The latest CD from Intrada is the first commercial release of John Beal's orchestral horror score for director Tobe Hooper's 1981 thriller THE FUNHOUSE.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 95th Oscars, including the following music categories:
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT - Volker Bertelmann
BABYLON - Justin Hurwitz
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN - Carter Burwell
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE - Son Lux
THE FABELMANS - John Williams
This is the first nomination for Son Lux, the second for Volker Bertelmann, the third for Carter Burwell, the fourth for Justin Hurwitz, and the fifty-third (!!!) for John Williams.
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Applause” - TELL IT LIKE A WOMAN - Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Naatu Naatu” - RRR - Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
“This Is A Life” - EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE - Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne
At some point I hope to have time to my write my usual column discussing all of the nominations at length, but until then here are a few thoughts, at the bottom of this page*
CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
The English - Federico Jusid - Silva (import)
The Funhouse - John Beal - Intrada Special Collection
IN THEATERS TODAY
Fear - Geoff Zanelli
Infinity Pool - Tim Hecker
Life Upside Down - Charlie Dobney
The Man in the Basement - Bruno Coulais
Maybe I Do - Lesley Barber
COMING SOON
February 3
The Offering - Christopher Young - Notefornote
February 24
The Retaliators - Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein - Better Noise
March 3
Interview with the Vampire - Daniel Hart - Milan
March 17
Blonde - Nick Cave, Warren Ellis - Invada
April 14
Babylon - Justin Hurwitz - Interscope
Date Unknown
El ultimo viaje - Stelvio Cipriani - CSC
Peccato Senza Malizia - Stelvio Cipriani - CSC
THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY
January 27 - Jerome Kern born (1885)
January 27 - Alaric Jans born (1949)
January 27 - Mike Patton born (1968)
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)
January 29 - Leslie Bricusse born (1931)
January 29 - Leith Stevens begins recording his score for The Atomic City (1952)
January 29 - Victor Young begins recording his score for Forever Female (1953)
January 29 - David Robbins born (1955)
January 29 - Joseph Mullendore records his score for the Lost in Space episode "Space Beauty" (1968)
January 29 - Georges Van Parys died (1971)
January 29 - Henry Mancini begins recording his score for Condorman (1981)
January 29 - Panu Aaltio born (1982)
January 29 - Rogier Van Otterloo died (1988)
January 29 - Don Davis records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Face of the Enemy” (1993)
January 29 - Berto Pisano died (2002)
January 29 - Rod McKuen died (2015)
January 30 - Morton Stevens born (1929)
January 30 - Franz Waxman records his score for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
January 30 - Recording sessions begin for Frederick Hollander’s score for The Affairs of Susan (1945)
January 30 - Phil Collins born (1951)
January 30 - Steve Bartek born (1952)
January 30 - George Duning begins recording his score for the pilot movie for Then Came Bronson (1969)
January 30 - Robert Folk begins recording his score for Police Academy (1984)
January 30 - Jean Constantin died (1997)
January 30 - Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Rise” (1997)
January 30 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for U.S. Marshals (1998)
January 30 - Manuel Balboa died (2004)
January 30 - John Barry died (2011)
January 30 - William Motzing died (2014)
January 31 - Benjamin Frankel born (1906)
January 31 - Hans Posegga born (1917)
January 31 - Nicholas Carras born (1922)
January 31 - Al De Lory born (1930)
January 31 - Philip Glass born (1937)
January 31 - Andrew Lockington born (1974)
January 31 - Andy Garfield born (1974)
January 31 - John Cacavas begins recording his score for Airport ’77 (1977)
January 31 - Yasushi Akutagawa died (1989)
February 1 - Rick Wilkins born (1937)
February 1 - Herbert Stothart died (1949)
February 1 - Karl Hajos died (1950)
February 1 - Miklos Rozsa records his score for The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
February 1 - Lyn Murray begins recording his score for To Catch a Thief (1955)
February 1 - Alexander Courage records his score for the Lost in Space episode "The Cave of the Wizards" (1967)
February 1 - Barry Gray begins recording his score for Thunderbird 6 (1968)
February 1 - Ron Jones records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "A Matter of Perspective" (1990)
February 1 - Alan Silvestri begins recording his score for The Perez Family (1995)
February 1 - Howard Shore begins recording his score for The Score (2001)
February 2 - Giuseppe Becce born (1877)
February 2 - Nikolai Kryukov born (1908)
February 2 - Mike Batt born (1950)
February 2 - Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for Crisis (1950)
February 2 - Dimitri Tiomkin begins recording his score for Take the High Ground! (1953)
February 2 - Gerald Fried records his score for Cast a Long Shadow (1959)
February 2 - Recording sessions begin for Bronislau Kaper's score to Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
