CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Dune - Hans Zimmer - WaterTower [CD-R]
Dune Sketchbook - Hans Zimmer - WaterTower [CD-R]
Man of God - Zbigniew Preisner - Caldera
IN THEATERS TODAY
The Auschwitz Report - Mario Schneider
Dear Evan Hansen - Dan Romer, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
El Planeta - Chicken
The Guilty - Marcelo Zarvos
I'm Your Man - Tobias Wagner
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World - Filip Leyman, Anna Von Hausswolff
Through the Glass Darkly - Stephen Webster
Wife of a Spy - Ryosuke Nagaoka
COMING SOON
October 1
Glory - James Horner - La-La Land
No Time to Die - Hans Zimmer - Decca
October 15
Halloween Kills - John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Sacred Bones
November 19
Without Remorse - Jonsi - Krunk
Date Unknown
Adieu Poulet/L'ami de Vincent/L'etoile du Nord - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
Boite Noire - Philippe Rombi - Music Box
Deux Heures Moins Le Quart Avant Jesus Christ (remastered reissue) - Jean Yanne, Raymond Alessandrini - Music Box
The Time Traveler - Stanley Myers - Notefornote
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
September 24 - Leonard Salzedo born (1921)
September 24 - Douglas Gamley born (1924)
September 24 - Michael Tavera born (1961)
September 24 - Richard Markowitz records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of Sudden Death” (1965)
September 24 - Walter Scharf records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “The Survivors” (1967)
September 24 - Richard Shores records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Kraken” (1968)
September 24 - Kenyon Hopkins begins recording his score for Downhill Racer (1969)
September 24 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979)
September 24 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1984)
September 24 - Billy Goldenberg records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "What If...?" (1986)
September 25 - Dmitri Shostakovich born (1906)
September 25 - Eric Rogers born (1921)
September 25 - Michael Gibbs born (1937)
September 25 - Richard Harvey born (1953)
September 25 - Randy Kerber born (1958)
September 25 - Danny Elfman and Steve Bartek's score for the Amazing Stories episode "Mummy Daddy" is recorded (1985)
September 25 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" (1987)
September 25 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for The Bodyguard (1992)
September 25 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Enterprise episode “Fight or Flight” (2001)
September 25 - Rod Temperton died (2016)
September 26 - George Gershwin born (1898)
September 26 - Simon Brint born (1950)
September 26 - Maureen McElheron born (1950)
September 26 - Joseph Mullendore records his score for the Lost in Space episode "The Haunted Lighthouse" (1967)
September 26 - Henry Mancini begins recording his replacement score for The Molly Maguires (1969)
September 26 - Edward Ward died (1971)
September 26 - Robert Emmett Dolan died (1972)
September 26 - Shelly Manne died (1984)
September 26 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “The Search - Part 2” (1994)
September 27 - Recording sessions begin for Sol Kaplan’s score for Niagara (1952)
September 27 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Silicon Avatar” (1991)
September 28 - Evan Lurie born (1954)
September 28 - Leith Stevens begins recording his score for The Scarlet Hour (1955)
September 28 - Laurent Petitgand born (1959)
September 28 - John Williams records his score for the Lost in Space episode "The Hungry Sea" (1965)
September 28 - Geoff Zanelli born (1974)
September 28 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Lonely Guy (1983)
September 28 - Miles Davis died (1991)
September 28 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Relics” (1992)
September 29 - Billy Strange born (1930)
September 29 - Mike Post born (1944)
September 29 - Manuel Balboa born (1958)
September 29 - Theodore Shapiro born (1971)
September 29 - John Barry begins recording his score for First Love (1976)
September 30 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for Young Bess (1952)
September 30 - Marty Stuart born (1958)
September 30 - Lyn Murray records his score for the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode “Lonely Place” (1964)
September 30 - Jack Urbont records his score for the Mission: Impossible episode “Wheels” (1966)
September 30 - Andrew Gross born (1969)
September 30 - Richard Einhorn begins recording his score to Dead of Winter (1986)
September 30 - Virgil Thomson died (1989)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
CANDYMAN - Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
"DaCosta crafts an eerie cinematic world that is anchored by a deeply harrowing and sorrowful performance by Abdul-Mateen, who begins to occupy a space like that of Frankenstein’s monster, of this world and a monster within it, as he delves deeper and deeper into the Candyman legend. A cool and creepy score by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe underlines the disquieting cinematography by John Guleserian, off-kilter angles that show Chicago from a strange and scary point of view, and seemingly normal interactions made menacing. Within this world, DaCosta weaves a tale of a mythical monster that is a product of racist violence, including police brutality. There’s power in a name, as seen in the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement. As 'Candyman' reminds us, say his name and incur the consequences, or, invoke his protection."
