So, 2008 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.
27 DRESSES 
RANDY EDELMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A breezy romantic comedy starring Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl and directed by Anne Fletcher, 27 Dresses is a film about a perennial ‘always the bridesmaid, never the bride’. After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, Jane Nichols (Heigl) finally resigns herself to her matrimony-less fate when her sister Tess (Malin Åkerman) accepts a proposal of marriage from her boss George (Edward Burns), whom Jane secretly loves. Into the situation comes reporter Kevin (James Marsden), a frustrated serious journalist stuck covering the society pages, and who has a view of marriage as cynical as Jane’s. Of course, this being a romantic comedy, it’s not difficult to predict what happens next. Randy Edelman’s score is a harmless piece of orchestral fluff, typical of genre, but pleasant enough to pass 40 minutes of unobtrusive listening and provide several moments of genuine romantic affection. Edelman’s ensemble includes a string-led orchestra, solo piano and acoustic guitar, and is generally light and unassuming, accompanying Jane’s mishaps and romantic daydreams to agreeable effect. Some of the cues are quite lovely, notably “Dreams Come True”, the vaguely Straussian “Girltalkin’” and “Anotha Cuppa Tea”, “Old Black and White”, and the Gallically-flavored “La Vie en Ring” (complete with accordions), all of which have a slight Rachel Portman-style feeling of feminine whimsy, and really sound nothing like anything Edelman has written in over a decade. At the other end of the scale cues such as “Plans Have Changed” and the pseudo-tragic “Turncoat” have a slight twinge of bittersweetness, which is a welcome antidote to the saccharine surrounding it. Of course, it wouldn’t be a wedding score without a couple of little allusions to Wagner’s legendary Wedding March from his opera, Lohengrin. There’s also a couple of groovy montage cues, including the Hammond organ funk of “Streetwalkin’” and the light rock of “A Mad Dash for Kevin”, and even the brief hint of some action material in “Jumping Ship”. It’s worth noting the almost complete lack of synths in this score – something which Edelman has done infrequently in his career, and which makes for a nice change here.
TRACK LISTING: 1. A Perfect Wedding Day (2:39), 2. Keepsake (1:30), 3. Dreams Come True (2:35), 4. Plans Have Changed (1:45), 5. Streetwalkin' (2:00), 6. Turncoat (2:23), 7. Girltalkin' (2:06), 8. George in a Good Light (1:12), 9. Exposed Heart (1:43), 10. In Central Park (1:10), 11. Phone Intrigue (1:12), 12. Sisters (1:44), 13. A Mad Dash for Kevin (2:11), 14. Old Black and White (1:36), 15. Jumping Ship (1:14), 16. Theme from 27 Dresses (1:40), 17. Chasing Jane (2:08), 18. La Vie En Ring (0:44), 19. Headlines (1:06), 20. A Kiss Is Not a Kiss (:57), 21. Interlude (1:48), 22. Irresistible (0:58), 23. Discovering the Diary (1:27), 24. Intimate Evening (0:47), 25. Anotha Cuppa Tea (1:13). [Varèse Sarabande, 40:40].
CLOVERFIELD
MICHAEL GIACCHINO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A silly but enjoyable monster movie written by JJ Abrams (the creator of Lost) and directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield stars Mike Vogel, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, Odette Yustman and Michael Stahl-David as a group of young twenty-somethings in New York who, while attending a going-away party, become the unwitting observers of a catastrophe when a huge monster of indeterminate origin begins attacking the city. The film then unfolds in pseudo-documentary fashion, as video taped on a hand held camera by one of the group, as they make their way across the increasingly devastated downtown Manhattan, trying to make their way to safety. To enhance the sense of realism, Cloverfield has no original score in the film itself: the only music comes by way of source material heard at the party, or elsewhere as the characters pass by places playing songs. Michael Giacchino’s contribution, therefore, is limited to a 9-minute ‘overture’ entitled “Roar!”, which plays over the end credits. Giacchino’s piece is performed with great gusto by a full orchestra and choir; it’s a fun, portentous march with a flurry of thrusting cellos, fluttering flutes, resounding brass blasts, ‘aahing’ female voices, and a lyrical, vaguely-oriental sounding string bridge - a blatant homage to the late Akira Ifukube, whose music accompanied all those wonderfully cheesy Japanese Godzilla films, dating back to the 1950s. It’s a superbly nostalgic throwback to the age of studio creature features, and has all the uncompromising seriousness those 1950s scores had, despite the inherent campness and ludicrousness of the film’s subject matter. Definitely recommended.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Roar! Cloverfield Overture (8:52), [iTunes exclusive, 08:52].
MEET THE SPARTANS
CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Review by Jonathan Broxton. These ‘instant spoof’ movies – Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie and the like – are becoming so tiresome. They wore out their welcome a long time ago, but nevertheless the studios keep churning them out, so someone, somewhere, must like them. Meet the Spartans is the latest such rehash, taking potshots at films such as 300, Spiderman III, Shrek and Ghost Rider – all of which were clearly rife for ridicule (not). Kevin Sorbo, Sean Maguire (a long way from Grange Hill) and Carmen Electra slum it in the cast; Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer direct. The irony of all this is that Christopher Lennertz’s score is entirely serious – as Elmer Bernstein showed, the best way to score comedy is to not treat it like a comedy - and ends up actually being better than a lot of the scores for the movies this film lampoons. His take on the 300 sound – all wailing Arabic vocals, ethereal female sopranos, ethnic woodwinds, bombastic battle marches and stirring themes – puts Tyler Bates’ efforts on the real thing to shame. His version of “A King Returns” has a truly great and epic scope, and doesn’t rip off Elliot Goldenthal in the slightest, while his action music in “A Beast Defeated”, “Spiderman Fight”, “Ghost Rider/Rocky” and “Final Battle” is exciting and powerful, as one might expect. Similarly, his romantic writing in cues like “Courtship & Family” and “Tattoos and Sentiments” has a tragic, wistful quality, while the vocal writing in “Goodbye My Queen” and “Do It Like Never Before” is just gorgeous, almost to the levels of Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard in Gladiator. Even when the ubiquitous rock elements enter the fray, in “Cliff Diving”, “Leonidas Steams” and “Xerxes Transforms”, for example, the effect remains superior. My only question – why is Lennertz scoring the spoof and not the real thing? It’s wholly inexplicable to think that composers this talented get palmed away with the cheap knockoffs while others get the limelight; if you can find this promo, you’ll understand why.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Land of Sparta (1:35), 2. Survival in the Wild (1:01), 3. A King Returns/The Pit (0:57), 4. A Beast is Defeated (1;17), 5. Courtship & Family (1:29), 6. The Pit of Death (2:43), 7. Dilio Likes Cliff (0:18), 8. Tattoos and Sentiments (1:26), 9. The Army Assembles (1:06), 10. Goodbye My Queen (1:53), 11. He’s Got a Huge Package (0:24), 12. Persians Approach (1:14), 13. I Can’t Read (0:41), 14. Cliff Diving (0:50), 15. Xerxes Approaches (0:38), 16. The Prophets/A Human Chill (1:08), 17. Do It Like Never Before (0:53), 18. Your King Needs Your Help/Leonidas Steams (1:03), 19. Spiderman Fight (2:02), 20. A Creature Awaits (0:50), 21. Ghost Rider/Rocky (2:59), 22. Final Battle (2:58), 23. Xerxes Transforms (2:09), 24. A God King Falls (2:53). [Promo, 34:37].
RAMBO
BRIAN TYLER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Rambo.
UNTRACEABLE
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Untraceable.
THE EYE
MARCO BELTRAMI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The remake of a very good Thai horror movie from 2002, directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, The Eye stars Jessica Alba as a young woman named Sydney Wells, blind from birth, who undergoes a revolutionary new surgical procedure to transplant her corneas, which successfully restores her eyesight. However, before long, Sydney begins to realize that, in addition to having to readjust to life in a sighted world, she has something else to cope with: she can see ghosts. The film, which also stars Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey and Rade Serbedzija, features an original score by Marco Beltrami, who is very good at this sort of thing. It begins with a contemporary main title for guitars, strings and voice, the latter cooing seductively over a rhythmic backing which, despite its modern sound, remains on the ‘chilling’ side. Some cues, such as the horrifying “Bruja”, stretch the limits of music and sound design, literally scraping and groaning and creating a thick, oppressive atmosphere. Beltrami is one of the few composers whose dissonant sound effects scoring I can actually listen to and appreciate, and this is no exception. The straight-out horror cues, such as “Apartment on Fire”, “Report Card”, and the end of “Who Is She?”, snarl and gnash their teeth, with spidery string writing, low-end piano chords, boo-jump stingers, and various other bits of orchestral carnage ratcheting up the tension. Beltrami’s been writing this kind of stuff for years, in Mimic and the Scream scores, but it never loses its impact. Elsewhere, Beltrami lays on the delicate atmospherics with misleadingly attractive cello themes in “Rain”, soft synths in “To See Again”, and even a hesitantly warm piano theme in the false finale, “The Drive Home”, counterbalancing the more horrific elements of the score well. The true finale – “Roadblock” – is the score’s one full-on action cue, and sees Beltrami injecting rapid percussion elements and a sense of fast movement into his palette. Then, to throw us completely off guard, the thing ends with a lush, classically rich virtuoso violin piece, “The Concert”, which reminds what a great thematic composer Beltrami can be too. This is good stuff, effective in context, and interesting to listen to, if you can tolerate a fair bit of angry dissonance, and if you can find the promo.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Eye Main Titles (1:34), 2. Bruja (1:53), 3. Rain (2:42), 4. Not My Eyes (3:05), 5. To See Again (1:32), 6. Apartment on Fire (1:37), 7. Taking Mrs. Hillman (2:11), 8. Road to Mexico (2:03), 9. He Is Dead (2:54), 10. Bedridden (3:19), 11. Report Card (1:52), 12. Who Is She? (1:56), 13. Mirror Mirror (3:02), 14. Mrs. Martinez (4:10), 15. Walkthrough (1:42), 16. Retribution (3:02), 17. The Drive Home (1:49), 18. Roadblock (4:45), 19. The Concert (1:53). [Promo, 47:12].
FOOL’S GOLD
GEORGE FENTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A romantic comedy action-adventure directed by Andy Tennant and starring Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland, Fool’s Gold follows the fortunes of Benjamin and Tess Finnegan – soon-to-be-divorced deep sea treasure hunters in the Caribbean who, despite being on the verge of a bitter separation, team up for one last adventure when they find directions to a lost Spanish treasure. Cue the light hearted action, the playful banter between the protagonists, and McConaughey with his shirt off and his abs on display, as is usually the case in films like this. Cue also George Fenton, director Tennant’s regular composer, who embraced the film’s Caribbean setting as a chance to immerse himself in the musical culture of the area. Although the end result is a cross-country mishmash of Jamaican trumpets, steel drums and Cuban guitars, the end result is intoxicating. The “Main Title” is a lovely, sunny piece, in which guitars lazily croon over a bed of warm strings, setting the scene and making the listener crave a Red Stripe or two; subsequent cues, such as “Late for the Hearing” and “Saving Gemma’s Hat”, revisit the style with great success. There is quite a bit of light-hearted caper music, all plucked strings and urban beats, to underscore Matthew & Kate’s comic misadventures, but this is not what we came for. The action material, in cues like "Man Overboard", “Sabotaging the Grid” "Trouble in the Churchyard", "Finn to the Rescue" and "The Treasure, the Kidnap and the Sea Plane” is enthusiastic and clever, mixing the myriad of Caribbean percussion instruments into the rhythm section of a flighty, and occasionally quite powerful symphony orchestra. Fenton virtually never gets the chance to write this kind of stuff, and it’s a shame because he’s really good at it. There’s also some of Fenton’s patented romantic writing, in cues such as the flamenco-inspired “Aurelia and the Queen's Dowry” and the gorgeous “Tess’s Theme”, which revisits the lush style he adopted in one of Tennant’s previous films, Dangerous Beauty, with equally pleasing results. Possibly the best thing, however, is the rousing main theme, first heard in “The Stand Off”, which recalls the work Fenton did on scores like Memphis Belle and Valiant, and is quite superb. All in all, this is an unexpectedly excellent entry into the Fenton canon, and is well worth investigating.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Fool's Gold Legend/Main Title (4:25), 2. Where's the Boat? (1:34), 3. Debt Collector (Bigg Bunny) (2:06), 4. Man Overboard (3:01), 5. Late for the Hearing (2:07), 6. Where's the Plate? (1:31), 7. The Nigel Factor (1:53), 8. Saving Gemma's Hat (2:06), 9. Aurelia and the Queen's Dowry (5:31), 10. The Stand Off (Fool's Gold Theme) (1:56), 11. Sabotaging the Grid (3:46), 12. Tess's Theme (1:24), 13. The Day Dive (2:45), 14. Discovering the Cannon (2:21), 15. The Aurelia Stone (4:47), 16. Trouble in the Churchyard (2:09), 17. A Deathtrap (2:09), 18. Finn to the Rescue (2:08), 19. The Treasure, the Kidnap and the Sea Plane (5:46), 20. A Nice Soft Landing (Tess's Theme) (1:41), 21. Sharing the Spoils (1:50), 22. Love and Affection (performed by Majek Fashek) (3:26), 23. You Can Get It If You Really Want (performed by Desmond Dekker) (2:39), 24. Call Me Thumper (performed by Classic) (2:34), 25. Truly Madly Deeply (performed by The Dualers) (2:50). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6885, 68:22].
IN BRUGES
CARTER BURWELL
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of In Bruges.
DEFINITELY MAYBE
CLINT MANSELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A pleasant-natured romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and Rachel Weisz, and directed by Adam Brooks, Definitely Maybe tells the story of a political speech-writer (Reynolds) recounting the stories of how he met his ex-wife, and some of his other earlier romances, to his precocious and inquisitive daughter, Maya (Breslin). It’s one of those nice, warm-hearted movies in which everyone has a happy ending, and in order to capture the contemporary flavor of the story, the director turned to composer Clint Mansell for the music – an unusual choice, considering Mansell’s background as a musical with the band Pop Will Eat Itself, but one which turns out well. In writing his score, Mansell collaborated with former Lightning Seeds front man Ian Broudie, and together the pair delivered an upbeat, modern ‘band’ score, in which acoustic guitars, electric guitars, percussion and light strings are the order of the day. It’s not quite what one expects to hear in a film of this kind – there are no Alan Silvestri shimmering strings to be found in any great number – but it does root the score in its time period, and in actual fact may well appeal to those score fans who find Silvestri strings just a little too schmaltzy. Many of the cues have a pleasant soft-rock element to them, notably tracks such as “April”, “Sunday Sunday” and “The Candidate”, while others embrace a romantic jazz groove with brushed snares and thrumming bass guitars, as in “An Evening at the Odeon” or “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man”. Elsewhere, when the orchestra briefly takes more of a center stage, the score becomes more intimate and appealing; the piano solos in “Jane Eyre” and “Countdown” are quite lovely. It’s undemanding, lightweight stuff, and a world away from the bold Barry brasses of Sahara or the experimental tones of The Fountain, both of which became considerable fan favorites, but Definitely Maybe at least adds another dimension to Clint Mansell’s career path, and will undoubtedly find an audience somewhere.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Will Hayes for President! (2:56), 2. Here Comes Summer (2:26), 3. For Emily (Whoever She May Be) (3:40), 4. April (Come She Will) (2:41), 5. Jane Eyre (2:50), 6. Panic Stations (0:40), 7. An Evening at the Odeon (2:04), 8. Sunday, Sunday (0:38), 9. Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man (1:27), 10. It’s April (0:48), 11. Summer’s Over (1:20), 12. The Candidate (4:08), 13. Second Thoughts (1:07), 14. Maya Knows (0:53), 15. The Happy Ending Is You (2:41), 16. Brooklyn Bridge (0:56), 17. Countdown (1:09), 18. April's Story (1:23), [Lakeshore Records LKS-339852, 33:47].
JUMPER
JOHN POWELL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Jumper.
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
JAMES HORNER
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of The Spiderwick Chronicles.
BE KIND REWIND
JEAN-MICHEL BERNARD
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Be Kind Rewind is a very unusual comedy from director Michel Gondry, whose previous credits include the cult hit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film stars Mos Def as Mike, a video rental store clerk in suburban New Jersey who is obsessed with the life and work of Fats Waller. One day Mike’s best friend Jerry (Jack Black) – who lives very close to a nuclear power plant – comes into the store, having received an electric shock while attempting to sabotage the plant, and as a result of his ‘magnetism’, accidentally wipes every VHS tape in the store. In attempt to cover up their tracks, the duo comes up with an idea: they will remake every movie themselves on a handheld camcorder. It’s a strange concept for a film, but such is the nature of Gondry one has to expect this kind of thing. For the music Gondry turned to his regular collaborator, French composer Jean-Michel Bernard. Bernard’s music is low-key and understated and, taking its lead from Mike’s fascination with Fats Waller, is imbued with a definite jazz element, albeit a more quirky one than one might expect. Cues like “Microwaves” and “Daisy’s Drive” are cheerful little pieces which make light use of Hammond organs and sunny percussion. There is also a little bit of contemporary pathos through cues like “Train Station” and the attractive but brief “Blind Test”, and even some action music in “Little Mikey”, which indicates that Bernard could be more than capable of branching out and writing something straighter and more dramatic. As one might expect, there’s also a great deal of source music, some in its original form, others in unusual cover versions performed by Bernard, Black, and even Gondry himself – listen out for their version of “I Ain’t Got Nobody” played on what sounds like a Wurlitzer!. The whole thing is a bit of a mishmash – a souvenir of the movie, to be sure, and enjoyable enough on its own terms, but certainly not one which will set the film score world alight.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Your Feets Too Big (performed by Mos Def and Jean-Michel Bernard) (2:56), 2. Nothing From Nothing (performed by Billy Preston) (2:38), 3. I Ain't Got Nobody (3:32), 4. Jerry's Sweded Ghost Song (performed by Jack Black) (0:09), 5. Microwaves (1:13), 6. Train Station (1:05), 7. I Ain't Got Nobody (performed by Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Michel Gondry) (5:42), 8. Keep Jerry Out (1:53), 9. Little Mikey (1:55), 10. I'm Bill (1:48), 11. Lulu's Back In Town (performed by Jean-Michel Bernard and the Passaic High School Marching Band) (1:56), 12. Chinese Bamboo (1:29), 13. Magnetic Pee (1:37), 14. The Animated Lion (0:39), 15. I Ain't Got Nobody (performed by Mos Def, Jean-Michel Bernard and Michel Gondry) (3:34), 16. Robot Karate (2:11), 17. Daisy's Drive (1:03), 18. Plan (3:28), 19. Blind Test (0:54), 20. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (performed by Fats Waller) (2:20), 21. Mike Has An Idea (2:27), 22. DVD Break-In (1:10), 23. Sunny Monday (performed by Booker T. and The MGs) (4:37), 24. Ain't Misbehavin (performed by Mos Def and Jean-Michel Bernard) (2:43), 25. Solitude (4:31), 26. Lulu's Back In Town (performed by Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Michel Gondry) (7:14), 27. Your Feets Too Big (performed by Fats Waller) (3:04), 28. Mr. Fletcher's Song (performed by Jean-Michel Bernard and Moe Holmes) (4:01). [Lakeshore Records LKS-339692, 71:50].
CHARLIE BARTLETT
CHRISTOPHE BECK
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Charlie Bartlett.
VANTAGE POINT
ATLI ÖRVARSSON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Vantage Point may be unique in that it represents the first time an Icelandic composer has written the music for a mainstream Hollywood film. Björk, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, and Sigur Ros have all contributed music to motion pictures in the past, but Atli Örvarsson may be the first to actually make a career out of it. His film, Vantage Point, is a political action thriller directed by Pete Travis and starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt. The plot revolves around the attempted assassination of the United States president while addressing a rally in Salamanca, Spain, and the different perspectives of what happened by those who witness the event – innocent bystanders, secret service agents, journalists, and so on. The film actually got rather scathing reviews for its nonsensical, logically inconsistent plot, and disappeared from multiplexes quite quickly. The same can be said of Örvarsson’s score, which is largely non-descript and forgettable. As the latest member of the Remote Control composer stable to make his solo bow, Örvarsson’s score somewhat predictably follows the lead set out before him by the Zimmers, Badelts, Gregson-Williamses and Djawadis of the world. A decent sized symphony orchestra, far too many synths, and a plethora of ethnic instruments is the order of the day, and although this may sound quite interesting, the end result is actually rather dull. It’s an endless array of churning string writing, overlaid by synth rhythms to give the illusion of excitement, while the ethnic instruments add local color: Spanish guitars and clacking percussion, because we’re in Spain, duduks because there are Middle Easterns in the movie, and even the ubiquitous ‘wailing man’, to further amp up the Arabic stereotype. The action cues – “Run, Enrique, Run”, “The Chase Begins”, “Tightening Circle”, “Explosion Aftermath” - want to be exciting, but end up being merely annoying, with anything approaching interesting music hopelessly buried by all the electronic sound design. The occasionally florid Spanish guitars in the more intimate cues like “Lewis and Anna”, or the upbeat “End Title” at least give the score the semblance of a human touch, but they are the best cues of an otherwise bad bunch. The rest of the music is little more than mushy electronic suspense music, which ticks and tocks and adds another layer to the sound mix, but does little of interest. Let’s hope that Örvarsson has some better music in him in future.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Title (2:45), 2. Motorcade (1:36), 3. Enrique and Veronica (2:55), 4. Run Enrique Run (2:33), 5. Lewis and Anna (1:20), 6. President and Decoy (1:38), 7. The Chase Begins (2:50), 8. Serendipity (4:40), 9. Epilogue (1:55), 10. Tightening Circle (3:19), 11. Clockwork (5:07), 12. The President is Safe (1:15), 13. Explosion Aftermath (3:38), 14. Suarez's Plan (4:00), 15. End Title (2:02). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6883, 41:30].
BONNEVILLE
JEFF CARDONI
Review by Clark Douglas. "Bonneville" stars Jessica Lange as a middle-aged woman taking a road trip with her friends (Kathy Bates and Joan Allen) in order to deliver the ashes of her dead husband to her estranged daughter (Christine Baranski). The soundtrack album kicks off with eight pop/rocks, which are predictably a mixed bag. Donovan does his very best Bob Dylan impression in "Catch the Wind", and King Floyd's "I Feel Like Dynamite" is a cool R&B number. I kind of liked some of the instrumental choices in Lazlo Bane's cover of "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)"... but sadly, the meaning of this song seems to get further and further away from the intention of Randy Newman's original with each new cover. The songs from Amos Lee and Chelo are skippable, and Pete Droge's "Under the Waves" is a bit dull. Bob Sinclair's disco/reggae hybrid "Shining From Heaven" is a bit off-putting, while Nick Kershaw's "Wounded" features strong music and weak vocals. Unfortunately, there are only about 11 minutes of Jeff Cardoni's score material included on the lackluster album, and the writing here is certainly pleasant enough to make you wish for more. The first cue, "Opening", is a sentimental piece, but it feels sweet in a rather low-key and genuine way, like something from Danny Elfman's score for "Big Fish". Material in the same vein can be heard in "Scrapbook", while the gentle piano and guitar music in "Bo Leaves" is frustratingly brief. We continue to get promising glimmers of music that is cut short in the following cues, and the lovely finale comes to a close all too quickly. What is here is actually very good music, but the cues are too short to justify individual iTunes downloads, and the album features too little to make it worth a purchase. That's a real shame, because Cardoni's music is engaging material that I think deserves to be heard. Had Lakeshore been able to provide another 15-20 minutes, this album would probably be worth picking up, but as it is, you're just going to have to be a big fan of all the songs here to justify a purchase. In the meantime, Cardoni is a composer worth keeping an eye on.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Catch the Wind (performed by Donovan) (2:55), 2. I Feel Like Dynamite (performed by King Floyd) (3:19), 3. Mama Told Me (Not to Come) (performed by Lazlo Bane) (3:15), 4. Supply and Demand (performed by Amos Lee) (3:21), 5. Cha Cha (performed by Chello) (3:15), 6. Under the Waves (performed by Pete Droge) (3:12), 7. Shining from Heaven (performed by Bob Sinclair) (6:20), 8. Wounded (performed by Nik Kershaw) (4:22), 9. Opening (1:58), 10. Scrapbook (2:07), 11. Bo Leaves (0:48), 12. Driving to Bryce (1:16), 13. Bryce Ashes (2:10), 14. One More Stop (1:02), 15. Finale (1:52). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33989, 41:12].
CITY OF MEN
ANTÔNIO PINTO
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of City of Men.
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
PAUL CANTELON
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Other Boleyn Girl.
PENELOPE
JOBY TALBOT
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Penelope.
10,000 B.C.
HARALD KLOSER and THOMAS WANKER
Review by Clark Douglas. Director Roland Emmerich has a reputation for helming preposterously silly cinematic epics. Films such as “Stargate”, “Independence Day”, and “Godzilla” are the highlights of his resume. Despite the goofiness of all of these movies, it could be argued that they provided a small measure of carefree fun. Take that away, and the films are completely worthless. Guess what? Emmerich decided to start taking himself seriously with “10,000 BC”, and the result is the worst film the director has ever made. Interestingly enough, the screenplay was co-written by Emmerich and composer Harold Kloser. The film tells the story of a young mammoth hunter who is forced to go to battle with some bad guys, get the girl, wriggle out of tough situations, etc. Kloser had collaborated with Emmerich on the director's previous film, “The Day After Tomorrow.” Many were disappointed with that score, feeling it lacked the memorability that David Arnold had brought to the aforementioned blockbusters. Nonetheless, Kloser was naturally back once again to score the film that he co-wrote, and the results are equally typical. This isn't a bad score, just a perfectly average one. The action music is rather typical, percussion-heavy stuff with familiar aggressive brass motifs. The quiet moments are peaceful and serene, but lack a memorable thematic hook. The “ethnic” cues featuring wailing vocals, choir, and African percussion are less interesting versions of the material written by Hans Zimmer in scores like “Tears of the Sun” and “The Power of One”. This was a potentially rich scoring assignment, but it's surprising to discover that Kloser has written such an uninspired score for a film that he had such a personal investment in.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening (2:43), 2. Mountain of the Gods (1:56), 3. Speech (3:01), 4. Evolet (2:44), 5. Mannak Hunt (2:08), 6. Celebration (1:29), 7. I Was Not Brave (1:48), 8. Night of the Tiger (1:37), 9. Lead Them (2:28), 10. Terror Birds (3:22), 11. Wounded Hunter (1:51), 12. Food (1:59), 13. Good-Byes (1:13), 14. Sea of Sand (2:41), 15. Wise Man (1:40), 16. He Was My Father (1:05), 17. Mark of the Hunter (2:45), 18. Free the Mannaks (1:47), 19. Not A God (2:35), 20. You Came For Me (2:06), 21. The End (3:18), 22. 10,000 BC/End Credits (2:55) [Decca DCAB001082402, 49:11].
