Thor

Just came back from this. It's not a terribly good film, overall, BUT..... ....when you do a mash-up of JURASSIC PARK, PLANET OF THE APES, ALIEN and INTERSTELLAR, and add top-notch, A list production values and F/X, with Adam Driver-in-physical-mode as sprinkling on top, it's bound to be entertaining no matter the script and quality otherwise. So I liked it! The score was as boring in the film as on album, though, and I'm content with my 18-minute playlist of that (mostly featuring Elfman's music, as previously mentioned). 3 of 5.

Interestingly, that's what I REALLY like about it, probably its greatest strength. Those gorgeous sets that make it its own contained universe. I think HOOK is really underrated.

Not sure what the difference is. A universe can be explored both backwards and forwards.

True, but that's mostly about story. I'm far more interested in 'universes' and everything that entails beyond sheer storytelling.

I don't know. I'm very glad the concept of remakes exist. Otherwise we wouldn't have a film like the classic, 1959 version of BEN HUR. Only the first, silent film adaptation. I'm also glad sequels exist, especially if I have a strong connection to the fictional universe drawn up. If I love the universe, I want to explore more of it, storylines, locales and atmospheres. Preferably with a strong auteur voice, but if not, I take whatever I can get. I've never understood the desire to end things with the first film, if that film offers up a fantastic, wide universe with all kinds of possibilities.

Indeed. I should also point out I LOVE the refridgerator scene that everyone made such a big fuss about, including Spielberg himself. And especially the scene leading up to it, in that deserted 'test town'. Tense!

You open a whole other, interesting topic there, Geratewohl, that is probably better suited for another thread. But yeah, I get what you're saying. Personally, I've been interested in all of film since its inception, across all styles and epochs and trends. Silent films, French New Wave, Italian neoralism, German expressionism, Indian cinema, Hollywood blockbusters, you name it. Same for film music, really. While the scores I discovered in my formative years will always be ingrained in my spine, and as such very close to my heart, I still have an insatiable curiousity for everything that came before, and everything new that comes out. Maybe because I grew up in a more "curated" period, where there wasn't instant access to information and works like there is today. In the 80s, I was happy to see almost anything shown on our single Norwegian TV channel, even if it was, say, an old b/w Swedish film! So for younger people today, the tolerance level for "ancient" stuff may have waned somewhat with all the options out there, I don't know. I will freely admit my pathway into old US television music came through John Williams' work. Otherwise, my knowledge of 50s and 60s US television music is rudimentary. But as I mentioned in the most recent episode, I did have some access in my early years. THE TIME TUNNEL was shown in syndication on Super Channel in the 80s, which we had access to. Old DR. WHO too (I think the Tom Baker years), or the PLANET OF THE APES series from the 70s. Some I liked, some I didn't. I think it's useful to have a "hook" of some kind that leads you into these things.

Anyone other than me who, despite its apparent flaws, think KOTSC still has many redeeming qualities, and as such is underrated?

Sadly, Christopher Gunning passed away yesterday, as reported by his daughter Olivia on Facebook. Gunning has always been a fav of mine. FIRELIGHT, POLLYANNA, WILD AFRICA, POIROT....all great, but especially the masterpiece that is COLD LAZARUS.

Now THAT would have been something. I can just picture a duplicate Madeline being formed by some burlesque mass of organic substance. In fact, that's pretty much what David's son Brandon explores in his new film INFINITY POOL.

Hitchcock is one of those directors many of us connected to before we were even film buffs or cineastes or whatever you want to call it. I saw many of his films as a kid, on the telly. REAR WINDOW remains my favourite to this day. In adult years, the "glee" of watching a Hitchcock film dissapates somewhat (at least for me), but what becomes more interesting is how influential he is across other filmmakers you care about more (Spielberg, De Palma, Shyamalan etc.). I remember getting a big Hitchcock VHS box in the early 2000s, because it was on sale and everyone was moving to DVD, and VERTIGO was in it. However, I found myself watching the other films in it more (THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, REAR WINDOW, NORTH BY NORTHWEST etc). I can glean at the brilliance in the filmmaking of VERTIGO, but never really get much of an emotional connection, or even engrossment. Don't know what it is.

Harrison Ford was in YOUNG INDY.

Indeed.

People think it's too "schmalzy". I don't. I think it's a gorgeous time and character portrait with emotions firmly on its sleeve. That sweaty/sunny/rural look is to die for -- kudos to my favourite cinematographer, the late Allen Daviau. It's been many years since I saw it, though, so ripe for a rewatch.

Well said! This was a score and film for me. I didn't grow up with Bond films (I think I saw bits and bobs on the telly or VHS in the 80s; wasn't my cuppa tea, even as a kid), I've never really liked any of Barry's efforts (again another sacrilege, I know, per the VERTIGO thread!), and GOLDENEYE was my first proper Bond film that I saw in the theatre. It also helped that I was and is a HUGE Serra fan. So everything lined up perfectly here. Including the awesome Tina Turner song. As a Bond non-fan, it's interesting that I think various Bond sound approximations are more rewarding to me than the actual origin. For example, I dig Arnold's stuff very much.