’s score follows on from the similar-sounding Eragon from 2006, a large-canvas, sweeping fantasy action score which could never be accused of being subtle. The performance, by the London Symphony Orchestra, is impressive in both size and scale. Right from the outset, in the opening “Sacred Pentangle”, Doyle presents his main theme with ravishing gusto: noble and stirring, with a slight militaristic overtone, and an important-sounding choral accompaniment. It gets perhaps an even more impressive rendition in the next cue, “Coronation”, but thereafter, unlike other recent scores which have tended to be monothematic efforts, Doyle mixes things up a little. The action music, in cues like “Goths Sieze Rome”, the Horner-esque “The Battle of Hadrian’s Wall”, and the emotional “Death of Vortgyn”, are bold and aggressive, never leaving the listener in any doubt as to the score’s dramatic intentions. Occasionally, more mystical material appears in cues such as “Secret Sword” and “Excalibur”, clearly alluding to the Arthurian legend elements of story through moody, vaguely Middle Eastern woodwind writing and a slightly softer tone. However, on the whole these moments are few and far between. If one was to make any criticism of the score it would be to say that the whole thing is just so immense from the outset the opportunity for any kind of dramatic catharsis is diminished. Virtually every cue is enormous and epic, and at times the lack of respite can make listening to the score something of an exhausting experience. Having said that, Doyle nevertheless impresses with his style and sense of adventure, and despite my criticisms it remains one of the 2007’s outstanding epics.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Sacred Pentangle (2:57), 2. Coronation (2:16), 3. Goths Seize Rome (4:14), 4. Wrong Answer (2:07), 5. Secret Sword (5:53), 6. Escape From Capri (3:23), 7. Nestor’s Betrayal (3:15), 8. Journey to Britannia (2:30), 9. Hadrian’s Wall (2:15), 10. Excalibur (1:51), 11. Sword Play Romance (1:12), 12. Who Killed Them? (3:14), 13. The Battle of Hadrian’s Wall (6:17), 14. Death of Vortgyn (4:18), 15. No More War (5:41). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6820,51:23]
SUPERBAD
LYLE WORKMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The unexpected comedy success of 2007, Superbad follows the fortunes of Seth and Evan (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera), inseparable best friends who are destined to be parted when they enroll at different colleges. During their last weeks of high school, and realizing that they only have a short time left together, the intrepid duo hatch a plan to finally fulfill their lifelong ambition: losing their virginity. With the help of their nerdy friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the guys embark on adventure to score enough alcohol to take to a party where they can inebriate the girls of their dreams, Jules and Becca, and engage in full-on regret sex. Hilarity, as they say, ensues. The score for Superbad is by guitarist, composer and music producer Lyle Workman, who previously scored The 40 Year Old Virgin, and who has worked with artists such as Sting, Todd Rundgren. Stylistically, Workman’s score is rooted in the infectious vibes of 1970s funk and disco, and features a host of wailing electric guitars, a blaring horn section, Hammond organs, bass flutes, and a plethora of toe-tapping rhythms and beats. Somehow Workman managed to gather together a virtual super-group of jazz and funk artists to perform his score, including bass legend Bootsy Collins, drummer Clyde Stubblefield and rhythm guitarist Catfish Collins. It’s nothing like a traditional score, instead playing more like a succession of rock-funk instrumentals, but in and of themselves, the pieces are great, if you like this kind of thing. The opening “SuperWhat?” is an especially catchy ride, especially with Bootsy Collins scatting over the top, while later pieces such as “Seth Pulls Into Lot”, “Like a Pimp” and “Funk McLovin” could easily inspire even an overweight white film music reviewer to get his groove on. The soundtrack is rounded out with a series of similar-sounding, finger-snapping tracks from the mid-to-late 70s by artists such as The Bar-Kays, Jean Knight, Curtis Mayfield and the incomparable Rick James. If you don’t like throwbacks to the 1970s, or have some kind of aversion to music which isn’t intended to be anything more than a rocking good time, then Superbad will likely be an annoyance. For anyone who, like me, occasionally enjoys listening to undemanding good-time music, Superbad is a hugely entertaining diversion.
TRACK LISTING: 1. SuperWhat? (4:06), 2. Too Hot To Stop (performed by The Bar-Kays) (3:28), 3. Seth Pulls Into Lot (2:38), 4. Cops See Fogell's I.D./Seth Saves Evan (1:46), 5. Do Me (performed by Jean Knight) (2:51), 6. Flashback Party Weekend (3:30), 7. P.S. I Love You (performed by Curtis Mayfield) (3:56), 8. Evan Runs (1:47), 9. Sleeping Bags (3:26), 10. Like a Pimp (2:05), 11. Here I Come (performed by The Roots) (4:12), 12. Seth Runs On Track (1:09), 13. Bustin' Out (On Funk) (performed by Rick James) (5:20), 14. Evan's Basement Jam (3:33), 15. Roda (performed by Sergio Mendes) (2:24), 16. Goldslick/Seth Fantasy (0:54), 17. Soul Finger (performed by The Bar-Kays) (2:19), 18. Funk McLovin (3:22). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339432,52:55].
FLOOD
DEBBIE WISEMAN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Flood.
RESURRECTING THE CHAMP
LARRY GROUPÉ
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A powerful sports drama directed by Rod Lurie, Resurrecting the Champ stars Josh Hartnett as up-and-coming sports writer Erik Kernan. One day, Erik steps in to saves a homeless man from being beaten up by a group of rowdy college kids, and unexpectedly discovered that the intended victim is not some random bum, but former boxing great Bob Satterfield (Samuel L. Jackson), once believed to have passed away but who had actually fallen on hard times. Intent on writing Satterfield’s story, and ‘rescuing’ the ex-champion from what he sees to be an ignominious fate, Erik and Bob strike up an unlikely friendship, the knock-on effect from which is an opportunity for Erik to reexamine his own life, and especially his relationship with his young son (Dakota Goyo) and his ex-wife (Kathryn Morris). Resurrecting the Champ offered a rare opportunity to score a mainstream film for the hugely talented but massively under-utilized Larry Groupé; since Groupé stopped being John Ottman’s regular conductor and orchestrator towards the end of the 1990s, he scored the political drama The Contender, the acclaimed TV series Line of Fire and Commander in Chief, and even went on tour with Yes, but remains one of the most gifted composers not to be working in Hollywood on a regular basis. His score here is based on two ideas: a hopeful solo piano theme, performed by Groupé himself, for Erik, and a more emotional, melancholy orchestral theme for The Champ, as if to illustrate the tragedy of how this former great warrior’s life ended up literally in the gutter. Groupé’s music always has an appealing warmness, and Resurrecting the Champ is no exception: the piano performances in “Old School”, “I’m Champ” and the conclusive “Resurrecting Champ” are superb, while the likes of “The Truth”, “Career Day”, “Some Mistakes” and the spine-tingling “Champ Dies” are filled with a lushness, and a sense of sensitivity and nobility which is extremely effective and appealing. Other cues of note include the bustling, flamboyant, staccato trio “Grossingers”, “Crossroads” and “Hot Off the Presses”. One can only hope that, on the back of scores like this, as well as his past efforts, someone FINALLY sees fit to give Larry Groupé his scoring shot at the Hollywood mainstream. God knows, he’s far too talented to not get one.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Old School (1:16), 2. Grossingers (1:59), 3. Babe I Like Your Walk (performed by Neville Ivey) (3:13), 4. The Truth (1:55), 5. Shadow of My Father (2:33), 6. Backyard Talk (1:37), 7. Crossroads (2:43), 8. Ready or Not (performed by The Submarines) (4:03), 9. I'm Champ (2:32), 10. Champ Sees Old Video (1:09), 11. Career Day (1:26), 12. The Right Thing (1:01), 13. Five Points (1:32), 14. Zulu Segue (performed by Shinzuku Zulu) (5:17), 15. For the Record (1:31), 16. Hot Off the Presses (1:29), 17. Some Mistakes (2:34), 18. Champ Dies (1:05), 19. Land of Quiet Poems (performed by Chris Stills) (2:59), 20. Resurrecting Champ (2:49). [Rykodisc RCD-19034,44:34].
SEPTEMBER DAWN
WILLIAM ROSS
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of September Dawn.
WAR
BRIAN TYLER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of War.
BALLS OF FURY
RANDY EDELMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A somewhat peculiar movie which combines, of all things, kung-fu with ping-pong, Balls of Fury was a vehicle for up-and-coming comedy actor Dan Fogler. Fogler plays down-and-out former professional ping-pong champion Randy Daytona, whose life is changed when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a secret mission: to travel to the far east and compete in a legendary “extreme ping pong” tournament organized by the nefarious Feng (Christopher Walken) – who is on the FBI’s most wanted list, and also happens to be the man who murdered Fogler’s father. Director Robert Ben Garant turned to Randy Edelman to write the film’s score, ending a comparatively lean 4-yar period for the composer. The music, unsurprisingly, is reminiscent of some of the ‘oriental’ scores he wrote in the 1990s, notably Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and The Quest, and it clearly adheres to the familiar Edelmanisms than have typified his work throughout his career: the unusual synth/string hybrid which more often than not leads the thematic performances, the electronic percussion, the simplistic chord progressions, and the generally upbeat and heroic nature the music maintains throughout. The main theme, first heard in “History in a Paddle” sounds like it should come from a better film, but it is certainly a memorable melody, even if it does sound like it could be a rejected theme from Dragonheart. Once in a while Edelman writes something really lovely, like the superb duet between an erhu and a pipa in “A Harsh Ballerina”, the pompous march in “Tiny Balls Go Olympic”, or the gorgeous, wistful but sadly brief “Reflecting in a Glass Pool”. But his action music, as heard in the likes of “Training Shakedown”, “Homecourt Advantage” and “Storming the Garrison”, tends to be simple and ineffective, relying mainly on clichéd ‘Chinese’ chord progressions and too much synth percussion, while his theme for Walken’s character is ludicrously overblown to the point where it stops being intentionally funny and actually becomes ridiculous. Occasionally, it even sounds like something Hans Zimmer might write on an off-day – “Journey to the Competition” for example. It still bothers me when a composer uses synths to sound like an orchestra when it would be just as easy to hire live players to do the same thing. As much as I’m pleased to see Randy Edelman back working, and as much as I love his classic scores like Dragonheart and Gettysburg, I’m starting to feel that his highly personal musical style is sounding a little tired.
TRACK LISTING: 1. History in a Paddle (3:18), 2. Shock From an Eastern Bloc (2:04), 3. A Harsh Ballerina (2:10), 4. Tiny Balls Go Olympic (1:31), 5. Training Shakedown (2:12), 6. Open Invitation (1:14), 7. Journey to the Competition (1:46), 8. Reflecting in a Glass Pool (0:36), 9. Sweet Victory (2:05), 10. Statesman Feng Makes the Intros (3:46), 11. Falling Hard and Going Soft (0:56), 12. On the Bridge (3:20), 13. Cracking the Ice (0:59), 14. Derailed (1:37), 15. Homecourt Advantage (2:27), 16. Taking All Comers (2:18), 17. Blood Ties (0:27), 18. Storming the Garrison (1:55), 19. An Old Wise Tale (0:57), 20. Facing the Dragoness (1:55), 21. Pong the Swords (2:39), 22. Spoons and Bugs (1:42), 23. Little Girls Don’t Cry (2:08). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6838, 44:02]
DEATH SENTENCE
CHARLIE CLOUSER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Death Sentence as heard in the film.
