Score Your Week
Score Your Week | Home Alone “Main Theme”
It’s that time of year again, when film fans dust off their favorite holiday titles for one more spin in the DVD player. And what better way to start off the holiday on the site than by showcasing a favorite from my childhood, Chris Columbus‘ 1990 family hit HOME ALONe. I think it’s safe to speak for the rest of the Filmdogs crew when I say that the movie educes many fond memories. Having watched the film recently I think it holds up pretty well. It’s got the perfect mix of family drama, juvenile rebellion, and cartoonish violence to make any Christmas bright. Of course, it also has a great soundtrack of X-Mas classics and a solid score from legendary composer John Williams.
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Score Your Week | Miami Vice
Michael Mann’s Miami Vice (2006) is a film I am not ashamed to say I love. Although it is not on the level of Heat, The Insider, or The Last of the Mohicans; Miami Vice is in a lot of ways the perfect Hollywood cop drama. It establishes great characters (cliched as they are) and a great sense of time, tone, and place.
Mann always has unique musical choices that perfectly fit the character’s plight. From Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman‘s score for The Last of the Mohicans or Moby‘s Heat anthem “God Moving On the Face of the Waters”, Mann has an ear for music that elevates the story. Read the rest of this entry »
Score Your Week | Aliens
Aliens
I’ve stated before on the Filmdogs podast that I really enjoy the score to the film Aliens…and it is quite possibly my favorite action, sci-fi and horror soundtrack. Proceed.
Score Your Week | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The movie that stole the title of my favorite film in the year 2000 away from Gladiator was Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The appeal may have been that I hadn’t ever seen anything like it before (I was 16). Or, maybe it was the tragic love story at it’s center (I didn’t have a girlfriend). More simply, the action represented what then amounted to an anti-Gladiator style (cool wirework etc…).
In hindsight I still love both films, but find myself revisiting them less and less. Perhaps I’d rather remember them as a 16 year-old, but nevertheless Dragon is a expertly crafted tale that includes some truly haunting elements. Chief among them is Tan Dun’s (Hero) Oscar winning score. Read the rest of this entry »
Score Your Week | Meet Joe Black
I have been a die hard fan of Thomas Newman since Frank Darabont’s birds eye of view of Shawshank Prison ushered in Newman’s fantastic music. Newman’s musical style is instantly recognizable and is almost always the perfect fit for the frames that coincide. Some of my favorites of his work are The Shawshank Redemption, Road to Perdition, and The Good German, but the one that is constantly overlooked is his score for Martin Brest’s film, Meet Joe Black. Read the rest of this entry »
Score Your Week | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
This week on Score Your Week I wanted to showcase one of my favorite move introductions. The film is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, one of my favorites out of all of the Star Trek films.
Score Your Week | Back to the Future
In honor of the upcoming Back to the Future Blu-Ray release on the 26th this Score Your Week is going where we don’t need roads. Alan Silvestri’s score for the Back to the Future Trilogy is simply iconic, and it features one of the most hummable main themes out there. It’s mysterious, emotional, majestic, and when listened to today feels like the type of classical score that we don’t hear much anymore.
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Score Your Week | The Truman Show
As fans of The Filmdogs Podcast know I’m a huge fan of the soundtrack to Peter Weir’s 1998 film The Truman Show. The soundtrack features the strange yet effective collaboration of Australian TV composer Burkhard Dallwitz, and the extremely well known Phillip Glass. Both men bring the best of their sensibilities to the emotional score, which at times sounds like the best TV music you’ve ever heard. What at first seems over the top ends up working perfectly with the situations Truman finds himself in.
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Score Your Week | The Social Network
David Fincher‘s The Social Network has received (almost) unanimous praise and having seen it this past weekend, I can jump on board. It is one of the years best and deserves all the acclaim and more. The impeccable script, the fantastic acting, the beautiful lighting, and the direction of an artist are many examples of the film’s great attributes. Another example of the film’s originality is Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor’s heart pounding score.
