What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Newer Films)

[Jay 37,271]

Chef

I almost forgot that on my plane ride home from LA in August, they showed this film. In short, it isn't very good. The first third or so, where Favreau is a chef working in a fancy restaurant owned by Dustin Hoffman, who he clashes with, was actually pretty good. I enjoyed pretty much everything here. But then he gets fired and goes on this journey with his son where they turn an old truck into a taco truck and start bonding, etc, and this was no good. It got boring and repetitive and eventually had a really lame ending. Not much to recommend here. RDJ plays a variant of Tony Stark in his own scene and Scarlet Johannson shows up for a few scenes for no real purpose. I get that Favreau wanted to return to the small films he used to make, but he should have come up with a better story.

[nightscape94 965]

I'm not sure I quite understand when composers say they order the tracks to provide the best listening experience. If the music tells the same story as the movie for which it was written, then how is the natural order not the best listening experience every time?

Oh please. Have you listened to the original albums of Wrath of Khan, Star Wars, Total Recall, Aliens, Temple of Doom, Waterworld? They flow perfectly fine.

Of course, their complete and chronological presentations are great too. But the composer did not fail at making a perfectly acceptable listening experience the first time around.

I did not say OSTs can't work with cues in different orders, I just said that the best presentation, to me, is the intended narrative flow.

I'm not sure I quite understand when composers say they order the tracks to provide the best listening experience. If the music tells the same story as the movie for which it was written, then how is the natural order not the best listening experience every time?

The music on CD first and foremost doesn't tell a story but exists as absolute music, so narrative film rules don't necessarily apply.

But there is always a built-in narrative to the music whether you're aware of it or not. Although you can listen to the tracks out of order, the best would seem to be the way the story unfolds.

[Jay 37,271]

Well, I agree, the best presentation for me has always been complete and chronological for every score that comes to mind.

Actually, I prefer the original Cutthroat Island album more than the C&C.

[Faleel 5,326]

I'm not sure I quite understand when composers say they order the tracks to provide the best listening experience. If the music tells the same story as the movie for which it was written, then how is the natural order not the best listening experience every time?

Oh please. Have you listened to the original albums of Wrath of Khan, Star Wars, Total Recall, Aliens, Temple of Doom, Waterworld? They flow perfectly fine.

Of course, their complete and chronological presentations are great too. But the composer did not fail at making a perfectly acceptable listening experience the first time around.

I did not say OSTs can't work with cues in different orders, I just said that the best presentation, to me, is the intended narrative flow.

I'm not sure I quite understand when composers say they order the tracks to provide the best listening experience. If the music tells the same story as the movie for which it was written, then how is the natural order not the best listening experience every time?

The music on CD first and foremost doesn't tell a story but exists as absolute music, so narrative film rules don't necessarily apply.

But there is always a built-in narrative to the music whether you're aware of it or not. Although you can listen to the tracks out of order, the best would seem to be the way the story unfolds.

What if the composer envisions a new story?

[KK 3,307]

Sometimes the album presentation works better, because the music is treated more as an autonomous work.

[publicist 4,643]

That's why they are composer and film fans are film fans. I wager that film fans would automatically adopt the film logic just because they can't relate to musuical matters that much.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

It depends on the kind of score or composer. If we're talking John Williams, then yes, a complete & chronological arrangement is probably for the best - his music is usually conceived in a linear fashion with cue-to-cue development. No amount of after-the-fact tinkering can change that - it's inherent in every note, every measure. Switch pieces like a jigsaw and you're creating a mutation.

With Zimmer on the other hand, his music is conceived in suites or setpieces. Thematic development is more static, and transitions between cues are not considered in the same way.

[Marian Schedenig 8,160]

The music on CD first and foremost doesn't tell a story but exists as absolute music, so narrative film rules don't necessarily apply.

"Absolute music" is a partially overrated concept. Tons of "classical" concert works and symphonies are in fact influenced by a narrative. And film scores, by their very nature, are heavily influenced by a narrative. They may be presented in a worthwhile alternative setting, but they will never be "absolute music".

