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Buy it... |
if beautiful lyricism for orchestra and penny/tin whistle melts your heart without fail, Naoki
Sato once again responding to the vistas of snowy slopes with melodic grace of immense
resonance.
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Avoid it... |
if you expect to hear Sato generate fresh new ideas for his suspense and action material in
this circumstance, a functional facet of the work that does not rival the best of his prior
efforts as well as the stunning melodic portions do.
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| 2/26/12
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Four Newly Expanded Reviews Debut |
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Recently revised versions of the following reviews are now available:
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• Big Wednesday (Basil Poledouris)
• Amerika (TV) (Basil Poledouris)
• The Clearing (Craig Armstrong)
• Ray (Craig Armstrong)
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| 2/25/12
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Four Newly Expanded Reviews Debut |
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Recently revised versions of the following reviews are now available:
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• Radio Flyer (Hans Zimmer)
• The Whole Wide World (Harry
Gregson-Williams)
• Shrek 2 (Harry Gregson-Williams)
• Man on Fire (Harry
Gregson-Williams)
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Buy it... |
if you were specifically impressed by David Newman's entertainingly quirky manipulation of
Bernard Herrmann's suspense mode in the context of the film.
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Avoid it... |
if a wild collection of sound effects (led by slide whistle), skittish woodwinds, mysterious
harp and piano figures, and constant Herrmann borrowings in undulating strings on album could
possibly make you contemplate killing someone.
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Buy it... |
on only the European album containing more score, fewer songs, and no dialogue if you seek a
solid taste of an entertainingly eclectic Trevor Jones score that contains one of his most
infectious title themes.
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Avoid it... |
on the American album if you have no interest in beholding one of the most misguided and
irritating soundtrack products in the history of the genre.
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Buy it... |
if you don't want to live as Carter Burwell's normal self for fifteen minutes, for his music
in this movie is uncharacteristically tonal, tender, and charming, a cleverly sinister and
tragic approach to the demented personality of the script.
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Avoid it... |
if you expect anything in Burwell's counter-intuitive approach to directly emulate the bizarre
nature of the film's wacky plot, especially in the small doses available on album.
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| 2/21/12
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Predator 2 (Alan Silvestri)
- All New Review |
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Buy it... |
if ten minutes of bravado in action and theme from the first score's glory can combine with a
handful of Alan Silvestri's trademark, ballsy action rhythms to compensate for an otherwise
challenging new atmosphere for this sequel score.
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Avoid it... |
if you demand an even listening experience and brazen new identities, the album release for
Predator 2 extremely disjointed and containing several completely unlistenable passages of
percussive, vocal, and synthetic manipulation.
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Buy it... |
if an overdose of Latin style from John Powell's spirited acoustic guitar and percussion
reminds you of the carefree fun exhibited in the film's plot.
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Avoid it... |
if you require any meaningful substance in your film music, because Powell missed a clear
opportunity by failing to really enhance the comedic narrative flow of that story.
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| 2/18/12
- |
Four Newly Expanded Reviews Debut |
| |
Recently revised versions of the following reviews are now available:
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• Home on the Range (Alan Menken)
• Racing Stripes (Mark Isham)
• Mulan II (Joel McNeely)
• Robots (John Powell)
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Buy it... |
if you appreciate Rolfe Kent's ability to overachieve in these kinds of ridiculous romantic
comedies, for Wedding Crashers maintains instrumental dynamism and melodic complexity beyond
the call of duty.
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Avoid it... |
if you always wither when you hear scores in this genre that inevitably gravitate back to
standard orchestral drama of a light sappiness, though Kent does his best not to lose all the
pizzazz with which he opens this score for the two leads.
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Buy it... |
only if you can accept a very basic summary of this soundtrack on a hideously awful CD product
that is missing nearly all of the most important original and traditional recordings made by
Michael Kamen for this film.
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Avoid it... |
if you're hoping that Kamen could exceed the quality of Die Hard 2 by providing significantly
fresh original themes and structures for a director that basically precluded such a direction.
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Buy it... |
if you seek a more affordable album presentation of the same basic identity expressed in
Michael Kamen's score for Die Hard, minus the classical and holiday song interpolations.
| |
Avoid it... |
if a faithfully simple extension of most of the instrumentation and themes from the previous
work, as well as an ineffective new villains' motif, deter you from a score overshadowed once
again by the use of a prominent, existing piece of music.