HALLOWEEN
TYLER BATES
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Halloween as heard in the film.
3:10 TO YUMA
MARCO BELTRAMI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of 3:10 to Yuma as heard in the film.
THE BROTHERS SOLOMON
JOHN SWIHART
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An oddball movie starring Saturday Night Live veterans Will Arnett and Will Forte, The Brothers Solomon was a film about getting pregnant – or, more specifically, the Solomon brothers getting someone else pregnant. The Wills star as John and Dean Solomon, a pair of well-meaning, but socially inept brothers who, in order to provide their dying father (Lee Majors) with a grandchild, embark on a quest to find their perfect mates – two women who will, as the movie’s tagline suggests, be amenable to the brothers “putting a baby in them”. This peculiar, slightly sinister-sounding movie was scored by up-and-coming comedy composer John Swihart, whose career has been in the ascendancy since he wrote the music for the cult hit Napoleon Dynamite in 2004. Unfortunately, if The Brothers Solomon is anything to go by, I can’t see him developing much further. This score is the epitome of the inconsequential, “stinger” comedy score: although there are 32 cues on Lakeshore’s album, just two of them run for more than one minute, and an amazing eight have a total time of 20 seconds or less. How can a composer ever be expected to have any kind of thematic consistency, or any kind of nuanced musical development when cues end almost as soon as they have begun? Composers like Elmer Bernstein have proved on numerous occasions that stupid comedies don’t have to have stupid scores; Swihart’s thinking seems to have been the polar opposite of this. The score is generally orchestral, with prominent acoustic guitars and jazzy inflections, and features the cooing vocal work of the folk-inspired LA-based vocal group The Ditty Bops, and is generally light, upbeat and playful, but it’s almost impossible to generate any kind of feel for the score when it’s so haphazard, spotty and schizophrenic. The opening cue, “Bull Headed Brother”, is pretty enough with the Ditty Bops singing lighthearted la-las and doo-doos on top of a sweet string and guitar backing, but thereafter the score is pretty much all stingers and little snippets of thematic material: a rhumba in “The Negotiator”, a twinkly glockenspiel interlude in “Dad Flashback”, heavy punk rock in “Find That Baby”, and so on. The longest cue, the four-minute epic “Sky Writing”, is an attractive piece for guitar, strings, The Ditty Bops, and flighty flutes, and shows what kind of music Swihart might be capable of writing in an extended form. Overall, the music itself isn’t half bad – in fact, if it were developed further, it could be considered to be upbeat and catchy - but the music switches styles so frequently and so fast it’s more like listening to a composer’s sampler CD rather than an actual cohesive score, and that’s what brings the score down.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (performed by The Flaming Lips) (4:55), 2. Mornings Eleven (performed by The Magic Numbers) (5:31), 3. St. Elmo's Fire (Acoustic) (performed by John Parr) (5:22), 4. Almost Paradise (performed by Ann Wilson & Mike Reno) (3:31), 5. Bull Headed Brother (1:28), 6. The Negotiator (0:40), 7. Baby Toss (0:11), 8. Fire Escape (0:36), 9. Baby-Proof Apartment (0:32), 10. Lamaze Class (0:40), 11. To Janine's (0:23), 12. Sofa Talk (0:23), 13. Losers (0:18), 14. Dad Flashback (0:57), 15. Dead Birth & Popcorn (0:27), 16. Delivery (0:40), 17. Find That Baby (0:23), 18. First Trimester (0:06), 19. Grandson (0:49), 20. How Long (0:25), 21. I'll Tell You Tomorrow (0:28), 22. Janine's Right Behind You (0:57), 23. John Storms Out (0:45), 24. Let's Do This (0:41), 25. My Father's Dying (0:41), 26. Ode to Fish (0:49), 27. Of Course (0:31), 28. Oh My God (0:40), 29. Proud (0:40), 30. Racing to Meet Janine (0:11), 31. Second Trimester (0:06), 32. Sky Writing (4:29), 33. Sleeping Bags (0:28), 34. Tara Flush (0:36), 35. To the Vid Store (0:29), 36. You Get a Baby (0:19), 37. Your New Grandson (0:20). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339272, 41:27].
THE HUNTING PARTY
ROLFE KENT
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The aftermath of the war in Bosnia still lingers, twelve years after the conflict officially ended. People there still remember the atrocities committed by the combatants, and some of the individuals who took part in them are still at large. This difficult political situation is the jumping off point of director Richard Shepard’s action/drama/thriller The Hunting Party, which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Terrence Howard and Richard Gere as a trio of journalists who, without the knowledge of the US government, embark on an unauthorized mission to Bosnia to find The Fox (Ljubomir Kerekeš), a notorious war criminal who remains free somewhere in the former Yugoslavia. However, once in the Balkans, the group finds itself in danger when they are mistaken for a CIA hit squad, and The Fox decides to wipe them out before they can find him. By all accounts, Rolfe Kent had quite a bit of trouble coming up with the right hook, the right sound, for The Hunting Party. Virtually all of his twenty or so major movies to date have been comedies, or had some kind of comedic element to them, so to tackle a subject as serious and dramatic as the war in Bosnia is a new challenge. Fortunately, he was up to the task, delivering one of the most impressive scores of his career. Recorded in Sofia with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, and featuring an intoxicating combo of modern rock elements and vaguely middle-Eastern sounding ethnic elements, Kent’s score conjures up imagery of a dangerous world at the cultural crossroads between East and West, ancient and modern. The opening “The Hunting Party Hits the Road” captures this dichotomy perfectly; later cues, such as surprisingly sexy “The Drive Up to Celebici”, the sinister “Telling of the Fox”, and the powerful finale “Catch and Release”, maintain the enticing blend of different musical worlds to excellent effect, and make superb use of various cimbaloms, balalaikas, duduks, and other now-familiar instrumental touches. Elsewhere, Kent provides the listener with some surprisingly meaty action music (“Pursuit of the Orange Cars”, “Deadly Ride”), and plentiful amount of suspenseful drama (“Kidnapped”, “Bound, Gagged, and Ready to Die”), but tempers it with some emotional string and solo guitar writing, most notably in “Duck Reunited With Simon”, “How Simon Met Marta”, “Simon Discovers Marta in the Rubble”. Odd as it may sound, but this is almost the kind of music one can imagine Kent writing if he was ever asked to score a Bond movie – on more than one occasion, Kent adopts a tone strikingly similar to some of the music John Barry wrote in his 007 heyday, especially in his use of brass, which is pleasing indeed. Anyone familiar with the likes of the Legally Blonde series, or Kent’s scores for Lindsay Lohan movies like Mean Girls or Freaky Friday will be surprised at how different this score sounds; personally, I think that’s a great thing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Hunting Party Hits the Road (1:07), 2. The Doctor is Everywhere (1:24), 3. Duck Reunited with Simon (2:09), 4. Kidnapped! (1:06), 5. The Drive Up to Celebici (2:12), 6. Telling of the Fox (0:55), 7. Persuading Duck (1:05), 8. How Simon Met Marta (3:44), 9. A Killer Called Srdjan (1:45), 10. Back to Sarajevo (1:57), 11. The Fox Hunts/Foca/Don't Touch Him! (1:16), 12. Boris and The UN Conspiracy (1:16), 13. Simon Discovers Marta in the Rubble (1:27), 14. She's Gone/Simon's Loss (0:54), 15. Pursuit of the Orange Cars (2:26), 16. Meeting Boris in the Tunnel (1:54), 17. Fooling the Informant (1:23), 18. Deadly Ride (1:57), 19. Trust Nobody (0:55), 20. Bound, Gagged, and Ready to Die (3:28), 21. Airlifted Out… and Running Back In (3:38), 22. Catch and Release (4:34), 23. I Fought the Law (performed by Nirvan Pisoljevic) (2:43), 24. Barra Barra (performed by Rachid Taha) (5:47), 25. Putsi, Putsi Modu (performed by Zdravko Colic) (3:50), 26. The Juicer (performed by The Sweet) (3:09), 27. It's a Bad Situation in a Beautiful Place (performed by Two Tons of Love (Dos Chicanos Mas)) (2:31), 28. Village Song (performed by Brian Keane and Omar Faruk Tekbilek) (4:17). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339462, 64:49]
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
PHILIP SHEPPARD
Review by Jonathan Broxton. In the Shadow of the Moon is a critically acclaimed documentary directed by David Singleton, which chronicles the manned missions into space undertaken by NASA in the 1960s and 70s. The film features footage from the many Apollo missions, including the Apollo 11 mission which successfully landed on the moon, and the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, the events of which were chronicled in Ron Howard’s 1995 film of the same name. Actual astronauts – notably Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, two of the three men who were part of the first moon landing – feature in the film, lending it a great deal of credibility and historical importance. The score for the film was written by British composer and virtuoso electric cello player Philip Sheppard, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music who has written music for various British TV projects, including the acclaimed ‘Simon Schama's History of Britain’, and who has performed on the soundtracks of films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Hotel Rwanda. As one would expect, Sheppard’s music for In the Shadow of the Moon is noble, patriotic, emotional, heroic, and filled with a sense of wonder and discovery. It’s the perfect aural accompaniment for what remains humanity’s last frontier, and is filled with the kind of hope and optimism that the men and women of NASA surely felt themselves as they embarked on their voyages of discovery. The music ranges from fully orchestral, Americana-inspired themes (as in the “Opening Titles”, the surprisingly old-fashioned “The Launch”, and the vibrant “Down Ladder”, the sweeping “Apollo 13”), to pseudo-religious choral writing (“The Good Earth”, “The Eagle Has Wings”, “Re-Entry”), from appropriately spacey and other-worldly electronic ambiences (“Gemini to Apollo I”), to more intimate solo piano and solo cello pieces (“Loneliest Man”, “Downlink”), the latter of which are more often than not performed by Sheppard himself. There are clear influences in the music - James Horner’s Apollo 13, classic Aaron Copland, even old Newman and Tiomkin westerns – but where Sheppard’s score works is in the blending of these styles into his own shape. It’s all very impressive stuff for what is, effectively, the composer’s mainstream debut, and I look forward to seeing what this talented young man does next.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (2:17), 2. Mare Nectaris (1:57), 3. X15 Jet (1:19), 4. Gemini to Apollo I (2:51), 5. Elegy (1:07), 6. Crawler (1:47), 7. The Good Earth (2:40), 8. Vigil - Eve of Launch (2:19), 9. The Launch (3:40), 10. Staging (1:36), 11. Go for TLI (1:43), 12. Mare Serenitas (1:19), 13. The Eagle Has Wings (1:55), 14. Lunar Descent (4:09), 15. The Eagle Has Landed (1:35), 16. Loneliest Man (1:45), 17. Down Ladder (2:21), 18. Raising the Flag (1:47), 19. Apollo 13 (1:21), 20. Lunar Ascent (1:43), 21. Epiphany (1:15), 22. Re-Entry (3:26), 23. Downlink (7:27), 24. End Titles (2:17). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339512, 55:36].
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Across the Universe as heard in the film.
THE BRAVE ONE
DARIO MARIANELLI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Brave One.