Nevertheless, I still believe that, at least with leitmotivic scores, the film's narrative very often results in a similar musical narrative. Take the film away and you'll still have a clear chronology imposed by the thematic development. That musical narrative was derived from the film's narrative during creation, but stands independent in the final score. Adhering to that narrative isn't simply being a slave to some film story, it's simply the natural result of how the music was composed.

[RedBard 71]

Recently saw Book of Life in theaters.

The story was engaging (albeit some monomyth elements were easily spotted and the script could've been revised more), the characters were nicely fleshed out, it was visually stunning with lots of vibrant and contrasting colors (I recommend a 3D viewing for the parade scene in the Land of the Remembered portion of the film), and the music was by Paul Williams and Gustavo Santaolalla. Definitely a step up from the studio's previous work Free Birds (*shudder*)

It was cute overall.

[publicist 4,643]

"Absolute music" is a partially overrated concept. Tons of "classical" concert works and symphonies are in fact influenced by a narrative. And film scores, by their very nature, are heavily influenced by a narrative. They may be presented in a worthwhile alternative setting, but they will never be "absolute music".

Nevertheless, I still believe that, at least with leitmotivic scores, the film's narrative very often results in a similar musical narrative. Take the film away and you'll still have a clear chronology imposed by the thematic development. That musical narrative was derived from the film's narrative during creation, but stands independent in the final score. Adhering to that narrative isn't simply being a slave to some film story, it's simply the natural result of how the music was composed.

Yeah Marian, but that's mostly broad semantics. Fact is, the whining about Williams moving statement D of a theme to place B often stems not from a misguided effort by the composer but the fact that someone grew attached to the movie and couldn't separate it from the listening experience (it's usually not a casual listener).

I have heard so many albums before i saw the respective movies and very rarely did one cry out 'I am in fucked-up sequence' (having the finale of ESB in the middle of the old CD certainly was the worst offense i can think of).

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I have heard so many albums before i saw the respective movies and very rarely did one cry out 'I am in fucked-up sequence' (having the finale of ESB in the middle of the old CD certainly was the worst offense i can think of).

That's because you didn't know any better sequence.

[A24 4,326]

God, why do I get a Coyote Ugly feeling from this pic?

[publicist 4,643]

Neither do people who slavishly make a movie the ultima ratio.

[A24 4,326]

True Pubs. When it comes to listening experience, it should be all about the music. There is no movie. Music creates its own narrative.

[RedBard 71]

True Pubs. When it comes to listening experience, it should be all about the music. There is no movie. Music creates its own narrative.

So basically, Disney's Fantasia?

[A24 4,326]

Your own personal 'fantasia'.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

True Pubs. When it comes to listening experience, it should be all about the music. There is no movie. Music creates its own narrative.

Which is why I mostly listen to isolated cues.

[RedBard 71]

True Pubs. When it comes to listening experience, it should be all about the music. There is no movie. Music creates its own narrative.

Which is why I mostly listen to isolated cues.

Hey. Me, too! Especially when I'm vacuuming my house.

[A24 4,326]

People don't sit down to listen to music anymore!

[publicist 4,643]

As soon as iTunes & Co. took hold, my first happy campaign was to mp3 from 800-odd soundtrack albums only the cues i liked. And that meant leaving at least 50% of them behind.

It comes with the territory. Nobody needs complete soundtrack albums if not for anal-retentive film buffs.

[RedBard 71]

People don't sit down to listen to music anymore!

And how exactly is that a bad thing? I like listening to music while I work. It helps pass the time and relieves the drudgery of my otherwise dreary task.

And I still sit down (or even lie down when I'm going to bed) to listen to music like Petrushka, Firebird, Le Sacre du Printemps, Daphnis et Chloe, La Mer, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and the collective works of Debussy on piano.

Rather a blanket observation in spite of experience.

