The latest release from Intrada is a two-disc edition of John Williams' only score for director-star Clint Eastwood, the 1975 espionage-and-mountain-climbing thriller THE EIGER SANCTION. MCA released the score on LP back in the day and that sequencing was duplicated for the Varese Sarabande CD decades later. The Intrada release features the full 75-minute Williams score on Disc One and the original LP sequencing on Disc Two. Williams was shortlisted for an Original Score Oscar for his music but Eiger ultimately went unnominated -- the Oscar that year went to Jaws, by you-know-who.
Following their re-recording of Dimitri Tiomkin's score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film of Dial M for Murder, Intrada has embarked upon plans for another Kickstarter-funded re-recording, this time pairing two never-released scores composed by Jerry Goldsmith -- his very first film score, for the 1957 Western BLACK PATCH, and his music for the 1972 drama THE MAN, directed by Joseph Sargent and starring James Earl Jones as the first African-American President, which was originally made-for-television but ultimately released theatrically instead.
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The Eiger Sanction - John Williams - Intrada Special Collection
Ghostbusters II - Randy Edelman - Sony
Les choses de la vie/Nelly et Mr. Arnaud - Philippe Sarde - Quartet
Mi faccio la barca - Gianni Ferrio - Beat
The Russia House (re-issue) - Jerry Goldsmith - Quartet
IN THEATERS TODAY
Ape Star - Tania Naranjo, Minna Weurlander
CODA - Marius De Vries
Don't Breathe 2 - Roque Banos
Dramarama - Chanda Dancy
Ema - Nicolas Jaar
Free Guy - Christophe Beck
In the Same Breath - Nathan Halpern
The Lost Leonardo - Sveinung Nygaard
The Meaning of Hitler - Alex Kliment
Naked Singularity - Brendan Angelides
Not Going Quietly - Glosue Greco
Respect - Kris Bowers - Song CD on Epic
Searching for Mr. Rugoff - Leo Sidran
White as Snow - Bruno Coulais - Score CD Blanche Comme Neige on Quartet
COMING SOON
August 20
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins - Martin Todsharow - La-La Land
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - James Horner - La-La Land
The Time Tunnel: Vol. 2 - Robert Drasnin, George Duning, Joseph Mullendore, Paul Sawtell, Leith Stevens, John Williams - La-La Land
Women Warriors: The Voices of Change - Nathalie Bonin, Miriam Cutler, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Sharon Farber, Penka Kouneva, Starr Parod, Lolita Ritmanis - La-La Land
September 3
Forsaken Themes from Fantastic Films, Vol. 1: Tears in Rain - various - Perseverance
September 17
Without Remorse - Jonsi - Krunk
October 1
No Time to Die - Hans Zimmer - Decca
Date Unknown
Est - Davide Caprelli - Kronos
The Hummie Mann Collection Vol. 1 - Hummie Mann - Dragon's Domain
The Printing/Beyond the Night - Dwight Gustafson - Caldera
Prison - Richard Band, Christopher L. Stone - Dragon's Domain
Private Peaceful - Rachel Portman - Kronos
Sorceress - Chuck Cirino - Dragon's Domain
Space: 1999 - Barry Gray, Derek Wadsworth - Silva
Still Life (re-release) - Rachel Portman - Kronos
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
August 13 - John Ireland born (1879)
August 13 - Dennis Farnon born (1923)
August 13 - John Cacavas born (1930)
August 13 - Richard Shores records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Big Blackmail” (1968)
August 13 - Gerald Fried writes his final Mission: Impossible score, for “The Code” (1969)
August 13 - Richard LaSalle records his score for the Land of the Giants episode “The Mechanical Man” (1969)
August 13 - Zdenek Liska died (1983)
August 13 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Warlock (1988)
August 13 - John Ottman begins recording his score to Gothika (2003)
August 13 - Roque Banos records his score for Oldboy (2013)
August 14 - Lee Zahler born (1893)
August 14 - Edmund Meisel born (1894)
August 14 - James Horner born (1953)
August 14 - Oscar Levant died (1972)
August 14 - Michael McCormack born (1973)
August 15 - Jacques Ibert born (1890)
August 15 - Ned Washington born (1901)
August 15 - Jimmy Webb born (1946)
August 15 - Lalo Schifrin records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “Memory” (1966)
August 15 - Duane Tatro’s score for The Invaders episode “The Saucer” is recorded (1967)