DRAGON WARS (D-WAR)
STEVE JABLONSKY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A very silly Korean monster movie directed by Hyung-Rae Shim, Dragon Wars (or D-War as it is alternately known) stars Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks and Robert Forster, and is based on an old Korean legend about mythological creatures called Imoogi, who every 500 years or so emerge from their hiding places, transform into enormous dragons, and do battle over the ownership of a mystical power source. Caught up in the middle of this ancient conflict is Ethan (Behr), a Los Angeles-based photojournalist who in a past life was a noble warrior in feudal Korea, and Sarah (Brooks), who is the reincarnation of the warrior’s love, and who (inexplicably) is the also guardian of the power source the dragons desire. If all this sounds preposterous and hokey, the vast majority of film critics agreed; Dragon Wars sunk without a trace at the US box office, despite being one of the most expensive and successful domestic Korean movies ever made. Composing the score for Dragon Wars was Steve Jablonsky – the second time in 2007 he would write music for a film in which huge monsters do battle over Los Angeles. To acknowledge the film’s cultural heritage, Jablonsky incorporated a version of the famous Korean folk song “Arirang” into his score. A deconstructed version of the piece appears in the pretty opening piece, “Imoogi”, and also in “Yeouijoo”, and it is given its most attractive rendition in the rousing closing cue, complete with a choir and impressive orchestrations. When the Arirang theme is not present, Dragon Wars sounds like a prototypical Remote Control/Media Ventures score: propulsive action music, dense orchestrations, a heroic male voice choir, prominent blending of synths with the orchestra, and so on. One could almost conceive that Dragon Wars was Jablonsky’s dry run for Transformers, as the two works share a number of stylistic similarities. However, Dragon Wars is clearly the better of the two; the undulating four-note piano line which runs through the score is simple and effective, the choral work seems better integrated into the fabric of the score (especially in the apocalyptic “The Altar”), the “Love Theme” is epic and attractive, and the action music seems less forced, and less agitated than it does in Transformers. Cues such as “Village Attack”, “General and His Army”, “Battle in the Sky” and “D-War” are quite impressive, especially when they use oriental percussion and choral effects, and although the spectre of scores like The Peacemaker and The Rock remain ever-present, hovering over everything, Dragon Wars somehow seems a little fresher and less blatantly derivative than it could have been. A pleasant surprise.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Imoogi (2:19), 2. The Legend Awakes (5:57), 3. Village Attack (5:40), 4. Love Theme (1:40), 5. Yeouijoo (2:57), 6. General and His Army (1:00), 7. Second Life (1:18), 8. Destiny (2:55), 9. Battle in the Sky (2:24), 10. Hypnosis and Flashback (2:32), 11. Cafe Attack (1:58), 12. Rooftop Showdown (2:31), 13. The Altar (2:22), 14. Buraki (2:52), 15. D-War (2:01), 16. Farewell (2:41), 17. Arirang (3:16). [Milan/Sony BMG SB90109C, 46:23]
EASTERN PROMISES
HOWARD SHORE
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Eastern Promises.
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
MARK ISHAM
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of In the Valley of Elah.
SILK
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Silk.
AS YOU LIKE IT
PATRICK DOYLE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. I’ve always felt that Kenneth Branagh is the only modern director who ‘gets’ Shakespeare. Whether he’s playing it comparatively straight, as he did with Henry V and Hamlet, or whether he puts a little spin on the proceedings, as he did by turning Love’s Labour’s Lost into a Cole Porter musical, Branagh seems to have a deep love of the Bard’s work, and an uncanny knack of turning his usually somewhat impenetrable language into something clearly understandable, and which conveys common human emotions and timeless themes. As You Like It, Branagh’s sixth adaptation of a Shakespeare play, is one of the ‘spun’ ones, transplanting it from its original setting in rural France, and re-imagining it in 19th century Japan. Despite an impressive cast – Kevin Kline, Bryce Dallas Howard, Alfred Molina, Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Janet McTeer – and handsome production values, the film could not secure a cinematic distributor in North America, and instead debuted on HBO in August 2007. With the exception of the opening “Kabuki Attack”, which begins with an intimate woodwind solo and oriental inflections but ends up as a surprisingly powerful action cue, very little of Doyle’s score reflects traditional Japanese music. Instead, the score adopts the familiar low-key romantic composing that has typified many of his previous Branagh scores, anchored in this case by Carmine Lauri’s gorgeous violin solos, notably in the delightful “Fake Wedding” and the sumptuous “Violin Romance”. Much of the middle portion of the album is anchored by a series of delicate, low -key romantic cues, in which texture and instrumental performance is given the greatest importance. The light, summery nature of Doyle’s music here has its precedence in Much Ado About Nothing, and cues such as “Niece!”, “Too Late a Week” and “Thy Brother” are truly lovely indeed, while “Tomorrow” and “Weddings” contain some of the most vivid reflections of heartfelt romance Doyle has ever written. Doyle himself sings two beautifully-arranged variations on original songs penned by Shakespeare himself, “Under the Greenwood Tree” and the achingly romantic “Blow Blow”, before everything comes to a rousing head with the sing-along chorus “A Lover & His Lass”, another reminder of the free-spirited finale from Much Ado About Nothing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Kabuki Attack (6:48), 2. Brothers Fight (2:19), 3. Niece! (3:14), 4. Too Late A Week (1:08), 5. The Forest of Arden (4:13), 6. Roynish Clown (2:37), 7. Under The Greenwood Tree (2:36), 8. Eat No More (2:05), 9. Blow Blow (2:23), 10. Thy Brother (3:58), 11. Trip Audrey (1:25), 12. Fake Wedding (2:35), 13. Lion Attack (3:37), 14. Celia & Oliver (1:46), 15. I Love Aliena (2:05), 16. Tomorrow (3:16), 17. Weddings (5:16), 18. A Lover & His Lass (2:51), 19. Violin Romance (5:02). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6830, 59:14]
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
NICK CAVE and WARREN ELLIS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The notorious American outlaw Jesse James was a living legend by the time he was 30, famous for his exploits as a civil war hero, and later as a train robber and a bank robber. James, while still on the run from the law, was killed by Robert Ford, a member of his own gang, at the age of 34 in 1882, thereby cementing his place in the folk history of the American west. James’s life, and death, is examined in director Andrew Dominik’s dark, contemplative film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which stars Brad Pitt as James, Casey Affleck as Ford, and has a sterling supporting cast comprising the likes of Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Shepard and Zooey Deschanel. To compliment the film’s dramatic, landscape-heavy visuals and introspective tone, Dominik turned to singer-songwriter Nick Cave and violinist Warren Ellis for the score. Cave, of course, is the highly idiosyncratic Australian front man of the rock band The Bad Seeds, but who has in recent years begun to explore the world of film music more closely. Cave’s work has always been inherently filmic, with a taste for the dramatic, so it is perhaps no surprise that his thoughts have turned in this direction. Cave and Ellis won an Australian Oscar for their score for The Proposition in 2004, and have received a great deal of critical acclaim for their work here too. As one might expect, given Ellis’s background, much of the score is string-based; similarly, given Cave’s background, the tone is generally downbeat and melancholy throughout. Like the film, Cave’s score is in many ways the flip side to the romantic notions of the American west; it has all the familiar western touches – banjos, fiddles, keyboards, percussion, but instead of acknowledging the perceived heroism these iconic western figures inspired, it instead scores the reality: that the old west was dangerous, confusing, sometimes desolate place where the biggest achievement was to simply survive. The opening “Rather Lovely Thing”, is a moody piece for solo piano and bank of fiddles, performing a plaintive, dark Americana theme – the first of many pieces which hint at the legend’s troubled side. Several of the subsequent pieces are typified by particular instrumental aspects: “Song for Jesse” is a hypnotic piece for chimes and celeste which at times is reminiscent of Philip Glass or Michael Nyman – think of Nyman’s score for The Claim, but without the thematic drive. “Cowgirl” features a mesmerizing duet between a fiddle and an electric guitar, “Last Ride to KC” is a solemn duet between violin and cello with an incessant, buzzing pedal point… and so it goes on. Probably the most conventional cue is the dramatic “So What Happens Next”, which features a churning string fugue underpinned by the strong percussion hits, and is the closest the score gets to having an action cue. The hypnotic, see-saw nature of the rhythms Cage employs throughout the score lulls the listener into a near-trance, which I’m sure was the desired effect. It’s not a typical score by any stretch, but worth investigating for the fearless.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Rather Lovely Thing (3:13), 2. Moving On (2:32), 3. Song for Jesse (2:35), 4. Falling (2:54), 5. Cowgirl (4:05), 6. The Money Train (2:38), 7. What Must Be Done (1:57), 8. Another Rather Lovely Thing (3:28), 9. Carnival (2:52), 10. Last Ride Back to KC (5:24), 11. What Happens Next (2:08), 12. Destined for Great Things (2:26), 13. Counting the Stars (1:19), 14. Song for Bob (6:03). [Mute Records CDSTUMM294, 43:34].
INTO THE WILD
MICHAEL BROOK and EDDIE VEDDER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An acclaimed drama directed by Sean Penn, and based on a true story, Into the Wild charts the life of Christopher McCandless, a privileged upper-middle-class American kid from a wealthy family who, despite graduating from University as a top student and a gifted athlete, abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness – and in the process became the poster child for anti-establishment anti-materialists across the world. Penn’s film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless, Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt as his parents, and Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn and Hal Holbrook in supporting roles. For the music for his film, Penn commissioned to very different artists, to compose both score and a number of original songs. The score is by Canadian guitarist and composer Michael Brook, whose previous works include Affliction, An Inconvenient Truth, and a number of guest appearances on Hans Zimmer soundtracks; the songs were written and performed by Eddie Vedder, guitarist and lead singer of the groundbreaking alternative rock band Pearl Jam. Brook’s score is a plaintive reflection of the self-imposed loneliness of McCandless’s life, and of the great American wilderness: the entire score is dominated by solo violins, solo guitars, and pianos, combined with a modern rhythm section and an occasional synth backing. It’s an unassuming ensemble, but the textures are nice, and although the tone of the score is generally consistent throughout (playing like a collection of instrumentals than a developed score), some cues are standouts – notably the unexpected harmonica in “Walking/Waterskier”, the bluesy “The Combine & Wayne”, the romantic “Swimming & Horses”, and the melancholy, string quartettish “Where Are They Now?”. By the end of the album, though, the oneness of the score does become slightly monotonous. Eddie Vedder’s songs are rooted in a similar sonic world, and have been receiving plaudits from numerous sources; Vedder’s gruff, rebellious voice suits the political standpoint of the film, and his multi-instrumentalism is a nice companion to Brook’s work. The 7-minute finale, “Guaranteed”, has been acknowledged by many to be the standout song, and recently picked up a Golden Globe nomination. Both albums are complimentary of each other, but traditional score fans will likely find little to appeal to their sensibilities.