DOOMSDAY
TYLER BATES
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Doomsday is a very peculiar, genre-bending British action movie – part Mad Max, part Night of the Living Dead, part Escape from New York – directed by Neil Marshall, who previously made the hugely entertaining Dog Soldiers and The Descent. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, some years after Scotland has been quarantined due to the onset of a deadly virus. When the virus emerges in London, the corrupt political leaders send Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) to Scotland to find a cure, only to find that the country has become a lawless wasteland overrun by vicious punk rock marauders and armor-clad medieval warriors. The film also stars Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowall, and I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it on a mindless, purely visceral level. For the music, Marshall turned to Tyler Bates, who has become something of a film music pariah since the debacle surrounding his score for 300. Bates’ music here is actually pretty decent – a fairly standard orchestra and synth combo – but there is a sense of nostalgia and a decent orchestral flair which makes it more than just another middling action score. There are a few clever throwbacks to John Carpenter’s style of groovy electronic minimalism, in cues such as “Boat” and “Block 41”, and there are also moments of beauty – the solo voices in “Exodus”, “Strung Up” and “Prime Beauty”, for example. The action music also stands out, with cues like “Hospital Battle”, “Train Escape”, “Captured” and “Bentley Escape” cranking up the orchestral element, and often infusing it with a rock music sensibility which is at times quite thrilling. However, possibly the most effective musical moment in the film comes by way of the use of a remixed version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s thunderous 1984 hit “Two Tribes” in the elaborate, conclusive car chase; this is one of the few examples where both the music of the song, and the subtext of the song’s lyrics, actually outstrips the use of score elsewhere. It’s an enjoyable album, and one which may go a little way to repairing his damaged reputation amongst film score aficionados.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Dog Eat Dog (performed by Adam and The Ants) (3:11), 2. Two Tribes - Carnage Mix (performed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood) (7:56), 3. Prologue (1:22), 4. Exodus (4:59), 5. Boat (3:06), 6. Piss & Vinegar (1:25), 7. Block 41 (3:26), 8. It's Medieval Out There (3:20), 9. Hospital Battle (2:30), 10. Strung Up (4:43), 11. Sinclair Slips Free (1:19), 12. Sword Fight (1:26), 13. Train Escape (2:36), 14. Train to Kane (3:14), 15. Tolamon (1:29), 16. Captured (1:19), 17. Prime Suicide (1:59), 18. Same Shit Different Era (3:52), 19. Slayer (2:39), 20. Finish Her Off! (1:29), 21. Bentley Escape (3:32), 22. Headless Love (2:38), 23. The Can Can (performed by Ariel Rechtshaid) (0:41) [Lakeshore Records LKS-33991, 64:09].
HORTON HEARS A WHO
JOHN POWELL
Review by Clark Douglas. Though far from being a classic family film, “Horton Hears a Who” is far and away the most successful feature-length Dr. Seuss adaptation to date, easily topping the horrid “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Cat and the Hat” theatrical films. The film features the voice talent of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, and Seth Rogan. 20th Century Fox's go-to guy for animated features in recent years has been the talented John Powell, who returns with yet another energetic effort here. Powell supplies his trademark blend of zippy themes and slick orchestration, creating a rather entertaining if somewhat familiar listening experience. The themes are engaging enough, but Powell grabs the listener's attention with the steady stream of eclectic curveballs he throws into the mix. “Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath” offers swooning Hawaiian ukulele music, while frantic action cues like “Banana Wars” throw in some hilariously bizarre sound effects. Have you ever heard wacky cimbalom music? Check out “Into Whoville/Breakfast with Mayor”. Or how about “The Quest”, in which Powell employs purposefully “damaged” funk circa 1977? At the very least, “Horton Hears a Who” keeps the listener on their toes with this sort of thing, and Powell writes with enough integrity to prevent these cues from being mere novelty items. The biggest highlights come later in the album. The first is an Ennio Morricone tribute called “Mountain Chase” that is nothing short of glorious. Soaring spaghetti western brass and epic choral work contribute to a delightful cue that fans of stuff like “Guns of San Sebastian” are bound to enjoy. The other superb stuff is at the end of the album, during the final six cues beginning with “We are Here” and continuing through “A Big Ending”. I always imagined that this particular portion of Seuss' book could serve as inspiration for a terrific musical sequence, and Powell really delivers with an enthusiastic series of bells and whistles that leaves this listener with a great big goofy grin on his face. If the stars seem a bit low considering my description, it's only because Powell has done this sort of thing even better elsewhere (“Robots” and “Happy Feet” leap to mind). Make no mistake though... “Horton Hears a Who” is a lot of fun, and fans of Powell's style will undoubtedly be delighted.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Fall From Tree (1:06), 2. Cave of Destiny (0:32), 3. Jungle of Nool (0:47), 4. Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath (1:42), 5. Enter the Kangaroo (1:13), 6. Banana Wars (1:03), 7. Saved (2:22), 8. Into Whoville/Breakfast With the Mayor (3:04), 9. Club Nool (1:41), 10. The Town Council (1:13), 11. Hello (2:17), 12. Dr. Larue (1:17), 13. The Quest (1:36), 14. The Bridge Work (2:29), 15. Horton Dance! (0:24), 16. Handle With Care (1:21), 17. Bedtime (1:56), 18. Snow Day (1:18), 19. Morton Tells of the Kangaroo’s Duplicity (2:30), 20. Vlad Attack (1:54), 21. Power Grab (2:45), 22. Kite Flying Day (1:22), 23. Mountain Chase (2:08), 24. Clover Field Search (2:16), 25. Memory Game (1:04), 26. For the Children!!! (0:59), 27. Angry Mob (2:40), 28. Roping and Caging (1:03), 29. We Are Here (1:04), 30. Symphonophone (1:12), 31. JoJo Saves the Day (2:22), 32. Hall of Mayors (1:31), 33. Horton Suite (6:52), 34. A Big Ending (0:53). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6888, 59:56].
SLEEPWALKING
CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Review by Jonathan Broxton. 2007 was one of the best years of Christopher Young’s career in terms of his international profile, when he scored two of the highest grossing films of his career, Spider-Man 3 and Ghost Rider. Sleepwalking is a return to his indie roots; a coming-of-age drama directed by William Maher, the film stars Anna Sophia Robb as Tara, an 11 year old girl struggling to come to terms with her abandonment by her dropout mother Joleen (Charlize Theron), and the subsequent impact on Tara’s older brother James (Nick Stahl), who is left to pick up the pieces. As befits the film, Young’s score is small and intimate, making use of a reduced orchestra, augmented by solo guitar, solo piano, and ambient synth tones. Young has always been better than a lot of his contemporaries at making this kind of understated music interesting, and this is again the case here. The score veers between piano-led bittersweet beauty (in cues such as “Heavens To Be Had”, the subtly optimistic “Ferris Wheel”, and the lovely finale “Shine On”) somber introspection (in cues such as “Losing You To”, “Wishing Well Blues” and “Kriskraft”), and even some rather dissonant tension (“Mad Bad Dad”), while in other cues, such as “The Water Waltz”, Young introduces an delightful light-pop element into the proceedings, resulting in a sound which sounds like it could have come from the pen of Henry Mancini. This is never going to be a score which generates legions of admirers, or converts the masses to Young’s dramatic work – it’s too much of a minor score for that – but for anyone who admires Young’s more gently dramatic and reigned-in musical sensibilities may find a great deal to appeal to them here.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Come On Come Out (performed by A Fine Frenzy) (3:39), 2. Sleepwalking (4:28), 3. Heavens to be Had (1:59), 4. The Water Waltz (2:25), 5. Twisted Hearts, Broken Souls (2:36), 6. Losing You To (2:37), 7. Vanish (1:31), 8. Wishing Well Blues (3:50), 9. How Old Do I Look? (1:17), 10. Three Angels Underground (2:40), 11. Fire Flowers (3:19), 12. Kriskraft (2:44), 13. Ferris Wheel (2:16), 14. Sparkle Road (1:41), 15. She's a Dead Diamond Dancer (2:12), 16. Mad Bad Dad (5:50), 17. Shine On (7:50) [Lakeshore Records LKS-339942, 53:01].
SHUTTER
NATHAN BARR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Yet another entry into the annals of the “American remake of an Asian horror”, Shutter is the Hollywood studio version of a 2004 Thai film of the same name. Directed by Masayuki Ochiai, it stars Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor as Ben and Jane Shaw, a newlywed American couple who relocate to Japan when Ben lands a well-paid job as a corporate photographer. Soon after they arrive, while driving down a dark forest road, hit and apparently kill a young girl with their car; later, Ben begins noticing strange white blurs in his photographs, leading Jane to believe that dead girl is haunting them through spirit photography, and may be seeking vengeance. Nathan Barr is no stranger to the horror genre, having written a trio of surprisingly lush and elegant scores for director Eli Roth on Cabin Fever and the Hostel series. Shutter is more of the same – a distinguished orchestral horror score which greatly outclasses the film it accompanies. There are a number of quite excellent cues: the opening “Welcome to Tokyo” overlays an expressive cello theme with a modern electronic beat to excellent effect, the style of which is later revisited in cues like “TGK”, the espionage-esque “Jane Visits TGK”, and “The Whole Truth”, which presents the lush cello theme without the electronics. To illustrate the more horrific elements of the story there are a number of wonderfully chaotic dissonances, in “We Hit a Girl”, “Fly in the Eye”, “I Saw Megumi” and “Psych Ward”, where Barr allows his orchestra to run riot, with deliciously devilish and impressionistic results. There’s also an unnerving whispering motif for the ‘dead girl’, Megumi, which appears to chilling effect in several cues, notably “The Spirit Room” and “Flip Book”. The end credits song “Good to Me”, which is performed by Barr’s wife, Lisbeth Scott, has an appealing modern pop-rock beat which is very enjoyable; an edited version of the song features in the cue “Making Love”. Barr’s score is not available for purchase in stores, but can be obtained as a digital download from Lakeshore Records via iTunes, and it comes recommended to fans of contemporary horror scores.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Welcome to Tokyo (1:56), 2. We Hit a Girl (2:58), 3. TGK (1:37), 4. Making Love (2:41), 5. Alone in Tokyo (0:59), 6. The Spirit Room (2:27), 7. The Argument (3:05), 8. Fly in the Eye (2:31), 9. Visiting Murase (2:28), 10. Jane Visits TGK (4:30), 11. The Truth (1:54), 12. I Saw Megumi (1:57), 13. Driving to Megumi's (3:19), 14. Rest in Peace (2:36), 15. Flip Book (3:21), 16. The Whole Truth (2:40), 17. Psych Ward (1:02), 18. Good To Me (performed by Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott) (3:23). [Lakeshore Records Digital Download, 45:24].
UNDER THE SAME MOON
CARLO SILIOTTO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Under the Same Moon – also known in its native Spanish as La Misma Luna – is a road movie with a twist, about a young Mexican boy named Carlitos who, following the death of his grandmother, must find a way to cross the US-Mexican border to find his mother, Rosario, who has been living and working illegally in the United States. The film is directed by Patricia Riggen, stars Kate Del Castillo and Adrian Alonso, and features an original score by Italian composer Carlo Siliotto. Despite having gained a little bit of international fame following his scores for The Punisher and Nomad, Siliotto remains a little bit of a peripheral figure in the film music world, but I sincerely hope that this changes soon, because Under the Same Moon is gorgeous. The opening piece, “La Misma Luna”, is an innocent, sun-kissed dance for solo piano, strings and accordions that is just captivating, and continues on into a slightly mournful duet between acoustic guitars and flutes in “La Fantasia de Carlitos”, which is just lovely. The entire score is underpinned with a prominent harp element which waves away in the background, giving the score a delicate internal rhythm, and a sense of lightness that, despite the tragic circumstances Carlitos and Rosario find themselves, keeps you believing that everything will turn out OK in the end. There are a few moments of darkness and melancholy, in cues such as “La Cancela”, “La Muerte de la Abuela” and “La Mano”, which use basically the same instrumental ensemble, but beef up the bass to add to the drama; elsewhere, “El Coche” adds a more prominent percussion element, in what is the score’s most threatening cue. However, as Siliotto gradually builds towards the end of this sadly short album, the orchestral beauty returns: cues such as “Los Trabajadores” and “En La Cama Con La Luna” are wonderfully optimistic and romantic pieces, while the conclusive “El Semaforo” wraps everything up into a nice, tidy, and emotionally satisfying package. Unfortunately, Siliotto’s score is not available for purchase in stores, but can be obtained as a digital download from Lakeshore Records via iTunes.
TRACK LISTING: 1. La Misma Luna (2:34), 2. La Fantasia de Carlitos (1:10), 3. La Cancela (2:08), 4. La Muerte de la Abuela (2:32), 5. El Coche (2:52), 6. La Mano (1:38), 7. El Viaje y Enrique (2:00), 8. Los Trabajadores (1:35), 9. En La Cama Con La Luna (2:36), 10. Tienes Razon (1:49), 11. Hay Una Esquina (2:10), 12. El Sacrificio de Enrique (2:52), 13. El Semaforo (2:19). [Lakeshore Records Digital Download, 28:14].
21
DAVID SARDY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A volatile thriller about the surprisingly dangerous world of counting cards in Vegas, 21 is the latest film from director Robert Luketic. Based on a true story, the film stars Jim Sturgess as MIT math genius Ben Campbell, who is recruited into an elite team of card-counting blackjack players by his professor, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). Ben, Micky and his team travel to Vegas each weekend and make thousands of dollars with consummate ease; however, despite having been seduced by his new decadent lifestyle, and despite his budding relationship with fellow card counter Jill (Kate Bosworth), Jim finds that the life of a Vegas card shark can be dangerous – especially when he crosses paths with ruthless casino ‘loss prevention’ officer Laurence Fishburne. 21 marked the film music debut of New York-based producer, singer, songwriter and guitarist David Sardy, who is most famous for his work with his group Barkmarket. As one might expect, Sardy’s score is modern and generally rock-based, and tends to add a touch of sexy sophistication to Ben’s secret life in Vegas; guitars, percussion and upbeat synths with aggressively snappy rhythms tend to dominate the proceedings. Cues like “Dazzle Me”, “The Best Part of the Concert”, the dance-like “Loser” and and the conclusive “Got The Girl Not The Money” reek of contemporary Vegas cool, while other cues such as “Not Here for a Tie” and “Life Experience” infuse the score with a hint of jazz through the use of more traditional percussion, organs, and softer rhythms. Elsewhere, Sardy adopts a tougher, more abrasive edge in cues such as “The System Beats Back” and “Fight”, using a more harsh electronic sound to underscore the realities of Vegas’s less family-friendly underbelly, and which occasionally seem like throwbacks to the times when Faltermeyer, Moroder and Fiedel were at the top of their game. The “Love Theme”, for the scene in which Ben and Jill, silhouetted by the lights of the Las Vegas Strip, have sex for the first time, is more conventionally orchestral, and stands out for its unexpected romantic beauty. Only one of Sardy’s pieces – “Giant” – appears on the popular hit soundtrack album, which is otherwise dominated by a vast array of rock, pop and electronica songs by the artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Amon Tobin, Junkie XL and Mark Ronson; the less widely-available score album features 27 score cues, amounting to just over 40 minutes of enjoyable 21st century rat pack grooves.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (2:16), 2. Dazzle Me (1:05), 3. Not Here For A Tie (2:10), 4. 21st Birthday (1:16), 5. Life Experience (1:06), 6. Honored Guest (1:27), 7. Very Safe (dialogue) (0:04), 8. The System Beats Back (0:53), 9. Test Run Alley (1:22), 10. First Table (0:54), 11. Burlap Mouth (0:13), 12. The Best Part of the Concert (4:37), 13. Cole (1:06), 14. No One To Tell (1:04), 15. Love Theme (1:13), 16. Cole Gets Face (1:44), 17. Fight (1:38), 18. Loser (3:23), 19. No Cash (1:24), 20. No Cash Reprise (1:26), 21. Queen of Diamonds (dialogue) (0:04), 22. Cole Gets Ben (3:22), 23. Lost Everything (dialogue) (0:05), 24. Jill (2:05), 25. Plot Reveal (1:07), 26. The Bag (2:16), 27. Got The Girl Not The Money (1:52). [Adrenaline Music ADRE101056, 41:12].
STOP-LOSS
JOHN POWELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. In US military terminology, a stop-loss is the involuntary extension of a soldier’s active duty beyond their initial end of term of service date – in other words, the powers-that-be force them to return to active duty once their tour is up. Director Kimberly Pierce’s film is an examination of this controversial policy from the point of view of Iraq War veteran Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), who deserts his comrades and refuses to return to the front lines following the end of his deployment in the Gulf. The film, which also stars Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is an effective anti-war drama, exposing the US government’s apparent disregard for its servicemen. John Powell’s somber score for the film plays like the flip side of America patriotism: all the musical elements are there for a flag-waving celebration of military victory, but Powell uses them in an ironic, damning way, skewing the traditional values and nationalistic fervor. Cues like “Michelle’s House”, “Losing Steve”, “Call Carlson” and “Preacher’s End” feature lonely trumpet solos that capture the film’s sense of confused morality in a way that Jerry Goldsmith might have done 25 years ago, while retaining a strong sense of musicality and emotional impact. There are a number of rock and country touches, emphasizing the working class roots of the film’s main characters, and guitars of varying types – electric, acoustic, slide – feature in cues such as “Graveside”, “Tommy Breaks”, “Brandon Meets Josh”, and “Urban Warfare”, often accompanied by a troubling strings-and-synth backing which further emphasizes the sense of uncertainty and anger. Tracks like “The Base”, “Leaving Town” and “Squad Book” up the tempo somewhat, and sound like authentic rock instrumentals, really highlighting Powell’s versatility. The brief action moments, in cues like “Going AWOL”, are generally straight forward, relying on martial percussion to drive the music on. At the other end of the scale, Powell’s “Theme for Peace” is a beautiful, subtle, yet emotionally charged piano piece, which somehow manages to encapsulate the confused dichotomy of Brandon King’s mindset perfectly: he loves his country, and serves it with honor, but hates war and hates death, and hates the way his country has failed to respect him and his service. The theme is extrapolated in the more optimistic and conventionally attractive “Both Kinds of Danger”, and combines beautifully with the trumpet refrain in the conclusive “The Greatest Tragedy”, an expansive and dramatic cue which ends the album on a vivid, powerful note. Good stuff indeed.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Michelle’s House (1:04), 2. Graveside (1:37), 3. Going AWOL (3:26), 4. Tommy Breaks (1:14), 5. The Base (1:34), 6. Leaving Town (0:59), 7. Pool Trip (0:52), 8. Troopers (0:59), 9. Losing Steve (1:21), 10. Brandon Meets Josh (1:39), 11. To the Hotel (1:16), 12. Call Carlson (1:50), 13. Urban Warfare (1:03), 14. Theme for Peace (2:33), 15. Preachers End (1:07), 16. Both Kinds of Danger (1:51), 17. Squad Book (1:38), 18. The Greatest Tragedy (7:29), 19. Can’t You See (performed by The Marshall Tucker Band) (6:03). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6885, 39:54].
LEATHERHEADS
RANDY NEWMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. George Clooney’s third film as a director – Leatherheads – is a real departure from his first two efforts, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night and Good Luck. Whereas those films were serious political dramas, Leatherheads is a light-hearted 1920s caper about the early days of professional American football. Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, captain of the struggling Duluth Bulldogs, who convinces a good looking college football star and war hero, Carter "the Bullet" Rutherford (John Krasinski), to join his team. However, before long, the two men find themselves competing for the attentions of Chicago newspaper reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), a stereotypical flapper whose beauty belies her hard-bitten journalistic temperament. In many ways, Randy Newman was a perfect choice to score a film like this, having already visited the time period in The Natural, and the jazz genre in Ragtime. Newman is a distinctively old-fashioned composer most of the time, and when intentionally channeling the musical styles of Gershwin, Scott Joplin, and those other icons of the roaring 20s, as he is here, his music is never anything less than authentic, although this authenticity is likely to be a turnoff for some listeners. Several pieces – notably the opening “Princeton Tiger”, “The College Game” and “Carter is Blue” trill to old fashioned big band and swing, dirty-sounding jazz, and the bombastic march stylings of Sousa, while others, such as “Good Old Princeton”, the mellow “Lexi”, the intimate “Ah Love”, and the warm-sounding “Up Close and Personal” are a little more serious, while remaining rooted in the conventions of the time period. Newman even engages in some flag-waving triumphant sports music in “The Ambiguity of Victory”, which is quite exciting and upbeat. What’s interesting is that, for much of the running time, the music sounds a great deal like Newman’s songs, without the singing, which will undoubtedly appeal to his fans.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Princeton Tiger (1:31), 2. Good Old Princeton: The College Game (2:24), 3. The Professional Game (3:56), 4. The Pros Go to College (1:23), 5. Help From High School/Gonged (0:56), 6. Dodge (2:40), 7. Lexi (1:57), 8. Ich Gebe Auf (2:10), 9. Carter is Blue (3:21), 10. How One Longs for Princeton (1:26), 11. Ah, Love (2:47), 12. The Man I Love (performed by Ledisi) (4:02), 13. Pool Party (2:37), 14. Dan Higgins (1:01), 15. Trouble (1:44), 16. Up Close and Personal (1:54), 17. The Ambiguity of Victory (3:39), 18. Sgt. York (1:00), 19. Into the Sunset (1:21), 20. Reprise for Tiffany (2:11). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6887, 44:00].
NIM’S ISLAND
PATRICK DOYLE
Review by Clark Douglas. The rather silly family adventure film “Nim's Island” tells the story of a young girl (Abigail Breslin) who is stranded on a deserted island when her father (Gerard Butler) is lost at sea. The girl requests the assistance of her favorite author (Jodie Foster), who in turn reluctantly attempts to rescue the young child. The “Romancing the Stone”-influenced flick is scored by Patrick Doyle, who provides a perfectly pleasant lightweight action score. Things begin on a bit of a predictable note, with a sweet main theme for piano, strings, and acoustic guitar. It's a nice piece, if not especially memorable. It pops up every now and then, but the album features a reasonably diverse array of thematic ideas. The music is a tad schizophrenic early on, with a variety of nice ideas that rarely stick around long enough to make an impression. It's not quite Mickey-Mousey, but certainly somewhat bitty. At times, it's a little reminiscent of the sort of thing Doyle was writing for Nanny McPhee, with a bit less inventiveness in the orchestration and a bit more swashbuckling vigor. Later in the album, the action music begins to focus a bit more, and we are given some very entertaining cues such as “Helicopter Storm”, “Woman Overboard”, and “Alex Nearly Drown” (a back-to-back-to-back trio of fun). The expected heartwarming swelling strings appear in the final two cues, providing a nice finish to the album. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that Doyle's writing has been a little less than top-drawer in recent times, but as with his score for “Igor”, this one provides just enough quality to make up for the shortcomings.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Nim's Island (3:57), 2. Baby Turtles (2:44), 3. Galileo Helps Jack (4:11), 4. Volcano and Door (3:28), 5. Buccaneer Ship (2:46), 6. Become the Hero (5:43), 7. The Great Outdoors (1:48), 8. Airport, Whale (3:09), 9. Lizard Attack (3:45), 10. Volcano Erupts (5:10), 11. Helicopter Storm (1:42), 12. Woman Overboard (3:42), 13. Alex Nearly Drowns (2:43), 14. Alex Swims Away (3:17), 15. It's Empty (2:28), 16. Nim Sees Jack (2:22). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6889, 52:55].
THE RUINS
GRAEME REVELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A very bizarre horror movie based on the acclaimed novel by Scott Smith, The Ruins is a cautionary tale about four American twentysomethings - Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey and Shawn Ashmore – on vacation in Mexico, who go on a day trip to an isolated Mayan temple to visit an archaeological dig; what they find, however, is a descent into terror, firstly when they are trapped on top of the pyramid by gun-toting natives, but worse still when they discover that the pyramid itself is covered with sentient, flesh-eating vines. Despite the whole thing playing out like a twisted version of Little Shop of Horrors (I kept expecting the little red flower buds to burst into a chorus of “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”), the intellectual intentions of the production were clearly high, but the execution was lacking a little something. The extremely high gore quotient that debutant director Carter Smith gives the film is also perhaps a little too much for sensitive audiences. The music for The Ruins is by Kiwi composer Graeme Revell, and his work is another entry into the “ambient thriller” category of scores that has plagued a little too much of his career in this genre. The eerie, glassy textures do work in context, and the menacing sound design aspect of the score does lend some of the more tense scenes a sense of impending doom, but there’s virtually nothing of thematic note to latch onto, just a series of moods. There are a few moments when Revell introduces a Spanish guitar to note the location, and a couple of brief orchestral blasts to accompany moments of high energy – especially the climactic dash to freedom – but, beyond this, there is almost nothing that truly captures the attention. This review is of the music as heard in the film; there is no commercial soundtrack for The Ruins, and no promo album (yet) on the secondary market.
THE VISITOR
JAN A.P. KACZMAREK
Review by Clark Douglas. If you missed “The Visitor”, I strongly suggest giving it a look. It's a very fine independent drama starring the wonderful Richard Jenkins, who gives one of the finer performances of his increasingly compelling career. The film also receives a score from Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won an Oscar for his pretty “Finding Neverland” score. The win didn't appear to do Kaczmarek any favors, as he hasn't exactly received many high-profile scoring assignments. While I don't think Kaczmarek deserved an Oscar win in the first place, he's certainly a talented composer who typically provides very pleasant albums of music. For “The Visitor”, Kaczmarek provides a low-key chamber music score that is sentimental without ever getting too soppy. His “The Visitor Overture” is an attractive highlight, a gentle piece performed by piano and a string quartet. The music maintains a similar vibe throughout the early portion of the album, successfully playing with ideas introduced in the overture and occasionally touching on new ones. As the score progresses, a new musical element begins to enter the picture. Beginning with “Trip to the Detention Center”, drums enter the picture. This is partially because Jenkins' character is beginning to learn to play the drums, but the drums also represent a turning point in the character's life. Kaczmarek handles the transition with subtlety, though the drums-only musical climax to this journey is (perhaps appropriately) left in the film. Fans of “Finding Neverland” will undoubtedly be pleased by Kaczmarek's solo piano etudes here, which are quite lovely. The album concludes with an eclectic song from Fela Anikulapo Kuti, “Je'nwi Teni (Don't Gag Me)”, which is interesting but certainly clashes quite a bit with everything else on the album. Though “The Visitor” is a bit less overtly melodic than “Finding Neverland”, I feel that it's a rather mature and thoughtful effort that deserves to be discovered. Recommended.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Visitor Overture (5:04), 2. Walter’s Etude No.1 (2:20), 3. Walter the Professor (1:24), 4. Walter Drives Through New York (2:28), 5. Meeting Mouna (3:48), 6. Trip to the Detention Center (3:13), 7. Tarek Arrested (1:44), 8. Walter Plays Half of His Etude No.1 (Piano Solo) (2:30), 9. Evening With Mouna (2:25), 10. Waiting for Tarek (1:11), 11. Looking at the Liberty Statue (1:25), 12. The Loneliness (1:45), 13. The System Says NO (3:14), 14. Walter and Mouna Together (5:18), 15. Walter Feels Alive Again (2:39), 16. Back to the Detention Center (2:17), 17. Walter Plays Etude No. 2 With Almost No Mistakes (6:14), 18. Je’Nwi Teni (Don’t Gag Me) (performed by Fela Anikulapo Kuti) (5:05). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6890, 54:04].