August 15 - Henry Mancini begins recording his score for Harry and Son (1983)
August 15 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score for George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation (1986)
August 15 - Ronald Stein died (1988)
August 15 - Ron Jones records his pilot score for the animated Superman series (1988)
August 15 - Cesk Zadeja died (1997)
August 16 - John Williams records the third season theme for Lost in Space (1967)
August 16 - Bruno Nicolai died (1991)
August 16 - Miles Goodman died (1996)
August 16 - Tadashi Hattori died (2008)
August 16 - Alan Silvestri wins Emmys for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’s main title theme and its premiere episode score; David Arnold and Michael Price win for Sherlock’s “His Last Vow” (2014)
August 17 - Lisa Coleman born (1960)
August 17 - Ernest Gold bgins recording his score for A Child Is Waiting (1962)
August 17 - Vivek Maddala born (1973)
August 17 - John Williams begins recording his score for Black Sunday (1976)
August 18 - Igo Kantor born (1930)
August 18 - David Benoit born (1953)
August 18 - John Debney born (1956)
August 18 - Tan Dun born (1957)
August 18 - Stuart Matthewman born (1960)
August 18 - Stephen Endelman born (1962)
August 18 - Carlos Rafael Rivera born (1970)
August 18 - Robert Russell Bennett died (1981)
August 18 - Jack Elliott died (2001)
August 18 - Elmer Bernstein died (2004)
August 19 - Fumio Hayasaka born (1914)
August 19 - Herman Stein born (1915)
August 19 - Luchi De Jesus born (1923)
August 19 - William Motzing born (1937)
August 19 - Ray Cooper born (1942)
August 19 - Gustavo Santaolalla born (1951)
August 19 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score for Desire Under the Elms (1957)
August 19 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score for BUtterfield 8 (1960)
August 19 - Alexander Courage's score for the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap" is recorded (1966)
August 19 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score to The Illustrated Man (1968)
August 19 - Jerry Fielding records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “The Controllers” (1969)
August 19 - Ludovic Bource born (1970)
August 19 - John Williams begins recording the soundtrack LP of Earthquake (1974)
August 19 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score for Telefon (1977)
August 19 - Luchi De Jesus died (1984)
August 19 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Equinox, Part II” (1999)
August 19 - Geoff Zanelli wins the Emmy for Into the West; Sean Callery wins his second Emmy, for the 24 episode “Day 5: 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.”; Edward Shearmur wins for Masters of Horror’s main title theme (2006)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
ANNETTE - Sparks
"With a gigantic score by the American pop duo Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael), 'Annette' is not just a musical, it is also a soapy melodrama incorporating elements of the supernatural (a common theme in Carax's films). 'Annette' is filled with dark and sometimes self-destructive energy, where emotions are barely manageable and can only be expressed through song. This is the conceit that is so often not properly addressed in the modern movie musical. It feels artificial to start singing in the middle of a scene. It is artificial. Carax, though, is comfortable in the fluidity of the 'real' and the 'assumed.' He doesn't worry about what is or is not artificial. This sensibility has been passed on to his talented cast, all of whom accept the conceit of the musical, and have no problem meeting its demands."
Sheila O'Malley, RogerEbert.com
"The details of their decline are achingly familiar, plucked from any number of celebrity scandals, including #MeToo allegations and even classic Hollywood true-crime speculations. But Carax electrifies the stale ideas with heaps of style. For starters, Sparks -- the quirky American pop duo 'Hot Fuzz' director Edgar Wright just profiled in his first documentary -- co-wrote 'Annette''s screenplay and all its music. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael score the big emotional moments with bombastic orchestration, and spell out their sentiment in simple lyrics that repeat over and over with exuberance."