TRACK LISTING (BROOK SCORE): 1. Lord Byron (0:59), 2. Best Unsaid (2:14), 3. Carving (2:30), 4. Timekeeper (1:59), 5. Burning the Proof (1:17), 6. Walking/Waterskier (1:12), 7. Pacific Crest (1:18), 8. Carte Noir (3:03), 9. Birds, Snow, Ice (0:43), 10. The Combine & Wayne (1:33), 11. Carthage Grain Sale (1:14), 12. Free Satellite and Hunting Advice (2:21), 13. Wayne's Arrest (0:54), 14. Chris' California Trip (2:40), 15. The Rapids (1:19), 16. The Canyon (0:25), 17. Childhood Adventure (0:43), 18. Swimming & Horses (1:38), 19. Sea of Cortez (1:16), 20. Los Angeles at Night (2:04), 21. Violence at Home (1:45), 22. Billie & Hitchhiker (2:20), 23. Shooting the Moose (0:41), 24. Arrival at the Slabs (0:34), 25. Salvation Mountain (2:19), 26. Selling Books (0:48), 27. Chris Reads Tolstoy (1:37), 28. Falling in the River (1:13), 29. Ron Climbs Hill (0:51), 30. Starving (0:45), 31. Flood (2:09), 32. Chris Meets the Bear (1:26), 33. Where Are They Now? (1:29), 34. Chris Dying (2:04), 35. Final Heartbeats (0:52), 36. Devil Slayer (1:44). [Lakeshore Records, 53:59]
TRACK LISTING (VEDDER SOUNDTRACK): 1. Setting Forth (1:37), 2. No Ceiling (1:34), 3. Far Behind (2:15), 4. Rise (2:36), 5. Long Nights (2:31), 6. Tuolumne (1:00), 7. Hard Sun (5:22), 8. Society (3:56), 9. The Wolf (1:32), 10. End of the Road (3:19), 11. Guaranteed (7:22). [J Records, 33:08].
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
AARON ZIGMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Ah, Jane Austen. She of the manners and etiquette, the unrequited love, the stoic heroes, the flighty maidens, the English countryside. Love her or loathe her, the work of popular English novelist has become a part of the modern literary – and cinematic – language through the popularity of titles like Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, and Emma. Robin Swicord’s film The Jane Austen Book Club, based on the novel by Karen Joy Fowler, tells the story of six romantic misfits who come together to read and discuss one Austen novel per month ion the hope that it will bring some sparkle back into their lives, only to find that their relationships - both old and new - begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels. The film stars Amy Brenneman, Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Maggie Grace and Hugh Dancy as the central sextet, and features a score by the enormously busy Aaron Zigman. The score, much like Austen’s novels, is generally pretty and whimsical, with many moments of light romance and self-reflection. The problem, really, is that it doesn’t really do anything or go anywhere, or offer anything really interesting: it just sits there, being all pretty and whimsical. The ensemble is orchestral, with a fair amount more modern light synths and percussion elements to anchor it in the 21st century, but only a few cues really leave any kind of impression: the gentle pizzicati and accordions in “The Buffy Conference” are fun, the acoustic guitars in “Trey Comes On to Prudie” are appealing, and the more extensive “The Jane Austen Book Club Ending” builds up into a nice, engaging romantic finale with a somewhat unexpected Arabic inflection. Much of the rest of the score is either inconsequential mood music or frivolous caper music, which is neither here nor there. The other problem with the album is that, despite running for a mere 33 minutes, there are 29 cues on Varese’s album, which inevitably leads to a score full of short pieces, minimal thematic development, and an occasionally quite spotty and un-focused tone. If you’re a fan of light, undemanding romantic music, then The Jane Austen Book Club may well prove to be a worthwhile purchase; if not, then there’s very little to really latch on to.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Prudie Sees Trey (0:41), 2. The Buffy Conference (2:18), 3. The Airport (1:24), 4. Trey Comes On to Prudie (3:24), 5. Jocelyn and Greg (2:09), 6. February Reading (1:13), 7. Daniel Breaks Up (1:33), 8. March Book Club (0:29), 9. Changing Clothes (0:33), 10. Jocelyn Gets Vulnerable (1:13), 11. Ten Days with Mother (0:36), 12. Bernadette and Prudie (2:08), 13. June Book Club (0:29), 14. Sylvia and Jocelyn (1:09), 15. A Little Romance (0:43), 16. At the Bar (0:42), 17. Porch Intrique (0:31), 18. Grigg Emails (1:20), 19. Sky Has to Leave (1:26), 20. Daniel Crossing (0:54), 21. The Traffic Light (0:30), 22. April Book Club (0:29), 23. The Funeral (0:33), 24. May Book Club (0:45), 25. The Jane Austen Book Club Ending (2:57), 26. Allegra Ticked Off (0:45), 27. Trash in Car (0:18), 28. Head on Daniel (1:12), 29. Excuse Us (0:44). [Varese Sarabande VSD-6856, 33:08].
RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION
CHARLIE CLOUSER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. After three movies, the Resident Evil franchise is still – amazingly – still going strong, with Milla Jovovich still kicking mutant ass as freedom fighter Alice, who has made her way to what remains of Las Vegas and trying to stay alive and stay out of the way of the evil creatures that now roam the earth, following the catastrophes of the first two films. Extinction is directed by veteran Russell Mulcahy, and also stars Oded Fehr, Ali Larter and Iain Glen. After efforts by Marco Beltrami, Marilyn Manson and Jeff Danna, this movie features a score by the inexplicably popular Charlie Clouser, hot of his success on the similarly-grotesque Saw franchise. True to his roots as a former member of the metal rock band Nine Inch Nails, the score is entirely synthesized, performed by Clouser himself and his former band mate, guitarist Danny Lohner. I’m not sure what I hated more about this score: the obnoxious, grating, sub-industrial sonic hell that the music inhabits, or the overbearing, cochlea-melting loudness of it all. It’s just relentless, pounding, irritating noise – and worst of all, the score album, on Lakeshore Records, runs for 64 soul-destroying minutes. This album could almost be classified as an instrument of torture under the Geneva Convention due its interminable length. I defy anyone with working ears to sit and listen to over an hour of this music for any reason other than to review it. But listen to it I did, and to prove it I will admit that cues like “Dog Attack” and “Birds Attack” are quite effective in the way they depict the frenzied motion the film embraces in its action scenes, and cues like “Convoy” could be considered cool montage sequences, and are at least in some way thematic. At the other end of the scale, cues like “Perimeter Fire” and “Carlos Hug” adopt an ethereal, vaguely dreamlike tone which, if nothing else, provide a few moments of respite from the carnage. However, beyond these brief high spots, I can find very little else positive to say about Resident Evil: Extinction. If your music tastes extend towards what basically amount to thrashing hard-rock instrumentals overlaid by processed synthesized effects, you may actually enjoy this score. Everyone else should avoid it like the plague. Or the T-Virus.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Clone Awake (0:46), 2. The Ditch (1:50), 3. Alice Ride (0:55), 4. Dog Attack (2:17), 5. To the Hive (2:35), 6. Flysolated (0:55), 7. Convoy (0:40), 8. Motel Closet (2:26), 9. Dexterity (2:01), 10. Perimeter Fire (2:53), 11. Telepathic Sense (1:39), 12. Desert Walk (1:09), 13. Birds Attack (4:46), 14. Choose Sides (2:12), 15. Carlos Hug (2:35), 16. Positive ID (2:28), 17. For Alaska (2:57), 18. New Orders (2:25), 19. Vegas Journal (0:42), 20. Container (2:29), 21. Open Box (1:49), 22. Losing Texan (1:35), 23. To Tent (2:00), 24. Tentacles (1:22), 25. Carlos Plan (2:25), 26. Tanker Truck (2:48), 27. Others Gone (1:06), 28. Elevator (1:12), 29. Your Blood (2:04), 30. Clone Bubble (1:23), 31. Alice Pic (0:45), 32. Isaacs Dead (2:45), 33. Laser Tunnel (0:25), 34. New Headquarters (1:54). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33975, 64;13].
THE KINGDOM
DANNY ELFMAN
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Kingdom.
L’ENNEMI INTIME
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Review by Jonathan Broxton. One of the most admirable things about Alexandre Desplat is the fact that, despite his new status as one of Hollywood’s golden composers, he still regularly works on French domestic pictures back home. One of these is L’Ennemi Intime, a bold and controversial political drama/war movie directed by regular Desplat collaborator Florent Emilio Siri. The film, which has been a convention-challenging commercial success in France, stars Benoît Magimel, Albert Dupontel and Aurélien Recoing, and follows the fortunes of a platoon of French soldiers on maneuvers in North Africa during the Algerian war of independence in the late 1950s, and is one of the few French films to examine the war in Algeria with a dispassionate realism and with no ulterior agenda. As is always the case with Desplat’s scores, L’Ennemi Intime is fully orchestral, thematic and immediately engaging; however, unlike some of Desplat’s more popular Hollywood fare, this score has a profound seriousness and an overarching sense of tragedy and regret: a wholly appropriate tone to adopt, considering the solemn nature of the film itself. Strings dominate much of the score, as in cues such as the opening “L'Ennemi Intime”, the painfully emotional “Souvenirs” and in many ways is a reflection of the kind of music the late Georges Delerue used to write for films like this; think about Delerue’s rejected score for Platoon, or his music for Diên Biên Phù, and you’ll have an idea of what kind of score L'Ennemi Intime is. Once in a while Desplat steps out of the box: “1959” has an unexpected soft-jazz shuffle with brushed snares, a lonely trumpet refrain, and slightly off-kilter thematic center, which is carried over into the stark, somewhat unsettling “Zone Interdite” and, later, “Fantômes”. Similarly, “Napalm” and “Attente” are soft pieces for strings, flutes and Gamelan gongs which somehow carry a sense of quiet desolation. Interestingly, for a war movie, there is virtually no action music in the score – clearly an artistic choice by Siri and Desplat so as not to glamorize or trivialize the bitter colonial conflict. Instead, there is ratcheted tension in the shape of “Mission de Nuit” and “Opération de Police”, which creep insidiously under your skin, almost subliminally, and impart a sense of danger and nervousness. This is most certainly not a feel-good score, and anyone whose primary exposure to Desplat has been through his popular fantasy or romance scores may find themselves wondering just what on earth this score is all about: however, for those interested in exploring the darker side of Desplat, L'Ennemi Intime makes for fascinating listening.
TRACK LISTING: 1. L'Ennemi Intime (3:30), 2. 1959 (2:11), 3. Zone Interdite (4:27), 4. Trahison (3:13), 5. Souvenirs (1:47), 6. Mission de Nuit (4:13), 7. Opération de Police (2:50), 8. Stèles (1:48), 9. Napalm (3:38), 10. Attente (1:14), 11. Fantômes (7:27), 12. Grenoble (1:57), 13. Taïda (4:10), 14. Exécution (3:41), 15. 1959 (Version Longue) (9:52). [Naive K-1629, 55:58].
LUST, CAUTION
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Lust, Caution.
MICHAEL CLAYTON
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Michael Clayton.
FINISHING THE GAME
BRIAN TYLER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Finishing the Game.
THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING
CHRISTOPHE BECK
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Whenever fantasy films come back in vogue, as they have done off the back of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, there are always some projects which look good on paper but fair miserably when the end result is screened. Such was the case of The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, based on the novel by Susan Cooper and directed by David L. Cunningham. The film tells the story of a young boy named Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig), whose life is turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the evil – who, in this case, are led by “The Rider” (Christopher Eccleston). The film, which also stars Ian McShane, Frances Conroy and James Cosmo, sank without a trace at the box office – which, in turn, killed off any chance that Christophe Beck’s epic fantasy score would ever see the light of day. Beck has of course tackled this kind of thematic area before in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer scores, so he certainly knows which buttons to press here: there are themes and large scale action sequences and a great deal of flamboyance in the orchestration, but it’s not all huge fantasy music all the way. There are a few moments of light, playful lyricism (“Knife Dance”) and even a few moments of modern underscoring with synths and percussion samples to accentuate the contemporary setting. Having said that, the most impressive parts of the score do tend to be the ones which conform to genre stereotypes - “At the Mall”, “Church Lady”, “Three Signs” and the apocalyptic “Huntercombe Manor” contain some powerful sequences for rasping brass and percussion which are hugely satisfying, and “The Rider” introduces a deliciously dark anti-hero theme which plays against some frenetic orchestral action material and is recapitulated to superb effect in “Will is the Seeker” and the strident, menacing “Thomas Stanton”. All in all, and despite accompanying an apparently wretched film, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising is actually a pretty accomplished and enjoyable piece of music which is well worth seeking out, especially for those whose taste in music tends to veer toward the flights of fancy. Unfortunately, with no official release of the score, the only way to hear Beck’s enjoyable work is on this promo, which runs for 49 minutes, and is fairly widely available on the secondary market and via iTunes.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Will’s Theme (0:55), 2. At the Mall (3:29), 3. Walk to Party (1:21), 4. The Rider (5:12), 5. Seventh Son (2:05), 6. Will Is The Seeker (5:52), 7. Church Lady (2:23), 8. Thomas Stanton (3:26), 9. Salt Fractal (2:28), 10. Knife Dance (2:28), 11. Venting (2:29), 12. Three Signs (2:40), 13. Sign of Iron (1:51), 14. Huntercombe Manor (3:26), 15. Sign of Water (1:21), 16. Apocalypse (3:54), 17. Demise of the Rider (2:00), 18. Reunited (3:04). [Promo, 49:04].
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
CRAIG ARMSTRONG and A.R. RAHMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
WE OWN THE NIGHT
WOJCIECH KILAR
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of We Own the Night.
SLEUTH
PATRICK DOYLE
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Sleuth.
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
BRIAN REITZELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An angry, vicious beast of a horror film, 30 Days of Night is a vampire movie with a difference. Based on the popular graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, and directed by David Slade, the film stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George and Mark Boone Junior as inhabitants of a small Alaskan fishing town who, each year, must endure ‘thirty days of night’ when the sun dips below the Arctic horizon and doesn’t re-appear for a month. Usually, life goes on as normal – but during this particular period of perpetual twilight, things go horribly wrong when the town is attacked by a gang of shrieking, brutal vampires led by the mysterious Stranger (Ben Foster) and the ghastly Marlow (Danny Huston), who seem intent on turning a once-peaceful community into a blood-soaked human buffet with an orgy of death and violence. The music for 30 Days of Night is by composer Brian Reitzell, who is best known to date for collaborating with Irish rocker Kevin Shields on Lost in Translation in 2003, and scoring the oddball Will Ferrell movie Stranger Than Fiction in 2006. I have to say that, all in all, I completely and utterly detested what he did on 30 Days of Night; it represents everything I hate about certain kinds of modern film music – themeless, aimless, pointless ‘sound design’ scoring which is barely indistinguishable from the audio FX track in the mix, and which adds no discernible level of drama or nuance to the film it accompanies. 30 Days of Night groans and scrapes and drones and thumps for 47 minutes, and then simply ends. There’s no tangible musical element to latch on to, and no real indication of what may or may not be happening on screen at any given moment. Most of the time, it’s boring and incoherent, and when it’s not – in tracks like the fast-paced “Muffin Muncher” – it becomes obnoxious and irritating. Like Lucky You, Varese Sarabande were originally intending to release this score in regular fashion – but for what ever reason, the release got cancelled and Reitzell’s work ended up as a download-only release on the delightfully named Ipecac Records. Although, thinking about it, that’s probably the best possible place for this abomination, because I felt sick at the end of it all…
TRACK LISTING: 1. Prelude/Last Day of Sun (2:58), 2. Girl Bait (3:38), 3. Muffin Muncher (1:57), 4. Soon There Will Be Just 5 (5:21), 5. Vampires On the Horizon (1:20), 6. They Didn't Take Me (1:31), 7. Barrow Burns (2:14), 8. Ditchwitched (3:39), 9. Vampired Johnny (3:14), 10. Gus Loses His Head (1:31), 11. You Wanna Play With Me Now? (2:59), 12. The Bloody Fruits of Barrow (2:16), 13. Eben Shoots Up (2:42), 14. The One Who Fights (3:14), 15. Daybreak (2:34), 16. Overture (2:22), 17. Underture (3:52). [Ipecac Recordings IPC98, 47:22].
THE COMEBACKS
CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A comedy that spoofs the inspirational sports movies like Rudy and Miracle, The Comebacks tells the story of an out-of-luck coach named Lambeau Fields (David Koechner), who takes a rag-tag bunch of college misfits and drives them towards the football championships – and, in the process, discovers that he is a winner after all by redeeming himself, and saving his relationship with his family and friends. The film is directed by Tom Brady (no, not the New England Patriots quarterback – although that would have been funny!) and co-stars Carl Weathers, Melora Hardin and Matthew Lawrence. The music for The Comebacks is by rising star Christopher Lennertz who, wisely, has taken a leaf out of the Elmer Bernstein book of scoring comedies and played things absolutely straight – which makes for a funnier movie, and a much better soundtrack! As befits the nature of the film, Lennertz was clearly inspired by Jerry Goldsmith, Randy Newman, and all his illustrious predecessors, and written a score which drips with noble and patriotic Americana. The “Main Title” is a delightfully upbeat and dignified construction, full of fanfares and resolute honor and integrity; it’s various restatements through out the album give the whole score a pleasing coherence, especially during the flag-waving finale, “Go For the Win”. Elsewhere, Lennertz emphasizes the working class, salt-of-the-earth protagonists with mellow acoustic guitars (“Coach Takes the Job”, “Steers and Shears”, “Love Theme”), builds the tension and energy in the in-game action with driving percussion and throbbing orchestral tempos (“ACL Tears it Up”), adds a bit of Latino spice (“Jorge Juanson”), a bank of rocking electric guitars (“Comebacks First Win”), and even finds time to lampoon James Horner in “The Cornfield”. It’s all great fun, and a hugely enjoyable listening experience which manages to hit all the right emotional buttons without taking itself too seriously. Unfortunately, Lennertz’s score was never released commercially, and is only available as a promo from Lennertz’s publicists at Costa Communications.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Comebacks Main Title (1:05), 2. Yanking Off the Horses (0:56), 3. Coach Takes the Job (2:00), 4. Locker Room Speed/ACLS Tears It Up (2:36), 5. Jorge Juanson (0:30), 6. Comebacks First Win (1:14), 7. The Cornfield (1:37), 8. Dad and MacDonald/Victory (1:44), 9. Steers and Shears (0:56), 10. Love Theme (1:39), 11. Die Sad (1:15), 12. Taking Care of Business (3;13), 13. Friday Night Who (0:49), 14. All the Way to Mexico (0:58), 15. Halftime Inspiration (3:02), 16. They're Killing Us (2:04), 17. Randy's Dream (1:05), 18. Randy's Nightmare/Cool Hand Coach (2:50), 19. The Boob TD (0:57), 20. Go For the Win (3:53), 21. T&A (performed by White Beaver) (5:28), 22. Can't Keep a Legend in the Shadows For Long (performed by David Koechner and Andy Paley) (5:01). [Promo, 44:55]
GONE BABY GONE
HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Gone Baby Gone.
O JERUSALEM
STEPHEN ENDELMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An ambitious, expansive drama about the creation of the modern Israeli nation in 1948, O Jerusalem attempts to condense decades of political turmoil, ethnic tension and social upheaval into a workable feature movie by using it as a backdrop for an allegorical tale of two American friends – one Jewish, one Arab – whose lives are forever altered by the political ramifications of the time. Directed by Elie Chouraqui and starring JJ Field, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ian Holm as Ben Gurion, and Tovah Feldshuh as Golda Meir, the film somewhat surprisingly slipped below the cinematic radar, despite its talented cast and important subject matter. Equally overlooked was Stephen Endelman’s original score, which is well worth discovering. Endelman’s career has never really taken off the way people expected, despite the popularity of titles such as The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain and The Proposition; it’s a shame, because he is hugely talented, with a knack for writing memorable themes and crafting moments of great drama and beauty. The score for O Jerusalem starts strongly, with the titular opening track presenting a powerful orchestral theme overlaid with alternating male and female and vocal effect. A number of subsequent cues leave a similarly positive impression, notably the ebullient clarinet solo in “We Need Them Now”, the heartfelt piano and string performances in “The Convoy”, the tragedy-laden action music in “Explosion at Hotel” and “Bobby's Battle Begins” … the opening sextet of cues really set the album up to be a winner, and for the entire length of the score Endelman never drops the ball. The orchestra combines with various ethnic elements to represent the geographic setting of the film – a duduk crops up here and there – and the voices are interweaved so well with the rest of the music that they never sound overbearing or out of place. Even Endelman’s use of synths is generally excellent and appropriately unobtrusive, especially in the astonishing “The Laturn”, which combines ecclesiastical plainsong with electric guitars, synths and dramatic orchestral chords to surprisingly engaging effect. One or two source music pieces litter the middle of the album – notably the flamboyant dance piece “Yismehou”, or the melancholy “Novi San Novi Dan” – but for the most part this is a sad, reflective, occasionally uplifting score which is most certainly worth taking a chance on, especially if you have heard and liked any of Stephen Endelman’s previous efforts.
TRACK LISTING: 1. O Jerusalem (2:29), 2. We Need Them Now (1:51), 3. The Convoy (2:32), 4. The Vote (2:36), 5. Explosion at Hotel (3:02), 6. Bobby's Battle Begins (2:23), 7. Do What I Want To Do [song] (1:10), 8. The Key to Zion (1:44), 9. Back Packs (1:47), 10. Yismehou [song] (1:49), 11. The Laturn (3:49), 12. Bobby's Story (2:45), 13. They Didn't Want Thin Woman (2:00), 14. Castel Devastated (3:19), 15. My Baby [song] (2:39), 16. Novi San Novi Dan (performed by Ivana Jeftic) (1:52), 17. Boat Dock (1:49), 18. The Road to Jerusalem (2:40), 19. The Boat Arrives (1:26), 20. The Arab Revolt (3:07), 21. Back Packs Arrive (1:53), 22. Blowing the Wall (2:48), 23. Bobby's Wedding (4:58), 24. O Jerusalem End Title (3:13). [Milan Music 399 062-2, 59:41].
