Music Box has announced two new CD releases.

COLD MOUNTAIN was the third feature collaboration between composer Gabriel Yared and writer-director Anthony Mingella; their previous two films together, The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley, had earned an Oscar and two nominations for Yared and an Oscar and three nominations for Minghella. The period-flavored songs (including two which ultimately recieved Oscar nominations, "Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love") were a key part of the film's marketing campaign and the original soundtrack CD was dominated by songs with relatively few score cues. Quartet's score-only Cold Mountain is a two-disc set, with the full 62-minute score on Disc One and the sequencing of the limited For Your Consideration CD on Disc Two plus a dozen unused and unreleased cues.

Their other new release pairs two scores by Philippe Sarde - LE CHOC, the 1982 thriller which teams two of France's most iconic stars, Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve; and 1974's LES SEINS DE GLACE (released in the U.S. with the unforgettable title Icy Breasts), starring Delon and Mireille Darc, based on Richard Matheson's Someone Is Bleeding.

Quartet is releasing a low-priced 12-disc set of the scores composed by Alberto Iglesias for writer-director Pedro Almodovar. This set features the 11 previously released soundtracks plus a CD featuring Iglesias' score for Almodovar's new 30-minute film version of Jean Cocteau's classic play THE HUMAN VOICE, starring Tilda Swinton. The Human Voice CD will not be released separately.

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Cobra Kai: Season Two - Leo Birenberg, Zach Robinson - La-La Land
Cobra Kai: Season Three - Leo Birenberg - Zach Robinson - La-La Land
Film Music 1976-2020 - Brian Eno - Astralwerks
Muscle - The The - Cineola
The Orville: Season Two - Andrew Cottee, John Debney, Joel McNeely - La-La Land
Pedro Almodovar & Alberto Iglesias Film Music Collection - Alberto Iglesias - Quartet
Rams - Brian Eno - Universal

IN THEATERS TODAY

No major new films opening in theaters this week. The Liam Neeson vehicle The Marksman managed to knock Wonder Woman 1984 off the top of last weekend's box-office chart. (I so look forward to that time when I will actively read the weekend box-office charts again. These days...why bother?)

COMING SOON

February 5
Lost Themes III: Alive After Death - John Carpenter - Sacred Bones
February 12
Da Uomo a Uomo - Ennio Morricone - Beat
The Devil All the Time - Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans, various - ABKCO
Tutti Dentro - Piero Piccioni - Beat
February 19
Zappa - John Frizzell, songs - Zappa Records
March 12
His Dark Materials: Season Two - Lorne Balfe - Silva
March 26
The Tattooed Torah - Daniel Alcheh - Notefornote
Date Unknown
Civilta Del Mediterraneo - Bruno Nicolai - Kronos
Cold Mountain - Gabriel Yared - Music Box
Fireball XL5 - Barry Gray - Silva
Gaza Mon Amour - Andre Matthias - Kronos
Le Choc/Les Seins De Glace - Philippe Sarde - Music Box
L'Uomo Europo - Francesco DeMasi - Kronos
The Shepherd - Arthur Valentin Grosz - Kronos
Sostiene Pereira - Ennio Morricone - Caldera
Viking Women and the Sea Serpent - Albert Glasser - Kronos