88 MINUTES
EDWARD SHEARMUR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A rather preposterous thriller directed by Jon Avnet, 88 Minutes stars Al Pacino as criminal psychologist Jack Gramm, who was the star witness in the trial of serial killer Jon Forster (Neil McDonough). Years later, and with Forster’s execution imminent, Gramm suddenly finds himself in a race against time to save his own life when he begins to receive threatening phone messages telling him he has just 88 minutes left to live. The film, which also stars Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski and Amy Brenneman, is rather silly, consisting mainly of scenes of Pacino running around aimlessly while talking on his cellphone; it really is one of those ‘check your brain at the door’ films which doesn’t stand up to any kind of intelligent scrutiny. The score for 88 Minutes is by Edward Shearmur, whose career has floundered a little in the past few years. The score is fairly standard thriller fare, enlivened by a more contemporary electronic percussion element which acts as a metronome, counting down the minutes to Pacino’s doom. Several of the chase scenes are quite exciting, and the finale in the abandoned university building plays up the melodrama quite well, but the whole thing is fairly inconsequential by Shearmur’s high standards. The soundtrack was originally announced as being one of Varèse Sarabande’s 2008 releases, but for reasons which remain unclear the CD was cancelled. As such, this review is of the music as heard in the film as there is no commercial soundtrack CD, and no easily-obtainable promo score album.
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
DAVID BUCKLEY
Review by Clark Douglas. Martial arts fans got a small treat during the summer of 2008 when popular genre stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li appeared together in “The Forbidden Kingdom”. The film received generally positive reviews, and was warmly received by most moviegoers. The score was provided by relative newcomer David Buckley, who had previously scored some very minor features and written additional music for several films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams. As you might have guessed at this point, Buckley comes from Hans Zimmer's Remote Control factory, but his work on “The Forbidden Kingdom” proved to a be a bit more inspired than one might expect. Considering that this is Buckley's first large assignment, he really delivered quite well. The score is a rather entertaining outing full of a pleasing assortment of lush themes, large-scale drama, and engaging action sequences, all filtered through a warm eastern vibe. Listeners may be reminded of Klaus Badelt's “The Promise” at times, which “The Forbidden Kingdom” makes a satisfying companion piece to. The action sequences here rely quite heavily on percussion, as a variety of ethnic drums are employed to create very busy cues (check out “J & J Temple Fight” and “Tea House Fight” for examples). However, I confess to preferring the more traditional sequences of sweeping drama, such as the gorgeous “Her Destiny was Written”. Choral elements and solo female vocals are also sprinkled throughout the score, which will undoubtedly please listeners such as myself with a weakness for choral flavor. Everything concludes with the somewhat Schifrin-esque “...Another Tale Begins”, which is just fine, but seems a tad out of place with the rest of the score. The score was not released officially, but this promo album offers a generous 66 minutes of music. If the score ever is given a proper release, I hope they shave off about 15 minutes. It's all good music, but sitting through the entire thing is admittedly a bit wearisome after a while. “The Forbidden Kingdom” may lack the complexity to survive a lengthy album, but there's certainly a lot of very enjoyable music here. If you enjoyed “The Promise”, “Kung Fu Panda”, and “The Last Samurai”, then I think you'll find that this one is well worth seeking out.
TRACK LISTING: 1 The Mountain of Fruit & Flowers (1:42), 2 The Peach Banquet (1:45), 3 Monkey Business (3:28), 4 China Begins (4:11), 5 Hops' Shop (3:06), 6 J&J Temple Fight (5:34), 7 The Legend of the Temple Staff (1:58), 8 Two Tigers - Two Masters (2:49), 9 Tea House Fight (5:07), 10 The Tyranny of War (5:23), 11 Don't Forget to Breath (0:52), 12 Ni Chang & Her Cult Killers (3:36), 13 Drunken Master Wounded (3:39), 14 The Seeker of the Prophecy (5:05), 15 Let the Journey Begin (2:37), 16 Battle of the Bride (3:00), 17 Her Destiny Was Written (4:12v, 18 As One Tale Ends... (2:45), 19 ...Another Tale Begins (1:35). [Lionsgate Records Digital Download, 66:43].
THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
JAMES HORNER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The Life Before Her Eyes is a quietly devastating drama based on the novel by Laura Kassischke, directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Uma Thurman as a woman who, 15 years after surviving a Columbine-like school tragedy in which her best friend was killed, finds herself becoming increasingly withdrawn and distant from her family, and increasingly wracked by survivors guilt, especially after attending a memorial service for the event. It’s a moving, gently shattering motion picture which features a standout performance by Thurman, and solid support by young actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Eva Amurri. Vadim Perelman directed James Horner to an Oscar nomination in 2003 on House of Sand and Fog. That score was one of the most emotionally restrained and understated works of Horner’s career; so it is again with The Life Before Her Eyes, which can be seen as a clear companion piece to its predecessor. Muted strings, solo guitar, piano, textured electronic chords and synthesized choir form the entire instrumental complement, and throughout the score Horner’s knack for writing delicate, smooth, subtle music comes to the fore. It’s a score about gossamer textures and subtle evocations which drifts gently, softly, lazily, creating a dream-like mood, and is notable only for its changes in timbre and occasional moments of feather-like beauty – tender piano scales in “Diana - A Future To Be...” and “Choose! Time to Decide”, a lovely, simple main theme in “Becoming Close Friends”, a brief element of starkness and urgency in “Diana Gets Hit By a Car”, and an unfashionably modest but emotionally powerful finale in “Young Diana's Future - A Future That Could Have Been...”, a wonderful piece of through-composing which more than highlight’s Horner’s exquisite touch as a dramatist. The only problem – with the score having virtually no memorable thematic content, and very little in the way of prominent moments of musical exclamation, and anyone who gets bored easily in a film score will likely find The Life Before Her Eyes lulling them to sleep. However, it’s worth investigating for those with the patience to do so.
TRACK LISTING: 1. An Ordinary Day (3:54), 2. Diana - A Future To Be... (4:55), 3. Becoming Close Friends (3:32), 4. All the Memories From An Old Photo Album (4:06), 5. The Gift of a Necklace (3:59), 6. Choose! Time to Decide (3:31), 7. Diana Gets Hit By a Car (3:45), 8. Two Lives Slowly Converging (4:35), 9. Diana's Young Conscience is Finally Formed (3:44), 10. The Memorial - The Laying of Flowers (2:31), 11. Two Worlds; The Past and the Future (2:51), 12. Young Diana's Future - A Future That Could Have Been... (12:15). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34006, 53:38].
PATHOLOGY
JOHANNES KOBILKE and ROBB WILLIAMSON
Review by Clark Douglas. I didn't see “Pathology”, but most critics seem to agree that it's yet another dreary horror film without much artistic merit. Starring Milo Ventimiglia of “Heroes”, the film tells the grisly tale of a group of doctors using their medical skills to perform nasty murders. Most film scores for this sort of thing tend to be incredibly boring unless they're being written by the likes of Christopher Young. Sadly, “Pathology” is no exception. The music is provided by composers Johannes Kobilke and Robert Williamson, who both had a breakout year in 2008; in addition to “Pathology”, they were also given the horror film “The Midnight Meat Train”. My copy of the score came with a press release boasting that “Pathology” is the first iTunes score to be presented in Dolby Pro Logic II, which encodes surround sound mixes into stereo sound files. I popped this disc into my DVD player and turned up my speaker system. Let me tell you, being surrounded by this music doesn't make it any better. It's a dull, dreary, banally atmospheric effort that is built around extended drones and the occasional standard-issue horror sting. As sound design, it's reasonably professional stuff that sets a certain tone. I have no doubt that it does exactly what it is supposed to do within the film. As an album of music, “Pathology” is rather crummy. The only genuinely redemptive moment is “Gwen's Theme”, a gentle piano piece that offers a bit of pleasant melody. The album concludes with what surely must be the least-interesting finale of the year, “Final Meeting”, which offers nearly five minutes of barely audible murmurings before withering out with a few limp percussion beats. If you're a sound junkie desperate to own any film score presented in 5.1 surround sound, this will do the trick. I simply can't recommend “Pathology” to anyone who values interesting music.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The List (performed by Renholder) (3:58), 2. Unintended Consequences (performed by The Legion of Doom feat. Triune) (2:08), 3. Parade of the Horribles (performed by The Circle Jerks) (1:28), 4. Fuck Me, Please.../Meeting the Interns (4:37), 5. We Don't Like You... (1:27), 6. Harper Johnson... (0:56), 7. Disagreement (7:57), 8. Ohrenschmerz (6:18), 9. Dr. Crack (2:54), 10. Killing Daddy (2:07), 11. Who is the Best (1:09), 12. Juliette and Teo (1:11), 13. Liebeszauber (1:34), 14. Smoking Kills (1:17), 15. The Morgue (3:59), 16. Confrontation (2:11), 17. Meeting at the Morgue (2:34), 18. Ted Runs (1:24), 19. Gwen's Theme (2:12), 20. Final Meeting (4:56), 21. Bibo No Adzora (performed by Selectracks Studio Ensemble) (2:56). [Lakeshore Records LKS-33933 , 59:13].
HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
GEORGE S. CLINTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The sequel to the surprise 2004 hit Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay sees the two perennial stoners – John Cho and Kai Penn – attempting to travel to Amsterdam so Harold can pursue a budding romance with his neighbor Maria (Paula Garces). After running into Kumar’s old girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris) and her obnoxious fiancèe at the airport, Kumar remembers his old feelings for her and decides to try to win her back. However, when Kumar is mistaken for a terrorist, the pair are sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp – from which, as the title of the film suggests, they must escape. The film is directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hay Schlossberg, and is scored by George S. Clinton, taking over musical duties from David Kitay, who scored the original. The score opens with an unexpectedly exciting action sequence in “Ron Fox/Interrogation/Gitmo”, which is all dark horn chords and thrusting string work, and is quite unlike anything you would anticipate hearing in a score for a film like this. Much of rest of the score has the same feeling of being music which is too good to be in this film: “Osama Ben Kumar” has a slight Arabic twist in the orchestrations before launching into some more strident action music; the wonderfully-named “Cockmeat Sandwich” opens with a lithe Arabic vocalist intoning over threatening string chords; and “Vanessa” has a pretty, contemporary guitar-led love theme. The KKK have ominous organs and a hint of Deliverance’s banjo strumming prior to even more energetic dance-like action music in “KKKP/Escape the KKK”; there’s some typically tripped out Indian sitar music for the marijuana hallucinations in “Unicorn Mushroom”, and Clinton even invades Remote Control action territory in the exciting “Free Fall”, before wrapping things up with a quietly romantic sweep in “Kumar’s Poem”. All in all, it’s hugely enjoyable stuff. Comedy music is always at its best when the composer approaches the project as if he’s scoring War and Peace. None of it is original or in any way groundbreaking, but it’s testament to Clinton’s talents that he overcomes the negative preconceptions one might have about the music for this film, and writes quite a lot of impressive stuff regardless.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Ron Fox/Interrogation/Gitmo (3:29), 2. Osama Ben Kumar (2:52), 3. Cockmeat Sandwich (4:25), 4. America (1:27), 5. Vanessa/Vanessa Leaves/School Daze/All Wet (1:49), 6. Dead Bambi/Cell Phone/Doors/Cyrus (3:00), 7. Ching Chong (1:17), 8. KKKP/Escape the KKK (1:54), 9. Lucre (2:31), 10. Unicorn Mushroom (2:10), 11. Branded (1:22), 12. Hewitt Texas/Broken Heel/The Airport (3:45), 13. Free Fall (4:47), 14. Pardon/Harold & Kumar Arrive (2:34), 15. Kumar's Poem (2:24), 16. He's Alive (0:14). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34011, 40:40].
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
DANNY ELFMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Watching Danny Elfman grow into a sophisticated and technically excellent film composer over the last few years has been one of the most satisfying parts of reviewing soundtracks. His score for Standard Operating Procedure – a devastating documentary by Errol Morris about the appalling events surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison torture abuse scandal in Iraq in 2004 – is probably the most mature and intellectual film score of his entire career. Morris usually hires Philip Glass to score his films, so it perhaps comes as no surprise that a shorthand way of describing Standard Operating Procedure is ‘Elfman doing Glass’, but should in no way insinuate that Elfman is merely copying Glass – the writing is unmistakably Elfmanish throughout. Like much of Glass’s work, much of the music is built up around little motivic cells, repeated textures and thematic fragments, which gradually combine and interweave to form an impressive, cleverly-structured work. The music is almost wholly orchestral, with emphasis on strings and piano but encompassing all parts of the ensemble at different times; unlike many documentary scores, Elfman’s music has a driving, rhythmic quality, usually accomplished by churning bass and cello passacaglias. Cues such as the three “SOP Theme” pieces and “Birdies” are hypnotically fascinating in the way they move around the orchestra, while pieces like “Saddam’s Egg” are noteworthy for their seriousness and dark, brooding intensity. One or two of the cues are taken directly from, or at least derived partly from, his 2006 classical piece Serenade Schizophrana, notably the brilliant main title, “Vacation in Iraq”; indeed, anyone who has heard that work will be able to spot stylistic similarities to it throughout Standard Operating Procedure, making them almost companion pieces, at least in tone and style. Cues like “The Infamous Pyramid” have an ominous heaviness to them which is quite palpable, while cues like “Photos”, “The Table Breaker” and the mechanical “Oli’s Lullaby” have a superficial lightness and flightiness accomplished through circus-like rhythms and twinkling orchestrations that clearly stand in painful juxtaposition to the subject matter at hand. Occasionally, Elfman injects some electronic tension into his music, notably during the grating, menacing “Dogs” and “What Is Going On Here?”; elsewhere, cues like “Gillian” employ a slightly warmer orchestral sound, although even here the intended effect is likely to be one of ‘playing against type’ rather than romanticizing or glossing over the subject matter. Standard Operating Procedure is an excellent, intelligent, creatively written and hugely enjoyable score that is made all the more appealing due to the fact that it is Elfman’s who has written it. He has come a long way since the days of Pee Wee, Batman and Beetlejuice, and although occasionally the intervening years have been frustrating, he has emerged as one of the most skilled and creative composers working in Hollywood. Standard Operating Procedure is probably the best documentary score I have ever heard, and one of the best scores of 2008.
TRACK LISTING: 1. SOP Theme #1: Standard Operating Procedure (5:56), 2. The Infamous Pyramid (3:48), 3. Photos (2:56), 4. The Shooter (3:26), 5. Dogs (3:42), 6. The Wolf (1:11), 7. Saddam’s Egg (3:30), 8. Main Titles: Vacation in Iraq (2:07), 9. SOP Theme #2: Amnesty (1:33), 10. What Is Going On Here? (2:32), 11. Gilligan (3:02), 12. Story of the Ants (3:36), 13. The Table Breaker (1:01), 14. SOP Theme #3: Feelings & Facts (5:26), 15. Unusual, Weird & Wrong (2:32), 16. A Bad Feeling (2:22), 17. Birdies (1:38), 18. S.O.P. End Credits (1:26), 19. Oli’s Lullaby (2:00). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6897, 53:50].
IRON MAN
RAMIN DJAWADI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Iron Man.
SON OF RAMBOW
JOBY TALBOT
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Son of Rambow is an English coming-of-age story set in the 1980s about two young boys – one a school bully, the other coming from an oppressive religious family - who, having sneaked in to see First Blood at the local cinema, decide to make their own home-made action movie, with which they hope to win a young filmmakers competition. The film was written and directed by Garth Jennings, and is scored by the supremely talented English composer Joby Talbot, who scored Jennings’ last film, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the cult TV series The League of Gentlemen. After a trip down amnesia lane with some nostalgic early-80s classic pop songs from The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Blondie and Human League, Talbot’s short 25-minute score takes centre stage. The opening “The Best Day of All Time” is a fanciful staccato march, intentionally comedic-sounding, with a circus-like calliope effect and elephantine brass chords, and which recapitulates in “First Day Filming”. “The Scarecrow” is an unusual metallic percussion track that sounds like something from the stage show Stomp, and is very unconventional; later, the score opens up in tracks such as “I’m French, Non?” with some lovely, lush string writing underpinned by a contemporary beat. The “Disaster” cue contains some brash and propulsive action material, all drums and slashing strings; “The Sad Day” is, as one might expect, more introspective, with a tender string theme and a glittery harp element that eventually opens out into a lovely, sweeping melody. The score concludes with a sincere piano theme in “Can You Fix It?”, performed by Talbot himself, which director Jennings describes as ‘heart-breaking’, and a final statement of the main thematic march and some more exciting action music in the last cue. Although Son of Rambow is not as singularly enjoyable or memorable as his work on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or the League of Gentlemen TV series, there is still plenty to recommend, especially if you know and like any of those earlier scores, and more than underlines my long-held personal opinion that Talbot is one of the most exciting young English composers to emerge into the film music world in the last five or six years.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Close to Me (performed by The Cure) (3:39), 2. Peek-A-Boo (performed by Siouxsie & The Banshees) (3:09), 3. I Can't Wait (performed by Nu Shooz) (3:40), 4. Wild Boys (performed by Duran Duran) (4:15), 5. Egyptian Reggae (performed by Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers) (2:36), 6. Cars (performed by Gary Numan) (3:54), 7. Our Lips Are Sealed (performed by Fun Boy Three) (2:52), 8. Rapture (performed by Blondie) (4:57), 9. Bang Zoom (Let's Go Go) (performed by The Real Roxanne) (3:32), 10. Love Action (I Believe in Love) (performed by Human League) (3:49), 11. The Best Day of All Time (3:13), 12. Bicycle Ride (1:12), 13. The Scarecrow (1:15), 14. The French Kid (0:36), 15. First Day Filming (1:01), 16. I'm French, Non? (2:29), 17. Disaster (3:03), 18. The Sad Day (4:14), 19. The Hospital (1:29), 20. Can You Fix It? (2:02), 21. Son of Rambow (4:21). [Bulletproof 91041, 61:49].
BEFORE THE RAINS
MARK KILIAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An Anglo-Indian romantic drama directed by Bollywood stalwart Santosh Sivan, Before the Rains stars Linus Roache as an English spice baron who settles in South India during the waning years of the British Raj in the 1940s, and who throws the local community into upheaval when he has an affair with a beautiful woman from a nearby village. The film co-stars Rahul Bose, Nandita Das and Jennifer Ehle, and has an original score by South African composer Mark Kilian. As one might expect, given the film’s geographical setting, Kilian’s music makes extensive use of the musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent, notably solo instruments such as the ubiquitous sitar, the sarangi bowed lute, the bansuri flute and the mridangam drum. The “Main Title” is a lilting, exotic affair with the ethnic instruments playing the first performance of the dexterous main theme, supported by a string-led symphony orchestra and Satya McGarry’s breathy, orgasmic vocals. Several cues have an unusual, blatting brass motif that floats in and out of the score, often at moments of significant drama, while the recurring vocal elements change style depending on the mood, ranging from soft wordless solo groaning, to multiple mixed-voice humming and aahing, to rather more unnerving throat singing, as in “Funeral” and “The Kammadan”. There is an enticing rhythmic element to much of the music, which allows cues like “Honey Drive”, “Sacred Dragonfly”, “The Search Begins” and parts of “Chase and Standoff” to build up a propulsive head of steam, while other cues such as “Hand Lines” have more introspective, meditative, dream-like textures which are steeped in Indian culture. A definite highlight is the titular “Before the Rains”, which introduces a tender piano motif underneath the vocals to superb effect, and which is later recapitulated towards the end of “Sajani’s Struggle”. The conclusive pair, “The Prayer” and “End Credits”, are also notable for their delicate beauty, with the former again making exceptional use of McGarry’s unique vocal work. It’s all very enjoyable and pleasant, and maintains a mood of alluring mystery throughout its 50-minute running time. It’s not groundbreaking in any way, but certainly comes recommended for anyone who – like me - has an increasing affinity for the musical traditions of the region. It’s also very encouraging to hear this kind of music coming from a composer like Kilian, whose work occasionally reminds me of Mychael Danna, and who is clearly a talent to watch in the next few years.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Titles (3:57), 2. Honey Drive (0:50), 3. Hand Lines (3:42), 4. Funeral (2:46), 5. Sacred Dragonfly (1:34), 6. Sajani in Winter (3:52), 7. The Search Begins (3:29), 8. Before the Rains (3:47), 9. The Kammadan (3:29), 10. Sajani's Struggle (3:09), 11. Down the River (1:02), 12. Did You Kill Her? (2:27), 13. All Quiet (1:22), 14. Chase and Standoff (3:36), 15. Reminiscence (2:21), 16. Feeling the Loss (1:51), 17. Coming for TK (2:21), 18. The Prayer (3:29), 19. End Credits (3:50). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34022, 52:54].
SPEED RACER
MICHAEL GIACCHINO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A cartoonish action adventure inspired by the classic 1960s Japanese animated TV series of the same name (which, I have to admit, I had never heard of prior to this movie), Speed Racer is directed by ‘Matrix’ creators Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, and stars Emile Hirsch as the eponymous hero, a young driver from a racing-crazy family who competes in a series of neon-garish grand prix in various locations around the world. The film also stars Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, and features an original score by Michael Giacchino. It almost pains me to say it, but Speed Racer follows on from Mission Impossible III as one of the few Giacchino scores I really didn’t like. Like the film itself, the score is a fast-moving, energetic, but ultimately rather chaotic musical collage of styles and influences, ranging from typical Hollywood action music to guitar driven rock to Henry Mancini-style light jazz and pop. Some of the action cues – notably “Worlds Worst Road Rage”, “Casa Cristo”, “The Maltese Ice Cave”, “Grand Ol’ Prix” and the excellent “Reboot” – are exciting and powerful, with sequences that raise the pulse through their dramatic brass writing, relentless pacing and breathless string runs. A couple of cues, notably “Tragic Story of Rex Racer”, have a cooing vocal effect to add a touch of exotic wonderment, while cues such as “Thunderhead” have a groovy jazz inflection that recalls his work on The Incredibles but without that score’s sense of sleek panache. The final cue, “Speed Racer”, is a nostalgic new arrangement of the original TV theme by Japanese composers Nobuyoshi Koshibe and Yoshida Yoshiyuki, which ends the album nicely. However, throughout the score there just seems to be an overarching cheesiness, and a certain sense of a lack of restraint, which makes Speed Racer an ultimately exhausting score to experience. The music is just so relentlessly flashy, moving all over the place, changing styles and genres with gay abandon, the strings fluttering and scampering up and down the scales, that by the end of the album you just feel worn out.
TRACK LISTING: 1. I Am Speed (0:37), 2. World’s Best Autopia (1:15), 3. Thunderhead (3:07), 4. Tragic Story of Rex Racer (4:49), 5. Vroom and Board (3:38), 6. World’s Worst Road Rage (2:41), 7. Racing’s In Our Blood (1:52), 8. True Heart of Racing (4:05), 9. Casa Cristo (4:02), 10. End of the First Leg (2:20), 11. Taejo Turns Trixie (1:37), 12. Bumper to Bumper, Rail to Rail (3:07), 13. The Maltese Ice Cave (2:04), 14. Go Speed, Go! (1:24), 15. He Ain’t Heavy (1:45), 16. 32 Hours (3:49), 17. Grand Ol’ Prix (6:13), 18. Reboot (3:08), 19. Let Us Drink Milk (4:33), 20. Speed Racer (4:21). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6898, 60:27].
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The second installment of the new Chronicles of Narrnia trilogy, based on the classic novels by C.S Lewis, Prince Caspian sees the four Pevensie children returning to Narnia, only to find that over 1,000 years have passed since their last visit, and that magical kingdom is now under the control of an evil king, Miraz. Teaming up once more with Aslan the lion, and a host of wild and wonderful creatures, the children attempt to overthrow Miraz and restore the rightful ruler – Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) – to the throne. The film is more expansive, and significantly darker than its predecessor, The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe, and this shift in tone is also reflected in Harry Gregson-Williams’ score. I was disappointed with the first score in this series, so it’s very encouraging that Prince Caspian is better – it largely dispenses with the new age electronica that bogged down too much of the original album, and instead concentrates on old-fashioned orchestral and choral fantasy scoring, at which Gregson-Williams is very good indeed. Some of the action and battle sequences are very impressive: cues such as “Prince Caspian Flees”, “Raid on the Castle” and “Battle at Aslan’s How” throb to valiant power chords, stirring choral work, and large orchestral forces, although these are tempered by somewhat darker material in cues such as “Miraz Crowned” and “Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance”, in which the choir offers slightly more threatening vocalizations, including throat singing. Alternately, cues such as “Journey to the How” and “Arrival at Aslan’s How” offer soft, reflective moments of delicate beauty or soaring thematic depth, especially when Hugh Wilson’s electric violin takes the lead. In several of these cues Gregson-Williams recapitulates his heroic melodic content from the first film in new settings, with very enjoyable results. One of the conclusive cues, “Return of the Lion”, is absolutely magnificent, rising to glorious heights of quasi-religious, full-throated choral and orchestral rapture and thematic power. Like its predecessor, the album concludes with four songs, written for or ‘inspired’ by the movie, one of which – “The Call” by Russian indie singer-songwriter Regina Spektor – is actually surprisingly good.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Prince Caspian Flees (4:33), 2. The Kings and Queens of Old (3:26), 3. Journey to the How (4:39), 4. Arrival at Aslan's How (2:53), 5. Raid on the Castle (7:00), 6. Miraz Crowned (4:42), 7. Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance (6:15), 8. The Duel (5:51), 9. The Armies Assemble (2:17), 10. Battle at Aslan's How (5:14), 11. Return of the Lion (4:10), 12. The Door in the Air (7:50), 13. The Call (performed by Regina Spektor) (3:07), 14. A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree (performed by Oren Lavie) (3:38), 15. This Is Home (performed by Switchfoot) (3:58), 16. Lucy (performed by Hanne Hukkelberg) (4:31). [Walt Disney Records D000074212, 74:04].