[publicist 4,643]

Times change, man...

[King Mark 3,624]

As soon as iTunes & Co. took hold, my first happy campaign was to mp3 from 800-odd soundtrack albums only the cues i liked. And that meant leaving at least 50% of them behind.

It comes with the territory. Nobody needs complete soundtrack albums if not for anal-retentive film buffs.

your still missing the point. I buy complete expanded scores to get the few highlight cues that were left off the original release.

Only in the case of Williams I want every note

[A24 4,326]

People don't sit down to listen to music anymore!

And how exactly is that a bad thing?

A bad thing? I just think there's a difference between sitting down and concentrating solely on the music for 40 or 50 minutes long or using music as a background for your daily tasks.

[publicist 4,643]

your still missing the point. I buy complete expanded scores to get the few highlight cues that were left off the original release.

Only in the case of Williams I want every note

Well yes, i do that too but as your all-observing eye may have noticed, a lot of fans are indeed very needy for having a c&c release that they very carefully dissect and match with whatever they found in the movie - right down to sitting there with a stopwatch for timings and a keen ear for any micro-edits or alternates that they very badly want in their greedy clutches.

It's there where a hobby becomes a pain in the ass and the musical considerations become all but nil. For me, most film music per se isn't worth having in their entirety with the few exceptions that prove the rule. A judiciously produced album - and i'm not talking about 29-minute Goldsmith/Varése albums - makes musically often much more sense than having to wade through 120 minutes of false start/stops, minutes of dialogue scoring and low string drones to get you into or outta scenes.

[Marian Schedenig 8,160]

Yeah Marian, but that's mostly broad semantics. Fact is, the whining about Williams moving statement D of a theme to place B often stems not from a misguided effort by the composer but the fact that someone grew attached to the movie and couldn't separate it from the listening experience (it's usually not a casual listener).

Especially with Williams, I've often been annoyed by the album sequence without knowing the score from the actual film, or other times without knowing it *well* from the film.

And I suppose having end titles in the middle of the CD is just a remnant of the LP days, when an album programme had two parts and there was an attempt to make both of them somewhat self contained. On a similar note, having the concert versions of some themes at the beginning of CD 2 of the Star Wars SEs seemed fine at the time, but since I moved to playlists which don't leave a pause between disc 1 and 2, I usually place them at the end (or omit them altogether).

[KK 3,307]

Gone Girl

A very entertaining thriller that revels in its own absurdity. I can understand why people hate the ending, but I think that was the only ending that could have worked. Good performances all around, but the real gem of the film is Rosamund Pike, who was fascinating.

Thought the score worked very well too. really digging the ghostly stuff in "Sugar Storm".

[King Mark 3,624]

John Wick

It was a semi-decent action film but that's about it. (Pretty much all action and not much story). I don't get the rave reviews and RT rating.

[publicist 4,643]

Especially with Williams, I've often been annoyed by the album sequence without knowing the score from the actual film, or other times without knowing it *well* from the film.

Really? I never cared one way or another. Most Williams albums are in 'rough' sequence as far as i could gather, only that they often move the credits, the full formation of he thematic material, to the beginning which may seem kind of odd when you want to experience a slowly building development but they are mostly great openers. I think i seldom was as floored upon opening a soundtrack album as i was when i heard that grand overture to 'SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET' that came out of nowhere back then (coincidentally released the same day as THE EDGE, which meant in October '97 was a happy time in my cd player).

[Hurmm 91]

Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal's character is a real piece of work in this. Watch it for his performance and his character, assuming you're not averse to watching someone that perverse. It's certainly a very darkly thrilling film, with a quite natural progression of proceedings that you don't really find it ridiculous even when it is. There's loads of black humour in it too, so it doesn't get too serious. Very much recommended.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'll probably make it my first ArcLight film.

[A24 4,326]

Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal's character is a real piece of work in this. Watch it for his performance and his character, assuming you're not averse to watching someone that perverse. It's certainly a very darkly thrilling film, with a quite natural progression of proceedings that you don't really find it ridiculous even when it is. There's loads of black humour in it too, so it doesn't get too serious. Very much recommended.