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times
"J. Anthony Kosar’s makeup effects team also deserves credit for the unnerving way Anthony’s mental and physical decay collides, a decomposition mimicked by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe’s eerie score. Likewise, the spare and sophisticated work of cinematographer John Guleserian ('Love, Simon') reflects DaCosta’s vision beautifully. One of the most unsettling deaths takes place far away, unheard and nearly, but not quite, unseen."
Elizabeth Weitzman, The Wrap
"The attention to race, police brutality, community displacement and related issues doesn’t mean the thrills are any less spine-tingling or the bloodletting less ghastly. Moments of extreme gore induce squirms, but some of the most effective killings are those seen only in fleeting glimpses -- in a makeup compact mirror on the floor of a girls’ high school restroom; in a wide shot of a massive apartment block as a life is being snuffed out by an invisible force in one tiny window. A considerable part of the first film’s power was the trance-like seduction of Philip Glass’ original score. Composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe’s textured music has its own atmospheric hold, mixing synth and strings with ambient drone and choral elements."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
CINDERELLA - Jessica Weiss, Mychael Danna
"We meet Ella and the townsfolk during a mixed rendition of Janet Jackson’s 'Rhythm Nation' and Des’ree’s 'You Gotta Be.' Jessica Weiss and Mychael Danna’s musical compositions are fantastic, creating a weight and intensity to all the song-and-dance sequences, especially a mashup of the White Stripes’ 'Seven Nation Army' and Salt-N-Pepa’s 'Whatta Man' that draws comparisons to the tango in 'Moulin Rouge.' Ashley Wallen, who choreographed 'The Greatest Showman,' another unexpected musical delight, brings a similar verve to her full-scale dance scenes, all of which are captured in full, sweeping crane shots by cinematographer Henry Braham for a touch of Old Hollywood musical panache."
Kristen Lopez, IndieWire
CODA - Marius De Vries
"Marius De Vries’ score is discreet and sparingly deployed, never overshadowing the singing by Ruby, Miles and the choir. And if a movie is going to feature multiple rehearsal scenes, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s 'You’re All I Need to Get By' and Joni Mitchell’s 'Both Sides Now' are pretty unbeatable song choices. It’s no small compliment to say that 'CODA' is worthy of them."
Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter
COPSHOP - Clinton Shorter
"'It’s not the brush, it’s the artiste,' says police officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) at the start of Joe Carnahan’s Copshop, after being playfully ribbed by her sergeant, Duane Mitchell (Chad L. Coleman), about the 1800s-style pistol in her hands. Duane believes that her weapon of choice is useless in a modern-day gunfight. Whether he’s wrong or not is beside the point, as Valerie’s turn of phrase is intended as a cheeky statement of intent from Carnahan and co-screenwriter Kurt McLeod. With its pulpy thrills, hyperbolic dialogue, charismatic scumbags, and a score heavy in electronic effects and percussion, Copshop coasts on a gnarly old-school vibe that’s as effortless as Valerie’s handling of her gun."
Wes Greene, Slant Magazine
FAYA DAYI - William Basinski, Adrian Aniol, Kaethe Hostetter
"The sumptuousness of the film, gently paced and occasionally overwhelmingly oneiric, mimics the sleepy effects of the khat chewed throughout. Soothing cinematography belies the systemic oppression, poverty, and death we sense at the core of the Harari experience. Composed in part by William Basinski -- a musician a bit obsessed with sounding out physical decay and the deep ecological wounds of capitalism -- cavernous dronescapes drape a semi-conscious sheen over urban wanderings and forest naps alike. All of it feels not quite real. 'Everyone chews to get away.'"