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
JOHN WILLIAMS
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
SEX AND THE CITY
AARON ZIGMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Four years after the enormously popular and successful TV show ended, director Michael Patrick King brought Sex and the City back, this time on the big screen, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon reprising their roles as the four man-hungry socialites, looking for love in the Big Apple. Providing the score for Sex and the City is the ever-busy Aaron Zigman, taking over the reigns for Douglas Cuomo, who scored most of the TV series. As one might expect, much of Zigman’s music is light and breezy, upbeat and peppy, fitting the modern tone of the protagonists adventures well. The opening “Love Letters” is actually a quite lovely piano and string piece, dreamily romantic and unexpectedly beautiful, setting the tone for what turns out to be a surprisingly engaging album. The recapitulations of the style in the “It's Me & You Suite”, the sweeping “It Was Love”, and the delicate “Did I Dream It” are very nice indeed. “Dante” introduces sultry Latin rhythms into the mix, along with hooting saxophones and flashy guitars, and even a touch of surf music, while “Big Screws Up” features a surprisingly tender solo violin element, and later embarks on some unexpectedly powerful percussion writing. Of course, there are also several moments of out-and-out comedy scoring and playful pastiche, such as the faux-Japanese writing in “Sushi” and the knockabout pizzicato caper music in “Penthouse” and “76 Guests”, while the more urban beats of “Taxi”, “Girls Walk Up” and others remind us that the film is set in the contemporary metropolitan world. The whole score sounds exactly how you would expect it to sounds; it offers no surprises, offers nothing original, and adheres to the chick-flick romantic comedy conventions absolutely. But there is just something about Zigman’s writing that makes it a compelling listen anyway. It’s one of the better comedy scores of 2008, for sure.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Love Letters (3:42), 2. Dante (4:23), 3. The Closet (2:30), 4. Big Screws Up (2:48), 5. It's Me & You Suite (4:47), 6. It Was Love (3:34), 7. Penthouse (2:20), 8. Did I Dream It (2:26), 9. Water Breaks (1:44), 10. Taxi (1:06), 11. 76 Guests (0:56), 12. Leaving Wedding (3:21), 13. Louise Leaves (1:41), 14. City Hall (2:07), 15. Girls Walk Up (1:12), 16. Carrie Sees Vogue (0:57), 17. Sushi (1:50), 18. It Was Love (3:27). [New Line Records NLR-39126, 45:00].
KUNG FU PANDA
HANS ZIMMER and JOHN POWELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An animated action comedy from DreamWorks that features an astonishing voice cast – Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu – Kung Fu Panda follows the fortunes of Po, a clumsy but well-meaning panda who, despite his enthusiasm, is the worst student at the kung fu academy run by the noble, severe Master Shifu. However, when Tai Lung, an evil snow leopard, escapes from prison and vows revenge on Shifu and his students, Po is unexpectedly revealed to be the one prophesized to stop Tai Lung’s plan and save the academy. The film, which was enormously popular and successful at the box office, has an original score by Hans Zimmer and John Powell, collaborating on an animated film for the second time, after The Road to El Dorado in 2000. Their score is of the faux-Oriental variety, and makes use of a number of traditional (and increasingly) familiar local instruments, notably the erhu and the pipa, alongside a large-scale western symphony orchestra. There’s a lot of energy and verve to their music, as heard in the barreling opening cue “Hero”, which even introduces some rock elements into the score. Playful pizzicato sequences and moments of light whimsy play alongside some unexpectedly large-scale action material, notably in cues like “Let the Tournament Begin” and “Dragon Warrior is Among Us” “Shifu Faces Tai Long” and “The Dragon Scroll”, which are impressive in their scope, but retain a sense of light-hearted liveliness and a great deal of humor. There are a few sequences of electronically-enhanced darker material, notably in “Tai Lung Escapes”, and a couple of moments of stereotypical Chinesey music, as in “Impersonating Shifu” and “Training Po”, but these are few and far between. However, somewhat unusually, there is also a great deal of delicate beauty and lyricism, often through the use of erhu solos augmented by strings and choir; parts of “Peach Tree of Wisdom”, the soaring “Sacred Pool of Tears” and especially the conclusive “Oogway Ascends” are surprisingly beautiful and touching. The album ends with a fun – if a little predictable – new version of Carl Douglas’s disco classic “Kung Fu Fighting” by Jack Black and R&B singer Cee-Lo Green, which is actually very good indeed, and caps off an hour’s worth of music which is much better than one might have imagined.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Hero (4:42), 2. Let the Tournament Begin (1:59), 3. Dragon Warrior is Among Us (2:57), 4. Tai Lung Escapes (7:06), 5. Peach Tree of Wisdom (1:53), 6. Accu-Flashback (4:05), 7. Impersonating Shifu (2:18), 8. Sacred Pool of Tears (9:51), 9. Training Po (1:28), 10. The Bridge (3:23), 11. Shifu Faces Tai Lung (4:47), 12. The Dragon Scroll (2:31), 13. Po vs. Tai Lung (2:41), 14. Dragon Warrior Rises (3:22), 15. Panda Po (2:39), 16. Oogway Ascends (2:04), 17. Kung Fu Fighting (performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black) (2:30). [Interscope/Universal B0011344-02, 60:14].
MONGOL
TUOMAS KANTELINEN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. For a long time now I have been of the opinion that Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen is one of film’s music’s greatest undiscovered talents, whose expertise and excellence would enliven a partially stagnant Hollywood film music scene. It’s ironic therefore that his biggest international assignment to date – the epic biographical drama Mongol – features one of his least accessible, but conversely most impressive scores. Mongol, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008, and was directed by Sergei Bodrov, recounts the early life of Genghis Khan (Tadanobu Asano), who endured life as a slave on the cold, inhospitable steppes of Central Asia, before going on to conquer half the world in the 13th century. Kantelinen’s score is very, very authentic; it features a small, string-dominated orchestra which churns moodily, with lots of bass and heavy emphasis in the lower registers of the instruments, and is augmented by lots and lots of vocalists, including the unique khöömii throat-singing, female soloists lamenting and ululating over the orchestra, as well as the unique art of “urtiin duu” - traditional Mongolian long-singing. The “Beginning” is eerily evocative, setting the scene well, while later cues such as “Temudgin’s Escape”, “Merkit Territory” and “Showing Strength” add a level of drama and weight to the score through their dark, heavy string chords. Action music comes by way of the frantic, percussion heavy “Attack”, “Slavery”, “The First Attachment” and the heroic “Tengri’s Help”, one of the few tonally bright spots of the score. To counterbalance the drama, cues such as “Together Now” have a dream-like element to them, with synths and chimes combining to give the music a sense of calm and peace, while the lush and emotional “Love Theme” is one of the few nods to traditional western film scoring. The album also features additional music by traditional Mongolian folk/rock group Altan Urag, who have a unique fusion sound which melds traditional Mongolian string and woodwind instruments with modern western elements to intriguing effect. Their work can be heard in cues such as “At the Fireplace”, “Chase I”, “Funeral and Robbery”, “Chase II” and “Joy in Mongolia”, and adds another element of regional distinctiveness to an already non-standard score. It’s all very impressive stuff, and comes recommended to listeners whose tastes extend into world music.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Beginning (4:35), 2. At the Fireplace (0:48), 3. Blood Brothers (1:08), 4. Chase I (0:51), 5. Fighting Boys (0:53), 6. Temudgin's Escape (2:03), 7. Funeral and Robbery (2:30), 8. Together Now (1:52), 9. Love Theme (1:25), 10. Chase II (1:36), 11. Cold Winter (2:30), 12. Merkit Territory (1:53), 13. Attack (0:44), 14. Martial Rage (1:12), 15. Jamukha is Following (1:30), 16. Slavery (1:48), 17. Long Journey (0:49), 18. Destiny (1:49), 19. Joy in Mongolia (3:07), 20. Final Battle - Showing Strength (2:15), 21. Final Battle - Tactical Order (0:36), 22. Final Battle - The First Attachment (1:21), 23. Final Battle - Death by Arrows (1:55), 24. Tengri's Help (0:57), 25. Victory to Khan (1:36), 26. No Mercy (1:56). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6902, 43:39].
YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
RUPERT GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A very silly but rather funny action comedy. You Don’t Mess With the Zohan stars Adam Sandler as a super-human Mossad agent who, tired of taking out Palestinians for the Israeli government, fakes his own death and moves to New York to follow his true dreams – to become a famous hairdresser. However, once in the Big Apple, Zohan finds that he cannot escape his past when he falls for a beautiful salon owner (Emmanuelle Chriqui), while avoiding the attentions of ‘The Phantom’ (John Turturro), his Arabic counterpart. Despite relying mainly on crude sex jokes and Yiddish stereotypes, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan does manage to be quite funny, and throws in a couple of decent action sequences and a pertinent point about works peace to boot. The score for You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is by British composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, who finally seems to be stepping out of the shadow of his brother Harry and carving a decent career of his own in Hollywood. Rupert’s music is overshadowed by the lively disco source music that features in a lot of the film, but still manages to make a statement here and there: there is a strident main theme with stereotypical Israeli overtones (including the ubiquitous Klezmer clarinet), as well as a couple of exciting action cues (notably during the opening sequence when Zohan single-handedly takes out a Hamas compound) and as a pretty love theme for the hesitant romantic relationship between Zohan and Dahlia. This review is of the music as heard in the film; there is no commercial soundtrack.
THE HAPPENING
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Review by Jonathan Broxton. It’s unfortunate that the former wunderkind M. Night Shyamalan’s career seems to be on a downward spiral. The Happening is probably his worst film yet – a bizarre, disconnected ‘thriller’ starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo and Betty Buckley about the onset and effects of a mysterious air-borne virus which seems to make people want to commit suicide. Much was made of the fact that The Happening was Shyamalan’s first R-r ated film, when in reality the film was little more than a series of peculiar sequences in which people try to outrun the wind while talking in an oddly unrealistic manner, and occasionally suffering gruesome deaths. Reuniting with Shyamalan for the sixth time is composer James Newton Howard, whose score is an equally low-key, slow-burning effort. Much of the score is built around understated string phrases, often for Maya Beiser’s solo cello, augmented by unsettling harps and pizzicato effects which give the music a vaguely threatening, intangibly sinister air. After the conclusion of the rhythmic, menacing “Central Park”, Howard introduces a chilly piano motif during “We Lost Contact” which features regularly throughout the rest of the score. However, much of the middle section of the album is made up of barely-changing string, piano and synth tones, continuing the omnipresent sense of danger and adding greatly to the overall unsettling effect of the film itself, but making for a slightly dull listening experience. There are a couple of cues which crank up the creepiness, notably “Princeton” with its scratchy violin writing, “Shotgun” with its explosion of orchestral dissonance, “You Eyin’ My Lemon Drink?” with its disquieting woodwinds, and the rampaging “Mrs. Jones”, but on the whole it’s all too low-key and restrained to be really effective. There is a cathartic release in “Be With You”, an achingly beautiful piece with a more vibrant cello performance. The album concludes with a specially arranged “End Title Suite”, which restates and expands upon the score’s thematic material, finishing the score on a high note. However, despite its highlights, The Happening is still a score where - ironically - too little happens for it to be truly considered one of the year’s best.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Titles (2:18), 2. Evacuating Philadelphia (2:21), 3. Vice Principal (1:56), 4. Central Park (2:58), 5. We Lost Contact (0:59), 6. You Can’t Just Leave Us Here (1:43), 7. Rittenhouse Square (1:59), 8. Five Miles Back (1:13), 9. Princeton (3:06), 10. Jess Comforts Elliot (2:31), 11. My Firearm Is My Friend (2:59), 12. Abandoned House (1:32), 13. Shotgun (4:27), 14. You Eyin’ My Lemon Drink? (4:28), 15. Mrs. Jones (1:44), 16. Voices (1:36), 17. Be With You (3:41), 18. End Title Suite (8:36). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6901, 50:07].
THE INCREDIBLE HULK
CRAIG ARMSTRONG
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The Incredible Hulk is the second time they’ve tried to kickstart Marvel’s ‘Hulk’ character with a big-screen adventure after the popular 1970s TV series starring Bill Bixby; the first, critically maligned movie starred Eric Bana as the ill-fated scientist who turns into a green-skinned monster when he gets angry. This new version is directed by Louis Leterrier stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt and Tim Roth, and stays more within the traditional realms of the accepted comic book history, with Dr Bruce Banner on the run from the US Government after experiments in gamma radiation and military weaponry left him susceptible to his little problem. The score for The Incredible Hulk is by Scottish composer Craig Armstrong, who previous worked with director Leterrier on Unleashed in 2005. Armstrong’s score is a combination of balls-out action and bittersweet contemplation, the former underscoring the enormous battle sequences between Hulk and his evil alter ego, and the latter illustrating the loneliness and sorrow of Banner’s life in exile. The opening “The Arctic” sets out the stall well with a series of impressively heroic orchestral crescendos that eventually open up into a menacing, brass-heavy march. The “Main Title” introduces the serpentine three-note motif for the Hulk, which later re-occurs much more frequently, notably in cues such as “That Is the Target”, “Give Him Everything You’ve Got”, and of course the rampant “Hulk Theme”. Some of the action music is quite superb: rampaging, muscular pieces which throb to relentless electronic rhythms and large orchestral forces. Cues such as “Favela Escape”, “They’re Here”, “Abomination Alley”, “Harlem Brawl” and “Hulk Smash” are very thrilling indeed. In addition, there are some enjoyable montage/travelling cues which use the music’s energy and internal rhythm to superb effect, a couple of more intimate themes to represent Banner’s interpersonal relationships (such as “Reunion”, “Bruce Can’t Stay”, “I Can’t” the lovely conclusive pair “Hulk and Betty” and “Bruce and Betty”), and even some deliciously melodramatic hero-music in “Bruce Must Do It”, while “The Data/The Vial” and “NYC Cab Ride” revisit the style of the lovely, moody mystery writing heard in the opening Arctic piece to great effect. It’s also worth noting that Armstrong respectfully tips his hat to Joe Harnell’s classic Lonely Man theme from the TV series in the cue “Bruce Goes Home”. Unusually, virtually all of Armstrong’s 111-minute score was released on the commercial soundtrack, split over two discs: the cues “The Arctic” to “Hulk Theme” comprise the first CD, while “Saved From the Flames” to “Hulk Theme (End Credits)” comprise the second. Unfortunately, while the music is generally good, it’s such a slog to actually sit and listen to it all in one sitting; I would have much preferred a 40-50 minute album of the highlights to all of this, and as such the rating gets knocked down a notch.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Arctic (2:46), 2. Main Title (2:39), 3. Rocinha Favela (3:11), 4. A Drop of Blood (1:35), 5. The Flower (2:50), 6. Ross' Team (1:33), 7. Mr. Blue (1:03), 8. Favela Escape (3:35), 9. It Was Banner (1:32), 10. That Is the Target (5:33), 11. Bruce Goes Home (1:24), 12. Ross and Blonsky (3:15), 13. Return to Culver University (2:39), 14. The Lab (1:17), 15. Reunion (3:37), 16. The Data/The Vial (1:19), 17. They're Here (3:06), 18. Give Him Everything You've Got (6:08), 19. Bruce Can't Stay (1:54), 20. First Injection (1:03), 21. Is it Safe? (1:07), 22. Hulk Theme (3:59), 23. Saved From the Flames (0:53), 24. Grotto (2:53), 25. Arrival at the Motel (1:48), 26. I Can't (2:15), 27. Abomination Alley (3:56), 28. Bruce Found (2:52), 29. Bruce Looks For the Data (1:05), 30. NYC Cab Ride (1:16), 31. The Mirror (1:17), 32. Sterns' Lab (4:16), 33. Bruce Darted (3:00), 34. I Want It, I Need It (1:36), 35. Blonsky Transforms (1:16), 36. Bruce Must Do It (2:11), 37. Harlem Brawl (3:53), 38. Are They Dead? (2:40), 39. Hulk Smash (2:25), 40. Hulk and Betty (1:50), 41. A Tear (1:01), 42. Who's We? (0:56), 43. The Necklace (1:44), 44. Bruce and Betty (5:06), 45. Hulk Theme (End Credits) (3:59). [Marvel Music B0019SMSUM, 111:13].
GET SMART
TREVOR RABIN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Get Smart is a remake of the classic 1965 action/comedy TV series of the same name, which followed the comic misadventures of bumbling spy Maxwell Smart as he unintentionally outwits Russian agents and various bad guys without really having the faintest idea of what he’s doing. This version, which is directed by Peter Segal, stars Steve Carell as Smart and Anne Hathaway as his sexy partner Agent 99, plus Alan Arkin, The Rock, James Caan, Terence Stamp and Bill Murray in supporting roles. The music for Get Smart is by Trevor Rabin, who is going through a quiet period in his career; the score is entertaining enough, but rather throwaway, consisting mainly of faux-heroic martial anthems (“Smart Dreams”, “Max Denied”) that sound like rejected cues from Armageddon or Backdraft, and are often augmented by rocking electric guitar solos. Some of the cues consist of little more than synthy ‘sneaking around’ music with electronic pulses and string drones and jingling guitars (“Cake Factory”, “Laser Hallway”), while others feature some occasionally quite obnoxious rock solos which don’t really enliven the album as much as make you want to switch it off. The two big action sequences, “Max Calls 99” and “The Big Chase”, feature more of the sdtandard MV-style maybem where the orchestra clicks along at a decent pace, with the brass being doubled by the synths and kept in time with a thumping undercurrent, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. Several of the tracks – notably “Max Ejects”, “Skydiving”, “The Big Chase” and the four “Look” cues – feature re-arranged excerpts from the classic original TV theme by Irving Szathmary, while the cues “Agent 23” and the exciting “Rooftop Fight” feature additional music by Rabin’s regular collaborator Paul Linford. It’s all quite inoffensive stuff, and fine if you like this sort of thing, and even better if you like Rabin’s style of writing over that of others, but from my point of view it passed by without leaving any kind of lasting effect.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Smart Dreams (1:51), 2. Get Smart Theme (1:31), 3. Cake Factory (2:59), 4. Theme (Look One) (1:49), 5. Max Denied (2:29), 6. Max Takes A Bow (0:54), 7. Dropping Like Flies (0:10), 8. Theme (Look Two) (2:15), 9. Agent 23 (0:33), 10. Max Ejects (1:54), 11. Skydiving (2:03), 12. Laser Hallway (4:02), 13. Entering Moscow (1:22), 14. Rooftop Fight (3:07), 15. Max Calls 99 (5:02), 16. Theme (Look Three) (1:14), 17. The Big Chase (4:59), 18. Wish We Had More Time (1:47), 19. Smart Exit (0:58), 20. Theme (Look Four) (1:18). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6904, 42:17].
WALL·E
THOMAS NEWMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of WALL·E.
WANTED
DANNY ELFMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Wanted.
HANCOCK
JOHN POWELL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Hancock.
DEATH DEFYING ACTS
CEZARY SKUBISZEWSKI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Death Defying Acts is a romantic thriller directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta Jones, which charts the life of the legendary escapologist and illusionist Harry Houdini in the height of his career in 1920s England, and specifically his relationship with Scottish con artist Mary McGarvie. The music for Death Defying Acts is by Polish/Australian composer Cezary Skubiszewski; despite having worked in the Australian film industry since the mid 1990s, this film represents one of his first internationally recognized works. Surprisingly, there is quite a bit of Philip Glass in Skubiszewski’s work, from the precise rhythmic element that runs through the score, to the little thematic blocks from which the melodic element of the score is derived. The “Death Defying Suite” even has the little choral ‘ah’ effects from Glass scores like Candyman or Kundun before heading off into a rich, lyrical piece for viola and full orchestra, and finally a vaguely Celtic romantic oboe theme which is quite superb. A sense of Victorian opulence and rich classicism runs through much of Skubiszewski’s music, as well as a hint of exotic magic and mystery to underscore the more fantastical elements of Houdini’s life. “Immoral Souls” is an impressionistic piece for tonal woodwinds and odd, scraping metallic percussion. “The Great Houdini” reprises the lovely viola element from the suite with a touch of dissonance. “Princess Kali” brings a touch of the sub-continent into the fray with a tinkling oud, a Nepalese dholak hand drum and a zurna Turkish oboe. “Houdini’s Angel” features a sonorous soprano saxophone, adding a vague hint of jazz to the proceedings. “You’re the One” is an unconventional love theme which is more confused and hesitant than full-on romantic. “Benji’s Nightmare” has some quite harsh electronically enhanced dissonance while, at completely the other end of the scale, “Foxtrot Foxtrot” is a swinging bandleader piece with a solo trumpet and jazz combo playing in dance time, while “Maid Does the Dishes” resembles a Spanish tango! It’s a rather eclectic work, and one which is quite far removed from the traditional Hollywood sound, but there are more than enough interesting textures and thematic highlights in Skubiszewski’s score to make it worth investigating.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Death Defying Suite (7:43), 2. Immoral Souls (2:04), 3. The Great Houdini (2:57), 4. Princes Kali (2:58), 5. The Star Picture House (1:37), 6. Hello Edinburgh (1:10), 7. Houdini's Angel (3:10), 8. My Immortal Soul (2:11), 9. The Audition (2:37), 10. You're the One (2:54), 11. Scott's Monument (2:10), 12. Benji's Nightmare (1:53), 13. Foxtrot Foxtrot (2:12), 14. Love or Money (3:41), 15. Maid Does the Dishes (2:13), 16. Just Like Falling (2:44), 17. You Saved Me (2:33), 18. The Final Curtain (5:15). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34025, 52:02].
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
DANNY ELFMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
ANDREW LOCKINGTON
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Journey to the Center of the Earth.
MEET DAVE
JOHN DEBNEY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A desperately unfunny sci-fi comedy, Meet Dave is the latest box office disaster from Eddie Murphy, who seems to have squandered all the goodwill he received for his performance in Dreamgirls in just three short years. Directed by Brian Robbins, Meet Dave stars Murphy as the captain of a crew of miniature aliens, who operate a spaceship that looks like a human (also Murphy), and who have come to Earth to find a way to save their dying planet. However, things start to go wrong for the captain and his crew when, somewhat inexplicably, the spaceship falls in love with an Earth woman named Gina (Elizabeth Banks). Poor old John Debney seems to get suckered into scoring every other crappy comedy Hollywood excretes from its system, but to give him his due he keeps his standards high while all other elements of the project seem to flounder. There’s a sense of ooh-aah wonderment to the opening “Orb Arrives on Earth”, with its fluttering piccolos and cooing choirs, but thereafter the score tend to veer into the realms of the predictable. Part of the problem, I’m sure, was a lack of inspiration in the source material, so rather than write anything new and improved, Debney resorted to pulling music from his old bag of reliable tricks. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the music – it’s well written and orchestrated, lively and fun, generally light and tuneful - but it’s all so conventional that it almost sounds like a pastiche of itself. There are urban beats to score the contemporary city scenes in “Gina Runs into Dave”, militaristic sci-fi space music in “Dave's System Check” (which sounds like an amalgamation of Star Trek II and Cutthroat Island), a dash of whimsical caper music, some comedy mickey-mousing here and there, some helter-skelter action music (“Dave to the Rescue”), and a sweet string, guitar and woodwind love theme for Dave and Gina which crops up in cues such as “A Kiss in the Park” and “Urban Camping with Dave”. Overall, and although Debney’s thematic and textural nuances remain pleasant, it’s a very lightweight work with few standout moments – much like the film it accompanies.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Orb Arrives on Earth (1:33), 2. Dave Comes to Earth (1:41), 3. Gina Runs into Dave (1:22), 4. Dave's System Check (2:22), 5. Addressing the Crew (1:01), 6. Drunken Man in Alley (1:41), 7. Whipping Eggs (1:13), 8. A Kiss in the Park (0:56), 9. Welcome to Old Navy (1:55), 10. Deli Robbers (1:53), 11. Gina's Painting (1:24), 12. Urban Camping with Dave (1:32), 13. Dave to the Rescue (1:19), 14. Standoff (1:01), 15. I'm in Charge Now (1:19), 16. Evil Dave Blasts Police Station (1:22), 17. Reinforcements Arrive (0:49), 18. Never Argue with a Female (1:11), 19. Betrayal/Mini Dave No. 3 (2:56), 20. Saved by the Bugs/Dave's True Feelings (1:33), 21. Hailing a Cab (0:44), 22. The Battle Begins (2:10), 23. I Am Dave Ming Chang (2:05), 24. Saving Earth (1:22), 25. Power Shutdown (1:24), 26. Mini Dave Apologizes (2:56), 27. Blast Off and Return (2:12). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6906, 42:56].
THE DARK KNIGHT
HANS ZIMMER and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Dark Knight.
MAMMA MIA!
BENNY ANDERSSON and BJÖRN ULVAEUS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Mamma Mia was one of the first of the current spate of “jukebox musicals”, which take existing pop or rock music – in this case from 70s Swedish super-group ABBA – and write a loose story around a framework of songs by the band in question. Since Mamma Mia premiered on stage in 1999 it has been followed by productions featuring music by everyone from Rod Stewart to Queen and Elvis Presley, but Mamma Mia is also the first one to jump to the big screen. The film stars Meryl Streep as Donna, a middle-aged woman who owns a taverna on a Greek island, whose daughter (Sophie) is getting married. Sophie harbors dreams of having her father walk her down the aisle, but Donna has never revealed who her real father is; despite this, Sophie has tracked down the three men who could possible be the father – Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firh) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) – and invited them all to the wedding, much to Donna’s dismay. The music for Mamma Mia was supervised by the two original songwriters from ABBA, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, along with music director Martin Lowe, and is surprisingly faithful to the originals in terms of style, although the vocalists are very, very different. Meryl Streep, who has a couple of vocal solos in the title track “Mamma Mia” and the emotionally fraught “The Winner Takes It All”, is actually surprisingly accomplished, but she’s no Agnethe or Anni-Frid, although she clearly has a ball singing along with her partners-in-crime Christine Baranski and Julie Walters on “Money Money Money”, the ubiquitous “Dancing Queen” and the hilarious “Super Trouper”. However, poor old Pierce Brosnan is less successful, tunelessly warbling his way through “SOS” and “When All Is Said and Done” and only just managing to retain his dignity. The whole thing is a throwback to the decade of glitter and flares and disco balls, and will hold a nostalgic charm for some listeners, but to be honest I’d rather just listen to the originals.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Honey, Honey (3:07), 2. Money, Money, Money (3:06), 3. Mamma Mia (3:34), 4. Dancing Queen (4:04), 5. Our Last Summer (2:57), 6. Lay All Your Love On Me (4:29), 7. Super Trouper (3:53), 8. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (3:51), 9. The Name Of The Game (4:55), 10. Voulez-Vous (4:35), 11. SOS (3:19), 12. Does Your Mother Know (3:01), 13. Slipping Through My Fingers (3:50), 14. The Winner Takes It All (4:57), 15. When All Is Said And Done (3:17), 16. Take A Chance On Me (4:01), 17. I Have A Dream/Thank You For The Music (8:37). [Decca Records 543115, 69:51].
