Leaderboard

Is this your kind of sarcasm? No. So let me repeat myself: Great song. A vast improvement over the over-produced songs of the last 4 films. Over-produced? How so? Too much melody? Too much orchestra? Too memorable? Too much effort made? How someone can rank this Sheeran garbage over any LotR song ... It may be "catchy", but so is my alarm clock.

You will ...

I would encourage you to listen even more closely! This is actually one of Williams' more densely developed scores, in terms of thematic and "interthematic" construction. Themes and motifs morph into one another at different times, often in very subtle ways, but I'd say the very opening piano figure -seemingly so "inconsequential"- is a really important clue (it pops up in all kinds of different guises). And of course, that initial piano theme is treated to a beautiful transformation in the Finale. I can pretty much assure you, given the motivic work-out this score actually is, that this was no rushed or unenthusiastic effort. But it is very subtle! How often does Williams really develop his themes, though? I felt that the themes in Williams's last non-Spielberg effort, Memoirs of a Geisha, were relatively static as well. Couldn't disagree more. Sayuri's Theme, to name just one, goes through a variety of developments. I don't think it's even harmonized until "Confluence." From the B section JW derives the motif in "Going to School." The theme is deconstructed in "A Dream Discarded." And of course there's a whole slew of interesting developments in the end credits piece. Actually the Dream Discarded (or the Handkerchief Scene as Williams himself calls it) is a development and deconstruction of the Chiyo's Theme rather than that of Sayuri's Theme. Yes, but Sayuri's Theme is in of itself a transformation of Chiyo's Theme! Isn't it wonderful?

I'm not too thrilled about Jamie Foxx being in the movie (then again who is?). Either way shooting the film down BEFORE seeing it...I mean seriously? Like the old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". Why not wait to see the movie before saying, "it sucks!"?

Faleels video?

A John Williams score always take quite a while to fully sink in. Some of them I may like almost immediatly, but I can never get a full grasp of the score after a couple of days and a few listens. In a few weeks I will give a more definitive opinion. I like what I hear very much. But I want to get a full grasp. Sleepers, although it is a much different kind of score, did very little for me after the first 5 or 6 first listens. Now it's probably my favorite JW score

Yes, Abbey Road uses B&W 800 D monitors. These are heavy beasts (maybe about 250 lbs each) and I adore the sound of these speakers because they are exceptionally clear, warm, and detailed - especially well suited for acoustic music such as orchestral and jazz. So the idea is that when the engineers are recording a top level orchestral ensemble, having a great sound in the booth will help them get the pest recording since they have a real sense of how the mic placement and levels are working based on the precision of those B&W monitors. Since a room is typically made up of an assortment of complex microphone and patterns and a precise array of placement (the sweet spot for a trumpet and frequency response would mean a Royer mic would be great for trumpet but not for violin as an example where a vintage neumann would probably work better for the violin). These mics can cost up to tens of thousands each and in a typical orchestral setting, one might have 48 microphones - the end result is a very complex array of mics, placement, frequencies, phasing issues etc. A detailed and wonderful set of monitors (such as B&W) will help the engineer realize the ideal placement, mic selection, etc., to get the best recording given the ensemble, skills, and style. Basically, you end up getting a very accurate audio picture of what is happening in the room. This is the theory of why it is a good thing to have high end monitors at these top studios. I believe Skywalker Ranch also has those same monitors. BIS, the Scandinavian classical label uses B&W to mix their award winning recordings. Though much of the recorded sound comes from the decca tree above the conductor which captures the left, right, and center channels of the room, each instrument group will have a mic (or several) to capture the texture, solo, or clarity of the instrument and get mixed in low since instruments have an ideal "sweet spot" that is usually not close to it and this mixture is what we hear in recordings generally. Do note, many times the mixer will "fix" issues of frequency responses and such while doing the edit and mix probably in their own studios, but having the source material captured in the most ideal way from the start makes their job much easier.

