Reviews »
My take on CDs, DVDs, and scores from today and yesterday.
CD Review: Iron Man 2
I enjoyed the first IRON MAN, mainly thanks to Robert Downey, Jr.’s lighthearted portrayal of billionaire Tony Stark. Though the loud and junky trailer for IRON MAN 2 has pretty much squelched my desire
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CD Review: The Goonies
I’m firmly convinced that you had to be a pre-pubescent boy in 1985 to appreciate THE GOONIES. When the movie premiered, I was far beyond the single- and early double-digits that this film is geared
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CD Review: The Miracle Worker
It’s hard not to be moved by THE MIRACLE WORKER. From its genesis on TV’s PLAYHOUSE 90 to its Tony Award-winning Broadway production and the celebrated film (and later stage revivals and TV movies),
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CD Review: The Secret In Their Eyes
Murder, mystery, and revenge are at the center of Argentina’s THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, this year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. The film stars Ricardo Darín as Benjamín Esposito, a retired deputy court clerk
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CD Review: Dragonslayer
A dragon of a very different color is on display in Alex North‘s 1981 score for DRAGONSLAYER. Peter MacNicol stars as young sorcerer’s apprentice Galen, who must slay the dragon Vermithrax in order to
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CD Review: How To Train Your Dragon
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON has an awkward title, but its problems end there. A rousing score by John Powell, beautiful 3D animation, and a moving story create one of the best animated films I’ve
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CD Review: Rhapsody of Steel
RHAPSODY OF STEEL (1959) is that rarest of industrial films–one with commercial distribution and an A-list Hollywood composer attached. By 1959, Dimitri Tiomkin had recently won the fourth of his four Academy Awards (for
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CD Review: Straw Dogs
Few films are as disturbing as Sam Peckinpah’s STRAW DOGS. The 1971 films stars Dustin Hoffman and Susan George as David and Amy Sumner, newlyweds who come to the hills of rural England so that
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CD Review: The Ghost Writer
As a writer, I had an obvious interest in Roman Polanski’s latest, THE GHOST WRITER. The other main reason to see the film was Alexandre Desplat‘s score. From his early films with Krzysztof Komeda, Polanski has always taken
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CD Review: Alice In Wonderland
Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND continues its spectacular (and surprising) box office run, bringing Danny Elfman‘s score, one of the strongest elements of the film, right along with it. As I mentioned in my post of 9
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