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
ADRIAN JOHNSTON
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A romantic drama based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 classic British novel, Brideshead Revisited stars Ben Whishaw and Matthew Goode as Sebastian Flyte and Charles Ryder, two young men who meet at Oxford University, and experience love, life and aristocratic decadence in England prior to the Second World War. Having already been turned into an acclaimed TV series in 1981 with classic music by Geoffrey Burgon, Julian Jarrold’s big screen update boasts an impressive supporting cast – Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi – and new music by composer Adrian Johnston, who seems to excel at writing music for these very austere, very English costume dramas. As is often the case with these things, Johnston’s music is generally lush and romantic, with heavy emphasis on piano, woodwinds and strings, and with that quintessential sound of “Englishness” that composers like Patrick Doyle, George Fenton and (oddly) Dario Marianelli often have in their scores for these kinds of film. Despite their being no strong central recurring theme, the album is generally consistent in tone and orchestration, and features a number of standout individual moments. The opening “Sebastian” is a lovely, mellifluous solo piano piece that recurs during the sumptuous “Arcadia”, and in the enchanting “Orphans of the Storm”, where it combined beautifully with a solo cello. Some of the cues, such as “Memory”, “A Crock of Gold” and “Contra Mundum”, have a slight hint of melancholy to them, underpinning the classical beauty with a darker flavor, although these are counterbalanced by cues such as “Guilt” and “Venice”, which open up into bright, sweeping, attractive fanfares. One or two tracks feature a distinctly Desplat-style bubbling undercurrent in the piano and woodwind writing, which is very pleasing indeed, and it is also worth noting the lovely harp solo that features in “Faith”, the smooth saxophone in “The End of Our Day”, and the heartbreaking cello performance during “Between Dreaming and Waking”. A couple of source music cues - “Wise Old Wine” – round out an extremely satisfying album, although the recommendation comes with reservations for those who find understated, classically-inclined dramatic scores a little too reserved for their tastes.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Sebastian (2:12), 2. Memory (1:42), 3. Guilt (1:51), 4. Oxford (1:57), 5. A Crock of Gold (1:22), 6. Arcadia (1:44), 7. Gravely Injured (0:39), 8. That First Visit (2:21), 9. Faith (2:18), 10. Wise Old Wine (3:18), 11. Venice (1:58), 12. The Lido (2:38), 13. Carnival (2:05), 14. Desire (2:03), 15. Contra Mundum (1:24), 16. Mid-Atlantic Jungle (2:54), 17. Between Dreaming and Waking (1:45), 18. Orphans of the Storm (0:57), 19. Rex (2:05), 20. Near Escape (2:19), 21. The End of Our Day (1:34), 22. Clouds Gathered (2:09), 23. A Small Red Flame (1:37), 24. Always Summer (2:29). [Chandos CHAN-10499, 47:21].
THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
MARK SNOW
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A very belated second sequel to the classic X-Files sci-fi TV series, “I Want to Believe” reunites director Chris Carter with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson who, as paranormal investigators Mulder and Scully, are seeking to uncover the details of a mystery involving defrocked priests, missing FBI agents, and black market organ donation rings. Also returning to his most celebrated project is composer Mark Snow, for whom this the most high-profile cinematic score since the teen thriller Disturbing Behavior back in 1998. Outside of the classic whistled main theme, I’ve never been a fan of Snow’s dark, synthetic music for the original X-Files series or the subsequent movie, and this is no exception. Virtually the entire score is made up of dark, occasionally disturbing orchestral and electronic textures which rumble and moan and groan for just over an hour, leaving no lasting impression beyond the vague hint of unsettling menace that permeates the work. There are just three truly outstanding moments – the vigorously orchestral "The Trip to DC", the elegiac cello and boy soprano combo in the standout "The Surgery", and the warm, emotional "Home Again" – but these moments of orchestral coherency are few and far between, and are so infrequent that they do little to boost the rating of the score as a whole. A couple of frantic, rhythmic action cues – “Moonrise”, “Foot Chase” – do raise the pulse and interest briefly, and there are also a couple of more introspective moments featuring twinkling high-end pianos (as in “Ybara the Strange” or “Good Luck”), revelatory horn chords (“March and Dig”) and, occasionally, a recapitulation of the boy soprano element (as in “Father Joe”), adding an element of chilly prettiness to a score which otherwise exists in the most part down in the harmonic depths. On the whole, though, this is rather turgid and dispiriting stuff, and recommended only for fans of the series.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Moonrise (3:34), 2. No Cures/Looking for Fox (2:50), 3. The Trip to DC (3:47), 4. Father Joe (1:26), 5. What If You're Wrong/Sister (3:54), 6. Ybara the Strange/Waterboard (2:24), 7. Can't Sleep/Ice Field (2:32), 8. March and Dig/Girl in the Box (4:56), 9. A Higher Conscious (5:31), 10. The Surgery (2:14), 11. Good Luck (1:35), 12. Seizure/Attempted Escape (1:53), 13. Foot Chase (3:31), 14. Mountain Montage/The Plow (1:40), 15. Photo Evidence (2:46), 16. The Preparation (1:34), 17. Tranquilized (1:45), 18. The Axe Post (2:57), 19. Box Them (1:41), 20. Home Again (4:17), 21. X-Files (Variation on a Theme Surrender Sounds Session #10) (performed by UNKLE) (5:52), 22. Broken (performed by UNKLE featuring Gavin Clark) (4:42), 23. Dying 2 Live (performed by Xzibit) (4:00). [Decca DCAB001154102, 71:21].
THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
RANDY EDELMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
SWING VOTE
JOHN DEBNEY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A timely film in Barack Obama’s election year, Swing Vote is a conceptually preposterous but light and breezy comedy directed by Joshua Michael Stern starring Kevin Costner as a good natured blue collar guy who, following an unexpected turn of events, finds himself holding the single deciding vote in the US presidential election, and subsequently being courted by both candidates – incumbent Kelsey Grammar, and challenger Dennis Hopper. The film features a stellar supporting cast (Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez) and a whole host of real life politicos as themselves, notably Arianna Huffington, Larry King, Bill Maher and Chris Matthews. The score for Swing Vote is by John Debney, who emphasizes the Southern charm of the film by augmenting his traditionally sweet orchestral complement with acoustic and slide guitars, harmonicas, solo fiddles, and various rock/country percussion elements that give the thing a warm, inviting down-home air – cues like “Morning with Bud”, “A Little Too Drunk”, “Bud’s First Interview” and the groovy “You’re Richard Petty” highlight these elements well. The “Main Titles” contain a lovely main theme to underscore the relationship between Costner and his character’s daughter; the scenes involving the political shenanigans and presidential candidates have a slightly more martial, beefier orchestral sound, with noble brasses (“Going Live”), intimate string writing (“This is America”), and energetic scherzos (“The Strategy of Winning”) which are a lot of fun, and there is a pretty piano-and-guitar combo in “I Do This For You” which stands as an album highlight. The finale, beginning with “Learning Montage” and concluding with “Bud’s Speech”, is a delightful slice of old fashioned Americana that starts out with a beautiful, yearning fiddle solo and ends up with the kind of wonderfully stirring full orchestral piece that one often expects to hear in films about American presidents. Swing Vote is an innocuous, enjoyable, but ultimately inconsequential score, a minor work in Debney’s filmography, but an agreeably diverting way to spend an hour or so if you can track it down. The soundtrack for Swing Vote was not released as a physical CD commercially in stores, and is only available as an iTunes exclusive download.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Swing Vote Main Titles (1:20), 2. Why We Vote (0:29), 3. Morning With Bud (0:41), 4. Going Live (1:30), 5. All Across the Country (1:31), 6. A Little Too Drunk (1:10), 7. Molly Votes (2:04), 8. Bud Ponders (0:34), 9. The Count Continues (3:09), 10. I Do This For You (2:23), 11. Bud Sees Reporters (0:45), 12. He Didn't Vote! (2:13), 13. Bud's First Interview (2:33), 14. Ride Home With Molly (1:51), 15. Real Issues, Real People (3:32), 16. You're Richard Petty (1:55), 17. Bud and Molly Talk (1:09), 18. Bud Takes a Break (0:42), 19. Party for Bud (1:11), 20. Molly's My Daughter (1:39), 21. The Strategy of Winning (1:12), 22. Letters Come in Bunches (0:28), 23. Illegal Alien Commercial (0:54), 24. This is America (1:44), 25. Molly Visits Her Mom (1:30), 26. Learning Montage (2:33), 27. The Debate Begins (1:12), 28. Bud's Speech (3:56), 29. Bud's Speech Alternative Ending (1:40). [iTunes Exclusive Download, 54:13].
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2
RACHEL PORTMAN
Review by Clark Douglas. Once upon a time, four teenage girls shared a pair of pants over the course of one memorable summer. Now they're a little older and a little wiser, they're starting to fall in love and discover new things, and they're taking turns wearing the pants again. Yes, it's called “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.” Bearing that in mind, it's not surprise to discover that the score has been provided by Rachel Portman, who is drawn to romantic movies like a paper clip to a magnet. Even so, I found the choice of Portman to be a particularly disappointing one in this case. The first film was scored by the perpetually overlooked Cliff Eidelman, whose pleasant music served the film well. Sadly, Eidelman didn't return to score the second film, meaning we get yet another variation on that same score that Rachel Portman always writes. Of the Portman variations available this year, I would recommend going for “The Duchess” first. That one has a bit more substance and complexity, while this one is a bit on the lighter and fluffier side. Oh, to be sure, it's easy to like the music here. Portman's sunny strings and gentle melodies are always reasonably appealing, and that is most assuredly the case in this score. However, it's a score that comes and goes quickly (it's only 27 minutes long), and by the time it has concluded, you don't feel that you've heard anything new. Listening to the album for the first time feels like listening to the album for the tenth time. Portman certainly isn't the only composer in Hollywood to borrow from herself regularly, but unlike most other composers, she doesn't appear to have another bag of tricks to pull out every once in a while. It's the same thing every single time, and if you all ready own a few Portman scores, I really don't see any reason to add this one to your collection. Taken on it's own without the perspective of the rest of Portman's work... well, it's just fine.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Sisterhood (3:29), 2. Kostas (0:44), 3. Carmen and Ian Rehearse (2:39), 4. Welcome Home (1:07), 5. Bridget (3:20), 6. The Letters (2:43), 7. Lena (4:14), 8. Tibby (4:07), 9. Carmen (3:52), 10. Well Worn Pair of Pants (1:39). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6918, 27:54].
FLY ME TO THE MOON
RAMIN DJAWADI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An animated adventure about three flies who become astronauts on the Apollo 11 moon mission – yes, you did read that correctly – Fly Me to the Moon has an impressive voice cast (Tim Curry, Robert Patrick, Christopher Lloyd, even Buzz Aldrin himself) and even more impressive 3D visual effects, but apparently suffers from a lack of sophistication in its childish writing, and even more worrying lack of a world view in its depiction of the space race – but what do you expect when your lead hero is a musca domestica! The score for Fly Me to the Moon is by Ramin Djawadi, flying high following his commercial success on Iron Man, and tackling the animated adventure genre for the second time after Open Season in 2006. It’s by far the best score in Djawadi’s career so far (which, for me, has been entirely unimpressive), and the opening quartet of cues – “Cape Canaveral” through to “Nat Convinces Friends” – are actually quite lovely, with a wistful, longing quality that one might get while staring up into a starry night, even if you were a fly. Three mid album cues – “Lift Off”, “Blue Danube” and “Waltz in Space” – are excellent, parodying James Horner and Johann Strauss II in quick succession, and with a lush, classical touch. The action music has the patented Zimmer sound that one always comes to expect with anyone associated with the Remote Control organization, albeit with slightly more emphasis on the orchestra and less emphasis on electronics, which is a welcome development indeed. The three “Phase” cues, and later tracks like “Saving the Mission”, “Contaminants on Board”, “Manual Landing” and “Cold War”, are exciting but enjoyably light hearted and undemanding, and will undoubtedly appeal to devotees of the RM action music style, while simultaneously impressing those who didn’t know the German could write music like this. There are even moments where solo vocals (“I Did It Grandpa”, “In Space”, the gorgeous “Moon Walk”) and faux-Soviet marches (“From Russia with Love”) enter proceedings, showing Djawadi’s range and diversity. The whole score has a warm, charming appeal that has been largely absent from everything else Djawadi has ever written, and as such at least shows that he can write this kind of music if given the opportunity. As such, it comes with a positive recommendation, especially to those who (like me) had previously dismissed Djawadi as one of the least relevant blockbuster composers working today.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Cape Canaveral (1:33), 2. Junkyard Dreams (1:41), 3. Amelia Earhart (2:07), 4. Nat Convinces Friends (2:14), 5. Phase I/Sneaking into NASA (3:20), 6. Phase II/Mission Control (0:58), 7. Phase III/Launch Prep (1:56), 8. Lift Off (1:15), 9. Blue Danube (2:18), 10. Waltz in Space (1:09), 11. I Did It Grandpa (2:33), 12. From Russia with Love (2:33), 13. Saving the Mission (3:53), 14. In Space (2:25), 15. Contaminants on Board (3:51), 16. Manual Landing (3:33), 17. Moon Walk (4:53), 18. Nadia (0:54), 19. Russian Operatives (4:20), 20. Saving Scooter (2:19), 21. Grandpa to the Rescue (1:57), 22. Cold War (3:41), 23. Back to Earth (1:51), 24. Homecoming (1:47). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6922, 59:01].
MIRRORS
JAVIER NAVARRETE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Yet another American remake of an Asian horror film, Mirrors is loosely based on the 2003 Korean film Geol Sokeuro (Into the Mirror), is directed by Alexandre Aja, and stars Kiefer Sutherland as a troubled ex-cop, now working as a security guard in a high-end department store, who finds himself drawn into a horrific mystery when people start being murdered in grisly fashion by their own mirror images. The score for Mirrors is by Spanish composer Javier Navarrete, his first major international work since his Oscar nomination for Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. Navarrete’s main theme is a powerful, dark and strident adaptation of Isaac Albéniz’s famous 1892 classical piece ‘Asturias’, which also appears in later cues “Investigation”, the driving “The House is Safe”, and the conclusive “In the Mirror”. Much of the rest of the score is shrill and unsettling, although refreshing has virtually no electronic element, instead relying almost entirely on Navarrete’s skilful manipulation of the orchestra to send shivers down the listener’s back. Cues such as “Subway”, “Handprints”, “The Dressing Room” and “Angela’s Death” are impressively, disturbingly dissonant, with squealing string writing and enormous brass harrumphs, as well as unnerving vocal effects to add another level of apprehension to the music. Similarly, the very unusual “Extending Mirrors” seems to feature a didgeridoo alongside a staccato piano element - an unusual yet hugely effective combination – while “Keep Your Eyes Closed” has a downright creepy grunting, snorting, whispering vocal effect which, when combined with processed electronic twangs, really raise the goose-bumps. On the other hand, tracks like “Ben Carson”, “First Night” the warmer, more emotional “Srorrim” add a classy, chilly thematic element to the score, counterbalancing the horror moments with lonely trumpets and deliberately-paced string and piano melodies. The one action cue – “Escape” – is a doozy, all flashy, urgent string writing and enormous percussion hits which throb with a frenzied pace and large orchestral forces. It’s all wonderfully atmospheric and effective, although definitely not ‘easy listening’, and takes a little stamina to sit and deal with some of the more intentionally difficult music. However, for those with an inclination to experience some of the most stimulating and challenging horror music written in 2008, I would definitely recommend giving Mirrors a shot.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Asturias/Main Titles (1:47), 2. Subway (3:18), 3. Ben Carson (2:27), 4. First Night (1:36), 5. Handprints (4:44), 6. Fire (2:06), 7. Esseker (2:57), 8. The Dressing Room (3:22), 9. The Mayflower (3:13), 10. Angela's Death (3:30), 11. What Do You Want from Me? (2:05), 12. Asturias/Investigation (2:21), 13. The Mirrors Room (4:26), 14. Little Anna (2:44), 15. Asturias/The House Is Safe (2:26), 16. The Quest (2:38), 17. Farmhouse Basement (3:25), 18. Extending Mirrors (4:02), 19. Michael's Reflection (1:33), 20. Keep Your Eyes Closed (4:46), 21. Open Your Eyes (1:20), 22. Possession (1:50), 23. Escape (2:39), 24. Srorrim (3:20), 25. Asturias/In the Mirror (1:30). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34026, 70:05].
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
KEVIN KINER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the Star Wars saga has finally lost the plot. After captivating the world between 1977 and 1983 with the original trilogy, and again in 1999 prior to the release of The Phantom Menace, the magic touch of George Lucas has finally vanished following the release of the animated feature The Clone Wars, a badly-rendered adventure telling the story of what happened to Anakin Skywalker in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. It looks like something that would be more at home on the Cartoon Network – in fact, that is where the spin-off TV series ended up – but with a wisecracking Jedi padawan who sounds like Miley Cyrus and a farting baby Jabba the Hutt, the whole think reeks of a franchise stuttering to its final, floundering demise. Indicative of the movie’s lack of scope is the fact that Kevin Kiner, and not John Williams, scored the movie – the first time that a big-screen Star Wars has been scored by anyone other than the maestro. The fact that Kiner absolutely butchers the Star Wars theme by adding a synth undercurrent and changing the tempo in the “Main Title” is close to sacrilegious; however, if you can get past this moment of film music heresy, parts of the rest of the score are actually quite entertaining. The action music in cues such as “Battle of Christophsis”, “Sneaking Under the Shield” and “Destroying the Shield” is large-scale and impressive, and even intermittently includes a choir to add a level of majesty to the music. Kiner occasionally tries to emulate Williams’ Star Wars writing style in several cues, in the way he phrases his strings, to certain chord progressions, to the use of certain ostinatos, to the familiar muted brass and flute flurries, even going as far as subtly quoting and referencing various original trilogy passages. But then, there are the cues which just don’t belong in the Star Wars universe, from the hideous electric guitars of “Obi-Wan to the Rescue” and “Battle of Teth”, to the increasingly clichéd ‘wailing female vocalist’ in “Landing on Teth” and “B’omarr Monastery”, to the horribly anachronistic “Ziro's Nightclub Band” and “Seedy City Swing”, to the electronically enhanced action material in “Scaling the Cliff”, Escape from the Monastery” and “Courtyard Fight”, which sound like refugees from a Hans Zimmer score. Taken on its own terms, parts of The Clone Wars are quite impressive, especially if you are able to forget that this music accompanies a Star Wars film. The purists, however, are likely to spend 95% of the album’s running time with their mouths open in sheer horror.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Star Wars Main Title/A Galaxy Divided (1:13), 2. Admiral Yularen (0:56), 3. Battle of Christophsis (3:19), 4. Meet Ahsoka (2:44), 5. Obi-Wan to the Rescue (1:24), 6. Sneaking Under the Shield (4:24), 7. Jabba's Palace (0:45), 8. Anakin vs. Dooku (2:18), 9. Landing on Teth (1:43), 10. Destroying the Shield (3:08), 11. B'omarr Monastery (3:10), 12. General Loathsom/Battle Strategy (3:07), 13. The Shield (1:36), 14. Battle of Teth (2:45), 15. Jedi Don't Run! (1:22), 16. Obi-Wan's Negotiation (2:07), 17. The Jedi Council (2:04), 18. General Loathsom/Ahsoka (3:39), 19. Jabba's Chamber Dance (0:42), 20. Ziro Surrounded (2:20), 21. Scaling the Cliff (0:45), 22. Ziro's Nightclub Band (0:53), 23. Seedy City Swing (0:34), 24. Escape from the Monastery (3:12), 25. Infiltrating Ziro's Lair (2:24), 26. Courtyard Fight (2:41), 27. Dunes of Tatooine (2:00), 28. Rough Landing (3:03), 29. Padmé Imprisoned (0:50), 30. Dooku Speaks With Jabba (1:28), 31. Fight to the End (3:59), 32. End Credits (0:51). [Sony Classical 88697-35616-2, 67:39].
TROPIC THUNDER
THEODORE SHAPIRO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A puerile, abysmally unfunny ‘comedy’ starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder tells the story of a group of pampered, self-absorbed actors making “the ultimate Vietnam movie”, who inadvertently become caught in the middle of a real-life drug war which they mistakenly believe to be part of their hyper-realistic set. Despite deriving the majority of its humor from incessant bad language and gratuitous gore, the film became one of the biggest-grossing comedies of 2008. One of the few things to work superbly in context, and on CD, is Theodore Shapiro’s score, which follows the tried and tested format of treating the movie absolutely seriously, and as a result is probably the most successful thing about the entire project. Shapiro is clearly lampooning the style of music employed by the likes of Trevor Rabin in a million Jerry Bruckheimer films, and the irony is that Shapiro’s music is actually significantly better than that which it is lampooning. The opening cue, “You’re My Brother”, is an over-the-top outpouring of emotion, sending up every slow-mo sacrificial action sequence in modern history, but with more style and panache than most, especially when the strings and vocals rise to their crescendos. The action music is loud, vibrant and exciting, with cues such as “Four Leaf’s Plan”, “Flamethrower” and “Truck Escape”, raising the tempo considerably, despite often sounding like offshoots from the Hans Zimmer school of action scoring. There is a prominent ‘ethnic’ undercurrent to many of the cues, often by way of South East Asian percussion instruments, pan pipes and wailing vocals, which add an exotic flavor and an epic scope to cues such as “Enter the Dragons”, “The Golden Triangle”. Every now and again Shapiro injects a throbbing rock element into the music too, giving the end of “Lead Farmer” and later cues like “Don’t Judge Me” a huge dose of testosterone-drenched machismo. Two of the final three cues – “Simple Jack Trailer” and “Satan’s Alley” – are from the movies-within-the-movie, and stand at odds with the rest of the score, but are musically excellent (from a different angle), while the finale, “Cue Bill Conti”, is a wonderful piece of Hollywood gush that (intentionally) sounds like a schmaltzy Oscar tribute piece. It’s all a great deal of fun, and much recommended for those who want to hear the Zimmer sound done with a refreshing twist.
TRACK LISTING: 1. You're My Brother (2:58), 2. Four Leaf's Plan (2:39), 3. Lead Farmer (3:56), 4. Enter the Dragons (0:58), 5. Bad Feeling About This (0:52), 6. Flaming Dragons (2:32), 7. Panda Attack (1:17), 8. Panda Call (0:47), 9. The Golden Triangle (2:52), 10. A Night at the Theater (0:48), 11. Don't Judge Me (3:27), 12. Portnoy's Plan (0:36), 13. The Wet Offensive (1:51), 14. Shadow Me, Pinocchio (0:49), 15. Flamethrower (1:46), 16. Breakdown Under (2:01), 17. Truck Escape (1:00), 18. Blow the Bridge (2:21), 19. Real Tears (3:19), 20. Simple Jack Trailer (1:14), 21. Satan's Alley (0:53), 22. Cue Bill Conti (1:06). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34024, 40:11].
BABYLON A.D.
ATLI ÖRVARSSON
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Babylon A.D.
TRAITOR
MARK KILIAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Traitor is an espionage action thriller directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and starring Don Cheadle as Samir, an arms dealer and former US Army Special Forces Operative who joins an Islamic Brotherhood organization which conducts suicide bombing missions against western targets; however, unknown to the terrorists, Samir is actually a deep cover intelligence operative, who is actually working to undermine the terrorists for the US government. However, when the only federal agent who knows his true identity is killed, Samir finds himself caught between the Americans and the Muslims, both of whom seem to want him dead. For the score, Nachmanoff turned to up-and-coming South African composer Mark Kilian, who scored the 2005 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner Tsotsi, and spent several years as an assistant to Christopher Young. As one might expect, Kilian’s music is a combination of modern, western techno-thriller music with a strong Middle Eastern inflection, which predominantly comes through the use of various ethnic string and woodwind instruments intoning above a contemporary string orchestra augmented by electronic beats. The “Traitor Theme” is a lithe, insinuating piece for what sounds like a theremin, or some other kind of electronic hummer, an odd but strangely interesting creation. There are a number of percussive action cues, notably “Jailbreak” and “Chasing Horn”, which tick and tock to all manner of synth pad rhythms, but drive the music along pretty nicely. A couple of moments of emotional writing crop up during “Omar and Horn Say Goodbye” and others, but these are few and far between the pseudo-industrial thriller music that surrounds the rest of it. There are also two original songs, “Ayadjidjé” and “Laisse-Toi Aller” written and performed by Kilian in collaboration with Senegalese vocalist and songwriter Marcel Adjibi, which add a touch of modern Franco-African funk and vitality to the album. Unfortunately, for far too much of its running time, Traitor is made up of underwhelming, anonymous suspense music which does nothing more than provide an internal metronome of aural accompaniment, and offers very little else in terms of a separate listening experience.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Entering the Country (2:46), 2. Thirty Years Later (1:02), 3. Traitor Theme (2:59), 4. Bombers on Board (1:24), 5. Praying in Jail (1:03), 6. On the Bus (3:28), 7. Ayadjidjé (performed by Marcel Adjibi and Mark Kilian) (4:01), 8. Do We Stop? (1:50), 9. Walk to Carter (1:49), 10. Jailbreak (2:52), 11. Young Recruit (1:31), 12. Embassy Bombing (3:39), 13. Omar and Horn Say Goodbye (1:17), 14. Emailing Clayton (3:32), 15. Laisse-Toi Aller (performed by Marcel Adjibi and Mark Kilian) (3:23), 16. Somebody Talked (2:30), 17. Prison Transport (0:53), 18. Double Raid (2:40), 19. I’m On a Meet (1:31), 20. Fatwa on You (1:15), 21. Researching Horn (2:17), 22. Soccer and School (1:17), 23. Chasing Horn (2:44), 24. Bomber Montage (1:32), 25. The End (2:40). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6921, 56:05].
BANGKOK DANGEROUS
BRIAN TYLER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A big-budget remake of the 1999 Thai film of the same name, Bangkok Dangerous stars Nicolas Cage as a hit man named Joe who finds himself in a series of increasingly dangerous situations when he is hired to carry out four assassinations by a shadowy Thai underworld gang. In remaking their own film, directors Danny Pang and Oxide Pang hired Brian Tyler to write the score; the resulting work is rooted in the same stylistics that have adorned Tyler’s scores for similar action thrillers - The Fast and the Furious - Tokyo Drift, War, Eagle Eye, and the like – albeit with a slight Oriental inflection in some of the instrumentation to reflect the geographic setting. Some of the cues, notably “Bangkok Dangerous”, “Fon’s Theme”, “Bangkok Reflections”, “Silent Retribution” and “Elephant” are quite attractive, with an emotional piano, guitar, synth and string combo that is very effective. The action music, of which there is a lot, is loud, fast, brash, and in-your-face, often using dance music rhythms and urban beats alongside a traditional orchestral complement. Cues like “Assassin”, “The Hitman” are, on the whole, very exciting, although one or two of the most electronica-heavy pieces do come across as being rather overbearing. There is also a great deal of slightly more laid-back ‘scene setting’ music, notably in cues such as “The Pupil”, “Runner”, “Hide and Seek”, which allow the sound City of Prague Philharmonic to take brief precedence over the electronics, and make for enjoyable music for fans of contemporary thriller music. As is often the case with Tyler scores, Bangkok Dangerous’s main problem is that the album is just too damn long – 77 minutes of this relentless music is enough to test anyone’s patience, and it is easy to lose interest in the score half way through, simply because the music is so overwhelming. A little judicious pruning would have made this score a much more enjoyable listen.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Bangkok Dangerous (3:13), 2. Assassin (1:45), 3. Bangkok Dangerous Main Title (2:31), 4. Fon's Theme (2:22), 5. The Pupil (2:32), 6. Bangkok Reflections (2:00), 7. Runner (2:47), 8. Pursuit (2:45), 9. Underground Temple (1:45), 10. Prague (4:13), 11. Silent Retribution (4:27), 12. Explosive Device (1:15), 13. Gangland Grenade (2:05), 14. The Hitman (2:08), 15. Elephant (2:10), 16. Rain (1:28), 17. Scooping Out the Hit (2:04), 18. Second Thoughts (2:28), 19. Pool Assassination (2:50), 20. What I Do (3:08), 21. Hide and Seek (1:53), 22. Floating Market (1:37), 23. River Chase (3:55), 24. The Performance (1:22), 25. Bangkok Downtown (2:18), 26. Knife Test (2:46), 27. Fire (3:40), 28. The Meeting (0:54), 29. The Compound Shootout (4:11), 30. Yearning (1:36), 31. Fate (3:29). [Lions Gate Records LGM2-0019, 77:37].