You went to see it in the theater? Hmm, I still have to wait a few months.

[crocodile 7,979]

Hey, I forgot it's out. Might go and see it tonight then.

Karol

[crocodile 7,979]

OK, I've seen it. Nightcrawler, that is. It's good.

Karol

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

I've been meaning to see it a second time now that it's out officially. Really enjoyed it.

[crocodile 7,979]

I'll put my thoughts into a more coherent (hopefully!) sequence and share them here

Karol

[Hurmm 91]

I think the film really struck the perfect tone between the slimy and enjoyable. The result is a film that is so entertaining while being depraved. You kind of feel guilty for enjoying the film so much.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Day off tomorrow, toss-up between seeing Nightcrawler or The Babadook.

[A24 4,326]

Nightcrawler is doing pretty good at the box-office, which is unexpected, since it's a typical under-the-radar movie.

Alex

[crocodile 7,979]

Wrote a review of Nightcrawler for Assorted Buffery blog, if you're interested.

Karol

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Opted for The Babadook ... superbly creepy psychological horror. I 'shrank' into my seat and my scalp tingled ... think that's a scary movie doing what it's meant to, all right.

[Thor 7,458]

INTERSTELLAR....

Wow, great film. Although there are a few minor warts that I think should have been solved differently -- has to do with some dialogue and the fact that Nolan always tries to tie everything together. I had wanted more mystery and unanswered question, 2001-style. Instead, it was closer to SOLARIS.

Zimmer's music is absolutely fantastic. A cross between Glass/KOYANISQUATSI, Björn Isfält's THE LIONHEART BROTHERS and Morricone's MISSION TO MARS.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

I'm on my way now.

[Quintus 5,399]

INTERSTELLAR....

Wow, great film. Although there are a few minor warts that I think should have been solved differently -- has to do with some dialogue and the fact that Nolan always tries to tie everything together. I had wanted more mystery and unanswered question, 2001-style. Instead, it was closer to SOLARIS.

Zimmer's music is absolutely fantastic. A cross between Glass/KOYANISQUATSI, Björn Isfält's THE LIONHEART BROTHERS and Morricone's MISSION TO MARS.

CAUTION: THOR LOVED PROMETHEUS

[Naïve Old Fart 9,490]

I'm off to see what will undoubtedly be the film of the year, on Thursday.

[MedigoScan 324]

Now there is an odd tale of mythology

[Naïve Old Fart 9,490]

INTERSTELLAR....

Wow, great film. Although there are a few minor warts that I think should have been solved differently -- has to do with some dialogue and the fact that Nolan always tries to tie everything together. I had wanted more mystery and unanswered question, 2001-style. Instead, it was closer to SOLARIS.

Zimmer's music is absolutely fantastic. A cross between Glass/KOYANISQUATSI, Björn Isfält's THE LIONHEART BROTHERS and Morricone's MISSION TO MARS.

CAUTION: THOR LOVED PROMETHEUS

I like "Prometheus" as well. I really don't think that is as awful as a lot of folks reckon it is. I shelled-out twice to see it at the flicks, in eye-popping (and utterly redundant, I might add!) 3D.

Now there is an odd tale of mythology

The film of the year will be...

"Mr. Turner".

[KK 3,307]

INTERSTELLAR

First two acts were brilliant. The last act, not so much. Featuring Nolan's most dynamic character yet, alongside his grandest level of scale, this is quite the experience. It has its own faults, like any big movie does. Sometimes plays the message too hard, and it has its own share of missteps. In the end, it's an ambitious space odyssey, but an uneven one.

Zimmer's score is lovely by the way, but it was repetitive in parts of the film.

By the way, people who find Nolan cold and clinical, this is the film for you. Really emotional at its heart.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

So, is Nolan the new Spielberg?

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

No. He's the new Nolan.