February 2 - Richard LaSalle records his score for the Land of the Giants episode “A Small War” (1970)
February 2 - Richard Band begins recording his score for Parasite (1982)
February 2 - Recording sessions begin on James Newton Howard’s score for Outbreak (1995)
February 2 - David Bell records his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Dark Frontier, Part I” (1999)
February 2 - Paul Baillargeon begins recording his score for the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Q2” (1999)
February 2 - Dennis McCarthy and Kevin Kiner record their score for the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “The Aenar” (2005)
DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER - Simon Franglen
"I missed the heart-pounding suspense and tribal themes of James Horner’s score for the 2009 film, but composer Simon Franglen capably maintains the tension where it counts. Even more than its predecessor, this is a work that successfully marries technology with imagination and meticulous contributions from every craft department. But ultimately, it’s the sincerity of Cameron’s belief in this fantastical world he’s created that makes it memorable."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
EMPIRE OF LIGHT - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
"Like Mendes’ '1917,' 'Empire of Light' is technically impressive, but lacks the greatness that could the magic of the movies through example instead of by telling. Roger Deakins’ cinematography elevates a story that could’ve been visually unimpressive. One New Year’s Eve scene spent on the roof of the theater as fireworks burst is truly stunning, while another scene between Stephen and Hilary at her apartment shows how just the right lighting can completely alter the intention of a scene. Also expectedly great is the score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which sounds like it could’ve been recorded using the old abandoned piano in the theater’s long-closed wing. It’s a relatively unassuming score, but helps highlight the film’s best moments, where the film, again, focuses on that magic of the movies aspect."
Ross Binaime, Collider
"The aforementioned splendor of Deakins’ lighting, illuminating Tildesley’s faded art deco glory (renovations of a real cinema-ballroom!), all set to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ mesmerizing music (plus jolts of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell) -- it’s more than enough ambiance to ignite Hilary and Stephen’s humble spark. Let its sights and sounds wash over you and 'Empire Of Light' is almost aesthetically immersive enough to distract from the imbalance between their stories; Mendes fails to give Stephen’s coming of age the same weight he gives Hilary’s mental health setbacks, journey toward self-acceptance, and discovery of systemic racism, instead coming close to turning him solely into a vehicle for that discovery."
Jack Smart, The Onion AV Club
"And, tying together the massive stash of adversities that Mendes has piled into 'Light' - racism, Margaret Thatcher, bipolar disorder and trauma, to name a few - is none other than the power of cinema. Mendes takes an unmistakably loving approach to movies, adding a twinkling, melancholy score from Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor nearly every time the beach-side cinema appears on the screen. Adding to this idealistic effect is Roger Deakins, who frames every shot of the space like it’s his most prized possession, bathing even the most mundane detail in his signature glowing, golden light."
Aurora Amidon, Paste Magazine
"It’s odd, too, that her tear-stained road-to-Damascus moment comes with a big-screen viewing of Hal Ashby’s Being There: a satire of a simple-minded man basically raised by television who is forced to venture into the outside world, where he is taken for a genius. Is Hilary meant to be a kind of reverse Chauncey Gardiner: a woman so tormented by the outside world that she eventually finds herself entering the world of cinema for refuge? For all the thought that Mendes appears to have put into what cinema truly means to him or his characters, this moment that supposedly illustrates the power of movies, however beautifully lensed by Roger Deakins and scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack, comes off feeling disappointingly like an afterthought to the film’s more romantic and socially oriented concerns."
Kenji Fujishima, Slant Magazine
"It’s a story about a magical where light and dark mesh together to create magic, and where people can enjoy the pleasure of being surrounded by strangers without fear of being watched. As Nicole Kidman might put it: 'Even the Margaret Thatcher era feels good in a place like this.' Merciful as it is that 'Empire of Light' stops just short of suggesting that AMC might be our secret weapon in the fight against white nationalism, Mendes’ rear-projected view of the modern world is still too clumsy and stilted to offer any heartbreaking insights of its own. All it manages to leave us with is a warm breakthrough performance from Micheal Ward, a twinkly new score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and a fantastic clip of Olivia Colman shouting 'To f*ck, or not to f*ck, that is the question!' while the 'Chariots of Fire' music hums behind her in the background."