Dom Sinacola, Paste Magazine
FLAG DAY - Joseph Vitarelli
"Based on the actual Jennifer Vogel’s memoir 'Flim-Flam Man: The True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life' and written by 'Ford v Ferrari' screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, 'Flag Day' is initially a quiet and lyrical film. Shot mostly, it seems, at the magic hour of dusk, it slips in and out of memory as Jennifer reconstructs her life with her father. The narration can get a bit florid at times, and there’s occasional visual overstatement (as when Jennifer turns her head into the light to reveal one perfect tear rolling down her cheek), but, for the most part Penn, is reaching for subtly, aided by a gentle and largely acoustic score by Joseph Vitarelli."
Steve Pond, The Wrap
"Simply being able to get actors like King, Brolin, Butz, Dickey and Eddie Marsan for tiny roles shows that Penn still commands industry respect, and he surrounds himself with capable craftspeople. The mix of gentle guitar on Joseph Vitarelli’s score with original songs by Cat Power, Glen Hansard and Into the Wild collaborator Eddie Vedder, in particular, adds texture. And DP Danny Moder shoots the establishing scenes of father-daughter love through the golden haze of memory (a reminder of the Terrence Malick influence on Penn), in contrast to the bleaker look as John’s lies become impossible to buy."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
MALIGNANT - Joseph Bishara
"It’s Gabriel, of course, and we know that already, so it’s hard not to laugh when the camera pushes in on Young and White as Madison explains that 'the killer said he was Gabriel.' Back to them, waiting with baited death. 'My Gabriel.' The strings section goes crazy on the soundtrack. Regina pauses, and shakes her head. Still in the extreme foreground: Young, now looking down and off-camera. His head takes up a third of the screen and is out of focus. 'Wait, you’re saying that the killer is…your imaginary friend?' The answer to that question, and a few others await you in 'Malignant,' a horror movie that is as long as it is underwhelming."
Simon Abrams, RogerEbert.com
"Which is not to say 'Malignant,' which was not screened for review until the night before its release, succeeds as a scary movie -- it does not. It’s not creepy, it relies on highly improbable decisions, and it throws jump scares and slider-happy sound design at the wall hoping something will stick. The direction feels uninspired, even wan. Slow push-in after slow push-in and other unmotivated camera moves, plus copious fog-machine work and a poorly deployed score stand in for atmosphere or tension."
Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times
"You can probably guess the broad strokes of where this is heading, but probably not the specifics, and Cooper’s script makes sure to throw in at least one dramatic revelation every 15 minutes or so, each more stupefying than the last. It is hard to imagine that anyone involved in making this film took it entirely seriously, but hardly ever do the masks slip, and as broad as some of the performances get, they never lapse into tongue-in-cheek knowingness. (In keeping with the film’s anything-goes philosophy, Joseph Bishara’s score nods to sources as varied as Bernard Herrmann and the Pixies, while production designer Desma Murphy gives us everything from foggy basements and creepy suburban houses to the underground ruins of Old Seattle.)"
Andrew Barker, Variety
MOSQUITO STATE - Cezary Skubiszewski
"If that sounds creepy, the movie has been setting us up for this kind of creepiness since the opening credits, which use animation and close-up photography to painstakingly (and quite strikingly) detail the stages of mosquito growth. And it’s also been setting us up through Cezary Skubiszewski’s music, an aggressive character in the movie’s early stages as it does an orchestral imitation of buzzing and swarming mosquitoes, and then slides into some unhinged choral passages. By an hour into the film, Richard is completely bonkers, and you wonder where the story can go from there. And in a way, Rymsza seems to be grappling with that question, too. He revs up the music again (always effective), zooms in close on the mosquitoes (always unnerving) and goes for the occasional skewed camera angle (which doesn’t have much impact when things are already crazy)."
Steve Pond, The Wrap
"Starting with an unsettling opening credits sequence, which elucidates the development of a mosquito from egg to full-grown insect, and is accompanied by journalistic illustrations and a foreboding horror-movie score, Rymsza wallows in the unpleasantness of his concept with equal parts earnestness and smugness. For one, the quant master at the center of the narrative, Richard Boca (Beau Knapp), is so willfully uncharismatic that one is nearly left yearning for the mosquito of the first scene, which flies into a party at a trendy NYC wine bar and bites Richard as he surveys the traders with contemptuous curiosity."