RESERVATION ROAD
MARK ISHAM
Review by Jonathan Broxton. One thing I’ve never been fond of is Mark Isham’s synth writing. Give him an orchestra, and I’m putty in his hands; let him loose with electronics – like they did on scores like Blade and Timecop and Crash - and I generally loose interest pretty quickly. Such was the case with Reservation Road, the latest film from Irish director Terry George. Based on the book of the same title by John Burnham Schwartz, the film deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident on the titular highway, in which two fathers - Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo – are forced to deal with the death of a 10-year-old boy. The film also stars Oscar winning actresses Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino. That’s not to say that Reservation Road doesn’t have its moments, because it does: some of the few acoustic soloists do provide a great deal of emotional content, especially John Oford’s bassoon, and Isham himself on piano. But these moments are few and far between, leaving much of the rest of the album somewhat of a disappointment. The score is accompanied throughout by a subtle string wash which, along with the continuous synth pedal, gives much of the score a faraway, detached feeling of aimlessness and loss – which is arguably the effect Isham intended to convey. The main theme, heard in the bookending “Reservation Road” cues, is a sort of pseudo-Thomas Newman effort with a dark post-modern vibe and various edgy orchestrations, and is pretty much the score’s only real thematic high point. Elsewhere, the dark bassoons make themselves heard in “Aftermath”, the stark pianos feature prominently in “Fatal” and the jittery “Diplomat”, and cues such as “Confession Failed” bring scampering, agitated pizzicato effects into play. The previous comparisons to scores like Timecop and Blade were perhaps a little misleading, because Reservation Road isn’t an action movie in any way – but, still, one can’t shake the niggling feeling that this score, like those scores, isn’t all it could have been. The mood is soothing and the writing is textural, but beyond the few standout moments of instrumental and thematic content highlighted above, there is precious little else to pique the interest.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Reservation Road (2:46), 2. Accident (1:25), 3. Aftermath (2:39), 4. Home (1:49), 5. Fatal (2:09), 6. Peanut Jar (1:15), 7. It's My Fault (2:01), 8. Funeral (1:27), 9. Internet Search (1:46), 10. Civil Suit (1:31), 11. Podcasts (1:49), 12. Diplomat (1:52), 13. Confession (1:31), 14. Confession Failed (1:32), 15. Obsession (2:00), 16. He Knows (1:56), 17. Threat (1:06), 18. Goodnight Emma (1:26), 19. Suburban Kidnapping (4:23), 20. Walk Away (6:07), 21. How Do You Forgive (2:15), 22. Reservation Road (4:06). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33964, 48:51].
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
JOHAN SØDERQVIST and GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Things We Lost in the Fire.
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD
CARTER BURWELL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead as heard in the film.
AMERICAN GANGSTER
MARC STREITENFELD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of American Gangster.
FRED CLAUS
CHRISTOPHE BECK
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Fred Claus as heard in the film.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
CARTER BURWELL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of No Country for Old Men as heard in the film.
BEOWULF
ALAN SILVESTRI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Beowulf.
MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT and AARON ZIGMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.
ENCHANTED
ALAN MENKEN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Enchanted.
THE MIST
MARK ISHAM
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Mist as heard in the film.
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING
ADAM GORGONI
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Starting Out in the Evening as heard in the film.
ATONEMENT
DARIO MARIANELLI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Atonement.
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Golden Compass.
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Ever since those adorable little critters, the Chipmunks, first burst onto airwaves and screens in the United States in the 1950s, they have been a mainstay of American popular culture. Over the years the anthropomorphic trio – Alvin, Simon and Theodore – and their human manager David Seville have enjoyed numerous hit records, featured in TV shows both animated and live action, and now feature in a new movie directed by Tim Hill, starring Jason Lee, and featuring the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney. Alvin and the Chipmunks was one of the surprise box office hits of 2007, taking in over $200 million domestic. It’s also by far the biggest film to date of Christopher Lennertz’s career, although it can’t belong before this extremely talented composer enjoys writing for films of slightly loftier artistic ambitions. Lennertz’s score for Alvin and the Chipmunks is essentially live-action cartoon music, and conforms to all the expectations that description suggests: a large orchestra, a fast pace, a lot of mickey-mousing and scattershot ideas, and a generally lively and energetic tone which keeps the action moving. There are some impressive cues dotted here and there, notably the sprightly scherzo “I’m Late”, the bittersweet little piano theme in “Leave Me Alone”, the magical “Are You Awake?”, the cheerily seasonal “Christmas Morning” (complete with re-orchestrated carols!), the lovely guitar and piano duet in “Live With Uncle Ian”, the melancholy themes in “Dave’s Phone Call” and “I Want To Go Home”, and so on. There’s actually a surprising amount of good music here. Of course, Lennertz could never be expected to produce his best work for a film like this, considering its cartoony nature and its general lack of scope, and once in a while there is a noticeable bit of temp-track bleed-through, but he has made the absolute best of a less than inspiring assignment, and produced an enjoyable, if throwaway, score. The widely-available commercial soundtrack CD features a plethora of songs, remixes and cover versions performed by The Chipmunks themselves, but no score; the only place to hear Lennertz’s work is on the official agency promo from First Artists Management.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Title (1:10), 2. I'm Late (0:44), 3. Ever? (2:10), 4. No More Nuts (0:36), 5. Dave's Theme (0:51), 6. Storing Food for Winter (4:15), 7. Rescue the Gear (0:27), 8. Toaster Waffles (1:26), 9. Leave Me Alone (2:19), 10. I’ll Clean Out My Office (1:38), 11. Are You Awake? (1:20), 12. Christmas Morning (4:12), 13. Live with Uncle Ian (2:41), 14. Dinner! (2:11), 15. Dave Remembers (0:31), 16. Get Them (1:06), 17. Missing the Boys (0:44), 18. Dave's Phone Call (1:07), 19. Theodore's Nightmare (1:08), 20. I Want to Go Home (1:31), 21. You'll Never Take Us Alive (3:22), 22. Alvin!!! (0:51). [First Artists Management Promo, 36:20].
I AM LEGEND
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of I Am Legend as heard in the film.
THE KITE RUNNER
ALBERTO IGLESIAS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Another powerful drama based on a hugely important and successful novel, director Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner examines 30 years of the history of Afghanistan – from the downfall of the historical monarchy, through the Soviet years, to the stifling influence of the Taliban and beyond – from the point of view of two young friends, Amir and Hassan, whose fates diverge dramatically as a result of a seemingly innocuous childhood incident. The score for The Kite Runner is by Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias, and as one might expect a fair amount of the score contains the increasingly-familiar Middle Eastern inflections, in the writing, the orchestration, the rhythms and the vocal effects. The cultural mishmash of influences – from Greece, Turkey, Iran, India and elsewhere – combined with a fairly large western orchestra is an exotic one, but the problem with the score as a whole is that it’s all stuff we’ve heard before: the frantic percussion in the “Opening Titles”, the wailing muezzin in “The Call”, the fluttery woodwinds in “Kabul 1978”, the vigorous dance motif towards the end of “Kite Shop” and so on – it’s like Iglesias had a list of ethnic clichés he wanted to check off, and went through them one by one. Similarly, a lot of the orchestral writing is quite nondescript in itself, consisting of little more and meandering woodwind lines and soft string textures which fail to leave much of an impression. Perhaps I’m being unkind; the vaguely Morricone-esque woodwind theme in “Sin” is quite attractive, and the remarkably sprightly and lively “Kite Tournament” is truly delightful, the stark “The Stadium” contains an unexpectedly potent electric guitar solo, and the chaotic “Escape” has a sense of frenzied energy, but beyond these brief highlights, much of the score remains surprisingly dull. Iglesias’s score is complemented by five songs in Arabic by Ahmad Zahir, Ehsan Aman and Sami Yusuf, which range from the entrancing to the horrifically cheesy – such is the way of these things. Iglesias was Oscar nominated for his score, although his recognition feels like another one of those ‘we wanted to give the film some recognition and the composer has a foreign name, so this will do’ awards, than a true reflection of the quality of the music.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (3:21), 2. The Call, Kabul 1978 (2:33), 3. He Hates Me (1:08), 4. Kite Shop (3:07), 5. Sin (1:34), 6. Tanha Shudam Tanha (performed by Ahmad Zahir) (3:36), 7. Kite Tournament (5:40), 8. Hassan Theme (2:58), 9. Az Man Begurezed (performed by Ahmad Zahir) (5:04), 10. Plant the Watch (1:30), 11. Russians Invade (2:23), 12. The Truth (1:59), 13. Omaid E Man (performed by Ehsan Aman) (1:47), 14. Fuel Tanker (3:09), 15. End Phone Call (2:06), 16. The Stadium (2:34), 17. Escape (3:11), 18. Dukhtare Darya (performed by Ehsan Aman) (3:44), 19. Fly A Kite (4:27), 20. Reading the Letter (2:50), 21. Supplication (performed by Sami Yusuf) (4:06). [Deutsche Grammophon 477 733-3, 62:47].
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH
OSVALDO GOLIJOV
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An unusual and highly personal drama from director Francis Ford Coppola, Youth Without Youth is based on the novella by Romanian author Mircea Eliade, and stars Tim Roth as 70-year-old linguist and philosopher Dominic Matei who, dismayed by the onset of World War 2 and unable to finish his life's work, contemplates suicide. However, after Matei is struck by lightning, he wakes up to discover that he has miraculously made a full recovery, has been rejuvenated with the body of a 35-year-old man, and can store limitless amounts of information in his brain simply by passing his hand over a book… a phenomenon that quickly becomes famous within the scientific community, and which sends the Gestapo and Hitler's top scientists in his direction. With such an idiosyncratic and ‘arty’ film, it is perhaps no surprise that Coppola turned to Argentine composer, and darling of the classical set, Osvaldo Golijov for the score. It almost pains me to say it, because it makes me sound like a philistine, but the score for Youth Without Youth bored me. Despite being performed by the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, and despite it featuring some expressive cimbalom, accordion and kamancheh Persian violin solos, and despite the main theme (“Youth Without Youth”, “Malta”) being rather beautiful, a lot of the score left me completely cold. It is at times scratchy, overly-processed and grating; cues like “Dominic’s Nightmare”, “Dr. Rudolf’s Suicide” and “Rupini’s Cave” are at times nothing short of irritating (although clearly intentionally so). Similarly, the rambunctious gypsy-flavored music in cues like “Refugee” is authentic, but somehow never quite seems to gel as part of a cohesive overall score style. However, on the other hand, cues like “Love Lost: Laura”, the gorgeous “Laura Reborn” are at times quite lovely in a soothing, dream-like, abstract kind of way – but there are just not enough moments like these to make the album recommendable. It’s frustrating, because I know I should like this music, and I should be celebrating the fact that a respected classical composer like Golijov is embracing film; but somehow the whole experience just passed me by.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Youth Without Youth (2:44), 2. Dominic's Nightmare (1:25), 3. Love Lost: Laura (6:14), 4. Refugee (4:19), 5. Time (2:48), 6. Dr. Rudolf's Dream (2:50), 7. Powers (2:14), 8. O Alba Tigareta Parfumata (performed by Nello Manzatti) (2:53), 9. The Girl in Room 6 (1:44), 10. Dr. Rudolf's Suicide (3:41), 11. Laura Reborn (4:04), 12. Journey to India (2:01), 13. Rupini's Cave (2:03), 14. Malta (1:52), 15. Veronica's Nightmare (2:18), 16. Farewell (3:03), 17. Love Lost: Veronica (2:41), 18. Death of the Double (2:07), 19. Noapte Buna Mimi (performed by Ion Vasilescu) (2:53), 20. Last Walk to Café Select (2:07), 21. The Third Rose (3:57). [Deutsche Grammophon 477 660-3, 59:58].