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

January 22 - Sid Ramin born (1919)
January 22 - J.J. Johnson born (1924)
January 22 - Al Kasha born (1937)
January 22 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
January 22 - Velton Ray Bunch born (1948)
January 22 - Keith Forsey born (1948)
January 22 - Ben Mink born (1951)
January 22 - Marc Blitzstein died (1964)
January 22 - Alexander Courage's score to the Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," is recorded (1965)
January 22 - Richard Markowitz begins recording his score for The Wild Wild West pilot episode “The Night of the Inferno” (1965)
January 22 - Fred Steiner records his score for The Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Undead” (1968)
January 22 - Leith Stevens records his score for the Land of the Giants episode “Night of Thrombeldinbar” (1969)
January 22 - Bruce Broughton records his score for the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode “The Guardians” (1981)
January 22 - Justin Hurwitz born (1985)
January 22 - Christopher Palmer died (1995)
January 22 - Billy May died (2004)
January 23 - Walter Greene born (1910)
January 23 - Marty Paich born (1925)
January 23 - George Aliceson Tipton born (1932)
January 23 - Dick DeBenedictis born (1937)
January 23 - Casablanca released in theaters (1943)
January 23 - Alfred Newman begins recording his score to The President's Lady (1953)
January 23 - Recording sessions begin on Alex North’s score for The Bad Seed (1956)
January 23 - David Arnold born (1962)
January 23 - Recording sessions begin for Danny Elfman’s score for Dolores Claiborne (1995)
January 23 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “For the Uniform” (1997)
January 23 - Riz Ortolani died (2014)
January 24 - Muir Mathieson born (1911)
January 24 - Norman Dello Joio born (1913)
January 24 - Joseph Carl Breil died (1926)
January 24 - Nico Fidenco born (1933)
January 24 - Neil Diamond born (1941)
January 24 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre opens in theaters (1948)
January 24 - Bernard Herrmann records his score for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode “The Jar” (1964)
January 24 - Leonard Rosenman begins recording his score for The Phantom of Hollywood (1974)
January 24 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conundrum” (1992)
January 24 - Ken Darby died (1992)
January 24 - Larry Crosley died (1998)
January 25 - Albert Glasser born (1916)
January 25 - Antonio Carlos Jobim born (1927)
January 25 - Benny Golson born (1929)
January 25 - Tobe Hooper born (1943)
January 25 - Hans-Erik Philip born (1943)
January 25 - Venedikt Pushkov died (1971)
January 25 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for Poltergeist (1982)
January 25 - Paul J. Smith died (1985)
January 25 - James Horner begins recording his score for A Far Off Place (1993)
January 25 - Gregory Smith records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Field of Fire” (1999)
January 25 - Simeon Pironkov died (2000)
January 25 - Normand Corbeil died (2013)
January 25 - John Morris died (2018)
January 26 - Hugo Riesenfeld born (1879)
January 26 - Stephane Grappelli born (1908)
January 26 - Ken Thorne born (1924)
January 26 - Marc Fredericks born (1927)
January 26 - Alfred Newman begins recording his score for Take Care of My Little Girl (1951)
January 26 - Christopher L. Stone born (1952)
January 26 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953)
January 26 - Elmer Bernstein begins recording his score for The Miracle (1959)
January 26 - George Bassman records his score for Ride the High Country (1962)
January 26 - Wendy Melvoin born (1964)
January 26 - Victoria Kelly born (1973)
January 26 - Recording sessions begin for Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Damnation Alley (1977)
January 26 - Gustavo Dudamel born (1981)
January 26 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "A Matter of Honor" (1989)
January 26 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Q-Less” (1993)
January 26 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Far Beyond the Stars” (1998)
January 26 - Bruce Broughton begins recording his score for Mickey Donald Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)
January 26 - Michel Legrand died (2019)
January 27 - Jerome Kern born (1885)
January 27 - Alaric Jans born (1949)
January 27 - Mike Patton born (1968)
January 27 - David Shire begins recording his score for All the President's Men (1976)
January 27 - Leonard Rosenman begins recording his score for The Car (1977)
January 27 - Craig Safan records his scores for the Twilight Zone episodes “To See the Invisible Man” and “Tooth and Consequences” (1986)
January 27 - Arthur Kempel records his score for the Twilight Zone episode “The Elevator” (1986)
January 27 - Norman McLaren died (1987)
January 27 - Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Phage” (1995)
January 28 - Karl Hajos born (1889)
January 28 - Paul Misraki born (1908)
January 28 - John Tavener born (1944)
January 28 - Burkhard Dallwitz born (1959)
January 28 - Lalo Schifrin records his score for Once a Thief (1965)
January 28 - Lalo Schifrin records his score for the Mission: Impossible pilot (1966)
January 28 - Bruce Broughton records his score for Trail Mix-Up (1993)
January 28 - Giancarlo Bigazzi died (2012)
January 28 - John Cacavas died (2014)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

THE ANTENNA - Can Demirci

"Given the actual country of its origin, 'The Antenna' is easily processed as a political allegory. But Berham is more concerned with spooky and galvanizing effects than with coherent statements or satire. He flexes his horror chops with barely contained glee, and his allegiances are signaled by the movie’s score, by Can Demirci, which bows more than once to the Penderecki and Bartok music Kubrick used in 'The Shining.' And then sounds like material from Goblin, the baroque prog band that scored several Dario Argento movies."

Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com

A CALL TO SPY - Lillie Rebecca McDonough

"Pilcher has assembled a crew that delivers elegant work. Editor Paul Tothill keeps the pace marching forward while dividing screen time between the three leads. Taut but never cloying, the score by Lillie Rebecca McDonough is nicely disciplined, often urgent but never cloying. Still, it’s the characters and their portrayers who earn the emotional investment, in particular Apte as Noor and Katic as her boss. As Hall, Thomas occasionally forces matters. The super-spy utters a few tough-gal sentences (written by Thomas) that ring a bit tinny. When a compatriot warns her that a plane can’t be on the makeshift airstrip for longer than 10 minutes, her retort skirts the hackneyed. 'We’ll do it in five,' she says."

Lisa Kennedy, Variety

ETERNAL BEAUTY - Michael Price

"Lowe’s gentle, attentive underplaying is a lifeline of humanity in a film that goes big on loud, freewheeling affectation, both in performance style and formal gimmickry. Jane’s irregular episodes and breakdowns trigger cacophonous surges in score and sound design, along with a succession of variable sight gags -- some of which seem plausibly conjured by an unraveled mind, and some of which (in particular macabre series of visions at a Halloween party) play more as forced directorial quirk."

Guy Lodge, Variety

FAREWELL AMOR - Osei Essed

"Saturated with rich blues and greens, the pic is visually vibrant yet subdued. It makes the Brooklyn neighborhood where the family shares a small one-bedroom apartment come alive without making it look like somewhere else. The cinematography strategically uses close-ups that push the audience to sit with the inner world of the characters. The score points in this direction, too, with its seamless transitions between on- and off-camera music cues -- not to mention a killer dance battle scene in which Sylvia conjures home through improvised movement while her crush DJ (Marcus Scribner) cheers her on."

Beandrea July, The Hollywood Reporter

I’M YOUR WOMAN - Aska Matsumiya

"The movie morphs from suburban suspense to woodsy survivalism, lacing it together with a slick atmosphere of dread. (The time period is irrelevant, aside from the filmmaking influences that call to mind 'The Parallax View' and other ’70s-era thrillers.) Hart and cinematographer Bryce Fortner excel in blending noir-like imagery with sudden bursts of frantic action, from a closeup that lingers in a phone booth in the midst of a shootout to the neon-hued image of capsized cars on an abandoned street. Aska Matsumiya’s subtle piano score oscillates between ominous and searching (with echoes of David Shire’s 'The Conversation' compositions), pointing toward an enigma that requires the story’s full arc to settle in."

Eric Kohn, IndieWire

"The ingredients are rich. And yet the action tends to advance mechanically. Case in point: The impressive contributions of designers Gae Buckley and Natalie O'Brien, DP Bryce Fortner and composer Aska Matsumiya crescendo in a set piece at a disco owned by a nasty kingpin (James McMenamin, of 'Orange Is the New Black'). The sequence looks and sounds great, yet even after the need to visit the club is spelled out in dialogue, it doesn't quite hold water."

Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

THE MIDNIGHT SKY - Alexandre Desplat

"'The Midnight Sky' is an attractively shot film, with tasteful and, at moments, even beautiful visual effects and a haunting score courtesy of Alexandre Desplat. But the film is also a plodding and deeply unsatisfying genre exercise that’s largely absent of the things that can make science fiction so rich and gripping -- namely, a novel hook and a sense of wonder. In the film’s final 20 minutes, Clooney gives us some glimpses of the work he was trying to make: a deeply felt evocation of the power of family, a bond so strong that it transcends even the ruination of Earth. But the film ultimately ties its various plot strands into an implausibly neat bow, minimizing the tragedy of the human race’s near-complete annihilation by positioning it as the backdrop for the world’s most grandiose deadbeat-dad redemption arc."

Keith Watson, Slant Magazine

"Adapted by Mark L. Smith ('The Revenant') from Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel 'Good Morning, Midnight,' much of Clooney’s film follows the mute Iris (Caoilinn Springall) and Augustine’s journey to a northern weather station. He and Iris trek across the unstable ice of the melting tundra, past dying birds sucking for oxygen and the wreckage of a doomed plane, toward an antenna they hope has the power to reach the Aether crew. The overbearing journey is accompanied by an overbearing score composed by the usually brilliant Alexandre Desplat. There’s a jump scare, for instance, which involves a double-hit from a cartoonish timpani that makes one of Augustine’s grisly discoveries accidentally comedic. The grotesque figure he unearths accomplishes the same effect, too."