BURN AFTER READING
CARTER BURWELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The Coen Brothers return to the comedy arena after sweeping the 2007 Oscars with No Country For Old Men; Burn After Reading stars John Malkovich, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt and follows the fortunes of a pair of clueless health club employees who, after accidentally finding the memoirs of a retiring CIA operative, mistake the memoirs for top-secret classified information, and attempt to blackmail him. As usual, the Coens composer is Carter Burwell, whose music for Burn After Reading ignores the comedic elements in the score almost entirely, instead concentrating on the darker, more thriller-esque parts of the story. Burwell uses a lot of percussion throughout the score, beginning with the turbulent opening “Earth Zoom (In)”. Elsewhere, there are dramatic string fugues (“A Higher Patriotism”) that morph into tumultuous action sequences {“Night Running”, “Plan B”, “Breaking and Entering”), and moments of brooding melodrama (“Opportunity”, “How Is This Possible?”) that make excellent use of an unusual marimba and piano combination. These are tempered by a couple of bittersweet romantic moments for piano and woodwinds in “Linda Looks For Love”, “Seating”, “After the Loving”, and others. The familiar chord progressions and harmonic stylings from Burwell’s earlier works are very much in evidence, earmarking the score as a prominent part of his canon, although on this occasion the thematic elements of the score actually seem to remain prominent above the usual heavy bass writing, which is a welcome change. As Burwell himself says, Burn After Reading purports to be an espionage thriller - certainly the characters in the film believe it to be one - but is also a sex comedy of errors. As such, it’s probably the most un-comedic comedy score you’ll ever hear; fortunately, it’s also one of Burwell’s best, most accessible scores in several years.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Earth Zoom (In) (1:20), 2. A Higher Patriotism (1:36), 3. Linda Looks for Love (Part 1) (1:40), 4. Night Running (2:27), 5. Building the Chair (1:02), 6. Rendezvous (0:45), 7. Opportunity (1:40), 8. Plan B (1:18), 9. Seating (2:02), 10. Homeless (0:55), 11. Harry Looks for Love (0:31), 12. Breaking and Entering (3:41), 13. I Killed a Spook (1:15), 14. After the Loving(0:56), 15. Tuchman Marsh (1:45), 16. Carrots/Shot (1:04), 17. Linda Looks for Love (Part 2) (1:19), 18. Who Are You? (1:07), 19. How Is This Possible? (2:17), 20. Negativity (1:00), 21. The Struggle for Ebullience (1:35), 22. Intruder! (3:22), 23. Earth Zoom (Out) (1:22). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34037, 36:09].
TOWELHEAD
THOMAS NEWMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Towelhead – also known as Nothing Is Private - is the theatrical directorial debut of Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty, and is based on a novel by Alicia Erian. It’s another one of those stories of suburban dissatisfaction and the evil that lurks behind the face of normality in America, and tells the story of a young Arab American girl named Jasira (Summer Bishil) who is sent to live with her father in Houston, Texas during the first Gulf War. While struggling with her father's controlling influence and the racism she encounters at school, Jasira begins to develop an unhealthy sexual fixation with a bigoted army reservist (Aaron Eckhart), who is more racist than anyone else. As with American Beauty, the man providing the musical accompaniment for this depiction of racism, sexuality and intolerance in the modern world is Thomas Newman; his music for Towelhead is sort-of like American Beauty, but without the jaunty thematic content, which is instead replaced with various parts for Middle Eastern percussion and wind instruments. The longest cue on the album, “Jazira Maroun”, is a hypnotic piece with an exotic electronic pulse and all manner of vocalizations and percussion beats to root it firmly within the realms of world music. “Nothing is Private” is a percussion solo; “Snow Queen” has an urgent urban vibe and a trilling synth beat; “Vuoso” and “Rifat Maroun” feature a pair of haunting woodwind solos of great mystery and atmosphere; “Glamor Shots” is a more contemporary piece containing an array of growling electric guitars; “Rain and Good Weather” introduces a skewed, distorted violin solo to add another level of slight peculiarity, which segues into the similar-sounding “Towelhead”. And that’s your lot: the score, which runs for just 8 cues and 14 minutes, is only available as a digital download from Lakeshore Records, but still comes recommended for anyone interested in Newman’s quirkier writing on small-scale dramas such as this one.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Nothing is Private (0:40), 2. Snow Queen (1:09), 3. Jazira Maroun (3:48), 4. Vuoso (1:03), 5. Rifat Maroun (2:00), 6. Glamour Shots (0:59), 7. Rain and Good Weather (1:33), 8. Towelhead (2:51). [Lakeshore Records Digital Download, 14:03].
APPALOOSA
JEFF BEAL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Appaloosa.
THE DUCHESS
RACHEL PORTMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Duchess.
IGOR
PATRICK DOYLE
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Igor.
EAGLE EYE
BRIAN TYLER
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Eagle Eye.
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Miracle at St. Anna.
NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
JEANINE TESORI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A romantic melodrama based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks and directed by George C. Wolfe, Nights in Rodanthe stars Richard Gere as a doctor who travels to the outer banks of North Carolina to see his estranged son, and embarks on a romantic relationship with an unhappily married woman (Diane Lane), who runs an inn on the Atlantic coast. The score for Nights in Rodanthe is by Tony Awards winning Broadway composer Jeanine Tesori, for whom this is her film music debut. Her score is generally very pleasant and romantic, although not quite as lush and emotionally overwhelming as I had anticipated (especially considering that two other Sparks stories resulted in the scores for Message in a Bottle and The Notebook). The opening cue, “Sandstorm”, is quite lovely, with a sweeping string melody, prominent timpani rolls, and an unexpected Gaelic inflection which is very welcome, and also features prominently in the delightful closing pair, “Horses” and “End Credit Suite”. Many of the cues feature a warm acoustic guitars and tender pianos alongside the warm string orchestra, with the likes of “White Wine Dinner”, “Walk on the Beach” and “Maps in Bed” standing out as being especially enjoyable. “Jean’s Studio” is an unexpectedly lovely piece in which celesta, harp and cello combine to excellent effect. “Devastation” has a slightly starker, darker sound, with a heavier percussion undercurrent and vivid cello chords. “Ecuador” interjects fluttering pan pipes into the orchestra for a flash of local color. There’s some peppy, contemporary writing in cues like “Jean in Miami” and “Box Montage”, and is occasionally reminiscent of Thomas Newman’s more upbeat urban sound, and there’s even a hint of jazz in some cues through the use of stand-up bass and snares. Basically, the whole thing is a slightly more grown-up version of the “chick flick” sound which has dominated the scores for films of that type since time immemorial, and although Tesori’s work here is never going to set the world on fire, and while she still has a while to go before she emulates her stage success, Nights in Rodanthe still makes for a pleasant and undemanding way to spend half an hour or so.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Sandstorm (1:31), 2. Romeo and Juliet (1:40), 3. Face off with Charlie (1:16), 4. Jean in Miami (1:23), 5. White Wine Dinner (2:04), 6. Jean’s Studio (2:42), 7. Embrace (0:58), 8. Devastation (1:20), 9. Opening Shutters (1:13), 10. Walk on the Beach (1:44), 11. Maps in Bed (2:28), 12. The Goodbye (1:33), 13. Box Montage (4:15), 14. Ecuador (2:29), 15. Loss (1:41), 16. Tell Me About Him (1:27), 17. Horses (1:37), 18. End Credit Suite (3:54) [Varèse Ssrabande VSD-6924, 35:15].
BLINDNESS
MARCO ANTÔNIO GUIMARÃES
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Blindness, as heard in the film.
FLASH OF GENIUS
AARON ZIGMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. You wouldn’t think that a film about the life of a man who invented windshield wipers would be very interesting, but that is exactly what Flash of Genius is. Directed by Marc Abraham, the film stars Greg Kinnear as Robert Kearns, a businessman and engineer and amateur inventor in the 1950s, who embarks on a personal crusade for justice against the Detroit automakers who, he claims, stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper. Not unexpectedly the score, by the even-busy Aaron Zigman, is that of a small-scale drama, but even within the confines of the story, he still finds a number of effective ways to express himself. The majority of the score is low key, with a slightly downbeat mood throughout, and is earmarked by various instrumental passages: the opening cue, “The Warehouse”, features a lovely, lonely trumpet solo offset by moody piano and strings, the main melody of which is recapitulated frequently throughout the score. “Drive to Previc’s” has an attractive melancholy piano line, “Pray For Rain” has a sprightly, infectious energy through the use of a piccolo solo, and cues like “Back Home”, “Get Out” and “Make Another Kid” work in acoustic guitars and even a Hammond organ into the regular ensemble to provide a jazzy/bluesy touch. Other cues such as “Mustangs”, the excellent “Losing It”, “Dennis Returns”, “Breakup” and “The Letter” have an unexpectedly vivid sense of melodrama and heightened emotional content which is very effective indeed, while the rousing finale, “The Verdict”, is warm and triumphant and wholly satisfying. Tagged on at the end of the score is a bonus track, “Vis Vitae”, a 10-minute chamber concert piece written by Zigman, which premiered at the Third Annual Beverly Hills International Music Festival in 2007, and upon which Flash of Genius’s main theme is based. This is good stuff, and certainly better than one might have expected from a film such as this.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Warehouse (1:06), 2. Mustangs (1:39), 3. Drive to Peric's (1:32), 4. Back Home (1:54), 5. Pray for Rain (1:16), 6. Losing It (5:00), 7. Dennis Returns (1:29), 8. Get Out (0:40), 9. Testimony Montage (0:52), 10. Take the Deal (0:44), 11. It's Not Over Yet (2:22), 12. Breakup (2:11), 13. Patent Library (0:37), 14. Make Another Kid (1:09), 15. The Diner (1:57), 16. It's Alive (1:07), 17. Phyllis & Jean (1:00), 18. The Porch (1:11), 19. The Letter (0:48), 20. Dafao's Final Offer (0:41), 21. Last Pill (0:38), 22. Piece of Crap (0:37), 23. The Verdict (2:42), 24. Vis Vitae (9:43). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6933, 42:55].
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
DAVID ARNOLD
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, as heard in the film.
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
DONALD HARRISON Jr. and ZAFER TAWIL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Rachel Getting Married is a gritty, adult drama directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Anne Hathaway in a breakout role which is tipped for Oscar success in 2009. Shot in faux-documentary style, Hathaway stars as Kym, a troubled, self-absorbed young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years, who returns home for the weekend for her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt)'s wedding, causing long-standing family tensions to rise to the surface. The film, which also stars Bill Irwin and Debra Winger, has original music from two very diverse sources: Louisiana-born jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., who is a contemporary of Terence Blanchard, and New York-based Palestinian musician Zafer Tawil, who is a virtuoso on various ethnic string instruments (including the oud and the qanun), and is a ‘master of Arabic percussion’. Tawil’s cues include the simple solo violin “Wedding Waltz”, the slightly more exotic “Kym’s Homecoming”, and the peculiar “Ethan’s Theme”, which has a humming/groaning vocal effect underneath all the unfocused plucking. Harrison’s contribution is the “Rachel Loves Sidney” track and its reprise, a slightly funkier and upbeat jazz/mambo piece which, naturally, features Harrison on solo trumpet. The rest of the album is padded out with various indie rock and jazz pieces, including actor Tunde Adebimpe’s unadorned version of Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend”, a very bizarre version of “Here Comes the Bride” for electric guitar and drum kit, and a couple of tracks by Robyn Hitchcock, who was the subject of a Demme documentary in 1998. The odd thing about the entire album is that much of it seems to have been thrown together on the fly – Tawil’s pieces especially include a lot of noticeable background room ambiences – chairs creaking, and so on - which lend it a slightly amateurish air which is quite disappointing for a Demme production. It’s really quite a dull album, with very little that will be of real interest to score fans, unless you’re crazy about oud solos.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Unknown Legend (performed by Tunde Adebimpe) (2:27), 2. Wedding Waltz (1:45), 3. Kym's Homecoming (2:59), 4. America (performed by Robyn Hitchcock) (4:39), 5. Here Come the Bride (performed by Brooklyn Demme and Barry Eastmond Jr.) (0:51), 6. Rachel Loves Sidney (1:23), 7. Samba for Shiva (performed by Cyro Baptista and Beat The Donkey) (2:27), 8. Ethan's Theme (2:45), 9. Up to Our Nex (performed by Robyn Hitchcock) (3:44), 10. Dread Natty Congo (performed by Sister Carol East) (4:56), 11. Dancing with Shiva (performed by Black Bombay) (5:16), 12. It's Been Done (performed by Angela McCluskey) (3:57), 13. Lower Ninth Ward Blues (performed by Al "Carnival Time" Johnson) (3:24), 14. In My Soul (performed by Tavash Graham featuring Tamyra Gray) (2:33), 15. Trilla (performed by Brooklyn Demme) (2:59), 16. Rachel Loves Sidney (Reprise) (4:17). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34042, 50:22].
BODY OF LIES
MARC STREIFENFELD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Body of Lies.
CITY OF EMBER
ANDREW LOCKINGTON
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of City of Ember.
THE EXPRESS
MARK ISHAM
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The Express is an inspirational sports drama about the life of Ernie Davis who, while playing for Syracuse University in 1961, became the first African-American college football player to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy, and the trials and hardships he endured to break this sporting color barrier. The film is directed by Gary Fleder, stars Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid, and features a lovely score from Mark Isham. This isn’t a traditional flag-waving sporting glory score in the vein of The Natural or Rudy or Hoosiers; instead, Isham spends a lot of time scoring the social and political upheaval that surrounded Davis and his exploits, leading to a score which is at times surprisingly dark, and also surprisingly heavy on synthetic embellishments. There is thumping percussion and gritty electronic music in the opening “Prologue”, and dark and oppressive action music in “Training” and “A Good Man”, but that’s not to say there isn’t any emotional warmth in the score: “Jackie Robinson” features a lovely noble-sounding theme for the previous generation’s color-boundary breaker, some intimate and attractive stuff in “Elmira” and the warm and inviting piano-led “I’m An Optimist” and “What Kind of Bottle?”, and some militaristic—sounding, quite rousing material to be found in “Cotton Bowl”, “Don’t Lose Yourself” and the conclusive “The Express”. While The Express is clearly not among the pantheon of Isham’s best works, there is still a fair amount of enjoyable music to be found here, even if it is somewhat anonymous, and even though it fails to stay with you once Lakeshore’s 50 minute album had stopped spinning.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Prologue (1:31), 2. Jackie Robinson (2:06), 3. Elmira (1:57), 4. Lacrosse (2:07), 5. Training (4:17), 6. A Meeting (1:17), 7. A Good Man (5:45), 8. I'm Staying In (1:18), 9. Cotton Bowl (7:36), 10. Don't Lose Yourselves (4:43), 11. Ernie Davis (1:37), 12. Heisman (1:12), 13. Draft (2:35), 14. Rain (1:51), 15. I'm An Optimist (2:46), 16. What Kind of Bottle? (1:49), 17. The Express (5:02). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34030, 49:29].
MAX PAYNE
MARCO BELTRAMI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The latest video game to become a big-budget action movie, Max Payne is directed by John Moore and stars Mark Wahlberg as the eponymous lead character, a DEA agent whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy who, while investigating the shadowy criminal underworld whi may be responsible for his wife’s murder, teams up with a sexy assassin (Mila Kunis), who is herself trying to avenge her sister's death. While the video game received a superb noir score from Finnish composers Kärtsy Hatakka and Kimmo Kajasto, Max Payne’s cinematic cousin is scored by Marco Beltrami in collaboration with his long-time assistant and sound designer Buck Sanders. Much has been made of the fact that a ‘detuned piano’ is the centerpiece of the film’s sonic world, and was intended to reflect the dark, tortured journey Max undertakes by making “the piano’s upper registers sound like a glassy, chime-like instrument, while the low end became an un-pitchable rumbling”. Now, I’m usually a fan of Beltrami’s unique style, irrespective of the genre, but I found the bulk of Max Payne to be almost unlistenable. The opening moments of “Max Attacks” are unusual, with eerie textures and a dream-like feeling, but the whole thing quickly descends into mindless electronic thumping and various grating synth textures which, had I not been reviewing it, would have caused me to switch the whole thing off. Although Beltrami was clearly intending to capture Payne’s incessant, machine-like single-mindedness, and his ‘emotional coldness’, and while I understand what he was trying to do musically, it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy listening to it. To be fair, some of the later cues – “Investigation”, “Colvin Quivers”, “Window Payne”, “Max Marches On” – do have a larger scope and a meatier orchestral sound palette which Beltrami manages to turn into something positive, despite the whole thing being almost drowned by the incessant synth pulse. Similarly, the detuned piano chords in “Payneful Piano” are interesting from a textural point of view, but never really amount to anything more than one interesting timbre surrounded by a whole load of exasperating, rasping electronica. Two cues – “Dark Heaven” and “Heaven to the Max” – do have a more conventionally thematic, orchestral presence, and actually seem rather beautiful compared to the sludge around it, but in the end there’s far too little music to get hold of to make this score anything less than a chore to sit and experience.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Max Attacks (3:53), 2. Investigation (3:29), 3. Payneful Piano (2:16), 4. Colvin Quivers (3:33), 5. Dethlab (2:32), 6. Storming the Office (1:53), 7. No Respects For You (2:37), 8. Lupino Spreads His Wings (1:50), 9. Max Returns Home (2:03), 10. Factoring Max (1:47), 11. Window Payne (3:32), 12. Dark Heaven (2:47), 13. Vote for Dennis (2:05), 14. BB’s Maxim (2:46), 15. Max Marches On (2:23), 16. Heaven to the Max (1:46), 17. Topless Fanfare (3:10). [La-La Land LLLCD-1080, 44:39].
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
MARK ISHAM
Review by Jonathan Broxton. The Secret Life of Bees is a familial/racial drama based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Set in South Carolina in 1964, it stars Dakota Fanning as 14-year-old Lily Owens who, following the accidental death of her mother, escapes with her negro caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) from the clutches of her abusive father (Paul Bettany), and travels across the rural South heading for the home the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters – Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keyes. As the unlikely pair travel, Lily learns from Rosaleen a number of harsh lessons about the realities of life, love, race, and what it means to embrace and acknowledge your past. The score for the Secret Life of Bees is by the prolific Mark Isham; as befits the gentle drama of the film and the Southern setting, his music is of the low-key variety, with piano and strings augmented by acoustic guitars, enlivened by a few jaunty rhythms which have their roots in the Gospel music of the south. The main theme, as heard in the opening “A Box of Secrets”, is warm and pleasant, and similar in nature to earlier scores such as Nell and Fly Away Home, albeit with a slightly more melancholy overall feeling. Cues such as “Don’t Bother Looking for Me”, “Peaches” and the emotionally heightened “Time to Die” allow the expressive guitars to rise to the fore to excellent effect, while later a soothing female vocalist adds her faraway-sounding textures to “Bee School”. The lovely pair “Daughters of Mary” and “Tears and Sprinklers” weave renditions of the classic hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ into the melodic line, further emphasizing the score’s roots in the deep South. The two moments of more emphatic darkness come in “Don’t Tell Mary” and “You Was Here All the Time”, which reverberate to brief but unexpectedly harsh percussion and threatening string chords, and contain another vocal performance, although the one in “Don’t Tell Mary” sounds more like a funereal lament than anything else. However, the finale of the score – from the delicate, hesitantly romantic “Kiss” through the conclusive “All These Mothers” – maintains the score’s harmoniously pleasant and easily enjoyable quality, and highlight’s Isham’s under-used but obvious talent for writing this kind of music. Isham’s score is not commercially available; this review of the Oscar promo which was released ‘for your consideration’ by Fox Searchlight.
TRACK LISTING: 1. A Box of Secrets (3:18), 2. Don’t Bother Looking for Me (1:00), 3. The Supremes Were In My Kitchen (0:54), 4. Peaches (0:44), 5. Black Madonna (0:50), 6. Just Another Way of Dying (1:22), 7. Who Have We Here? (0:48), 8. Bee School (2:23), 9. Daughters of Mary (2:48), 10. Purple Honey (0:51), 11. Tears and Sprinklers (1:00), 12. Marshmallows and Grahams (2:00), 13. Don’t Tell Mary (2:56), 14. Time to Die (4:48), 15. She Came Alone (1:36), 16. Map (1:25), 17. Kiss (1:24), 18. Hat Box (2:02), 19. Will You Marry Me? (0:58), 20. You Was Here All the Time (1:25), 21. All These Mothers (3:35). [Promo, 38:16].
W.
PAUL CANTELON
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of W., as heard in the film.
CHANGELING
CLINT EASTWOOD
Click here for Clark Douglas’s review of Changeling, as heard in the film.
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
JOHAN SÖDERQVIST
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Let the Right One In.
PASSENGERS
EDWARD SHEARMUR
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An interesting horror/thriller which slipped under the radar despite starring Anne Hathaway, Passengers is directed by Rodrigo García and follows the increasingly disturbing life of a grief counselor (Hathaway) working with a group of plane-crash survivors (including Patrick Wilson, Dianne Weist and David Morse), who finds herself drawn into a dangerous mystery when her clients begin to disappear without explanation. The score for Passengers is by Edward Shearmur, who has spent most of 2008 inexplicably scoring a series of crappy comedies – College Road Trip, Meet Bill – which are significantly beneath a man of his talents. Musically, Passengers is a world away from the heady heights Shearmur attained on Reign of Fire and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which seem like they were written generations ago. There’s a definite Thomas Newman vibe running through a great deal of the score, from the way Shearmur uses his strings in echoing clusters, to the generally muted emotional content, to the bright, lightly percussive suburban writing and prancing rhythms that appear in cues like “Group Therapy”, “House Call”, “What Do You Remember”, and others. Parts of the score are actually very attractive in a moody, slightly sinister way: the opening of “The Wreckage” has a distant, slightly lost sound to it, and “Arkin” has an introspective, ghostly piano line which is chillingly effective. Things warm up considerably during “Motorcycle Fix”, “Porch” and “Epiphany”, and come to an emotional head during the lovely “At Peace”, which is by far the most emotionally satisfying piece on the album. A few of the other cues have a slightly grungy contemporary sound through the use of growling electric guitars, notably “Norman”, while one of two cues raise the tempo a little and begin to edge into action territory, such as “Norman’s House” and “Eric Remembers”. Overall, though, this is an enjoyable but definitely minor effort from Shearmur, professional and slick but never offering anything new to the genre, or to his own filmography. Shearmur’s career needs to start taking an up-swing, and soon.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Wreckage (1:26), 2. Group Therapy (2:20), 3. House Call (1:08), 4. What Do You Remember? (2:46), 5. Norman (3:09), 6. At the Museum (2:54), 7. Giving Eric the Key (1:31), 8. Eric at Midnight (1:25), 9. Arkin (1:45), 10. Rooftop (1:35), 11. Motorcycle Fix (3:21), 12. Norman's House (3:59), 13. Eric Remembers (3:58), 14. Porch (2:36), 15. Epiphany (3:13), 16. At Peace (2:29), 17. End Titles (4:26). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6930, 44:01].
PRIDE AND GLORY
MARK ISHAM
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A dark, gritty thriller directed by Gavin O’Connor, Pride and Glory stars Edward Norton as Ray Tierney, a New York cop from a long line of New York cops who discovers a police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law that threatens to tear his family apart. The film, which also stars Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich and Jennifer Ehle, is scored by Mark Isham, who previously worked with O’Connor on Miracle in 2004. As one might expect, much of Pride and Glory is rather subdued, with dark, moody orchestral textures augmented by shifting, brooding synth drones dominating the score. One thing I have never been too enamored of is Isham’s action/thriller writing – scores like Blade or Don’t Say a Word or The Net or Running Scared – and Pride and Glory is much of the same. Once in a while Isham will interject a bit of life and energy through an increased percussion element, or an increase in volume – such as in “Santiago” or “Execution” or the conclusive “El Train/Waterline” - but for the most part the score just rumbles along in the basement, adding a level of sinister darkness to the movie, but remaining rather dull when separated from it. “Fran and Abby” provides one of the few moments of emotion with a subdued romantic piece for strings and fluttering acoustic guitars, the vaguely Irish-tinted “Family” hints at the sense of pride and brotherhood Tierney’s investigation will ultimately tear apart, and the conclusion of “Suicide” introduces some dramatic sounding brass chords which stand out from the rest of the album, but these are disappointingly brief moments which fail to enliven an otherwise rather unexciting album. The rest of the time, Isham just allows his score to sit there listlessly, with various electronic pulses and dark string chords, but very little of anything that it tangible or musically recognizable to lift it out of the majority of the rest of the scores written for this kind of film. Disappointing.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Burning Car (4:26), 2. Hospital (1:07), 3. Escape (1:44), 4. Fran and Abby (1:45), 5. Family (1:16), 6. Funeral (2:22), 7. Santiago (4:04), 8. Execution (6:09), 9. Abby (1:05), 10. Protest (2:25), 11. Suicide (2:37), 12. Jimmy Rats (4:19), 13. Confession (3:12), 14. Fran (1:43), 15. Riot (5:56), 16. El Train/Waterline (8:51). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6931, 53:01].
