crocodile

The Duellists

Not sure if it's a great film or not. It shows a young director just learning his craft. The use of music is quite overbearing and the writing seems a bit clunky at times, but Ridley Scott's visual talent is nevertheless at full display here. And this is the element which elevates it to another level. I kind of find it unfortunate never got to explore further this kind of a territory (as his next film was Alien). A lot of it looks like a tribute to Barry Lyndon. Interesting film, if not entirely successful.

Karol

Empire of the Sun

A.I.

Witches of Eastwick

 Heartwood by John Williams (One of my favourite pieces from his concert repertoire. Sublime stuff.)

Karol

Attack of the Clones is a pretty terrible film.

Karol

To my absolute surprise, the CD just arrived. Less than 2 days. Impressive.

No hidden bonus tracks, sadly.

Karol

The Adventures of Tin-Tin

War Horse

Lincoln

Fire Water Paper by Elliot Goldenthal

Karol

I've listened to it several times now. The album for me is much better representation of the score to that of the previous score on its corresponding 44-minute album. That's not so much because these are the only highlights (there is some good material left out), but rather thanks to a strong representation of three major themes: Kirk's, Harrison's, and Spock's. Especially that last one is developed a great deal. Klingon theme appears only in The Kronos Wartet and there are a more variations on it in the films itself. It's a definite improvement over the ST2009 and feels like it belongs to the series, but not something I'd call a score of the year or Giacchino's hall of fame entry. It doesn't have that emotional pull that other Trek scores seem to have, nor is it really intelligent as it should have been (that applies to the film as well). Giacchino knows what he's doing and pays homages where necessary, he's one of the few composers in Hollywood who can get away with writing this type of music. But that's not greatness yet (John Carter was a step in the right direction, however).

Oh and I still get the Inception vibe from John Harrison's theme.

Karol

My detox continues with Ingmar Bergman's Summer with Monika. Very nice little film.

Karol

Star Trek Into Darkness

The film is a roller coaster. Which is both good and bad. Is it darker? I'd say dark-ish. For every serious incident, there is a goof. They crammed in is so much stuff in it that it not entirely succeeds in what it tries to accomplish, I reckon. It's very uneven. At times I thought to myself "oh this is pretty cool", then "that wasn't too subtle", then "I didn't see this coming", then "seriously, JJ?", then "whoa what a ride", then "no, only not that!". The tone shifts every 10 minutes. Not sure what to make out of it, to be honest. Bennedict Cumberbatch's performance is as uneven as the film itself. In some moment he's really good, in some moments way too over the top in it's stillness (if you can even do that). Giacchino's score is functional, only sometimes exceptional. There is some good stuff in there, but I still hate his main theme.

I couldn't help thinking this film was Star Trek only for the first 10 minutes of its running time. Otherwise it's a modern breakneck action blockbuster with some references to the series thrown in into a mix. And some of those are quite bothersome and heavy-handed, I might add. I wish it was my first date with this franchise. That would have made it much more enjoyable.

In some ways better than the previous one, in some ways worse. As I said - uneven.

Karol

Anyway, speaking of Gravity.

Karol

This trailer for trailer trend really annoys me.

Karol

London Symphony Orchestra just had a big jamming session and that's how this music came to be.

Karol

Samples.

Karol

I'd be more excited for this film if he was attached. Besides, it would be him working with a different director could re-energize him a bit.

Karol

The Edge is quickly becoming one of my favorite Goldsmiths.

Karol

I know what you're saying here, but wasn't that the case when the original Superman score was released? Wasn't John Williams sound "the thing" at the time as well?

I'm not saying this is good music or that it will serve the film or not. I'm just ruminating on how to approach this kind of a story. And what is cliche and what isn't.

Karol