Robert Daniels, Polygon

"Nevertheless, with its soulful Alexadre Desplat score and Martin Ruhe’s lyrical cinematography as its guide, the movie unleashes a mostly welcome stream of sci-fi pastiche, tapping into the the fundamental appeal of its precedents. Jones’ frantic need to sort out the future pairs nicely with Clooney’s sunken eyes, and in its closing minutes, 'The Midnight Sky' draws that contrast into sharp focus -- the desire to hold on and the despondence of giving up on life -- and its best moment arrives with the credits, as two survivors map out the next stage of their lives."

Eric Kohn, IndieWire

"There are hints of the movie that could have been. Clooney develops a quick and effective chemistry with Springall. Sure, she’s mostly a device to give his character something greater to fight for, but they have a silent relationship that works. (Although the film doesn’t have nearly enough quiet moments, thanks in part to an aggressive score by Alexandre Desplat.) Some of the space action stuff works, including a big 'Gravity'-inspired space repair sequence that probably will be more effective in theaters than for people who watch Netflix on their phone."

Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

"Maybe the movie simply recovers from the flashbacks and occasional dream sequences that slow its momentum early on. (Though, in classic dopey-flashback fashion, they’re revealed to serve a single-minded purpose later on). Ethan Peck is called on to deliver exposition as a younger Augustine -- seemingly (and distractingly) dubbed by an altered version of Clooney’s voice. In these moments, Clooney clutters up his own fine work as an actor. He’s festooned with a bushy mustache and beard that bring out a certain lonely frogginess in his eyes; Soderbergh, who famously did his best to disabuse the star of his actorly tics for 'Out Of Sight,' would be proud. Behind the camera, his best moments here are impressionistic: Arctic wolves barely visible through blurs in a snowstorm and a tense scene with floating droplets of blood are more effective than the overworked Alexandre Desplat score."

Jesse Hassenger, The Onion AV Club

"Fittingly, 'The Midnight Sky' suffers from the same weightlessness as its astronauts -- Clooney opens his big, wet soulful eyes, and Alexandre Desplat‘s overly-aggressive score lays on the emotion as thick as syrup, but none of it lands. It’s the same old story of an old man trying to redeem himself for his past mistakes, set against the backdrop of the end of the world. What’s worse, Clooney can do little but ape the movies that inspired him, with nothing new to bring to the table. Hate to say it, but the Earth of 'The Midnight Sky' goes out like a whimper, and I can’t really blame it."

Clint Worthington, Consequence of Sound

"Then Clooney made 'The Monuments Men' (2014), and he fell off a cliff. A World War II combat heist thriller about art that was stolen by the Nazis, it had a strong subject and a star cast, but it was a weirdly skewed movie that just sat there, as if Clooney’s creative motor had stalled. Every filmmaker is entitled to a dud, of course, and I thought Clooney bounced halfway back with 'Suburbicon' (2017), an acerbic thriller set in a 'Mad Men'-meets-Coen-brothers Middle America. But in 'The Midnight Sky,' Clooney lands in another ditch. He’s working on a bigger scale than he’s tried for, and he stages some exciting visual-effects sequences; Alexandre Desplat’s score blankets the action in a mournful grandeur. The sheer vastness of the film -- especially its outer-space scenes -- may fill a movie-spectacle void left by COVID. Even the silences (and there are many) have a prestige air about them, making 'The Midnight Sky' an awards contender almost before it’s a movie."

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

"There are well-handled suspenseful passages in the Arctic, too, with characters in both locations fighting for survival. And if Alexandre Desplat's rich orchestral score often leans too hard on the heart-tugging sentiment, its surging power in dramatic moments is undeniable. The movie is marbled with deep veins of sorrow, conveying a pervasive sense of loss. But it also has a soothing, poetic side, notably in the rapturous descriptions of the new planet that Sully shares with Augustine when communications are restored."

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

MINARI - Emile Mosseri

"Chung’s slice of life drama is on par with Hirokazu Kore-eda’s intimate portrayals of family life under pressure but with the added specificity on the adaptation and reinvention that’s involved as the straining circumstances occur in a new country. From its opening shots of landscapes seen from a car, which echo those in Miyazaki’s 'Spirited Away,' set to the delicately melodic score by composer Emile Mosseri ('The Last Black Man in San Francisco'), 'Minari' beams with subtle wonder."