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| 2/14/12
- |
Mouse Hunt (Alan Silvestri)
- All New Review |
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Buy it... |
if you seek a transcendent slapstick comedy score that remains fondly remembered because of
Alan Silvestri's unnecessary but thankfully complex orchestral march for its titular
character.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you have little patience for spirited comedy music that tears through several genres and
rarely stays rooted in any one sound long enough to appreciate each individual facet.
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Buy it... |
if you adore the Hans Zimmer and Remote Control methodology of handling contemporary thrillers
so much that you feel the need to pad that portion of your film music collection with another
faithful regurgitation of that sound.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you expect Atli Örvarsson to distinguish himself from his fellow Zimmer clones in this
assignment whatsoever, his music almost robotic in its rearrangement of tired, stereotypical
ingredients for this genre.
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|
| 2/12/12
- |
Four Newly Expanded Reviews Debut |
| |
Recently revised versions of the following reviews are now available:
|
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• Hellboy (Marco Beltrami)
• I, Robot (Marco Beltrami)
• Twisted (Mark Isham)
• Miracle (Mark Isham)
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Buy it... |
if you have always appreciated Randy Edelman's easily digestible romantic comedy sound and
want to hear that simple and endearing orchestral and pop blend presented in one of its best
forms.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you are among the hoards of movie-goers seeking the songs from the film or look upon
Edelman's characteristically simplistic themes and instrumentation for this genre with
disdain.
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|
| 2/9/12
- |
In & Out (Marc Shaiman)
- All New Review |
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| |
Buy it... |
as a heartwarming and affable extension of the movie's hopelessly optimist tone, Marc Shaiman
clearly in his comfort zone for this spirited, dramatic comedy romp.
| |
Avoid it... |
if any kind of unique variation on Shaiman's standard, fluffy techniques for wholesome
orchestral writing is what you seek.
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Buy it... |
for the eerie main title cue and nothing thereafter unless James Newton Howard's cold, ambient
suspense techniques can do no wrong for you.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you expect Howard to have taken any substantial chances in emphasizing the emotional swings
of the film's intriguing plot beyond the usual, basic synthetic atmosphere, stock stingers,
and understated orchestral motifs.
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Buy it... |
if you appreciate every instance in which 1970's funk is resurrected with enthusiastic zeal in
a modern film score.
| |
Avoid it... |
if, conversely, you hear funk in your nightmares and expect the contrived Latin and orchestral
passages in Theodore Shapiro's score to save you from insanity.
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|
|
| 2/6/12
- |
Wild Things (George S. Clinton)
- All New Review |
| |
| |
Buy it... |
as a faithful souvenir of the film, its sultry and seedy atmosphere representing the America's
Deep South and the blatant sexuality of the plot with stewing, contemporary allure.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you don't want the feeling that you need to take a shower after listening to thirty minutes
of this rare blend of rhythmic sensuality and orchestral suspense.
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|
| |
Buy it... |
if you desire the best ten minutes of music that Christopher Young provided for this
franchise, a better enunciation of ideas that were far more challenging in the first score.
| |
Avoid it... |
if hearing originality is your primary goal, because other than a few Japanese instrumental
accents, this sequel score is still extremely common to Young's standard methodology.
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|
|
| 2/2/12
- |
The Grudge (Christopher Young)
- All New Review |
| |
| |
Buy it... |
only if you can accept Christopher Young's most understated and difficult atmospheric
techniques for over forty minutes of aimless sound design and challenging, minimal melodic
structures.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you rely upon Young's characteristic habit of gracing his horror scores with at least a few
minutes of gothic beauty, a lack of which here truly sinks this dispiriting music on album.
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|
|
| 2/1/12
- |
Back to Gaya (Michael Kamen/Various)
- All New Review |
| |
| |
Buy it... |
if you seek a rousing tribute to Michael Kamen's career, a collaborative effort by his
longtime associates to complete this animated fantasy score after his death with extensive
adaptation of the composer's trademark mannerisms.
| |
Avoid it... |
if you desire more than what plays in many regards like a compilation of concert recordings
meant to honor the composer's memory, because despite the score's impressive saturation with
nostalgic Kamen tones, its narrative flow suffers at times.
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