Please see my posts here: http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11433&page=284

Iron Man 3 Whatever Marvel is paying Robert Downey Jr for these films, it's more then worth it, once again he caries the entire film with his effortless style and suave. This first follow up to The Avengers was written and directed by Shane Black, and like Joss Whedon before him he has been able to but his signature stamp all over the film. The style is the film is highly reminiscent of Kiss Kiss Bang bang, highly irreverent, with quirky dialogue and and characters who are a little too smart for their own good. Two of the big action scenes also evoke Blacks Lethal Weapon 2 script. And ofcourse the film plays around christmas time. Blacks style fits very well with RDJ's acting, and indeed the best scenes are of him out of the suit, not bashing anyone's head in The script is a LOT more cohesive then that of Iron Man 2, and Tony isnt as much as a annoying jerk that he was in that film. Some interesting choices were made. For the largest part of the film, the Iron Man suit...or suits, do not work properly at all, leaving Stark to trust on his wits, people skills and engineering prowess. The film understands very well that Stark is a bigger star in the film then Iron Man and does a great job in keeping him out of the suit as much as possible. The Mandarin, an old enemy in the comics, very much a asian/chinese stereotype is completely re branded her as a rather weird Bin Laden clone with an very pronounced Appalachian dialect. This is obviously done to make the film more marketable in China (they even shot footage just for the Chinese release with an extra character who is only seen briefly in the "normal" cut). The cowboy accent was obviously done to avoid offending any other country or ethnic group. This would be a really lame cop-out if it wasn't for the actual reveal of The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley with obvious delight. The confrontation between him and Stark is the film true genuinely surprising scene. That is good, because for all it's irreverent style, the script is basically just another variation on what we have seen in the previous two films. Incredibly rich villain with an old axe to grand against Tony Stark, plots involving treachery, weapons and eventually a big shoot out in the old abandoned harbour, straight out of TV cop show land. (or Lethal Weapon 2). While for most of the film its a good idea to have Stark out of the suit, by the time the big climax begins, about 42 suits show up and start bashing the enemy. Stark wears some of them briefly, but to be honest none of them make much of an impression. The main suit used throughout the film is a redesign that lacks the iconic Gold/Red look of the first 3 films, and the comics. This and the rather messy choreography make the third act rather a let down. The best 2 action scenes are the attack of the mansion (bog-standard, and ripped from Lethal weapon 2, but it works on an dumb action epic level) and the skydive rescue late in the film. That's actually a very well conceived and staged scene. Like I said above, Downey Jr is in great form, which is good, because he is really the only interesting character in the film. (apart from Ben Kingsley I guess) Paltrow is once again OK as pepper, but Stark's former one night stand played by the gorgeous Rebeca Hall is rather wasted, and while Guy Pearce is good in being both charming and oily as Killian, the characters offers nothing we haven't seen a million times before. The movie is well shot without being actually visually remarkable. The special effects are once again outstanding (though just a tad belong The Avengers standards). The choppy editing in the action scenes made things hard to follow in 3D, it's a little better in 2D. Brian Tyler's score feels more like an extension of The Avengers sound then the hard rock style of the previous. It works very well in the film and has a catchy, if unremarkable theme. That's basically the film in a nutshell, a lot of fun, but ultimately unremarkable.

Oooh scatchingly critical Ebert strikes The Book Thief down. Ebert is dead, you idiot!

Well how about the finale from War Horse I need a few more listen . Lincoln did grow on me a lot after a few listens

I have not heard anything as moving and simple and delicate as the Finale in a long time. Simply beautiful.

If it were any lighter there would probably be no music at all. To my ears this music anything but obtrusive. But of course even this can be too much for certain scenes. I am just sad music has lost its place as a story telling partner and become a meek specter at the feast, who durst not show its face in fear of being shouted at and lambasted outright. Of course when it clobbers you near to death and into submission with sheer wall of sound it is innovative and perfectly ok.

I am really looking forward to the extras!

I loved her in West Side Story.

Great in "Leon"; not so great in "Ep. III".

Show Buzz Daily Culver City Observer The Wrap Fox News

LOL Hlao-roo/Alan! I'm sure you're posting at an unsustainable rate, but we'll take what we can get.