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A political comedy-drama from director Mike Nichols and writer Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson’s War tells the outrageously true story of former Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a minor political player in Ronald Reagan’s administration who, through a series of contrived circumstances, finds himself part of a covert plot to supply the Afghan mujahaddin freedom fighters with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. The film also stars Julia Roberts as conservative fundraiser and lobbyist Joanne Herring, Philip Seymour Hoffman as shady CIA agent Gust Avrakotos, and Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Om Puri and Ned Beatty in smaller roles; the film was a critical success, but never really took flight with audiences, and ended up being one of the least-lucrative box office films of Tom Hanks’s career. James Newton Howard’s music is a very entertaining mélange of traditional orchestral scoring and world music fusion, beginning with a quite superb, noble theme for “Charlie Wilson” in the opening cue which resonates to sweeping strings, noble horns and tender acoustic guitars; this theme is recapitulate warmly in the stirring final cue, “Honored Colleague”. The world music aspects, obviously intended to act as a geographic marker for the Afghans, are heard in the likes of “Refugee Camp” and “The Belly Dancer”, and are undeniably authentic, the featuring an array of ethnic percussive and wind instruments alongside a wailing Middle Eastern vocalist, the latter featuring a breathy, enticing performance by Indian vocalist Gingger whispering ‘dah dah dah’ over the music. Once or twice Howard does something really unexpected – the down home country orchestrations in “Telex Machine” being a notable surprise – but by far the most outlandish cue is “Turning the Tide”, which starts out as a fairly low-key action and suspense cue, but eventually erupts into an enormous, re-orchestrated recapitulation of the chorus “And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness” from the Overture from Handel’s Messiah. The stunning musical effect plays over a scene of Soviet helicopter gun ships being decimated by the mujahaddin, emphasizing the ironic juxtaposition of the scene, and is one of 2007’s standout film music moments. Without this cue, Charlie Wilson’s War would just be another standard political-drama score with nothing especially notable to recommend it; this one cue makes all the difference, and makes it a worthwhile score to pick up.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Charlie Wilson (3:03), 2. Telex Machine (1:32), 3. Jailbait (1:06), 4. Refugee Camp (5:11), 5. It's Up To Me (2:48), 6. The Belly Dancer (2:41), 7. Turning the Tide (8:33), 8. Where's It At, Charlie? (1:12), 9. Balcony (1:29), 10. Honored Colleague (6:09). [Varese Sarabande VSD-6870, 33:44].
NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS
TREVOR RABIN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Considering the monumental success of the original National Treasure movie, it was almost inevitable that a sequel would be made – and so here we are again, with Jon Turteltaub directing Nicolas Cage as adventurer Ben Gates – although this time he’s trying to get his hands on a mythical “book of secrets” which, if found, will uncover the truth about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and exonerate his great-great-grandfather from the accusations that he collaborated with John Wilkes Booth, the great president’s killer. Along for the ride this time around are Jon Voight, Ed Harris, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel, Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger, as is composer Trevor Rabin, who scored the original. The opening cue, “Page 47”, is actually a pretty decent reworking of the main National Treasure theme, overlaid with a surging fiddle undercurrent and an interesting variation on a solo violin, which eventually gives way to a typical pseudo-Zimmer power anthem, replete with male voice choirs and crashing chords. Unfortunately, for the most part, this is where the innovation ends, and what remains is an entertaining, but another of the wholly predictable summer blockbuster Jerry Bruckheimer scores we have come to know so well. Once or twice something interesting happens (for some reason, Rabin interjects a honky tonk piano into the middle of “Cibola”, and for less obscure reasons puts an accordion into “Spirit of Paris”), or the undulating fiddle motif reappears, but for the most part Book of Secrets is an exact replica of the original National Treasure, right down to the dance music rhythms (“Gabby’s Shuffle”) and the Thomas Newman-esque American Beauty references which were so out of place in the first film (and aren’t any less distracting here). It’s not that the score is bad in any way – in many places it is, in fact, quite rousing and entertaining. It’s just that it sounds so much like its predecessors and so many of its contemporaries, and has so little true originality, it could be any score from any movie. The score, which only runs for a hair over 20 minutes, was not released in stores, and is only available as a digital download.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Page 47 (2:39), 2. Cibola (5:16), 3. Spirit of Paris (2:21), 4. City of Gold (2:14), 5. So! (1:47), 6. Bunnies (2:03), 7. Gabby Shuffle (1:52), 8. Franklin's Tunnel (4:28). [Walt Disney Digital Downloads, 22:40]
P.S. I LOVE YOU
JOHN POWELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A downbeat romantic comedy from director Richard La Gravenese, P.S. I Love You stars Hilary Swank as Holly Kennedy, a happily married young woman whose life is shattered when her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) dies; However, before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly's birthday in the form of a cake, along with a tape recording from Gerry telling her to get out and "celebrate herself". In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure. The film also stars Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters, Kathy Bates and Harry Connick Jr., and features a whimsical, touching score from John Powell. The score oscillates between light, delicate orchestral writing (“Make up Kiss”), slightly more modern stuff with subtle synths and acoustic guitars (“The VM”, “Holly Gets Fired”), or the combinations of the two (“Bette Davis Montage”) which seem to be the staple of romantic comedies like this. It’s all very unassuming and pleasant, with a satisfying romantic overtone, but is so understated and anonymous it could have been written by anyone – there’s nothing about it which earmarks it as a John Powell score, which is somewhat disappointing, but not entirely unexpected considering the nature of the movie. The widely-available commercial album features just one track of Powell score (“Kisses and Cake”) alongside a plethora of songs by the likes of James Blunt, The Pogues and The Stills; the less widely-available promotional score release features nine score cute, running for just under 20 minutes.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Make Up Kiss (0:46), 2. The VM (3:03), 3. Bette Davis Montage (4:57), 4. You Gotta Be High To Be Crazy (2:03), 5. The Cake (1:14), 6. First Letter (0:58), 7. Holly Gets Fired (1:47), 8. The Jacket (2:47), 9. Travel Agent (0:49). [Promo, 18:31].
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Sweeney Todd.
ALIEN VS: PREDATOR - REQUIEM
BRIAN TYLER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. It’s interesting how the careers of Brian Tyler and the late Jerry Goldsmith have dovetailed: Tyler replaced Goldsmith on Timeline in 2003, and is scoring the fourth Rambo movie in a series which Goldsmith made his own. On Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Tyler is not only following in the footsteps of Goldsmith, but also James Horner, Elliot Goldenthal and Alan Silvestri, each of whom left an indelible musical mark on their respective entries into the franchises. What’s most impressive about this score is how Tyler has managed to pay homage to all the composers who preceded him by incorporating some of their compositional stylistics into his own music, while still retaining a great deal of his own voice throughout the score. This tightrope must have been a difficult one to walk, but he has succeeded admirably. The film itself was a critical and commercial disaster: with an unknown cast, debutante directors (Greg Strause and Colin Strause), and hackneyed plot involving aliens and predators descending on small-town America to wreak havoc, really the only thing to concentrate on is the quality of Tyler’s music. Tyler doesn’t waste any time setting his stall out, going for the jugular from the outset. The opening “Alien vs. Predator – Requiem” is a massive collision of Goldenthal and Gustav Holst, with the famous ostinato overlaid with throbbing, apocalyptic brass. Elsewhere, the creeping, metallic, sub-industrial chords which so typified James Horner’s Alien music can be heard in the militaristic beginning to the “Opening Titles”, which effortlessly segues into a neat twist the icy isolation of Goldsmith’s classic original score. Similarly, the instantly-recognizable percussion elements, chord progressions and rhythmic devices from Alan Silvestri’s Predator scores are immediately noticable in cues such as “Skinned and Hanged”. The score’s many action cues, such as the two “National Guard” tracks, “Power Struggle” and the angry, vicious “Searching the Poolhouse” are wholly exciting. However, by far the most impressive piece on the album is the 7½-minute “Decimation Proclamation”, a loud, cacophonous, relentless, utterly thrilling action set piece which is amongst the most impressive single cues of Tyler’s entire career. It nods it’s head to ‘Bishop’s Countdown’ and ‘Futile Escape’, but embraces a broader orchestral palette, resulting in a singularly stunning piece through-composed action music. If one was to make one criticism of the album it’s that it lasts too long – even with score as good as this, 77 minutes of relentlessly pounding action music can tax even the most hardy listener. A little bit of judicious pruning could have made a good score better; nevertheless, in purely musical terms, this is a winner.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Alien vs. Predator - Requiem (1:30), 2. Opening Titles (3:04), 3. Decimation Proclamation (7:40), 4. Requiem Epilogue (3:12), 5. National Guard - Part 1 (5:45), 6. National Guard - Part 2 (2:56), 7. Taking Sides (13:04), 8. Predicide (1:31), 9. Kelly Returns Home (1:19), 10. Coprocloakia (5:32), 11. Power Struggle (4:02), 12. Skinned and Hanged (2:48), 13. Down to Earth (2:36), 14. Predator Arrival (3:37), 15. Special Delivery (2:32), 16. Alien Awakening (2:07), 17. Striptease (1:31), 18. Buddy's New Buddy (1:59), 19. Searching for Poolhouse (3:11), 20. Gutless and Autosurgiosis (2:43), 21. Outnumbered (4:38). [Varese Sarabande VSD-6865, 77:17]
THE BUCKET LIST
MARC SHAIMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. It’s been a while since the world had an original score by Marc Shaiman since he went off to write Hairspray and subsequently become the new darling of Broadway, but when Rob Reiner comes calling, Shaiman usually responds – and so we have The Bucket List, the latest cinematic collaboration between the two. The film stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two old men – both diagnosed with terminal illnesses – who make ‘the bucket list’, outlining the things they want to achieve before they shuffle off the mortal coil and kick the bucket. And so, the film follows their various misadventures as the pair escape from their cancer ward and subsequently tick off all the items on their list by going skydiving, driving stunt cars, traveling the world, and living their lives to the fullest before time runs out on them. Shaiman’s score is sensitive, generally understated, and short, dancing around the more obvious opportunity to layer on the sugar, and instead revealing itself to be a quiet, but sentimental reflection on the dreams and regrets of old age. There’s an unexpected jazz element to much of the score, notably through the instrumental performances of trumpeter Chris Botti and saxophonist Dan Higgins. Cue such as “Like Smoke Through a Keyhole” and “Best in L.A.” have an interesting, sultry vibe completely at odds with kind of music you would expect in a film like this, although the slight sense of melancholy is actually quite appropriate for the subject matter. The final few cues – “Life and Death”, “The Mountain”, “End Credits” – adopt a more orchestral approach than the others, and although they never quite reach the heights of the likes of The American President or Patch Adams, they still have that kind of sweeping beauty that Shaiman does so well. Because the score itself is so short - less than half an hour – and being such a wit, Shaiman padded out the album with some ‘junk from his trunk’: a series of piano variations on themes from his own old movies like City Slickers, The Addams Family and Sleepless in Seattle, as well as a couple of songs, including the hilarious “Printmaster”, which features Shaiman himself lamenting the fact that the score he slaves over is being drowned out by car chases and explosions in the dubbing mix. Priceless!