Carlos Aguilar, The Wrap

"The movie loses tension at certain points, relying a bit too strongly on atmospheric nature shots and a haunting score that seems to be performed on a slightly out-of-tune upright piano, and sometimes punting conflicts down the timeline when the viewer may want a bit more examination of them at that moment. But Chung’s grip as a storyteller remains sure. There is a ring of truth to every moment and conversation. The best of these are imbued with a complexity and contradiction that suggests that there’s more to human interactions than whatever advice we were given as kids. A moment after church when young David is casually racially insulted by a young white boy who then immediately speaks to him as a friend, and invites him over to a sleepover, will ring true to anyone who has been on the receiving end of that type of behavior. Everyone in this movie is still learning the right way to behave, including the adults."

Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

"From the opening notes of Emile Mosseri’s ethereal piano score to the way that Monica keeps tugging Jacob back to reality, Chung’s immaculate memory play is always poignantly in flux between shared recollections of the past and conflicting visions of the future. This beautiful film posits family as the ultimate journey, only to explore how difficult it can be to agree on a destination. Is Jacob trying to prove what’s possible for himself, or is he doing his best to build something for the next generation? Is there any way those two goals might be able to overlap before Monica has to pull the ripcord?"

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

12 HOUR SHIFT - Matt Glass

"If Bettis and the bloodshed that’s often associated with her might have you primed for a movie that more comfortably fits into the 'horror' category, Grant -- directing her first feature since 2013’s 'Best Friends Forever' -- has something a little kookier in mind. Our first clue to expect the unexpected comes from Matt Glass’ melodramatic score, which takes all the strings from last year’s 'Us' and playfully knots them together into a bouncy ball that Grant can hurl down the hospital corridors alongside her characters. The music gives us permission to laugh even when the gore makes us flinch (it turns out that drinking bleach isn’t great for your throat), and it adds a chaotic sense of life to a set that never shies away from the pallid sterility of an underfunded American emergency room. Glass also served as the film’s cinematographer, and he lights this pitch-black comedy so that viewers start to feel like they can see in the dark."

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

"The clean, crisp approach to outré material is amplified by Matt Glass’ widescreen photography. He’s also the composer, though more conspicuous are a number of preexisting various-artist tracks that sometimes threaten to overwhelm the onscreen action. The film’s poker-faced playfulness, however, is such that it’s able to kick-drop in a wee late dance sequence without going off the rails at all."

Dennis Harvey, Variety

2067 - Kirsten Axelholmm, Kenneth Lampl

"It’s an intriguing setup, and 2067 has the world-building and production design of a much more expensive movie. It seems to have all its Macguffins in the right places, and yet, the writing is so vague and the characters’ motivations so murky that the actors end up flailing, trying desperately to breathe life into lines like telling Ethan has to 'have faith' for the umpteenth time. Ethan’s father (via flashback) also compares people to the stars in the sky, leading to an eventual explanation that does little to justify the metaphor. Music swells and characters scream at each other (Smit-McPhee often in a feline strangle) but it’s hard to tell what exactly they’re so upset about. The conflict seems imposed. '2067' is an epic score in search of epic action at times."

Vince Mancini, Uproxx

"Most of this film is humorless and with not so much of a score as a subwoofer. But one joke got me. Ethan carries a mobile device with a Siri-like assistant called Archie. In her crispy British accent, Archie walks him through making a fire using a stick and some kindling: 'Rub rub rub. Easy peasy. Now blow. Blow, blow, blow, blow.' The final twist, while a touch twee, is also clever."

Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

"Though during the narrative itself, Kenneth Lampl and Kirsten Axelholm’s original score sometimes seems a bit much for the onscreen action, their final-credits accompaniment has an aching beauty. It’s suggestive of a much more mournful, poignant film — one “2067” may well have intended to be at some point. Instead, we get a mashup of influences as diverse as “Stargate,” “The Time Machine” and “Silent Running” in which nothing feels very personal, let alone original."

Dennis Harvey, Variety

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME - Amelia Warner

“The kind of dreams kids have make adults miserable,” Adam declares, offering a harsh counterpoint to a film in which the rest of the characters have spent their whole lives chasing rainbows without a pot of gold to show for it. Of course, every aspect of “Wild Mountain Thyme” — from Stephen Goldblatt’s richly saturated cinematography to Amelia Warner’s stirringly traditional score — is hellbent on proving Adam wrong and rewarding the sense of wonder that Anthony and Rosemary have suffered from since childhood, but Shanley fails to transform their curse into a blessing. If Anthony is a tree, he isn’t rooted in reality, and the only magic here is found in Blunt’s ability to conjure a flesh-and-blood woman out of a pouty male fantasy.

