I am currently on vacation, so I apologize in advance for any updates I may have missed (and the likely very ragged state of this week's "The Next Ten Days in L.A.", which will likely be even more ragged next week, when I've only just returned to work).

On September 30, Varese Sarabande will release a CD of music from the animated TV series NINJAGO MASTERS OF SPINJITZU, composed by Jay Vincent and Michael Kramer.

On October 7, they will release Aaron Zigman's score for the romantic thriller ADDICTED (which from the Varese description sounds like a Tyler Perry movie without Tyler Perry), and the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed music drama WHIPLASH, featuring score cues and big band songs by Justin Hurwitz (who scored Whiplash writer-director Damien Chazelle's earlier film, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench), and big band competition pieces by Tim Simonec (a veteran orchestrator-conductor who's worked on countless Graeme Revell and Michael Giacchino scores). 

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Bates Motel - Chris Bacon - Varese Sarabande
Batman: Assault on Arkham - Robert J. Kral - La-La Land
The Expendables 3 - Brian Tyler - La-La Land
Mary Poppins - Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman - Disney
Rear Window - David Shire - MovieScore Media

IN THEATERS TODAY

As Above, So Below - Keefus Ciancia
The Calling - Grayson Matthews
Cantinflas - Roque Banos
The Congress - Max Richter - Score CD on Milan
The Damned - Frederik Wiedmann
The Last of Robin Hood - Nick Urata
Life of Crime - The Newton Brothers - Score CD-R due from Varese Sarabande
May in the Summer - Kareem Roustom
The Notebook - Johann Johansson
The November Man - Marco Beltrami - Score CD due Sept. 9 on Varese Sarabande

COMING SOON

September 2
Hannibal: Season 1, Vol. 1 - Brian Reitzell - Lakeshore
Hannibal: Season 1, Vol. 2 - Brian Reitzell - Lakeshore
Hannibal: Season 2, Vol. 1 - Brian Reitzell - Lakeshore
Hannibal: Season 2, Vol. 2 - Brian Reitzell - Lakeshore
September 9
Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Robert Rodriguez, Carl Thiel - Morada
Maps to the Stars - Howard Shore - Howe
Ninjago Masters of Sinjitzu - Jay Vincent, Michael Kramer - Varese Sarabande
The November Man - Marco Beltrami - Varese Sarabande
What If - A.C. Newman - Milan
September 16
The Giver - Marco Beltrami - Sony
The Knick - Cliff Martinez - Milan
The Maze Runner - John Paesano - Sony
September 23
The Boxtrolls - Dario Marianelli - Backlot
The Equalizer - Harry Gregson-Williams - Varese Sarabande
A Walk Among the Tombstones - Carlos Rafael Rivera - Varese Sarabande
September 30
Houdini Vol. 1 - John Debney - Lakeshore
Houdini Vol. 2 - John Debney - Lakeshore
October 7 
Addicted - Aaron Zigman - Varese Sarabande
Whiplash - Justin Hurwitz, Tim Simonec - Varese Sarabande
October 14
Crash - Howard Shore - Howe
Dead Ringers - Howard Shore - Howe
Naked Lunch - Howard Shore - Howe
Date Unknown
All Good Things - Rob Simonsen - Caldera
Annette Focks: Film Music Collection Vol. 1 - Annette Focks - Alhambra
Avere Vent'annia/L'Ambiziozo - Franco Campanino - Digitmovies
Destruction of Silence - Florian Linckus - Alhambra
Die Hebamme - Marcel Barsotti - Alhambra
5 Branded Women - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino - Cometa
Grand Piano - Victor Reyes - MovieScore Media
I Briganti Italiani - Angelo Francesco Lavagnino - Alhambra
Knight Rider Vol. 3 - The Best of Don Peake - Don Peake - Perseverance
La Revolution Francaise - Georges Delerue - Music Box
The Maid's Room - Arturo Rodriguez - Kronos
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance/Donovan's Reef - Cyril J. Mockridge - Kritzerland
New York Chiama Superdrago - Benedetto Ghiglia - Digitmovies
The Spider - Soren Hyldgaard - Kritzerland
Still Life - Rachel Portman - Kronos
U-Boats: The Wolfpack - Christopher Young - Buysoundtrax

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

August 29 - Anthony Adverse released in theaters (1936)
August 29 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for The Miniver Story (1950)
August 29 - Victor Young begins recording his score to The Tall Men (1955)
August 29 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Charlie X" is recorded (1966)
August 29 - Recording sessions begin for Richard Rodney Bennett's score for Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
August 30 - Conrad Salinger born (1901)
August 30 - John Phillips born (1935)
August 30 - Axel Stordahl died (1963)
August 30 - Sol Kaplan's score for the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine" is recorded (1967)
August 30 - Emil Newman died (1984)
August 30 - Bernardo Bonezzi died (2012)
August 31 - The Sea Hawk is released in theaters (1940)
August 31 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for The Swan (1955)
August 31 - Alexander Courage's score for the Star Trek episode "The Naked Time" is recorded (1966)
August 31 - Jeff Russo born (1969)
September 1 - Franz Waxman begins recording his score for Sunset Blvd. (1949)
September 1 - Victor Young begins recording his score for Strategic Air Command (1954)
September 1 - Gil Melle begins recording his score for The Organization (1971)
September 1 - Marc Donahue died (2002)
September 1 - Erich Kunzel died (2009)
September 2 - Armando Trovajoli born (1917)
September 2 - Hugo Montenegro born (1925)
September 2 - Steve Porcaro born (1957)
September 2 - Alex Heffes born (1971)
September 2 - Tadeusz Baird died (1981)
September 2 - Clifton Parker died (1989)
September 3 - Anthony Collins born (1893)
September 3 - Richard Markowitz born (1926)
September 3 - Kevin Kiner born (1958)
September 3 - Alexandre Azaria born (1967)
September 3 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score for Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
September 3 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score for Glory and Honor (1997)
September 3 - Pierre van Dormael died (2008)
September 4 - Darius Milhaud born (1892)
September 4 - David Raksin records his score for Fallen Angel (1945)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY - A.R. Rahman

"The script is by Stephen Knight, whose work is usually tougher and tighter. Next to his recent directing debut, 'Locke,' this movie looks flabby. Perhaps seeking to retain something of the book’s rhythm, Knight and Hallstrom let a very simple story meander for two hours and include episodes that serve no dramatic purpose. Maybe they hoped the exuberant A.R. Rahman score would keep things moving."