SPLINTER
ELIA CMIRAL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Czech/Swedish composer Elia Cmiral has fallen a long way down the film music pecking order since the comparative heights of Ronin in 1998 and Battlefield Earth in 2000, to the point where is now a go-to guy for a large number of low budget horror directors. Cmiral’s latest film, Splinter, is another one in a long list of gore-fests: directed by Toby Wilkins, it stars Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo and Jill Wagner as a young couple and an escaped convict who find themselves trapped in an isolated gas station by an evil parasite which, when contracted, mutates the body of the host into something resembling a human porcupine. As has been his oeuvre of late, Cmiral’s score is a synth/orchestra hybrid, heavy on textures, electronic rhythms and unsettling effects, light on anything melodic or which could be considered ‘orchestrally inventive’. Cues such as “Sinister Gas Station”, “Infected” groan and throb to various unpleasant industrial sound designs and chaotic collisions of sound, only employing their strings when they want them to screech at the top end of the sonic register, although “Dennis’ Sacrifice” does offer a brief moment of warmth in the darkness with a gentle string theme which, when placed alongside the rest of the score, seems like Handel’s Messiah in comparison. It’s all rather dispiriting, really, and shows little of the enthusiasm or innovative writing low-budget horror films often allow their composers, when freed from the demographic shackles of the studio system. Had La-La Land and Cmiral never released this score, it’s likely no-one would have ever noticed, and that’s probably the most damning criticism I can make.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Title (2:09), 2. Sinister Gas Station (2:21), 3. Attendant Kills Lacey (1:06), 4. Dennis’ Sacrifice (1:55), 5. Road Kill (3:11), 6. Infected (1:09), 7. Driving to the Forest (1:47), 8. Attendant Attacks Again (1:36), 9. Hook the Radio (1:58), 10. It’s Not Lacey Anymore (1:49), 11. Seth and Polly (1:20), 12. Run to Cover (1:59), 13. Dennis Goes Outside (2:56), 14. Looking For the Hand (1:55), 15. The Cops Are Here (2:35), 16. Seth Walks to the Car (3:44), 17. Inside the Freezer (3:39). [BSX Records BSXCD-8844, 37:09].
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
JON BRION
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A typically twisted and mind-bending drama from writer/director Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche New York is a film about a self-absorbed theater director played by Philip Seymour Hoffman who, as his real personal life crashes down around him, sets to creating a theatrical masterpiece about life mimicking art mimicking life, with a life-sized replica of New York City inside a huge warehouse. It’s all very existential and difficult, but it has an astonishing supporting cast - Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams – and has been the recipient of a great deal of praise from various critics groups. Composer Jon Brion’s score is eclectic to say the least; he’s one of the most unconventional composers working on mainstream films today, and Synecdoche New York continues the trend with a collage of musical ideas that range from quirky, twee little marches in the opening “Tacky Entrance Music” to offbeat string harmonies in “All Plays Out” and a trio of piano-driven pieces (“Piano One”, “Piano Two” and “Piano Three”) which often have a wavering electronic noise behind them, much like the sound of an old dialup computer connecting to the Internet. There’s a lot of guitar work in the score, giving the whole thing a contemporary feel, but these are regularly offset by odd rhythmic elements, peculiar sound effects built into the fabric of the score, and an overarching sense of the whole thing being deconstructed and detached from reality. Cues like “DMI Thing from When She Was in the Kitchen”, “DMI Thing in Which New Information Is Introduced”, “Something You Can't Return To” and “DMI We Meet Again?” are gloomy, introverted pieces for strings and guitar which, despite being based around a recurring four note motif, actually somewhat frustrate me because I can’t quite get my head round the dramatic intent of the pieces – some of them are quite pleasant in and of themselves, but they just sort of sit there, being all offbeat and inscrutable, and never make a real connection. I felt like this throughout the entire score. In fact, two of the musical highlights of the score are actually the songs, “Little Person” and “Song for Caden”, written by Brion and Kaufman and performed with a dreamy, wistful indie vibe by jazz vocalist Deanna Storey. It’s one of those soundtracks which actually appeals to fans of other genres of music than it does to actual soundtrack fans, and as such has been getting a lot of positive mainstream acclaim; as one might expect, I found it all a bit glum and disconnected. And for those curious enough to want to know, the film’s title is play on words, combining the film’s setting (the city of Schenectady, New York), and the Greek word ‘synecdoche’ (pronounced sin-neck-duck-kee), meaning a singular descriptive word which, when used colloquially, actually means the entire thing being described (e.g. “wheels” for an entire car). You learn something every day!
TRACK LISTING: 1. Tacky Entrance Music (0:42), 2. DMI Thing from When She Was in the Kitchen (2:32), 3. All Plays Out (Fire Sale Version) (1:29), 4. DMI Thing in Which New Information Is Introduced (1:11), 5. Forward Motion (0:52), 6. Something You Can't Return To (3:04), 7. Sex Based Decision Making (1:24), 8. Piano One (1:20), 9. Someone Else's Forward Motion (Posing as Your Own) (1:56), 10. DMI We Meet Again? (1:24), 11. Still Can't Return (Still Trying) (1:51), 12. Piano Two (1:40), 13. OK (2:37), 14. Can't Return (For the Last Time) (1:26), 15. Piano Three (4:02), 16. Transposition (2:01), 17. Little Person (performed by Deanna Storey) (3:53), 18. Song for Caden (performed by Deanna Storey) (3:21). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34047, 36:45].
TINKER BELL
JOEL McNEELY
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A very belated prequel to one of Disney’s best-loved classics, Peter Pan, the 3D animated movie Tinker Bell tells the story of what life was like for the green dress-clad pixie before she started having her adventures with Peter, Wendy and the Lost Boys, and dueling with Captain Hook. The film is directed by Bradley Raymond, and features a surprisingly high profile all-female voice cast including Mae Whitman, Kristen Chenoweth, Raven-Symoné, Lucy Liu, America Ferrara, Jane Horrocks, Anjelica Huston. The film is scored by Joel McNeely, who seems to be making something of a mini-career scoring Disney animated sequels, having already turned in work on sequels to Cinderella, The Fox and the Hound, Lilo & Stitch and Mulan. His three cuts included on Disney’s song-heavy album comprise two pieces called “To the Fairies They Draw Near” which feature vocals by Canadian new age artist Loreena McKennit, and a 7-minute score suite which plays over the film’s end credits, amounting to just under 11 minutes of McNeely music. To reflect the cultural identity pixie community in which Tinker Bell takes place, McNeely chose to give his music a distinct Irish lilt through the use of pennywhistles and fiddles, and augments that with a flighty, magical feeling, and an occasional emotional sweep which is hugely enjoyable. McKennit’s expressive, equally Celtic-sounding voice adds a lovely touch to the music, and the lyrics (which McKennit also wrote) follow of the usual Disney mantra of self expression, individualism and freedom. The end credits suite occasionally rises to beautiful orchestral crescendos, complete with children’s choir, and contains some beautifully expressive passages for solo violin, leading me to once again lament the fact that Joel McNeely is scoring straight-to-DVD Disney sequels when there are innumerable big screen blockbusters that would benefit from his efforts. The songs on the album are all very similar, and are performed by a set of largely indistinguishable female vocalists who all clearly want to be the next Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears, or have budding careers on the Disney Channel. The songs themselves are generally inoffensive bubblegum pop types, and the one by former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee, “Let Your Heart Sing”, is actually quite nice, but the rest are all instantly forgettable and will be of little interest to score fans.
TRACK LISTING: 1. To the Fairies They Draw Near, Part I (0:51), 2. Fly to Your Heart (performed by Selena Gomez) (3:11), 3. How to Believe (performed by Ruby Summer) (3:04), 4. Let Your Heart Sing (performed by Katharine McPhee) (3:32), 5. Be True (performed by Jonatha Brooke) (3:49), 6. To the Fairies They Draw Near, Part II (3:33), 7. Shine (performed by Tiffany Giardina) (3:13), 8. Fly with Me (performed by Kari Kimmel) (3:28), 9. Wonder of It All (performed by Scottie Haskell) (3:18), 10. End Credit Score Suite (7:18). [Walt Disney Records D000234202, 35:20].
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS
JAMES HORNER
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
HANS ZIMMER
Review by Clark Douglas. Yikes, what on earth happened with this album? “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” may very well be the worst score that composer Hans Zimmer has ever been involved with (I hesitate to say “written”, as the score was created by the usual gang of Remote Control affiliates). The film is a sequel to the popular Dreamworks animated film “Madagascar”, which was also scored by Zimmer and co. That disappointing album featured some pleasant yet insubstantial scoring alongside some dull pop songs and a nice performance of John Barry's “Born Free”. That album was bliss compared to what Zimmer has produced this time around. Things actually start out well enough, with a typical little action piece called “Once Upon a Time in Africa”. The score never hits that level of satisfactory banality again. Zimmer works together with hip-hop artist will.i.am to create some incredibly irritating pop songs. “Big and Chunky” is just about the most appalling thing I have heard all year, and I would lose no sleep if I never heard “I Like to Move It” ever again. Zimmer also supplies obnoxious versions of Ennio Morricone's “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” theme and the old standard “New York, New York”. Things don't improve when the original score cues actually do appear. Pieces such as “Volcano” and “Rescue Me” rely on uninspired orchestrations and tired dance beats. The whole thing just reeks of laziness. After sitting through all of this, the last thing I need to hear is Barry Manilow's “Copacabana”, but that's exactly what you get, along with Boston's “More Than a Feeling”. What a wretched album of music. Unforgivably uninspired material, easily the worst soundtrack written for any major animated film of recent years.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Once Upon a Time in Africa (3:50), 2. The Traveling Song (performed by will.i.am) (3:25), 3. Party! Party! Party! (3:31), 4. I Like To Move It (performed by will.i.am) (3:41), 5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (0:52), 6. Big and Chunky (performed by will.i.am) (3:21), 7. Chums (2:16), 8. New York, New York (1:30), 9. Volcano (2:50), 10. Rescue Me (3:36), 11. More Than a Feeling (performed by Boston) (4:45), 12. She Loves Me (1:43), 13. Foofie (2:39), 14. Copacabana (At The Copa) (performed by Barry Manilow) (4:06), 15. Monochromatic Friends (2:59), 16. Best Friends (performed by will.i.am) (2:25), 17. Alex On The Spot (1:58) [Interscope B001226402, 49:27].
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
DAVID ARNOLD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Quantum of Solace.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
A.R. RAHMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Slumdog Millionaire.
BOLT
JOHN POWELL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Bolt.
TWILIGHT
CARTER BURWELL
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Twilight.
AUSTRALIA
DAVID HIRSCHFELDER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A romantic epic in the grand Hollywood tradition, Australia is director Baz Luhrmann’s cinematic ode to his homeland. The main focus of the story is the romance between English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) and rugged cowboy Drover (Hugh Jackman), and is set against a backdrop of some of the most important events in early Australian history, including the expansion into Aboriginal territory by the white settlers and the social and racial tensions that arise as a result, and the bombing of the Northern Territory by the Japanese in World War II. In addition to Kidman and Jackman the film features pretty much every major Australian character actor working today – notably David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown and David Gulipilil – and boasts impressive production values that garnered the film an Academy Award nomination for costume design. The score for Australia is by David Hirschfelder, who after receiving a pair of Oscar nominations in the early 2000s for his work on Shine and Elizabeth, has slipped beneath the Hollywood radar. His music is an unashamedly old-fashioned affair, fully orchestral, lively and energetic, with an appropriately epic sweep to capture the expansive nature of the film. The opening cue, “The Bombing of Darwin”, begins darkly and moodily, before exploding into a memorable dramatic cue tinged a great deal of graceful tragedy from the string section, and an equally great amount of choral power. The action stylings from the opening cue return later in the breathlessly exciting “Stampede”, in which Hirschfelder really goes for broke with his orchestra slashing and flailing with relentless forward motion; every now and again, to capture the flavor of the region, Hirschfelder works traditional Aboriginal instruments such as didgeridoos and wobble-boards and even vocal effects into the cue, which gives it a unique, appealing flavor. Hirschfelder shows off his romantic side in the magically appealing “Nullah Enchants Sarah”, and concludes his score with the lovely, sweeping “Nullah is Safe”, which contains one of his most attractive themes. The one curio is “England to Oz”, a travelogue/montage cue which begins in a straightforward enough fashion, and with plenty of English pomp and pageantry, but ends up as a pastiche of 1920s swing music, which is authentic, but seems at odds with the rest of the album. There are also several quite nice songs, notably the diaphanous “By the Boab Tree”, written by Angela Little and performed by her group Ophelia of the Spirits, and a pleasant new song called “The Drover’s Ballad” by Elton John. Of course, no soundtrack about Australia would be complete without an appearance from the ubiquitous, near-legendary Rolf Harris, this time singing “You Ride Your Way and I’ll Ride Mine” in his inimitable style, “eeffing and eiffing” all the way. The score for Australia has not been released commercially at the time of writing, and can currently only be found on this promotional album, released for Academy Awards consideration by 20th Century Fox.
TRACK LISTING: 1. The Bombing of Darwin (6:15), 2. Nullah Enchants Sarah (3:21), 3. England to Oz (7:48), 4. Stampede (4:40), 5. Nullah is Safe (6:13), 6. By the Boab Tree (performed by Ophelia of the Spirits) (3:42), 7. The Drover’s Ballad (performed by Elton John) (4:24), 8. You Ride Your Way and I’ll Ride Mine (performed by Rolf Harris) (2:04), 9. All Night Long (performed by The John Butler Trio) (2:05), 10. Waltzing Matilda (performed by Ophelia of the Spirits) (2:38). [Promo, 43:14].
FOUR CHRISTMASES
ALEX WURMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A smash hit seasonal comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, Four Christmases is very much a festive flick for the new millennium, as it follows the fortunes of a couple who have to spend their holiday season visiting their four parents – Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen - all of whom are divorced, and who bring their own problems and peculiarities to the already hectic lives of their children, most notably in the form of various siblings - Jon Favreau, Kristin Chenoweth and country star Tim McGraw. The widely-available commercial soundtrack CD features the usual roster of wintry favorites – Perry Como singing “Home For the Holidays”, Ferrante & Teciher’s “Sleigh Ride”, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby crooning “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “White Christmas”, and so on and so forth. You get the idea. Composer Alex Wurman’s original score only exists as a brief promo distributed by his publicist, copies of which may be available on the secondary market. There’s little to distinguish it from the dozens of other yuletide scores which are released at this time of year, although some of the cues do have some highlights: the two “Jump Jump” pieces are unexpectedly harsh action sequences, the conclusive “Alone Time” has a pretty, slightly bittersweet piano theme, and “Airport to Howard’s” suffers from an acute case of Nutcrackeritis, but the rest is the usual assortment of charming orchestral pieces with prancing strings, sleigh bells, and the whimsical comic caper music than usually accompanies films like these. It’s all very lightweight and unassuming, but enjoyable in its way, although at just a hair over 13 minutes in length it’s not something I would ever go out of my way to acquire unless I had a deep-seated need to hear Wurman’s instrumental arrangement of Irving Berlin in the main titles.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Titles (0:51), 2. On the Couch (1:09), 3. Mistletoe to Marilyn’s (0:52), 4. Jump Jump Part I (1:19), 5. Back Bedroom Boundaries Speech (1:11), 6. Airport to Howard’s (1:23), 7. Roof (2:10), 8. To Paula’s (1:23), 9. Jump Jump Part II (0:54), 10. Alone Time (1:53). [Promo, 13:11].
MILK
DANNY ELFMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Milk.
OORLOGSWINTER
PINO DONAGGIO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Dutch cinema doesn’t get much press beyond the confines of its borders. Similarly, Dutch film music gets fairly short shrift from the world at large, despite several acclaimed composers having worked there in recent years, notably Henny Vrienten, Loek Dikker and Fons Merkies. It’s also been quite some time since Italian composer Pino Donaggio had any time in the spotlight – at least since Up At the Villa in 2000, and in reality probably since Never Talk to Strangers in before that in 1995. So, it’s quite gratifying to see Donaggio’s score for the Dutch wartime drama Oorlogswinter (‘Winter in Wartime’) getting some attention. The film is directed by Martin Koolhoven from the novel by Jan Terlouw, and stars Martijn Lakemeier as Michiel, a 14 year old boy living in a small town in the Netherlands in the winter of 1944, who witnesses an English fighter plane crash near his home. Despite the reservations of his father (Raymond Thiry), who is on good terms with the occupying German forces, Michiel seeks out and eventually finds the pilot (Jamie Campbell Bower), who is alive and in hiding, and vows to help the pilot return home. Donaggio’s music is lush and emotional throughout, with several beautiful themes and an appropriately ‘wintry’ feeling. Despite being a war film, there is virtually no music which depicts the war itself – everything feeds from the emotions and point of view of Michiel, and as such the music is imbued with an innocence and clarity untainted by the horrors of the conflict. The opening cue, “Oorlogswinter”, makes wonderful use of a lilting solo piano theme and the wordless vocals of boy soprano Boris Dobromirov Dobrev, the melodic line of which appears in later cues such as “Innocenza”, the dreamily fragile “Door Het Ijs Gezakt”, the gentle “Met Papa”, the wonderfully cathartic “Verlies”, and the all-encompassing “Aftiteling” end titles cue. There’s a gorgeous, emotive solo violin in “Wat Doen Ze Bij De Buren?”, a slightly more shrill and perilous texture to “De Dood Van Bertus”, and even more lurking danger in the darker, occasionally quite harsh pairing of “De Eerste Poging” and “De Nieuwe Poging”, although the unexpectedly beautiful “De Executie” is slightly less ominous that the title might otherwise suggest, especially when the choir kicks in. What’s most appealing about Oorlogswinter, though, is its general consistency of tone, and the way the emotions are presented in an unambiguous, easily understood manner. It also helps that some of Donaggio’s textures, and the themes themselves, are effortlessly attractive, making the whole score a joy to experience. The score is available from the Dutch website www.bol.com, and I heartily recommend you give it a whirl.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Oorlogswinter (1:18), 2. Innocenza (2:30), 3. Oom Ben (1:39), 4. Wat Doen Ze Bij De Buren? (2:19), 5. De Dood Van Bertus (1:45), 6. De Eerste Poging (4:09), 7. Door Het Ijs Gezakt (1:11), 8. Met Papa (1:20), 9. Arrestatie (4:40), 10. Oom Ben Naar Het Gemeentehuis (0:49), 11. De Executie (3:40), 12. Verdrongen (1:32), 13. De Nieuwe Poging (5:10), 14. Verborgen Verdriet (1:26), 15. Overname (1:31), 16. De Ontdekking (2:47), 17. De IJsselbrug (4:14), 18. Verlies (2:18), 19. Veranderd (2:03), 20. Aftiteling (4:31). [Fu Works 8713053600081, 51:02].
FROST/NIXON
HANS ZIMMER
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Frost/Nixon.
CHE
ALBERTO IGLESIAS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Marxist revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara led a fascinating life: born in Argentina, he first became politically active after witnessing first-hand the social injustices and abject poverty suffered by his countrymen while travelling around South America on a motorbike. He was later instrumental in overthrowing Fulgencio Batista and installing Fidel Castro as president of Cuba, and became a respected author, politician and philosopher, before eventually returning to his radical roots, instigating coups in other countries, prior to being eventually captured and executed in Bolivia in 1967. Directed Steven Soderbergh’s film about his life stars Benicio Del Toro as Guevara, and features Julia Ormond, Rodrigo Santoro, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Matt Damon in supporting roles. The four hour film has been split into two parts – ‘The Argentine’ and ‘Guerilla’ – but the score, by Alberto Iglesias, contains music from both films, and is released simply as ‘Che’. Now, this is going to make me sound like a complete philistine, but I really quite disliked this score. One part of me understands how Iglesias’s quiet, intricate writing and sparse, intelligent orchestrations and arrangements depict Guevara’s life and intellect superbly. Another part of me understands and appreciates the correct comparisons that have been made with Jerry Goldsmith’s more understated writing from the early part of his career. However, the largest part of me was completely and utterly bored by the entire experience. Iglesias’s score is basically made up of three kinds of music – rumbling electronic and ethnic instrumental dissonance (“Landscape”, “Ambush”), tension-filled cues with a more orchestral sound (“Sierra Maestra”, “Military Skills”), and solemn acoustic guitar textures (“Luces y Sombras”, “Doctor Guevara”). Only the slightly Morricone-ish “Across Mount Turquino”, the more strident and dramatic “March” and “Camino a la Habana”, and the lusher finale, “La Higuera - October 9 1967” leave any kind of lasting impression; the rest completely passed me by. I feel very frustrated by this, because there is clearly a great deal of intelligence and great craftsmanship on display here, and I feel like I’m missing out on it by reacting to it in the way I have. I wish wholeheartedly that Che had made the same impression on me that it clearly has on others, but I have tried over a dozen times to get into this score, only to find my mind continually wandering to other things half way through, such was the score’s lack of a tangible element that captured my attention. So, please take my low rating with a pinch of salt, as my opinion is clearly the minority.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Ese Hombre Es El Che Guevara (2:53), 2. Ten Years Earlier - December 1 1956 (2:00), 3. Sierra Maestra (4:59), 4. Landscape (1:35), 5. I Want To Take The Revolution To Latin America (2:08), 6. New York - December 1964 (1:02), 7. Across Mount Turquino (2:51), 8. March (2:35), 9. Some Craziness is Good (3:05), 10. Luces y Sombras (2:15), 11. Ambush (3:44), 12. Political Skills (2:26), 13. Military Skills (1:42), 14. Camino a la Habana (2:02), 15. Nancahuazu Canyon - March 23 1967 (2:58), 16. Doctor Guevara (1:44), 17. Santa Clara (2:00), 18. Patria O Muerte (3:54), 19. La Higuera - October 9 1967 (5:36), 20. Balderrama (performed by Mercedes Sosa) (3:55), 21. Fusil Contra Fusil (performed by Silvio Rodriguez) (2:55). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6929, 58:25].
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
TYLER BATES
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
DOUBT
HOWARD SHORE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A challenging religious drama, Doubt is the latest film from writer/director John Patrick Shanley, and is based on his own acclaimed stage play. The film stars Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a nun who runs a Catholic school in New York in 1964, whose old fashioned traditional beliefs are challenged and is forced to make a difficult decision when she receives word from a fellow sister (Amy Adams) that one of the school’s teachers - the convention-challenging, progressive young priest Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) - may be abusing a young black student. An actor’s dream – all four leads (Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Viola Davis have received multiple Award nominations) – Doubt is not a film which required a flashy, showy music to hammer home its challenging, weighty subject matter; as such, Shanley turned to Howard Shore to provide the music, who prior to becoming a superstar with his work on Lord of the Rings often tackled gloomy, grave dramas such as these. Written for a medium-sized orchestra with emphasis on strings, woodwinds and piano, Shore’s score is a small, intimate work which never draws undue attention to itself; the mood is generally morose and introspective, the themes somber and serious, albeit occasionally rising to downbeat crescendos and moments of dark power. Unexpectedly, the score Doubt reminds me of the most is The Silence of the Lambs, especially in the way Shore uses strings and flutes at the lower ends of their registers to create a mood which is simultaneously attractive and uneasy, albeit without the more horrific overtones the earlier score had. Once or twice Shore alludes to the setting of the film, using tinkling guitars in the “Main Title” and an ecclesiastical-sounding boy’s choir in “Sacristy”, while elsewhere he really ratchets up the tension, with cues such as “The Shed, Part II” the nervous “The Storm”, “The Gossip Service”, and the increasingly bold ”Rage” having a sense of foreboding that is palpable, especially when Shore incorporates a subtle synth pulse or trembling strings into his writing. One curio is “Donald”, into which Shore works the sound of children singing mocking playground songs under his score, to quite unsettling effect. Admirers of Shore’s work from his Lord of the Rings scores are likely to wonder what Doubt is all about, as it contains none of the thematic strength or choral glory that dominated those works, but Doubt is actually a closer representation of the kind of music that has characterized most of his career to date, and it’s pleasing to see that he has not abandoned that early sound altogether. The score album for Doubt is not available commercially, and instead can only be found on a short 16-minute promo album which was made available ‘for your consideration’ purposes by Miramax films.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Main Title (2:11), 2. Sacristy (2:01), 3. Be Alert (0:57), 4. The Shed, Part I (1:38), 5. The Shed, Part II (1:15), 6. The Storm (1:32), 7. The Phone Call (0:40), 8. The Gossip Service (1:48), 9. Donald (1:17), 10. Rage (1:58), 11. Justified (1:11). [Promo, 16:32].
GRAN TORINO
KYLE EASTWOOD and MICHAEL STEVENS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Gran Torino is the second of Clint Eastwood’s films as director; this time he also stars, as grizzled, grumpy, racist former auto worker and Korean War vet Walt Kowalski, who having been recently widowed now spends his time sitting on his porch in suburban Detroit, growling at anyone who ventures on to his lawn, and generally being a disagreeable old bastard to his family and neighbors. His one true love is his beloved 1972 Ford Gran Torino, which he has lovingly restored to its former glory – so, when his Hmong neighbor Thao (Bee Vang) attempts to steal it as part of a street gang initiation, Walt is understandably not very happy. However, it soon becomes clear that the bookish Thao is not really very interested in being a gangbanger, and gradually Walt and Thao form an unlikely friendship. However, as Walt gradually warms to the ‘gooks and chinks’ next door, which includes Thao’s fiery and spirited sister Sue (Ahney Her), he also begins to run afoul of the street gang, who want to maintain control of their turf and their community. The score for Gran Torino is by Eastwood’s son Kyle Eastwood and his regular musical collaborator Michael Stevens; the pair previously worked together on Clint’s film Letters from Iwo Jima, and contributed to several other Eastwood movies in recent years. There are basically two types of music in the film: the jazzy piano main theme which, unsurprisingly, features prominently in the opening “Gran Torino Credits” where it is often backed by solo guitar and plucked bass, although it does rise to brief fully orchestral heights in the quite lovely “Father/Son Phone Call”. The other element of the score is the stark, percussive music which generally accompanies Walt’s encounters with the Hmong street gang, in cues such as “Son of a Bitch” and Broken Gnome” before reaching its zenith in the quite dramatic “Confrontation, Bro”. The Golden Globe-nominated song “Gran Torino” is based on the main theme from the film, and features a truly indescribable vocal performance by Clint Eastwood, who sounds like he smoked 500 Marlboros and ate a pound of gravel before recording his part. Thankfully, when English singer Jamie Cullum’s smooth jazz tones take over the song becomes much more palatable; a lazy, crooned melody which has a laid-back Vegas feel and dream-like lyrics. The score album for Gran Torino is not available commercially, and instead can only be found on a short 20-minute promo album, which should be fairly easy to acquire on the secondary market.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Gran Torino Credits (0:51), 2. Son of a Bitch (1:32), 3. Wax A Car (1:15), 4. Broken Gnome (1:42), 5. Confrontation, Bro (1:31), 6. Father/Son Phone Call (1:18), 7. Gangster Beatdown (1:47), 8. Drive-By (1:53), 9. Sue is Injured (2:27), 10. The Fall (0:59), 11. Gran Torino (written by Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens, performed by Clint Eastwood and Jamie Cullum) (6:00). [Promo, 21:15].
THE READER
NICO MUHLY
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Reader.