Kristy Puchko, Polygon
"They’re 'Beauty and the Bastard,' as one headline puts it, but they’re starry-eyed lovers: 'We love each other so much,' they sing constantly in a song that starts in the woods and ends in bed. Sparks are writing songs in a mode they’ve used before: They use as few words as possible, but they use those words again and again and again. For a band whose body of work has shown a delightfully bewildering variety for five decades, it’s once again something new and challenging."
Steve Pond, The Wrap
"To properly understand (and appreciate) the delicate, slippery sensibilities of this unusual collaboration -- this theatrical, melodramatic and ironic rock (pop) opera musical which opens the 2021 Cannes Film Festival this week -- you must understand (and appreciate) the oddball, multilayered nature of its writers, Sparks and their uncanny ability to thread the needle between the absurd and the profound (arguably a universe Carax is not unfamiliar with either). An acquired taste (though catchy AF once you get over the hump), Sparks mostly confused audiences not sophisticated enough to enjoy their esoteric cinematic music, often operating on several multi-faceted levels of irony, wit, and the razor-sharp line between playful, wry insincerity and paradoxically, undisputable feeling."
Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
"For the cinephile Sparks brothers, Russell and Ron Mael (who have a 50-year-plus career behind them and are celebrated in an upcoming Edgar Wright doc), this is the movie collaboration they’ve been looking to pull off for years. They’ve written the script as well as the music and the songs. It has some lovely moments of imaginative abandon, not least an early scene when the Mael brothers and Carax wave off the actors on a LA street, with them all singing the film’s catchiest, most upbeat number 'So May We Start'. Carax piles visual invention on visual invention, from a high-seas storm scene on the deck of a boat that feels like something from early cinema to a clever moment when Ann wanders through a theatrical set into a real forest."
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
"There’s a lot to love in that overture: a merry collaborative spirit that promises to lift your mood and defy your expectations. (It must have been a particularly warm welcome for audiences at the Cannes Film Festival, which 'Annette' kicked off this week.) But by the time the movie draws to a melancholy close two hours and 20 minutes later, that promise feels kept in one sense and deliberately betrayed in another. It’s hard not to feel stirred, even moved, by the sheer improbable fact of this picture’s existence: Moment by moment, you’re held by its loony flights of lyricism and gorgeous images (shot by Caroline Champetier), and by the mix of sincerity, irony and Sondheimian dissonance that animates every sung-through line. But before long a chill seeps in, darkening the movie’s melodies and tilting a once-glorious love story into a spiral -- a veritable Mael-strom -- of alienation, loss and regret. The city’s bright neon shimmer recedes and the action shifts toward the enviable, faintly menacing luxury of the couple’s home, where even the swimming pool practically glows with foreboding. (The splendid production design is by Florian Sanson.)"
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
"But enough about plot: 'Annette' works as well as it does because its outlandish story has been doused in beguiling melodies and a cinematic tapestry that supports it at every turn. This is a movie that literally begins with its director and musicians walking into the movie alongside their leads, then waving goodbye to them as they enter the next scene. The dazzling opening number, 'So May We Start,' owes as much to the accordion interlude of 'Holy Motors' as it does anything in Sparks’ repertoire, though there’s an instant meeting of the minds that comes from this epic introduction to the gamble to come. Edgar Wright’s recent sprawling documentary on Sparks explains how sibling songwriters Ron and Russell Mael -- who appear like a Greek chorus multiple times throughout 'Annette' -- use upbeat compositions to explore deeper emotional conceits (Wright’s movie serves as requisite viewing for anyone looking to get the full 'Annette'). Like Sparks, Carax excels at using sleek, entrancing surfaces to explore the poetic contours of a dark, enigmatic existence. They’re a good match. Consider, for instance, the swooning romantic melody 'We Love Each Other So Much,' a gentle earworm that might sound a bit corny on its own, but becomes a lot more memorable once Driver’s character sings his verses in the midst of giving head. By setting the song to a passionate sex scene, Carax deepens the underlying strangeness of the material by placing it somewhere between punchline and gut-punch, and that’s the essence of the movie as a whole. When Henry’s audience -- who initially laughs in rhythmic passages as Henry demands -- eventually revolts against him, his bluesy delivery of the line 'What’s your f*cking problem?' is both silly and sincere. There’s a birth scene set to a snappy melody and a paparazzi photo session set to a staccato beat. Every song has a similar silly-strange quality as well as a clear sense of purpose. It’s funny until it’s not."
