Discoveries, Reviews — February 8, 2010 at 10:00 am

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, one of the joys of running this blog has been the introduction to so many different scores and composers that I would might not have come across on my own. My latest “discovery” is Venezuelan composer Elik Álvarez and his score for the 2008 mystical comedy LA VIRGEN NEGRA. The film stars Carmen Maura (best known for her performances in Pedro...

CD Review: La Virgen Negra

February 8th, 2010 | Discoveries, Reviews | Read More

DVD Review: The Hollywood Sound

For all you lovers of Golden Age film music, have I got a DVD for you! THE HOLLYWOOD SOUND is a concert (well, a recording session), a history lesson, a film lesson, a music lesson, but most of all it’s an entertaining look at the birth of modern film music. The 1995 film (originally aired on PBS)...

February 5th, 2010 | Reviews | Read More

Life Upon the Wicked Stage

LIMELIGHT is an interesting film in the Charlie Chaplin canon. In his last American film, Chaplin stars as Calvero, a once-famous English music hall comedian, who saves a young ballerina (Claire Bloom) from suicide and helps her regain belief in her talent. The title card at the beginning of the film...

February 4th, 2010 | Trailers | Read More

Telle Bridge

When do movies about apartheid seem cold and passionless? When you have Richard Attenborough at the helm. Attenborough is an uninspiring director who makes uninspiring films. And, yes, that includes his multi-Oscar-winning GANDHI. After the joke that was A CHORUS LINE, Attenborough returned to dramatic...

February 3rd, 2010 | Cues | Read More

2009 Academy Award Nominees

It’s been a long road of prognosticators and pontificating on the way to this year’s Oscar nominees, myself included. As the years pass, I become less and less interested in all the major categories (though I still talk about them endlessly throughout the course of the year). My fascination...

February 2nd, 2010 | News | Read More

CD Review: Edge of Darkness

When it was announced back in October that John Corigliano’s score for the Mel Gibson thriller EDGE OF DARKNESS had been rejected in the 11th hour (the film was due to open a few weeks later), I was sorely disappointed. I had been looking forward to a new score from the Oscar winner after a 10-year...

February 1st, 2010 | Reviews | Read More

January Recap

As I sit here in my cave of an apartment (which STILL has no heat!) enduring a brutally cold weekend here in New York City, I warm myself up with the strides this blog has taken over the past month. The visitor tallies continue to climb and the comments from all of you new and regular readers keeps my...

January 31st, 2010 | News | Read More

IFMCA Nominations 2009

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) has just announced its sixth annual nominations for the best in musical scoring of 2009. Nominations are taken from films and television from around the world in all genres. Michael Giacchino leads the field with a record nine nominations. Please...

January 29th, 2010 | News | Read More

How Green Was My Valley

Today, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY is known as the film that most cinephiles believe “undeservedly” won the 1941 Best Picture prize over CITIZEN KANE. While VALLEY may not be a groundbreaking film, it is a moving and touching memoir. Based on Richard Llewellyn’s novel, John Ford’s...

January 28th, 2010 | Trailers | Read More

I’m Such a Sap

I’m such a sap. I truly am. I cry at the drop of a hat. As my best friend has jokingly told me for years, I cry at milk commercials. Whether that makes me a mess or just emotional, I choose to repress it and not dig too deeply internally to figure it all out. On those occasions when I need a really good...

January 27th, 2010 | Cues | Read More