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January/February 2022
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2/24/22
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Somewhere in Time (John Barry)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you find yourself regularly apologizing for the inherent simplicity and hopelessly sappy melodrama of John Barry's trademark romance scores of the
1980's.
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| Avoid it... |
if you subscribe to the understandable "once you've heard one Barry romance score, you've heard them all" line of thinking, because this massively
popular work is among the composer's most conservative, albeit lovely string-dominated entries.
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2/19/22
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The Russia House (Jerry Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you can avoid becoming clinically depressed by the most painfully stylish and longingly beautiful score of Jerry
Goldsmith's illustrious career.
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| Avoid it... |
if bittersweet music for jazz trio, string orchestra, and snazzy synthetic rhythms is simply too sparse in construct to
inspire you.
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2/14/22
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Widows (Hans Zimmer/Steve Mazzaro)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
if you have bought into Hans Zimmer's notion that consciously underplaying the impact of his music somehow enhances the
narrative weight of the films he scores.
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| Avoid it... |
if basic emotional depth is a requirement in your film music, Zimmer failing to generate more than the most minimal
level of ambient drama and obnoxious rhythmic action.
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2/8/22
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Extreme Prejudice (Jerry Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you have always admired the vibrant, rhythmic balance between orchestra and electronics heard in Jerry Goldsmith's
classics of the 1980's, notably Under Fire and Hoosiers.
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| Avoid it... |
on the 2005 or 2021 albums if you already own the one of the original 1987 products representing this solid but
derivative score and are satisfied with the surprisingly decent sound quality and cue selection of those earlier
products.
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2/3/22
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Living in the Age of Airplanes (James Horner)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
if you want to take one last flight with James Horner's music, this documentary's score an optimistic, inspiring, and
nostalgic survey of his career trademarks at the end of his life.
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| Avoid it... |
if you cannot forgive Horner's dutiful temp track adherence which affects many of this score's most prominent cues.
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1/30/22
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Let the Ents march again!
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Regulars at Filmtracks know that I rarely advocate seriously for causes unrelated to soundtracks at this site, with the
obvious exception of the American political endorsements every four years. I now have a cause that's so important to me
personally, however, that I ask for your
consideration and support.
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1/27/22
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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (John Williams)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you're intrigued by a score so emotionally conflicted that it is almost too bittersweet to love but too lovely
to ignore, in which case the full 2015 or 2021 sets are an undeniable attraction for your intellectual
consideration.
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| Avoid it... |
if you were offended by the bleak outlook on humanity exhibited in the film's harrowingly illogical plot, for
John Williams accentuates the contrast between love and despair with melodrama that nearly crushes the score with
its own weight.
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1/23/22
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The Call of the Wild (John Powell)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you have confidence in John Powell's ability to transcend the stereotypes of Western film music, merging that
genre with modern fantasy and adventure sensibilities to form one of the most uniquely satisfying soundtrack
experiences of its era.
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| Avoid it... |
if you are allergic to harmonicas, banjos, accordions, and fiddles to such an extent that even their affable and
tasteful application to this score might make you want to kick your dog.
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1/19/22
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Always (John Williams)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
only if you are a John Williams completist and can appreciate even the composer's most unassuming, understated,
and mundane efforts.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect Williams to conjure any true magic, romance, or other spirit for this film's weighty subject
matter, a rare emotional miss for the maestro.
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1/15/22
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Caboblanco (Jerry Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
only if you are an established enthusiast of Jerry Goldsmith's Latin tones, for the five or so minutes of
compelling ethnic material related to this score's primary theme stands apart from the rest of the work.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect a significant amount of original contribution to this soundtrack by Goldsmith, because all of the
film's romantic material is adapted from or outright states existing songs from the story's era.
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1/10/22
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Paycheck (John Powell)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you wish to hear one of the most surprisingly sophisticated thriller scores ever to accompany a John Woo film.
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| Avoid it... |
if you require the consistent structure of transparent and dominating thematic development to accompany your
stylish action romps.
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1/4/22
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Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Henry Jackman/Matthew
Margeson)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
if you seek one of the more entertaining incarnations of comedic spy thriller music of this generation, this
sequel offering rousing action and robust melodic extensions.
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| Avoid it... |
if you cannot accept the parody elements of American bluegrass instrumentation in the British espionage genre or
a well-known John Denver tune performed by uilleann pipes as a humorous sideshow.
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