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
"The sound design of 'Mosquito State' takes the title as a mission statement. Across much of its running time, the sonic backdrop is a veritable chorus of mosquitoes whining in high, overbearing harmony, providing their own sinister vocal track to a more conventionally orchestrated score. You have to be confident in your film’s power to transfix its audience even as it’s liable to drive any anopheliphobics in the room to delirium, and Polish-American director Filip Jan Rymsza seems to be: His body horror-tinged allegory for the global financial crisis of 2007 swaggers with slick, nasty formal showmanship designed to get under the viewer’s skin. But it’s all in service of pretty thin ideas about capitalist decline and masculinity in crisis, played out by thinner characters still: The longer it needles, the more one is inclined to swat it away."
Guy Lodge, Variety
"Shuffling around like an increasingly disfigured zombie, Knapp commits fully to the hideous spectacle of a man steadily beaten by merciless nature. Both the body prosthetics and VFX work conjuring the waves of airborne creatures infesting his apartment are top-notch. But as impressive as it all is in terms of craft and icy haute style, there’s never much incentive to care about Richard or his fate. As his situation worsens and his hold on reality disintegrates, the storytelling also loosens its bite, too often making way for what seem like music-video interludes with techno tunes or a solemn Schubert song-cycle movement, seamlessly integrated into Cezary Skubiszewski’s coolly symphonic, string-heavy score."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS - Joel P. West
"That club (where Ronny Chieng makes an amusing bookie) becomes the site of a most unhappy family reunion, though not before a scene of vertiginous nighttime acrobatics on some rickety outdoor scaffolding. The action sequences here are a cut above the norm for this franchise, and I mean that as no huge compliment, given how indifferently staged, drably lighted and wholly unexciting most Marvel action sequences tend to be. It’s gratifying if unsurprising that more care has been taken with 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,' given its roots in classic action cinema. The fight scenes, often backed by the percussion of Joel P. West’s versatile score, draw on myriad influences, from the artful kineticism of Tsui Hark to the slapstick fisticuffs of Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow. The movie may not live up to those ambitions -- the action is still too aesthetically anonymous, too CG-polished -- but it’s nice that it has them to begin with."
Justin Chang, The Hollywood Reporter
WORTH - Nico Muhly
"Colangelo and DP Pepe Avila del Pino focus on the small, ordinary details of the morning of 9/11, the pigeons on the sidewalk, the pretzel vendors setting up shop, the husbands and wives hastily saying goodbye before rushing off to work. The film has a gray-washed starkness to match the strict windows of New York City skyscrapers and Nico Muhly’s dignified score. Feinberg happens to be on a train, and he’s so caught up listening to classical music that he’s the last passenger to spot the smoke."
Amy Nicholson, Variety
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
September 24
AS TEARS GO BY (Ting Nat Chung, Teddy Robin Kwan) [Los Feliz 3]
COLLATERAL (James Newton Howard) [New Beverly]
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Miklos Rozsa), THE BIG SLEEP (Max Steiner) [New Beverly]
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (David Amram) [Fairfax Cinema]
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (Rachel Portman) [Fairfax Cinema]
THE OUTSIDERS (Carmine Coppola) [Hollywood Legion]
RESERVOIR DOGS [New Beverly]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
SERIAL MOM (Basil Poledouris) [Los Feliz 3]
SKATETOWN, U.S.A. (Miles Goodman) [Los Feliz 3]
TERMINAL ISLAND (Michael Andres) [Los Feliz 3]
TOP GUN (Harold Faltermeyer) [Aero]
September 25
THE BEAVER TRILOGY (Joel Iwatki, Denise Kaufman, Don Peake) [Fairfax Cinema]
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Miklos Rozsa), THE BIG SLEEP (Max Steiner) [New Beverly]