Eric Kohn, IndieWire
"'So, may we start?' asks director Leos Carax at the outset of 'Annette,' his first feature since 2012's exhilarating whatsit 'Holy Motors.' He’s speaking to Russell and Ron Mael, better known as Sparks, with whom he wrote the film’s screenplay (based on their original idea). The question -- made from the control room of a recording studio—sounds like a simple request to get working. In response, however, the brothers and their bandmates begin performing a song called 'So May We Start?' After a few bars, the Mael brothers remove their headphones, still singing, and head out onto the streets of Los Angeles, where they’re joined by backup singers, a small boys’ choir, and the film’s three principal cast members: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and Simon Helberg, all singing along. The lyrics promise an extravaganza to follow, throwing in some wry asides ('The authors are here, so let’s / Not show disdain / The authors are here, and they’re / A little vain'); the tune is catchy as hell, a classic Sparks earworm. Mostly, though, this overture constitutes a declaration of principles, making it clear right off the bat that we’re in a world of self-conscious storytelling and foregrounded make-believe. It’s both an invitation and a warning...Sparks has been a cult favorite for the band’s entire lengthy career, and their quasi-melodic approach here, heavy on repeated phrases both lyrical and musical, won’t be to every taste. Nor do these actors -- including Helberg, later on, as Ann’s accompanist and Henry’s potential romantic rival -- have particularly fine voices. (Cotillard’s operatic singing is dubbed by a professional.)"
Mike D'Angelo, The Onion AV Club
"Naturally, the film itself is extremely self-conscious. Not only do the Maels pop up in every other scene -- checking in on us to see how we’re doing like a significant other glancing over at your face when they’re showing you a favorite film -- but we’re explicitly welcomed to and bid farewell from the movie by cast and crew alike. Unfortunately, it kicks off with its best song. As the love between confrontational stand-up Henry McHenry (Driver) and soprano Ann Defrasnoux (Cotillard) goes down its surreal rabbit holes, the songs are slight, repetitive and -- worst of all -- none as funny or catchy as its opening hook. The thrumming 'So May We Start' never finds a musical or lyrical match to its self-effacing charm ('The authors are here so let’s not show disdain / The authors are here and they’re a little vain'), as songs like 'We Love Each Other So Much' are quick to wear out their hyper-literal gag."
Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
"In a montage full of dark-hued romantic moments, Henry and Ann sing a duet, 'We Love Each Other So Much,' mid-cunnilingus, and whose chorus becomes a refrain throughout the film. Ron and Russell Mael, co-founders of the legendary art-pop-rock group Sparks, wrote 'Annette''s script and songs, and this particular tune’s dreamy minor chords and droning repetitiveness suggest that the couple are living an illusion, in terms of both their romance and the heightened, filmic reality in which it plays out. Carax isn’t one to dissimulate the cinema-ness of his cinema anyway. Not only is 'Annette' chockfull of impressionistic superimpositions and overt color symbolism, he also opens the film with a scene of the actors singing an overture that includes the line, 'The authors are here and they’re a little vain.'"