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

"Now, ‘twould only be right to warn you that for all the cast give it an honest lash (Dornan and Walken in particular), if you’ve no fondness for the song and all its 'go lassie go'ing, you might want to choose a different fillum. First thing you know, there’s a flashback to Anthony’s mother -- God rest her -- standing at the sink in a housedress from The Emergency, doing the dishes and singing a beautiful, melodious rendition of 'WAP.' Ah, I’m only slagging you, it’s 'Wild Mountain Thyme' (Cardi B is banned in Ireland), and from then on, we hear it a lot, even getting a big aul’ singsong in which the entire cast of characters, living and dead -- God rest them -- join in. And whenever it’s not playing, Amelia Warner‘s fiddle-and-accordion score more than makes up for the want of it, delivered with all the dy-del-ee-eye welcomeness of a trad session breaking out in the pub when you’re trying to have a quiet pint."

Jessica Kiang, The Playlist

"The Mayo scenery holds up its end of the bargain. But as director, Shanley hasn’t the writer, i.e. himself, any favors. The music is drippy and constant, the wobble from comedy to drama feels off, and the dialects have been reamed in the Irish press. Charm resists calculation; even if actors get some going, even if a writer creates an approximation in or between the lines, deliberately manufactured charm curdles so easily. The one success story of 'Wild Mountain Thyme' belongs to Blunt, who has yet to give a poor or lazily considered performance."

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

"These three sentences set the tone for the rest of John Patrick Shanley’s film in the conflicted reaction they’ll stir in you. Over and over again, you won’t know whether to feel baffled or amused -- although by the end, the former feeling most assuredly dominates the latter. In adapting his Broadway play 'Outside Mullingar' for the screen, Shanley still aims for big, theatrical emotions, resulting in a film that’s relentlessly whimsical. And in trotting out myriad Irish stereotypes, it’s hard to tell whether he means them earnestly or as knowing self-parody. After the third or fourth time you see sweeping aerial shots of lush, verdant hills with the sound of lilting pan flutes playing the background, you half expect to see a leprechaun bounding across the countryside, hiding from those kids who are 'after me Lucky Charms.'"

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

"Shanley works hard at conjuring a transporting sense of place, starting from cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt's handsome opening shot of majestic coastline before the camera travels inland to the lovely pastoral County Mayo locations. There's a gentle Irish flavor also in Amelia Warner's score, enhanced by repeated use of the traditional song that gives the film its title. But for all the rolling hills and jolly local eccentrics, there's a dispiritingly artificial feel to this sluggish adaptation, which exposes the insubstantial nature of a story whose wispy delicacy was part of its appeal in the original form."

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY

Heard: Uomini e no (Morricone), Prom Night (Zaza/Zittrer), Ghostbusters (Bernstein), Psycho III (Burwell), The Addams Family (Danna/Danna), Psycho (Herrmann), Child’s Play (McCreary), The Presidio (Broughton), The Professor and the Madman (McCreary), Damn Yankees (Adler/Ross), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Vol. 1 (Pemberton), Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Vol. 2 (Pemberton/Sim), Open Your Heart (Clark), The Film Music of Gerard Schurmann (Schurmann), The Pursuit of Happyness (Guerra), Color Out of Space (Stetson), Distant Thunder (Jarre), High Life (Staples), La Cage Aux Folles II (Morricone), Ran (Takemitsu), The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (Herrmann), The Way Back (Simonsen), Hot Spell/The Matchmaker (North/Deutsch), Young Guns (Marinelli/Banks), Call Me Madam/Panama Hattie (Berlin/Porter), It: Chapter Two (Wallfisch), Symphonies 1 & 2 (L. Bernstein), The Good Liar (Burwell), Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow (Clayton), Isn't It Romantic (Debney), Miracles (Kral), The Goldfinch (Gureckis), The Longest Day (Jarre), The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Motherbaugh), Bianco, Rosso e Verdone (Morricone)

Read: Spooner, by Pete Dexter

Seen: A year ago I was seeing some of the Oscar-nominated films I hadn't yet seen, such as the documentaries The Cave and For Sama.

Watched: The Manxman [1929]; Star Trek: Discovery ("If Memory Serves"); Westworld ("Kiksuya"); Better Call Saul ("Uno"); The Squeeze [1977]; Batman: The Animated Series ("Be a Clown"); Monkey Business [1931]; Star Trek: Discovery ("Project Daedalus"); Westworld ("Vanishing Point")