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March/April 2021
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4/28/21
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Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith/Joel McNeely)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
on only the limited 2019 Varèse Sarabande set for an appropriate presentation of Jerry Goldsmith and Joel McNeely's somewhat redundant but
occasionally engaging, patriotic action score.
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| Avoid it... |
on any other album representing music from the film, the prior Varèse product woefully incomplete, the bootlegs inferior in quality, and
Randy Newman's rejected score highly overrated.
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4/21/21
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Halloween (2018) (John Carpenter/Various)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you desire a loyal extension of John Carpenter's original Halloween themes and style, their reprises here somewhat stagnant but satisfying
nonetheless.
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| Avoid it... |
if you demand more than mere production updates to the sound of this music, the score not attempting much evolution to address the elapsed time
and development for the lead heroine.
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4/13/21
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Mission: Impossible (Danny Elfman)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you specifically recall Danny Elfman's highly rhythmic, starkly toned, and percussive dissonance in the film itself and can forgive its
diminished thematic accessibility.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect either significant use of Lalo Schifrin's original main theme for the television show or a similar expression of cool, jazzy style
in Elfman's surprisingly prickly and unpleasant score.
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4/5/21
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Aquaman (Rupert Gregson-Williams/Various)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you can power down your brain long enough to appreciate a rowdy, entertaining blend of Hans Zimmer methodology, Alan
Silvestri heroics, and Vangelis synthetics in a melodically rich exposition of flair.
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| Avoid it... |
on either of the albums if you expect a satisfying presentation of the music you heard in the film, important score cues missing
or the arrangement defying the narrative while supplying the more atrocious moments from outside contributors.
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3/28/21
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Monsignor (John Williams)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you desire every last, fleeting piece of John Williams majesty from the most memorable time in his career, Monsignor a
score of individual melodramatic highlights without a cohesive personality.
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| Avoid it... |
if you would be surprised to hear Williams collect a score's components in haste and apply three completely unrelated themes to
a terrible film that could have used a dose of the composer's knack for capturing the true spirit of a tale.
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3/20/21
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The Goonies (Dave Grusin)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you love the logic-defying spirit of adventure in the film, a reflection of which is heard in Dave Grusin's haphazard, genre-defying score.
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| Avoid it... |
if a poorly conceived combination of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Max Steiner sensibilities in music that was butchered upon editing into the film
doesn't appeal to your quest for highly cohesive fantasy music of convincing depth.
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3/12/21
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Ghostbusters (Elmer Bernstein)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
on the 2006 Varèse Sarabande album for the most well-rounded, albeit incomplete presentation of Elmer Bernstein's quirky score.
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| Avoid it... |
on the score-only albums if you're among most mainstream listeners who want only the songs, in which case the 2006 Arista re-release is for you.
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3/4/21
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Project X (James Horner)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you are a devoted enthusiast of James Horner's career and seek his works that sustain interest via their
ethnic atmosphere despite translating into underwhelming album experiences.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect the music to present extended sequences of fluid thematic statements or orchestration that
hasn't existed in several other related Horner scores from the same period.
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