Pat Brown, Slant Magazine
"Sparks have spent half a century dabbling in wildly different musical genres -- from glam rock to disco, electro to opera -- and they combine a little bit of everything in their first motion picture. The duo originally planned 'Annette' (which is half-spoken, half-sung) as a high-concept narrative album, which they intended to perform live on tour, adapting it for the screen only after Carax expressed an interest. As celebrity pairings go, this one’s even more badly matched than that of its central couple. Sparks are peppy pranksters who lace their songs with hidden jokes for in-the-loop listeners, whereas Carax sees music as the tool that can potentially heighten the emotional truths he’s been chasing across his angst-ridden oeuvre. Carax was never shy about plumbing the dark, self-destructive aspects of romance but lacked the songwriting collaborators to send past projects into the stratosphere ('Lovers on the Bridge' would’ve made a fine musical). And yet, in this particular cocktail, Carax is boiling lead to Sparks’ soda-pop fizz, sucking all the fun from the root-beer float....Sondheim schmondheim. Instead of advancing the plot, they pick a groove and stick to it, like a broken record, recycling the same phrase over and over -- 'We love each other so much' or 'You think I care what you think of me?' -- until it becomes some kind of tantric mantra. (It’s a strategy they’ve experimented with on their albums, in songs such as 'My Baby’s Taking Me Home' and 'Equator.') Depending on intonation and delivery, each new iteration of the line can vary its meaning slightly. But it can also drive you crazy, ringing through your temples like 'Carol of the Bells' at Christmas. Perhaps more sophisticated spectators will appreciate all of Carax’s unconventional choices, the overplayed trope of the sad-clown comedian (see 'Joker') and the nagging stutter of Sparks’ songwriting. But most will likely find it exhausting as a project born from a spirit of playfulness results in so little pleasure for the consumer. Even the film’s use of music is confusing: Does Henry really have backup singers at his standup shows? What are we to make of baby Annette’s unexplained operatic talents? And can you imagine anything more obnoxious than a choral version of TMZ?"
Peter Debruge, Variety
"In the winsome opening scene of Annette, director Leos Carax appears in a Los Angeles recording studio, kicking things off as Ron and Russell Mael, the art-pop siblings known as Sparks, begin singing 'So May We Start?' Only a few bars in, they step away from their microphones and out of the studio, followed by four backup singers and joined by Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, the stars of the film. Supporting player Simon Helberg then saunters along as the entire group, trailed by Carax and his daughter Nastya, bounce along the streets of Santa Monica singing the exhilarating tune, which is deceptively simple yet has the musical intricacy and playfulness that are Sparks hallmarks....But coming almost a decade after his last feature 'Holy Motors,' the dazzling kaleidoscopic reflection on cinema that ingeniously doubled as a Carax career retrospective, the stubbornly flat new film is a strange and discordant creation. The different sensibilities involved rarely mesh together and the songs -- mostly thin and unmemorable, more often talky than melodic, with obsessively repetitive lyrics -- seldom ignite much feeling...This is disappointing coming on the heels of Edgar Wright’s wonderful documentary 'The Sparks Brothers,' which outlines the Maels’ longstanding desire to make a movie. They acknowledge Jean-Luc Godard as a formative influence and recall being crushed when film projects fell apart, the first a collaboration with Jacques Tati, the second a manga musical that Tim Burton initially signed on to direct. Sparks’ compositions here might have come alive as a concept album, but as the bones of a musical narrative they’re too generic in their sentiments to foster much emotional engagement."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
ENEMIES OF THE STATE - Insa Rudolph
"'Enemies of the State' is both intriguing and confused as it maps out the story of a sex criminal whose family used conspiracy theories to bury his crime, reaching its scariest moment when it seems willing to believe some of the lies at play. It isn’t a referendum on the truth so much as a cinematic embodiment of the ambiguities that have swirled around this case and continue to fuel a complex internet-based drama. However, the filmmaker has done strong work where it counts, eventually managing to dispel DeHart’s claims of innocence through hard evidence and to confront several of the people who believe him. Laced together with a hyperbolic score, 'Enemies of the State' works through a familiar routine that has riveted audiences ever since 'The Thin Blue Line' (and found new legs with 'The Jinx'), even as it attempts to deconstruct that approach to turn the tables on the apparent victim. The movie falls short of exploring the roots of DeHart’s connections to the so-called dark web, which Alex Winter’s 2015 documentary 'Deep Web'” laid out in more informative straightforward terms. 'Enemies of the State' attempts a more circuitous route, with cinematic results worthy of scrutiny even if they don’t always hold together. Kennebeck uses all the hallmarks of Morris’ storytelling approach, especially the awe-inspiring music and eccentric characters who are both unconvincing and in charge of the story. Yet it struggles to establish the bigger picture at hand. Time and again, we’re treated to inserts explaining everyone who declined to comment -- the Russian embassy, the Venezuelan embassy, the National Guard, and of course the FBI. That’s all well and good for the purposes of journalistic accountability, but the way they’re inserted into the drama, they serve as recurring reminders of the narrow resources at hand. With few dissenters available, 'Enemies of the State' mostly turns on the parents’ blind rage."