SEVEN POUNDS
ANGELO MILLI
Review by Jonathan Broxton. An affecting drama which reunited actor Will Smith with his Pursuit of Happiness director Gabriele Muccino, Seven Pounds tells the story of IRS agent Ben Thomas who, for reasons which initially are unclear, embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by changing the lives of seven strangers, including a greeting card maker with a heart condition played by Rosario Dawson, and a blind meat salesman played by Woody Harrelson. The score for Seven Pounds is by 33-year-old Venezuelan composer Angelo Milli, whose only previous international exposure came in 2006 with the Peruvian drama La Mujer De Mi Hermano. Milli’s music for Seven Pounds is performed by a fairly traditional orchestral complement, with emphasis on piano and strings, but has a definite contemporary feel, especially in the way he incorporates subtle synth drones and processed electronic tonalities into the fabric of the score – supportive and clearly defined, but not overwhelming. However, far from being uplifting, Milli’s score is definitely on the downbeat, reflective side, matching the overarching feeling of the redemptive journey Smith’s character makes. There are some lovely individual moments of note – the clarinet performance in “Seven Names” that gradually unfolds into a beautiful, dark string piece, the intimate piano motif in “Inez”, the gorgeous cello lines in “I Thought I Was Strong”, and the conventionally sweeping “Love Theme” for example. At times, his string and piano phrasing and his tendency to write prominent woodwind counterpoint reminds me of Thomas Newman, which can only be a good thing. Milli bring a soaring choral element to the table in certain key cues, using it to underline important moments of emotional resonance in the sensational, cathartic “Requiem” and the haunting, angelic “Surgery” (although the former does contain an unexpected inclusion of the James Horner’s dreaded ‘four note motif’). There’s even a little bit of dissonance, in the appropriately uncomfortable “A Good Man”, which adds some depth and a welcome change in direction to the score, however brief it may be. Overall, Seven Pounds is a very confident and assured mainstream debut for Milli, and I look forward with anticipation to see how his career develops from here.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Seven Days Seven Seconds (2:29), 2. Seven Names (3:54), 3. Sarah (2:09), 4. Assisted Living (0:53), 5. Inez (2:11), 6. I Thought I Was Strong (2:18), 7. Leaving Home (2:23), 8. I Am Nowhere (1:57), 9. A Good Man (2:38), 10. New Life (1:44), 11. Shower Flashback (3:25), 12. The Field (3:21), 13. Love Theme (2:11), 14. Requiem (9:51), 15. Surgery (2:09), 16. Tim's Eyes (2:03), 17. Seven Pounds (1:40). [Varèse Sarabande VSD-6941, 47:16].
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
WILLIAM ROSS
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A delightful animated adventure based on the popular children’s book by Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux follows the fortunes of the titular mouse, a dashing knight gentleman in a fantasy kingdom who sets out to save a beautiful, lonely princess from unscrupulous rats, and bring sunshine back to his home. The film has an astonishing voice cast, including Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Robbie Coltrane, Christopher Lloyd, Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, William H. Macy and Stanley Tucci, and has a score by the grossly under-valued William Ross. Following the two appalling, annoying songs (“Soup” and “It's Great to Be a Rat”) which open the album, Ross’s score finally begins, and what a charming affair it is. Fully orchestral, light-hearted, adventurous, cheerful, and thoroughly enjoyable, the score is a delight from start to finish. Ross makes occasional use of period orchestrations – cimbalom, harpsichord, lutes and fiddles and so on – but for the most part Ross relies on his orchestral sensibilities, and succeeds admirably. There is a real epic sweep to a great deal of the music, and some extremely pretty thematic material, from the lively flute-led “The Village of Dor”, to the rambunctious forward motion “Roscuro’s Fall”, to the soft, beguiling “A King’s Sadness” – and that’s all within the first six cues, before Despereaux is even born! Despereaux himself is introduced to the world via a gorgeous, soothing choral motif in “Mouse World/A Mouse is Born”, that later goes on to become a recurring motif for Desperaux’s acts of derring-do in some of the action sequences, or his more introspective moments, such as the sweeping, tender, lullaby-esque “I Am a Gentleman/Mig’s Story” or the warm and inviting “Roscuro and Despereaux”. The action music is actually surprisingly powerful and bold, while still remaining within its Golden Age-style orchestral parameters: it has its first hints in the nostalgic “Once Upon a Time”, and later rises to the fore in cues such as the edgy, dissonance-filled “Cat and Mouse”, the fraught “Roscuro’s Apology”, the Williams-esque “The Quest”, the powerful “Boldo and Despereaux Charge!”, and the exhilarating “Rescuing the Princess”, one of the breathless highlights of a score full of highlights. Of course, being a children’s film, the score has a fair bit of mickey-mousing and pastiche involved – “The Soup is Served” has an air of haughty regality, for example – but these moments are few and far between. Instead, The Tale of Despereaux is, by and large, a wonderfully constructed delight, filled to the brim with the sort of expressive, attractive, emotionally clear orchestral writing I adore, and kudos should go to William Ross for being one of the few men who continues to write it.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Soup (1:42), 2. It's Great to Be a Rat (1:26), 3. Main Title/Prologue (2:31), 4. The Village of Dor (2:16), 5. Andre & Bolbo (1:25), 6. The Soup Is Served (1:07), 7. Roscuro's Fall (2:36), 8. A King's Sadness (1:52), 9. Mouse World/A Mouse is Born (3:07), 10. Lonely Roscuro (1:10), 11. The Royal Library (1:28), 12. Once Upon a Time (2:28), 13. I Am a Gentleman/Mig's Story (3:38), 14. Banishment (3:06), 15. In the Dungeon (1:00), 16. Cat and Mouse (2:02), 17. Roscuro and Despereaux (2:10), 18. Mig Steals the Crown (1:18), 19. Roscuro's Apology (3:44), 20. Gregory Gives Mig Away (0:51), 21. The Quest (3:55), 22. Despereaux is Back (3:12), 23. Boldo and Despereaux Charge! (1:38), 24. A Change of Heart (2:10), 25. Rescuing the Princess (3:05), 26. Epilogue (2:39). [Intrada MAF-7105, 57:36].
THE WRESTLER
CLINT MANSELL
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A critically acclaimed, Award-winning drama about the life of a washed-up former wrestler struggling to salvage what’s left of his dignity, The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky and features a career-changing performance by Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an aging professional wrestler decades past his prime, who now barely gets by working small wrestling shows and as a part-time grocery store employee. As he faces health problems that may end his wrestling career for good he attempts to come to terms with his life outside the ring, trying to reconcile with the daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) he abandoned in childhood, and forming a closer bond with a stripper (Marisa Tomei) for whom he has romantic feelings. The score for The Wrestler is by Aronofsky’s regular composer Clint Mansell; the pair worked together previously on films such as Pi in 1998, Requiem for a Dream in 2000, and The Fountain in 2006. As befits such a small, intimate film, Mansell’s score is similarly small and intimate, consisting solely of pieces for electric guitar, synth, and a small string section. One may be able to argue that Mansell’s music suits the gritty, working class setting of the film, or that it remains true to the hard edged musical sensibilities of the world of wrestling, but if truth be told it’s really not very good. The entire score is based around a simple recurring guitar riff that is present in almost every cue; it gets extended performances in “Trailer Bedtime”, “Stephanie” and the conclusive “Glory Be”, and reaches its emotional high points in “Leaving Hospital” “Boardwalk Dance”, when the tiny string section and another, wailing electric guitar gives it backing, and a little bit of depth. A couple of cues – notably the opening “Gymnasium” and, later, “Eye of the Tiger” – are little more than sustained synth chords which are more grating than anything else. I don’t mind simplicity in my scores, or even electric guitar writing when it suits the mood of the film, but I at least expect these scores to be in some way appealing to the ear or the heart; unfortunately, The Wrestler is neither of those things. In fact, by far the best thing on the album is Bruce Springsteen’s Golden Globe-winning song “The Wrestler”, which has the usual poetic lyrics, folk-rock vibe and blue-collar grit one comes to expect from The Boss. The score for The Wrestler has not been released commercially, and can only be found on this 16-minute promotional album, released for Academy Awards consideration by Fox Searchlight.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Gymnasium (0:27), 2. Trailer Bedtime (1:19), 3. Leaving Hospital (2:03), 4. Jogging (0:24), 5. Stephanie (1:06), 6. Autograph Signing (0:41), 7. Cassidy and Ram (0:58), 8. Boardwalk Dance (1:33), 9. Stephanie Argument (0:43), 10. Eye of the Tiger (0:26), 11. Pre-Match Build-Ups (0:33), 12. Glory Be (2:00), 13. The Wrestler (performed by Bruce Springsteen) (3:50). [Promo, 16:07].
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
DEFIANCE
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Defiance.
LARGO WINCH
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Largo Winch is a French action/thriller directed by Jérôme Salle, based on the popular Belgian comic book character created by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme. It stars Tomer Sisley as the eponymous character, the estranged son of Nerio Winch, the incredibly wealthy international corporation, who is plucked from an Amazonian prison where he had been falsely accused of drug trafficking after Nerio is murdered. With the vast resources of his father’s company now at his disposal, Largo suddenly finds himself facing danger at every turn, as he tries to unravel the mysteries of his father’s death and his own imprisonment, and unmask those who want to take it the company, by any means possible. The film, which also stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Karel Roden, Gilbert Melki and Benedict Wong, is apparently the most expensive French film ever made; no wonder that the most talented French composer of his generation, Alexandre Desplat, is on hand to write the score. Contrary to popular belief, Desplat is actually very good at action music – one only has to listen to his American blockbusters Hostage and Firewall, or his earlier French scores like Nid de Guêpes, to hear great examples of his action style. Largo Winch, in its broadest terms, can be summed up as what a Desplat Bond score would sound like if it was combined with some of the textural writing of The Golden Compass; it’s a modern combination of a large orchestra and pulsating electronics, albeit filtered through Desplat’s unmistakable classical sensibility. The eponymous opening cue has an expansive, epic quality to it, and is again characterized by the familiar fluttering woodwinds that have underpinned many of his works, and is recapitulated beautifully in the “Epilogue”. Largo’s love interest, Léa, has a gorgeous romantic theme for strings and harp in “Léa’s Theme”, while his father Nerio has a slightly more sinister, nervous 8-note motif which flits around the orchestra in “Nerio’s Theme”, augmented by cool bassoon chords and occasional horn blasts. The flutes appear again, this time in combination with piano, harp and mandolin, in the wonderful “Chosen One”, another one of those incredibly intricate scherzos which Desplat likes to create, and which ends with a series of deliciously dark crescendos. The rest of the action music is fun and lively, energetic and exciting, with cues such as “Chase Latino” swaying to vibrant, exotic rhythms, while others such as “Mato Grosso Escape”, “Largo Jumps”, “Hong Kong Chase”, “On the Run”, “Roof Fight”, and the early part of the otherwise wonderfully melodramatic “Anna’s Death” are full of kinetic power, cool synth beats and elaborate orchestrations which never fail to thrill. I’m sure regular readers of this site are getting incredibly fed-up with reading glowing reviews of Alexandre Desplat’s work, but the truth of the matter is that no composer’s work has excited me this much since I first started listening to James Horner in the early 1990s; the beauty of his themes, the sophistication of his orchestrations, the clarity of his performances, and – in an action setting – the energy and inventiveness of his writing never fails to capture me, and Largo Winch is no exception. Absolutely recommended.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Largo Winch (3:05), 2. Léa’s Theme (1:47), 3. Dimna Yudda (performed by Chet Nuneta) (2:01), 4. Chosen One (5:48), 5. Nerio’s Theme (2:37), 6. Chase Latino (1:27), 7. Two Brothers (1:40), 8. The W Building (2:47), 9. Mato Grosso Escape (1:55), 10. Meyer's Car (1:41), 11. Croatian Sorrow (4:13), 12. The Orphanage (2:26), 13. Hidden Souvenirs (2:51), 14. Dugi Otuk (1:26), 15. Vision in the Waves (1:07), 16. Largo Jumps (1:34), 17. Anna's Death (3:47), 18. Melina (3:12), 19. The Deal (2:15), 20. Korsky (3:11), 21. Freddy's Betrayal (1:43), 22. Ferguson (1:30), 23. Hong Kong Chase (1:24), 24. On the Run (3:18), 25. Roof Fight (2:27), 26. Epilogue (2:00). [Colosseum CVS-6943, 64:39].
LAST CHANCE HARVEY
DICKON HINCHLIFFE
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A contemporary romantic comedy-drama directed by Joel Hopkins, Last Chance Harvey stars Dustin Hoffman as the eponymous Harvey Shine who, while visiting London to attend his estranged daughter’s wedding, meets and forms an unlikely relationship with Kate (Emma Thompson), a middle-aged woman with a somewhat downbeat outlook on life and romance. However, as the pair spend more time together, Harvey finds himself renewed, and vows to repair not only his relationship with his daughter, but everything else wrong with his life before it’s too late. The music for Last Chance Harvey is by English composer Dickon Hinchliffe, a former member of the indie rock band Tindersticks, and who previously worked on films such as Keeping Mum and Married Life. Hinchliffe’s score – which is actually performed by the Czech Filmharmonic Orchestra in Prague - is very much rooted in the conventions of ‘modern romantic comedy’, being built almost solely around a series of loosely connected instrumentals for piano, guitar, a soft string wash, and a rock/pop percussion combo, which clearly originate from Hinchliffe’s rock band roots. The music is generally quite nice and undemanding – pleasant melodies, appealing harmonies, a light and generally upbeat attitude – but it’s all rather anonymous, and could come from any old romantic comedy made in the last decade or so. Cues like “The Brief Encounter”, “Kate”, “The Walk” and “Room 522” are pleasingly peppy and light, with cheerful orchestrations and a whimsical air, while cues such as “Parallel Lives” and “Kate Waits for Harvey” have an attractive bittersweet quality to them that at least gives the album some depth and a change of direction. By the end of it all, though, most of the score has washed away, over you and out of your mind, leaving you feeling that you have experienced something generally nice and undemanding, but wholly unmemorable and inconsequential.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Opening Titles (0:48), 2. The Brief Encounter (3:01), 3. Parallel Lives (1:45), 4. Kate (0:59), 5. Taxi to the Airport (1:39), 6. The Walk (4:08), 7. Mother (0:43), 8. Harvey Waits for Kate (1:16), 9. Mean Son of a Gun (performed by Kitty Daisy & Lewis) (2:37), 10. The Thames (0:50), 11. Somerset House (2:17), 12. The Kiss (1:11), 13. Room 522 (1:00), 14. Kate Waits for Harvey (1:57), 15. Last Chance Harvey (3:58), 16. The End (1:56), 17. Where Do We Go (performed by Sandrine) (2:47). [Lakeshore Records LKS-34060, 32:52].
MARLEY & ME
THEODORE SHAPIRO
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A light romantic drama based on the hugely popular best selling novel by John Grogan, Marley & Me is the story of the ups and downs in the relationship of a married couple, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston), told from the point of view of their boisterous, mischievous golden retriever, Marley. The film is directed by David Frankel, and has a score by Theodore Shapiro, who scored Frankel’s previous film, The Devil Wears Prada in 2006. As one would expect, considering the film’s subject matter, Shpiro’s score is generally light, romantic and contemporary, consisting mainly of upbeat orchestral themes augmented by electric and acoustic guitars and various urban percussion items. The opening cue, “Parents of Two”, is pretty, and later cues such as “The Hardest Job”, “When It’s Time” and the admittedly rather lovelt “It All Runs Together” accentuate the tender, romantic side of the score with soft cues that sometimes feature intimate harp and piano writing and warm muted brasses. Cues such as “Off and Running”, “Walking the Plank”, “Two Year Montage” and “Boy and Dog” are livelier, incorporating more energetic rock elements into the framework of the score, while cues such as “Obedience School” and “Leg Love” even raid the classics for inspiration, with a touch of Ravel’s Bolero, and even some traditional Spanish flamenco music. When the film relocates to Ireland, Shapiro’s music goes with it, with sparkling fiddle-de-dee jigs and pennywhistles that are very pleasant, but enormously predictable and somewhat clichéd. It’s all very enjoyable, and certainly illustrates Shapiro’s versatility and acumen for writing orchestro-rock music, but I have to admit that I’m beginning to worry about the direction his career is taking; he impressed he greatly early in his career, and I assumed that within a few years he would have moved away from the light romantic comedy genre and onto more meaty projects, but this hasn’t happened; with the exception of Tropic Thunder, which required more action music, he his music has been stuck firmly in the parody/silly comedy/romance arena, and it’s starting to become repetitive.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Parents of Two (1:49), 2. Off and Running (0:51), 3. The Hardest Job (1:33), 4. Walking the Plank (1:30), 5. Obedience School (1:19), 6. Leg Love (1:05), 7. Two Year Montage (3:23), 8. Moving to Boca (1:53), 9. First Sleepless Night (2:05), 10. When It's Time (1:10), 11. Off to Ireland (1:53), 12. Dog Farm (1:19), 13. Boy and Dog (1:00), 14. Lost in the Rain (0:43), 15. Employed (1:07), 16. All Good Dogs (0:55), 17. Evil with a Dog Face (0:45), 18. Labor Pains (1:18), 19. No Regular Dog (1:27), 20. Snow (1:03), 21. Jen Says Goodbye (1:50), 22. It All Runs Together (4:03), 23. Heading Home (2:15), 24. Marley & Me (3:32). [Lakeshore Records LKS-340532, 39:48].
PONYO ON THE CLIFF
JOE HISAISHI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Ponyo on the Cliff.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
THOMAS NEWMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Revolutionary Road.
THE SPIRIT
DAVID NEWMAN
Review by Jonathan Broxton. A dark, highly-stylized super-hero action film, written and directed by comic book legend Frank Miller, The Spirit stars Gabriel Macht as rookie cop Denny Colt who, having been killed in the line of duty, returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City as the mysterious, shadowy Spirit. In this adventure, The Spirit locks horns with two master criminals: The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), as super-villain who wants to wipe Central City off the map, and Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), a sexy femme fatale who seduces and marries wealthy men, has them killed, and uses their money to fund her crime empire. The film, which also stars Scarlet Johansson, was shot in moody black and white using green-screen technology, but failed to truly set the box office alight. The music for The Spirit is by David Newman, tackling his first semi-serious movie in quite a while – probably since The Affair of the Necklace in 2001 – and his first super-hero score since The Phantom in 1996. Miller asked Newman to provide “elements of “40s jazz sound combined with iconic heroic music, and even a touch of the spaghetti western”, which has resulted in a eclectic, occasionally disjointed, but generally entertaining score that sadly never quite lives up to its promise. The “Spirit/Main Title” is actually very good: a dark, brooding overture, all rumbling pianos and racing strings, and which incorporates a harmonica and a sultry solo trumpet in a nod to the aforementioned Ennio Morricone spaghetti westerns to excellent effect, and actually sounds like a long-lost cousin of Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man music. Unfortunately, the score never quite reaches these heights again: much of the rest of the score is given over to suspenseful mood music enlivened by touches of sultry, dirty-sounding saxophone-led jazz (“Enter Silken Floss”), and a couple of moments of lively and blustery action music (“Just a Fight”, “You’re An Accident”, “Spirit Finds Sand”, “Shootout” ). The main romantic theme for the love-hate relationship between The Spirit and Sand Saref, which has a faint Horner vibe and even a hint of David’s brother Thomas Newman, first appears in “Egg On My Face”, and by the time it gets to “Spirit Kisses Sand” has grown into a wonderfully melodramatic piece which rises to quite glorious romantic orchestral heights, making it one of the album’s few high spots. There is also an eerie, wordless soprano for the character Lorelei that is performed by Newman's 19-year-old daughter Diana, a vocal major at USC, and appears in cues such as “Lorelei, Angel of Death” and “Lorelei, You’re Mine”. Much of the rest of the time, however, The Spirit is curiously uninvolving, standing at odds to the kind of inventive and enthralling music we know Newman is capable of writing. It’s frustrating because – like he did on Serenity back in 2005 – he has been given a large canvas on which to create something glorious, and done nothing more than paint-by-numbers.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Spirit/Main Title (5:01), 2. Lorelei, Angel of Death (0:39), 3. Enter Silken Floss/Octopus Kicks (1:34), 4. Just a Fight (3:55), 5. You're An Accident (1:54), 6. Spirit Reflects (1:59), 7. Egg On My Face (7:54), 8. Sand/Octopus Lair (1:08), 9. I Am Sorely Disappointed (3:24), 10. Spirit Finds Sand/Falling/Hung Up (2:11), 11. Plaster of Paris Dance (1:21), 12. Spirit and Plaster Run (1:05), 13. Lorelei, You’re Mine/Spirit Wants (4:30), 14. Stand Off/Spirit Just Keeps Coming (2:57), 15. Shootout (1:42), 16. Octopus Buys It (1:49), 17. Spirit Kisses Sand (2:31), 18. It's You I Love/She Is My City (2:45). [Silva Screen SILCD1283, 47:39].
VALKYRIE
JOHN OTTMAN
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of Valkyrie.
WALTZ WITH BASHIR
MAX RICHTER
Review by Jonathan Broxton. Waltz With Bashir is a very unusual animated documentary, directed by Ari Folman, which examines the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon war from the point of view of the director himself, when he was a 19-year old soldier in the Israeli Defence Force. The film has been the recipient of much praise on the independent film and festival circuit, receiving award nominations from the Cannes Film Festival, the European Film Awards, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The score for Waltz With Bashir is by Scots-German composer Max Richter, a former student of Luciano Berio, and whose first major film score this is. The word ‘eclectic’ doesn’t even come close to describing this score; it runs the gamut from modern dance music and percussive electronica to full-on orchestral beauty and everything in between, and while the music is certainly impressive in purely technical terms, as a listening experience, it suffers from its own schizophrenia. Cues such as “Boaz and the Dogs” sound like they would be more at home in a nightclub than in a film score; again, their construction and authenticity is impressive, but will likely leave anyone who dislikes dance music completely cold. Similarly, “Taxi and APC” and “Any Minute Now/Thinking Back” are in-your-face action-style pieces which throb to electronic pulses and aggressive rhythms. On the other hand, the various “Haunted Ocean” cues have a more traditional orchestral element, at times sounding like Michael Nyman, at others like Philip Glass, and often incorporate a haunting solo violin into the fabric of the piece, while “I Swam Out to Sea/Return” features some bold, dramatic brass writing and undulating string lines which are very effective. Elsewhere, “Iconography” and “What Have They Done?” are a solemn pieces featuring a synthesized church organ and an ecclesiastical tone; “JSB/RPG” emulates Bach through its twinkling virtuoso piano performance; and “Shadow Journal” is a dark, eerie piece which features narration by actress Tilda Swinton and a sampled typewriter, and originally appeared on Richter’s 2004 solo album The Blue Notebooks. While I certainly acknowledge the fact that Richter has gone down the road less travelled, and that his music is unique and very effective in eliciting certain moods, I can’t say I ever really enjoyed listening to Waltz With Bashir at all, which leaves me somewhat torn as to whether it is worth recommending. Anyone whose tastes extend beyond the mainstream will certainly find things worth listening to; I’m certainly looking forward to what he does next.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Boaz and the Dogs (3:11), 2. Iconography (3:17), 3. The Haunted Ocean, Part 1 (2:07), 4. JSB/RPG (1:31), 5. Shadow Journal (8:27), 6. Enola Gay (performed by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark), 7. The Haunted Ocean, Part 2 (0:54), 8. Taxi and APC (2:12), 9. Any Minute Now/Thinking Back (4:16), 10. I Swam Out to Sea/Return (3:52), 11. Patchouli Oil and Karate (0:36), 12. This Is Not a Love Song (performed by Public Image Ltd.), 13. What Had They Done? (1:52), 14. Into the Airport/Hallucination (3:27), 15. The Slaughterhouse (1:35), 16. The Haunted Ocean, Part 3 (2:21), 17. Into the Camps (3:18), 18. The Haunted Ocean, Part 4 (3:44), 19. Andante/Reflection (End Title) (3:29), 20. The Haunted Ocean, Part 5 [Solo Version] (1:37). [EMI International 265570, 51:56].
I WANT TO BE A SHELLFISH
JOE HISAISHI
Click here for Jonathan Broxton’s review of I Want To Be a Shellfish.
AFRIKA
WATARU HOKOYAMA
Click here for Joseph W. Bat’s review of Afrika.
SCORES WE HEARD BUT DID NOT REVIEW
- Film Scores
- ASTERIX AUX JEUX OLYMPIQUE – Frédéric Talgorn
- BIENVENUE CHEZ LES CH’TIS – Philippe Rombi
- CHAOS – Trevor Jones
- CHAOS THEORY – Gilad Benamram
- THE COTTAGE – Laura Rossi
- DEPARTURES – Joe Hisaishi
- FAR CRY – Jessica De Rooij
- FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN – Javier Navarrete
- THE HOME OF DARK BUTTERFLIES – Panu Aaltio
- INKHEART – Javier Navarrete
- JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER – Ryan Shore
- J’OK-EL – George Shaw
- JUNCTURE – Neal Acree
- JUST BURIED – Darren Fung
- THE KILLING FLOOR – Michael Wandmacher
- THE KILLING OF JOHN LENNON – Martin Kizsko
- THE LAZARUS PROJECT – Brian Tyler
- LES ENFANTS DE TIMPELBACH – Frédéric Talgorn
- LOFT – Wolfram De Marco
- MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN – Johannes Kobilke and Robb Williamson
- LA MIRADA DE OUKA-LEELE – Jorge Magaz and Eva Gancedo
- MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY – Paul Englishby
- MISSING LYNX – Sergio de la Puente
- NIGHT – Cezary Skubiszewski
- NUMB – Ryan Shore
- THE OXFORD MURDERS – Roque Baños
- LA POSSIBILITÉ D’UN ÎLE – Mathis B. Nitschke
- POUR ELLE – Klaus Badelt
- THE PROMOTION – Alex Wurman
- THE REBEL – Christopher Wong
- THE RED BARON – Dirk Reichardt and Stefan Hansen
- REST STOP: DON’T LOOK BACK – Bear McCreary
- THE SIGNAL – Ben Lovett
- THE STRANGERS – tomandandy
- SUNNY ET L’ELEPHANT – Joe Hisaishi
- Television Scores
- DOCTOR WHO SEASON 4 – Murray Gold
- JOHN ADAMS – Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli
- MERLIN – Rob Lane
- MISS AUSTEN REGRETS – Jennie Muskett
- STARGATE: CONTINUUM – Joel Goldsmith
- STARGATE: THE ARK OF TRUTH – Joel Goldsmith
- TORCHWOOD – Murray Gold
- Game Scores
- AGE OF CONAN: HYBORIAN ADVENTURES – Knut Avenstroup Haugen
- ALONE IN THE DARK – Olivier Derivière
- COMMAND AND CONQUER: RED ALERT 3 – James Hannigan, Frank Klepacki and Timothy Wynn
- DEAD SPACE – Jason Graves
- GEARS OF WAR 2 – Steve Jablonsky
- JUMPER: GRIFFIN’S STORY – Chris Tilton
- LITTLEBIGPLANET – Daniel Pemberton
- PRINCE OF PERSIA – Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood
- TOO HUMAN – Steve Henifin
- TURNING POINT: FALL OF LIBERTY – Michael Giacchino
- WORLD OF WARCRAFT: WRATH OF THE LICH KING – Russell Brower and Neal Acree
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