KANSAS CITY BOMBER (Don Ellis) [Los Feliz 3]
THE KILLERS (Miklos Rozsa) [Fairfax Cinema]
THE KILLERS (John Williams) [Fairfax Cinema]
THE LONG GOODBYE (John Williams) [Los Feliz 3]
MULHOLLAND DRIVE (Angelo Badalamenti) [New Beverly]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
THE WITCHES (Stanley Myers) [Los Feliz 3]
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (Alan Silvestri) [New Beverly]
September 26
BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (Hans Zimmer, Tom Holkenborg) [Arena CineLounge]
BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN (Daniel Pemberton) [Arena CineLounge]
CAPE FEAR (Bernard Herrmann) [Fairfax Cinema]
CAPE FEAR (Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein) [Fairfax Cinema]
CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Frankie Chan, Michael Galasso, Roel A. Garcia) [Aero]
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Miklos Rozsa), THE BIG SLEEP (Max Steiner) [New Beverly]
EMPEROR OF THE NORTH (Frank DeVol) [Los Feliz 3]
HAPPY TOGETHER (Danny CHung) [Los Feliz 3]
MAN OF STEEL (Hans Zimmer) [Arena CineLounge]
THE OUTSIDERS (Carmine Coppola) [IPIC Westwood]
SISTERS (Bernard Herrmann) [Fairfax Cinema]
SUICIDE SQUAD (Steven Price) [Arena CineLounge]
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (Alan Silvestri) [New Beverly]
WONDER WOMAN (Rupert Gregson-Wiliams) [Arena CineLounge]
September 27
BOULEVARD NIGHTS (Lalo Schifrin), WALK PROUD (Don Peake, Robby Benson) [New Beverly]
FEMALE TROUBLE (Bob Harvey) [Los Feliz 3]
HAPPY TOGETHER (Danny Chung) [Los Feliz 3]
SCHOOL OF ROCK (Craig Wedren) [Alamo Drafthouse]
September 28
THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (John Barry) [New Beverly]
THE OUTSIDERS (Carmine Coppola) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE SOUVENIR [Aero]
September 29
CARRIE (Pino Donaggio) [Laemmle Playhouse]
THE CONFORMIST (Georges Delerue) [Laemmle Playhouse] [Laemmle Royal]
THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (John Barry) [New Beverly]
DUNE (Toto) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE OUTSIDERS (Carmine Coppola) [IPIC Westwood]
WITHIN OUR GATES [Aero]
September 30
CREEPY (Yuri Habuca) [Los Feliz 3]
MI VIDA LOCA (John Taylor) [New Beverly]
THE WATERMELON WOMAN [Los Feliz 3]
THE WIZARD OF OZ (Harold Arlen, Herbert Stothart - conducted live by David Newman) [Academy Museum]
October 1
FEMALE TROUBLE (Bob Harvey) [Los Feliz 3]
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (Graeme Revell) [New Beverly]
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Charles Bernstein), DON'T PANIC (Jon Michael Bischof, Pedro Plascencia) [New Beverly]
THE THING (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
October 2
LABYRINTH (Trevor Jones) [Academy Museum]
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (Barry DeVorzon) [New Beverly]
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Charles Bernstein), DON'T PANIC (Jon Michael Bischof, Pedro Plascencia) [New Beverly]
SANKOFA (David J. White) [Academy Museum]
RUNAWAY TRAIN (Trevor Jones) [Los Feliz 3]
October 3
THE BIRDS (Remi Gassmann, Oskar Sala, Bernard Herrmann) [New Beverly]
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Franz Waxman) [Academy Museum]
GALAXY QUEST (David Newman) [IPIC Westwood]
MEAN GIRLS (Rolfe Kent) [Alamo Drafthouse]
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Charles Bernstein), DON'T PANIC (Jon Michael Bischof, Pedro Plascencia) [New Beverly]
WILMINGTON 10 - USA 10,000 [Academy Museum]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: My Neighbor Totoro (Hisaishi), Nina Simone: The Platinum Collection (Simone), The Joy Luck Club (Portman), Psycho II (Goldsmith)
Read: Forward the Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
Seen: The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Copshop, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Watched: Suspicion; Trifles [1930]; Fishing Around [1929]; Surprise [1930]; Skyfall; What a Life [1930]; Star Trek: Discovery ("Unification III"); Thanksgiving Day [1928]; Fosse/Verdon ("All I Care About Is Love")
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