Eric Kohn, IndieWire
"But the skill of the craft and command of mood keeps this dizzying narrative from getting too tangled. Describing the early months of DeHart’s investigation, his mother recalls, 'You get that dark, heavy feeling and you know something’s terribly, terribly wrong,' and Kennebeck seems to have seized on that notion as the film’s overriding aesthetic, using doomy music and moody interviews, lit less like a cyber-doc and more like film noir. The executive producer is Errol Morris, and his influence is certainly felt, not just in those interviews but in the use of reenactments; as with just about every non-Morris documentary that uses them, some of the reenactments are effective, and some are corny and contrived, 'Rescue 911'–level stuff. (You may also find yourself questioning why some of this story is dramatized and some is not, and what biases that may or may not betray.)"
Jason Bailey, The Playlist
"With all these fragmented bits and pieces, 'Enemies of the State' becomes a deafening, paranoia-inducing cacophony of unreliable sources in due course, with all parties holding onto their own version of the story. There’s good reason the film opens with an Oscar Wilde quote, 'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.' Throughout, Kennebeck and her gifted editor Maxine Goedicke take these words to heart, expertly weaving late-blooming and extremely troubling evidence into the tail end of 'Enemies of the State' to our utter astonishment. When they don’t lean too reality-TV-esque cheesy, also impressive are the Errol Morris-style reenactments that Kennebeck orchestrates, pairing them with an intense, heart-thumping score and original audio recordings that actors persuasively lip-synch through a notable feat of sound editing."
Tomris Laffly, Variety
"Instead, Fuqua is far more interested in the crafts driving the film. Which wouldn’t be a bad idea if the crafts were anything to write home about: The score thrums at an unmemorable rate. The fight choreography and execution is dreadful. In one scene, it’s excruciatingly clear that stunt doubles filmed an entire hand-to-hand combat sequence rather than Ejiofor and Jóhannesson. In another, wherein Evan and Nora raid Bathurst’s mansion, the editing is an epic mess that's impossible to follow due to poorly articulated compositions. And even if you could follow the onscreen action, you soon wish you couldn’t. Worst yet, the storytelling in 'Infinite' never drives the tacky VFX -- soldiers are seemingly suspended in air as wood shards shred them to death -- and overabundant stunts like an acrobatic confrontation between Evan and Bathurst in the hull of a transport plane."
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
"In the absence of substance or thematic texture, Fuqua capably steers cinematographer Mauro Fiore to keep his dynamic camera in constant motion, and slaps on plenty of Harry Gregson-Williams’ tense score, with its urgent percussion elements. Still, it’s a mercy when 'Infinite' finally ends."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE SUICIDE SQUAD - John Murphy
"Even without a redeeming and redemptive third act (for the characters and the movie), 'TSS' has many highlights. The score by John Murphy ('Sunshine') is terrific and especially stirring in the climactic last act, Stallone as King Shark is a fun scene-stealer, and Melchior holds her own opposite many more established and famous actors. Gunn’s ability to not only juggle a huge ensemble, but give bit players like Michael Rooker, Pete Davidson and Bragaonly brief moments to summarize their characters, and do so perfectly, is remarkable and a testament to his writing and casting. So many characters only get brief moments to communicate who they are but dare I say, not even one of them doesn’t feel fully fleshed out."
Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
"There are too many characters in 'The Suicide Squad' to give them all their due here, but perhaps the best collective praise the ensemble garners is also a simple one: It’s a movie where most of the characters involved can believably be someone’s favorite. It’s not all thanks to jokes and bickering, either -- the action setpieces are big and evenly distributed among the squadmates, and while there’s plenty of visual effects involved, an impressive number of them look like they’re built around real people doing real things, making 'The Suicide Squad' an uncommonly grounded action blockbuster. Coupled with Gunn’s penchant for cheeky, on-the-nose needle drops (the film’s opening prison scene is set to Johnny Cash’s 'Folsom Prison Blues'), unsettling cartoonish monster design, and a driving, bass guitar-heavy score from composer John Murphy, when 'The Suicide Squad' gets moving, all that matters is that we’re about to see some dudes get wrecked."
Joshua Rivera, Polygon
TRAGIC JUNGLE - Alejandro Otaola
"What Olaizola does best is create an atmosphere of almost mystical uncertainty at times, setting her film in a place where the frontiers between countries, cultures, reality, folklore, past and present are in constant flux. With Oggioni’s crepuscular images making use of the forest’s dark canopy to create plenty of shadow play, and composer Alejandro Otaola providing a dissonant score, there’s a dreamlike quality to 'Tragic Jungle' that transcends all the rest, haunting the viewer in the same way the forest haunts those who dare to venture within it."
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
August 13
THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 (Heitor Pereira) [Alamo Drafthouse]
AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS (Shinichiro Ikebe) [Los Feliz 3]
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID (Miklos Rozsa), THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (Joel Goldsmith) [New Beverly]
FRIDAY THE 13TH (Harry Manfredini) [Alamo Drafthouse]
JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (Harry Manfredini) [Los Feliz 3]
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS (John Frizzell) [Fairfax Cinema]
NAKED LUNCH (Howard Shore) [Los Feliz 3]
A NEW LEAF [Los Feliz 3]
POPEYE (Harry Nilsson, Tom Pierson) [Fairfax Cinema]
August 14
BAD BLOOD [Los Feliz 3]
THE DARK CRYSTAL (Trevor Jones) [Alamo Drafthouse]
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID (Miklos Rozsa), THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (Joel Goldsmith) [New Beverly]
FREEWAY (Danny Elfman) [Fairfax Cinema]
HEAVY METAL (Elmer Bernstein) [Fairfax Cinema]
HOLY MOTORS [Los Feliz 3]
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (Von Dexter) [Los Feliz 3]
LABYRINTH (Trevor Jones) [New Beverly]
THE LOST BOYS (Thomas Newman) [New Beverly]
THE NEVERENDING STORY (Klaus Doldinger, Giorgio Moroder) [Los Feliz 3]
ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (Fiorenzo Carpi) [Aero]
August 15
BALL OF FIRE (Alfred Newman) [Los Feliz 3]
BATMAN (Danny Elfman) [IPIC Westwood]
BEAU TRAVAIL (Charles Henry de Pierrefeu, Eran Tzur) [Los Feliz 3]
THE BELKO EXPERIMENT (Tyler Bates) [Los Feliz 3]
HOWARD THE DUCK (John Barry) [Fairfax Cinema]
LABYRINTH (Trevor Jones) [New Beverly]
MULLHOLLAND DRIVE (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