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

"All the food looks amazing -- shot in swishy slo-mo by cinematographer Linus Sandgren, it is swept on to tables with full orchestral accompaniment -- but the movie so stacks the deck against snobs, vaguely and variously defined as 'anyone wishing to use a cookbook,' 'French people who insist on speaking French,' and 'people who don’t like loud music or curry,' that it’s hard not to feel a little sympathy for the poor, black-hearted creatures."

Tom Shone, The Guardian

"There's an issue with the location, location, location that he chooses, however: it's directly across the street from the swanky, Michelin-starred restaurant run by uptight widow Madame Mallory (Mirren), who looks down her nose at these interlopers with their loud music (by A.R. Rahman, natch) and their turmeric."

Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

"This film is based on a novel by Richard C. Morais that’s been described as a fusion of 'Ratatouille' and 'Slumdog Millionaire’': Screenwriter Steven Knight of the gritty 'Locke' created the original British version of 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,' while Oscar-winning 'Slumdog Millionaire' composer A.H. Rahman gives 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' a lively score."

Lou Lumenick, New York Post

"Her primary concern is securing yet another Michelin star -- that is, until thrifty Mumbai import Papa (Om Puri) and his brood move in across the road to open a vindaloo-stirring, A.R. Rahman–soundtracked eatery of their own, helmed by kitchen-prodigy son Hassan (Manish Dayal)."

Christina Izzo, Time Out New York

"Beef bourguignon or tandoori goat? Career success or family loyalty? You can actually have it all, according to 'The Hundred-Foot Journey,' a culture-clash dramedy that presents itself as the most soothing brand of cinematic comfort food. As such, this genteel, overlong adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ 2010 novel about two rival restaurants operating in a sleepy French village is not without its pleasures -- a high-energy score by A.R. Rahman, exquisite gastro-porn shot by Linus Sandgren, the winningly barbed chemistry of Helen Mirren and Om Puri -- all prepared to exacting middlebrow specifications and ensured to go down as tastily and tastefully as possible. Morais’ novel was described by the New York Times’ Ligaya Mishan as a hybrid of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Ratatouille,' and Hallstrom seems to have taken that Hollywood formulation to heart: Like 'Slumdog,' the film is an underdog story set to the infectious backbeat of Rahman’s music (fun fact: [screenwriter Steven] Knight created the original British version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'), and like 'Ratatouille,' it brings us into an irresistible world of culinary sophistication and features gorgeous nighttime views of Paris, where Hassan eventually arrives in search of his destiny."

Justin Chang, Variety

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES - Brian Tyler

"As the movie approaches its debris-scattering rooftop climax, which looks especially vertiginous in post-conversion 3D, the Bayisms begin to manifest themselves ever more perniciously: Somehow, even under the most harrowing, life-and-death circumstances, someone will find a way to turn the conversation around to the subject of April’s derriere. The Turtles themselves may well have funnier, less chauvinistic things to say -- well, except Michelangelo, who offers some unwanted insight into the nature of turtle arousal -- but most of their speedily delivered dialogue is lost amid the cacophony of clanging swords and the noisy swells of Brian Tyler’s score."

Justin Chang, Variety

THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.

Screenings of older films, at the following L.A. movie theaters: AMPAS, American Cinematheque: Aero, American Cinematheque: Egyptian, Arclight, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.

August 29
ALPHAVILLE (Paul Mirsaki), BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Michel Legrand) [New Beverly]
GHOST IN THE SHELL (Kenji Kawai) [Nuart]
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (Paul Haslinger) [New Beverly]
THE KID (Charles Chaplin), MODERN TIMES (Charles Chaplin) [Cinematheque: Aero]
SAMURAI COP (Alan DerMarderosian) [Silent Movie Theater]

August 30
ALPHAVILLE (Paul Mirsaki), BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Michel Legrand) [New Beverly]
HACKERS (Simon Boswell) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Howard Shore), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (Howard Shore), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Howard Shore)[Cinematheque: Aero]
THE WIZARD (J. Peter Robinson) [New Beverly]

August 31
FUNNY GIRL (Jule Styne, Walter Scharf) [New Beverly]
LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF [Cinematheque: Aero]

September 2
MARIE ANTOINETTE (Herbert Stothart) [LACMA/AMPAS]

September 3
THE HAUNTING (Humphrey Searle), THE BODY SNATCHER (Roy Webb) [Cinematheque: Aero]

September 4
THE SAND PEBBLES (Jerry Goldsmith) [Cinematheque: Aero]

September 5
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Bernard Herrmann), THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (Gil Melle) [Cinematheque: Aero]
PUMPKINHEAD (Richard Stone) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE TINGLER (Von Dexter), HOLLYWOOD STORY [LACMA/AMPAS]

September 6
BEYOND THE ROCKS [Silent Movie Theater]
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Richard Rodgers, Irwin Kostal) [Cinematheque: Aero]
WHY BE GOOD? [LACMA/AMPAS]

September 7
FEMALE TROUBLE [Cinematheque: Aero]