Reviews

Michael Wandmacher scores Selene’s fight in the UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS – Interview

UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS soundtrack | ©2017 Lakeshore Records

Masked maniacs, ferocious fish, unhinged vigilantes and a wheelman from hell. Reading a list of Michael Wandmacher’s prolific credits feels like a particularly crazed membership drive for The Suicide Squad, a rogue’s gallery that he’s taken out for a spin with a distinctively energetic ability for pounding action where a metal attitude often hits the pedal. Starting his career in the rhythmic company of Jackie Chan with the English version scores for ARMOR OF GOD, TWIN DRAGONS and ONCE A COP. Wandmacher has brought his passion to CRY_ WOLF, THE KILLING FLOOR, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, PIRANHA 3-D, THE LAST EXORCISM:PART II  and PUNISHER: WAR […]Read On »


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Composer Fernando Velazquez hears fear and emotion when A MONSTER CALLS – Interview

A MONSTER CALLS soundtrack | ©2016 Back Lot Music and Quartet Records

  Death and transfiguration are two themes that have often accompa-nied the scores of Fernando Velazquez. Powerfully embodying a new generation of orchestrally rich Spanish composers to steadily take root in Hollywood, Velazquez rose from numerous shorts in his na-tive country to impress Hollywood with his lush, alternately creeping and raging sense of old school melody for DEVIL, MAMA singing with a romantic sense of aristocratic doom for CRIMSON PEAK and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES. A particularly resonant ferryman for Velazquez when coming to grips with the inevitable, as well as the potential radiant light afterwards, is filmmaker J.A. Bayona. […]Read On »


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DEEPWATER HORIZON highlights Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Releases for Jan. 10, 2017

DEEPWATER HORIZON | © 2017 Lionsgate Home Entertainment

  Your guide to some of the new releases that are out this week. DEEPWATER HORIZON – A pretty good action thriller about the well-publicized explosion that happened on a deep sea oil rig known as Deepwater Horizon. Led by an impressive cast including Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich and Kurt Russell, it does a good job of balancing the action with how the oil companies treat their employees and their property and how it really is about the bottom line. But it also does a good job of tackling the human spirit and how people can do incredible things and […]Read On »


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THE BEST SCORES OF 2016 – Part Two – The Runners Up and Composers to Watch

SWISS ARMY MAN soundtrack | ©2016 Lakeshore Records

The Runners-Up and Composers to Watch of 2016 The Runners-Up CAPTAIN FANTASTIC  (Alex Somers / Lakeshore) More proof that those in touch with Iceland’s musical spirit animal are blessed with an ability to capture profound emotion through unusual means, American-born Alex Somers’ work with the band Sigur Ros (and its essential continuation with its bandmate as Jonsi and Alex) now yields a score of singular spirituality as Somers tracks a family of ultra liberals who’ve have truly gone off society’s reservation. His soundtrack’s beautifully ethereal melodies are a unique mix of alt. rock sampling, angelic choruses, Native American winds, accordion […]Read On »


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THE BEST SCORES OF 2016 – Part One

ARRIVAL soundtrack | ©2016 Deutsche Grammophon

THE BEST SCORES OF 2016 ARRIVAL  (Johann Johannsson / Deutsche Grammophon) An Icelander whose intensely psychological, yet still melodically accessible modernist scores like PRISONERS and SICARIO speak in alien languages of subsonic strings and nerve-chilling brass at last gets his actual close encounter as he translates the Rorschach Test language of obelisk / monolith dwelling inter-dimensional deities here. Johannsson brilliantly captures both a sense of wonder and fear with beholding the mind-boggling, verbally-scrambled unknown as whale cry motifs join with alternately moaning and chattering voices, backed by a strong orchestral sound that serves as a powerful universal musical translator in a way that’s […]Read On »


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Movie Review: HIDDEN FIGURES

HIDDEN FIGURES movie poster | ©2016 20th Century Fox

Rating: PG Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Mahershala Ali, Jim Parsons, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell Writers: Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly Director: Theodore Melfi Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Release Date: December 25, 2016 Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson are historical figures whose fame is long overdue. All three were key NASA personnel during the Mercury 7 project and went on to stellar careers. However, both because they are women and because they are black, their contributions have been largely overlooked until now HIDDEN […]Read On »


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Movie Review: SING

SING | © 2016 Universal

Rating: PG Stars (voices): Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth McFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Tori Kelly, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll Writer: Garth Jennings Director: Garth Jennings Distributor: Universal Release Date: December 21, 2016 Given the amount of time it takes to make an animated film, it seems almost certain that SING was developed with no knowledge of ZOOTOPIA. However, both movies seem to be set in the same universe, where animals of all kinds live and work together, wearing clothes, driving cars, constructing buildings, etc., with no humans in sight. It is SING’s misfortune to be released later, by […]Read On »


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Movie Review: ASSASSIN’S CREED

ASSASSIN'S CREED | © 2016 Twentieth Century Fox

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Michael K. Williams, Charlotte Rampling, Brendan Gleeson, Essie Davis Writers: Michael Lesslie and Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, based on the Ubisoft game Director: Justin Kurzel Distributor: 20th Century Fox Release Date: December 21, 2016 There are plenty of movies adapted from videogames. What makes ASSASSIN’S CREED notable among these is that it actively tries to look like a videogame, even though it’s got big-name actors and what appears to be impressive practical production value. (The film lists multiple locations, including Malta, Spain and the U.K. – no need to be […]Read On »


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Movie Review: FENCES

FENCES movie poster | ©2016 Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Saniyya Sidney Writer: August Wilson, based on his play Director: Denzel Washington Distributor: Paramount Pictures Release Date: December 16, 2016 When the late August Wilson’s play FENCES opened on Broadway in 1987, it proceeded to win Tony Awards for pretty much everything – Best Play, Best Actor (James Earl Jones), Best Featured Actress (Mary Alice) and Best Direction (Lloyd Richards). The 2010 revival proceeded to win Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor for Denzel Washington and Best Actress (upgraded from Featured) for Viola […]Read On »


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Movie Review: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY poster | ©2016 Lucasfilm / Walt Disney Studios

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen Writers: Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, based on characters created by George Lucas Director: Gareth Edwards Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: December 16, 2016 ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is the first live-action feature film in the STAR WARS universe not directly tied to the Skywalker family. ROGUE ONE is certainly part of the STAR WARS timeline, and indeed some familiar characters pop up here (several for longer than others). […]Read On »


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