STREETS OF FIRE (Ry Cooder) [Fairfax Cinema]
WALKING THE EDGE (Jay Chattaway) [New Beverly]
August 16
BEAU TRAVAIL (Charles Henri de Pierrefeu, Eran Tzur) [Los Feliz 3]
HOLLYWOOD MAN (D'Arneill Pershing), THE LOSERS (Stu Phillips) [New Beverly]
ISHTAR (Dave Grusin) [Los Feliz 3]
THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE [Aero]
August 17
THE AVIATOR'S WIFE [Los Feliz 3]
BLACK SAMSON (Allen Toussaint), HAMMER (Solomon Burke), SWEET JESUS, PREACHERMAN (Horace Tapscott) [New Beverly]
HOLY MOTORS [Alamo Drafthouse]
August 18
BATMAN (Danny Elfman) [IPIC Westwood]
THE DARK CRYSTAL (Trevor Jones) [Alamo Drafthouse]
ERASERHEAD (Peter Ivers) [Los Feliz 3]
GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (Jaime Mendoza-Nava), THE SWINGING BARMAIDS (Don Bagley) [New Beverly]
LAW OF DESIRE [Los Feliz 3]
SWEET MOVIE (Manos Hadjidakis) [Fairfax Cinema]
WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Walter Scharf) [Laemmle Playhouse] [Laemmle Town Center]
August 19
ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN, RUMBLE FISH (Stewart Copeland) [New Beverly]
ERASERHEAD (Peter Ivers) [Aero]
LAW OF DESIRE [Los Feliz 3]
THE SWIMMER (Marvin Hamlisch) [Los Feliz 3]
August 20
COBRA (Sylvester Levay) [Los Feliz 3]
DAWN OF THE DEAD (Tyler Bates) [Los Feliz 3]
FREDDY GOT FINGERED (Mike Simpson) [Fairfax Cinema]
HOUSE (Asei Kobayashi, Mikki Yoshino) [Fairfax Cinema]
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS [New Beverly]
ISHTAR (Dave Grusin) [Los Feliz 3]
JAWS (John Williams) [New Beverly]
JULES AND JIM (Georges Delerue), Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN [Aero]
NAKED LUNCH (Howard Shore) [Los Feliz 3]
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Daniel Pemberton) [Alamo Drafthouse]
August 21
CABIN BOY (Steve Bartek) [Fairfax Cinema]
THE DARK BACKWARD (Marc David Decker) [Los Feliz 3]
FREEWAY 2 (Louise Post, Kennard Ramsey) [Fairfax Cinema]
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Denny Zeitlin) [New Beverly]
JAWS (John Williams) [New Beverly]
MULHOLLAND DRIVE (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
THE MUPPETS (Christophe Beck) [New Beverly]
THE ROCKETEER (James Horner) [Los Feliz 3]
WEEKEND (Antoine Duhamel), TOUKI BOUKI [Aero]
THE WIZARD OF OZ (Herbert Stothart, Harold Arlen) [Los Feliz 3]
August 22
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Alan Silvestri) [IPIC Westwood]
BELLE DE JOUR [Los Feliz 3]
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (John Barnes) [Los Feliz 3]
DAWN OF THE DEAD (Tyler Bates) [Los Feliz 3]
DUCK SOUP, MONKEY BUSINESS [Fairfax Cinema]
JAWS (John Williams) [New Beverly]
THE MUPPETS (Christophe Beck) [New Beverly]
ODD MAN OUT (William Alwyn) [Los Feliz 3]
SPAWN (Graeme Revell) [Fairfax Cinema]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: The Mandalorian: The Reckoning (Goransson), Split (Thordson), The Mandalorian: Redemption (Goransson), Glass (Thordson)
Read: Palm Sunday, by Kurt Vonnegut
Seen: The Suicide Squad, Annette
Watched: The Wild Westerner [1928]; The Expanse ("Remember the Cant"); I Thank You [1928]; Songs and Impressions [1928]; Thriller ("Man in a Cage"); Tomorrow Never Dies; English As She Is Not Spoken [1928]; The Front Page [1931]; A Breath of Broadway [1928]; Star Trek: Discovery ("Forget Me Not"); A Cycle of Songs [1928]; Fosse/Verdon ("Me and My Baby")
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