TRACK LISTING 1. Hospital Hallway (0:49), 2. Like Smoke Through a Keyhole (1:59), 3. Best in L.A. (1:21), 4. Really Bad News (1:50), 5. La Vie en Rose (2:26), 6. Hotel Source (1:14), 7. Did You Hear It? (2:24), 8. Flying Home (1:17), 9. Homecomings (3:29), 10. Life and Death (3:54), 11. The Mountain (2:22), 12. End Credits (3:54) 13-23 ‘Junk from Shaiman’s Trunk’ (22:58). [Varese Sarabande VSD-6877, 49:58].
EL ORFANATO (THE ORPHANAGE)
FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A hugely effective mystery/horror/thriller from Spain, El Orfanato is the latest film from Iberia to take the art houses by storm, off the back of the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. The film, which is directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and stars Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo and Roger Príncep, tells the story of a woman named Laura, who brings her family back to her childhood home, where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. Once there, Laura discovers that the new environment awakens her young son’s imagination – but before long, the fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend turn into something much more frightening. Desperate to save her family from the increasingly disturbing occurrences in the house, Laura turns to a group of parapsychologists for help in unraveling the mystery that has taken over the orphanage – but finds something more terrifying than she could have imagined. The music for El Orfanato is by Spanish composer Fernando Velázquez, who has enjoyed a successful career in his homeland, but is likely to be completely unknown to the vast majority of international audiences. Velázquez’s music is elegant, thematic, beautiful, but also unnerving in the way all good mysteries should be. The opening “Prólogo” features a gorgeous child-like melody for flutes over strings which recalls Jerry Goldsmith’s work on Poltergeist; and, like Goldsmith, later incarnations of the melody are twisted and deformed into nightmarish variations on itself. Nervous harps and skittery strings raise the tension levels in the misleadingly playful “El Juego del Tesoro”. The menacing, yet still classically beautiful “Un Día de Fiesta” makes a more blatant foreshadowing of the dangers to come. The heavy string dissonances in “Atropello”, “Tomás” leave the listener in no doubt as to the nature of the music; when the enormous choir comes in towards the end of “Una Regresión”, the effect is stunning. In fact, El Orfanato is a score without low points… “Sola en la Casa” is a wonderfully propulsive action cue which underpins the swirling string writing with a relentless ostinato to drive it forward. The finale of “La Casita de Tomás” drips with a delicious, pseudo-religious sense of wondrous revelation, while the conclusion to the score – “Reunión y Final” and “Créditos Finales” are beautiful, thematic delights. This is a hugely impressive international debut by a clearly very talented composer; let’s hope that this is just the first of many scores from Fernando Velázquez were hear over the next few years. Highly, highly recommended.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Prólogo (2:32), 2. Créditos (1:07), 3. Una Luz Mágica (1:22), 4. El Juego del Tesoro (1:55), 5. Un Día de Fiesta (4:38), 6. Atropello (1:54), 7. Tomás (2:10), 8. Dos Kilillos (2:03), 9. Una Regresión (4:53), 10. Crea, Entonces Verá (2:19), 11. Sola en la Casa (3:31), 12. La Casita de Tomás (5:00), 13. Reunión y Final (3:59), 14. Créditos Finales (4:41), 15. Propuesta Inicial (Maqueta) (2:21), 16. Tema Principal (Coro) (3:01). [Rhino 5144250582, 47:26].
THE GREAT DEBATERS
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD and PETER GOLUB
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Denzel Washington’s second feature film as director, The Great Debaters is a worthy and noble film based on the true story of an all-black college debating team fighting for recognition and equality. Washington himself stars as Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas in 1935 who inspired his students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge the elite, wealthy and all-white Harvard team in the national championship. Films like these challenged institutional racism in the 1950s and 1960s, but are still just as powerful today: it’s also probably no coincidence that Washington seems to be channeling both Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters on the score album’s CD cover. Veteran composer James Newton Howard provided the film’s score, working in collaboration with theatre composer Peter Golub. Films like The Great Debaters sometimes have a tendency to overdo the schmaltz factor in the music, overly-emphasizing the various triumphs over injustice and, in doing so, diluting their effectiveness. Howard, thankfully, restrains himself here, writing a pleasant, unassuming, effective score which concentrates mainly on gentle wind solos over piano, strings, guitar and percussion, with occasional moments of color – a harmonica here, a fiddle there, and so on. On the whole the music is lovely, occasionally swelling into a beautiful performance – the grand and noble “Oklahoma Debate”, the bittersweet “James’ Failure”, or the haunting cello in “Train to Boston” for example - but also sometimes veering off into pseudo-Thomas Newman territory with folksy, old fashioned Americana, notably in cues such as “Meet Me After Class”, which emphasize the underprivileged, working-class roots of the Wiley debaters as they struggle for acceptance. Occasionally Howard allows the tempo to rise – “Union Meeting” features some throbbing, powerful trombone writing, while “Lynching” is as dark as the title suggests – but by the end the score is in full-on triumphant mode, with the rousing trio “Memorial Hall”, “James’ Speech” and “And The Winner Is...” providing a fitting and enjoyable conclusion to an enjoyable score.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Wiley College (1:01), 2. Meet Me After Class (2:34), 3. Who's Next? (3:37), 4. Choosing the Team (1:07), 5. Give Me the Check (2:24), 6. Who's Your Opponent? (1:00), 7. Union Meeting (5:42), 8. Sheriff Tightens His Grip (3:56), 9. Quinn Debate (2:39), 10. Burgess Quits (1:18), 11. Oklahoma Debate (4:04), 12. Tolson Arrested (1:56), 13. Lynching (3:09), 14. Lowe Returns Drunk (1:31), 15. Never Going To Forget (1:27), 16. James' Failure (2:19), 17. Letter From Harvard (1:15), 18. Train to Boston (2:24), 19. Empty Debate Hall (1:10), 20. Satyagraha (2:37), 21. Who's the Judge? (2:59), 22. Memorial Hall (1:14), 23. James' Speech (2:14), 24. And The Winner Is... (3:28). [Varese Sarabande VSD-6869, 57:05].
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
JONNY GREENWOOD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of There Will Be Blood.
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A delightful little fantasy with a Celtic lilt, The Water Horse is a children’s family film directed by Jay Russell. Set in Scotland, it follows the adventures of a little boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel), who befriends a rather unusual animal: an amphibious ‘water horse’, which causes much mischief and mayhem in the MacMorrow household, but also eventually becomes the source of a much-discussed legend – the Loch Ness monster. The film stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox and David Morrissey in the adult roles, and features a pleasant score from James Newton Howard. As befits the setting, Howard breaks out his Scottish orchestrations, littering his orchestra with all manner of skirling bagpipes, Celtic fiddles, rapid fire percussion, and windswept woodwinds. It’s clichéd, but it sounds lovely, never more so than in the slightly lonely sounding “Main Title’, the moody “The Workshop”, or the vaguely romantic “Ann”. Occasionally, the score sounds like one of James Horner’s Celtic scores, or the Irish concept albums Mychael and Jeff Danna wrote for Hearts of Space in the 1990s; it’s all very pleasant, unassuming stuff, which washes over the listener but never really rises out of the realms of ‘pretty nice’. Once in a while the true spirit of the Gaelic reel jumps out, such as the opening parts of “Bathtub”, the hand-clap led “The Fishermen”, or the raucous and unexpectedly Carl Stalling-esque “The Dinner Party”, but the single highlight is inarguably the triumphant “Swimming”, in which Howard presents a stirring, sweeping theme for the full orchestra and various soloists which truly captures a sense of energy and freedom, friendship and childhood innocence. Some of the album’s conclusive cues, notably “There’s No Monster”, the thrilling “Saving Crusoe”, and the stirring pair “The Net” and “The Jump” also feature a great deal of high-emotion composing for the orchestra, and sometimes recall the finale of Basil Poledouris’s Free Willy. The album also features a lovely song by Irish vocalist Sinead O’Connor, “Back Where You Belong”, and (to continue the trend of confusing geographical specificity) a performance by the legendary traditional Irish band The Chieftains in the conclusive “Water Horse Suite’, and while The Water Horse certainly has its moments of great beauty and excitement, it can’t really be counted amongst the composer’s – or the year’s - best.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Back Where You Belong (performed by Sinead O'Connor) (4:29), 2. Main Title (1:09), 3. Angus Feeds Crusoe (1:59), 4. You Didn't Even Get Wet (2:58), 5. The Workshop (2:35), 6. Ann (1:28), 7. Bath Tub (2:23), 8. Driving to the Loch (2:00), 9. Run Angus (1:20), 10. The Fishermen (1:37), 11. Angus in Training (2:52), 12. Swimming (6:34), 13. The Children Laugh (2:58), 14. The Dinner Party (3:03), 15. There's No Monster (2:01), 16. Saving Crusoe (2:04), 17. The Net (4:22), 18. The Jump (1:40), 19. End of the Story (3:04), 20. The Water Horse Suite (performed by The Chieftains) (8:08). [Sony Classical SK-719300, 58:44].
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE
GEORGE S. CLINTON
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
JAMES HANNIGAN
Click here for Joe Bat’s review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
L’ULTIMO DEI CORLEONESI
ENNIO MORRICONE
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of L’Ultimo dei Corleonesi.
SCORES WHICH WE HEARD BUT DECIDED NOT TO REVIEW:
- August Rush (Mark Mancina)
- Cassandra’s Dream (Philip Glass)
- Baba’s Birthday (Christopher Gordon)
- Bandidas (Eric Serra)
- Battlestar Galactica [Season 3] (Bear McCreary)
- Bee Movie (Rupert Gregson-Williams)
- Bioshock (Garry Schyman)
- Blood and Chocolate (Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek)
- Cinderella III: A Twist In Time (Joel McNeely)
- Dan in Real Life (Sondre Lerche)
- Darfur Now (Graeme Revell)
- Doctor Who [Season 3] (Murray Gold)
- Feast of Love (Stephen Trask)
- Fields of Freedom (Trevor Jones)
- The Flock (Guy Farley)
- Goodbye Bafana (Dario Marianelli)
- Guild Wars: Eye of the North (Jeremy Soule)
- Highlander: The Source (George Kallis)
- Hitman (Geoff Zanelli)
- In the Land of Woman (Stephen Trask)
- Lair (John Debney)
- Le Premier Cri (Armand Amar)
- Lions for Lambs (Mark Isham)
- Love in the Time of Cholera (Antônio Pinto)
- Martian Child (Aaron Zigman)
- Medal of Honor: Airborne (Michael Giacchino)
- Milarepa (Joel Diamond)
- Moliere (Frederic Talgorn)
- Partition (Brian Tyler)
- Planet Terror (Robert Rodriguez)
- Pompei (Marco Frisina)
- Randy and the Mob (John Swihart)
- Right At Your Door (Tomandandy)
- Rocket Science (Eef Barzelay)
- Seraphim Falls (Harry Gregson-Williams)
- Shadow in the Trees (Jeff Toyne)
- Shoot ‘Em Up (Paul Haslinger)
- The Story of the Great King and the Four Gods (Joe Hisaishi)
- Superman: Doomsday (Robert J. Kral)
- The Ten (Craig Wedren)
- Tin Man (Simon Boswell)
- Tooth and Nail (Elia Cmiral)
- The Tudors (Trevor Morris)
- War and Peace (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
- Warhawk (Christopher Lennertz)
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Russell Brower)
- Wristcutters: A Love Story (Bobby Johnston)
- Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (Bear McCreary)
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