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"You can argue that despite a varied career Mendes has never directed a film of this vein. The closest to it would be 2009’s 'Away we Go,' and perhaps it’s only comparable in scale. Over the past decade Mendes has directed two mammoth James Bond flicks and the one-shot war epic “'917.' He hasn’t made a film this small in some time and there are a few creaks and bumps in the road despite the presence of longtime collaborators such as cinematographer Roger Deakins, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and editor Lee Roth. Despite Deakins and Mendes’ shorthand in framing gorgeous images, there are moments, especially in the second act, where the film could simply use a bit more energy. Luckily, for Mendes, Colman provides it soon after and when the movie needs it most."
Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist
"The pandemic compelled so many of us to look in the mirror and pose existential questions about what we were doing and why. Mendes clearly had a lot on his mind, too, from race relations to mental health, and in the Empire, he found a container to explore them all. Too many issues in too neat a space, some might argue, but better that than the opposite. 'Empire of Light' is what I think of as a 'snow globe movie,' the sort where everything looks perfect, to the point of artificiality: The camera doesn’t wobble; the light is just right. If you were to walk the empty aisles, your shoes wouldn’t stick to the floor. On the soundtrack, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross supply a lovely music-box score. But even within that aesthetic, there’s room for reality -- and the deeper you get into Mendes’ story, the tougher and more unpredictable it gets."
Peter Debruge, Variety
"The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross taps into a nostalgic vein and the overall visual luster of the film, from the kaleidoscopic radiance of a funfair to the edge-of-the-world expanse of the shoreline. Tracks by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens are well used -- particularly the latter’s 'Morning Has Broken,' providing a melodic and jarring counterpoint to an unsettling scene in which Hilary is at her most precarious."
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
THE PALE BLUE EYE - Howard Shore
"On a recklessly plump Netflix budget ($72 million), Cooper’s film is nothing if not dressed to the nines, with more leatherbound tomes festooning the sets than you can shake a stick at. One of Howard Shore’s routinely excellent moody scores helps our wend through the wilderness. But the irony, for a would-be-macabre mystery about hearts being ripped out, is a flatlined pulse and a puzzling absence of red meat."
Tim Robey, The Telegraph
"For much of its runtime, though, the film is a humorless slog, and a literally pallid one at that, given how the visual palette is drained of color. The soporific score by Howard Shore’s is uninspired, and even the dependable Christian Bale seems to be sleepwalking through his role. But worst of all, 'The Pale Blue Eye' simply isn’t that compelling as a mystery. It becomes clear early on who’s deeply involved in the murders, and while the film delivers a few choice surprises late in the game, the breadcrumb trail of clues to the solution of the mystery is conspicuous in ways that leaves the over-the-top finale feeling less like the culmination that the film has been building up to than a rug pull intended solely as a shock to the audience."
Derek Smith, Slant Magazine
"While the narrative awkwardly fumbles, its brilliantly faceted aesthetic craftsmanship soars. Cooper uses natural landscapes -- everything from foggy forests and jagged, rocky river shores -- to enhance tonal unease. Masanobu Takayanagi’s cinematography, with its cold, bruising blue and black palette almost bled of color to evoke early-age photographs, delivers a tangible sense of moody atmosphere. Kasia Walicka-Maimone’s costume designs turn an astute eye toward hidden character traits, especially when it comes to Lea and her mother Julia, whose massively puffy sleeves and voluminous gowns are stuffed with family secrets. Detailed soundscapes are crucial for giving the Marquis manor its creepy, foreboding manner and West Point a feeling of hollowness with wind gusts howling through these cavernous settings. Plus, Howard Shore’s austere score infuses dread into the proceedings."
Courtney Howard, The Onion AV Club
"The film’s cinematography is another highlight, with Masanobu Takayanagi reuniting with Cooper (and Bale) after working with the duo on 'Out of the Furnace' and 'Hostiles,' as well as 'Black Mass.' Takayanagi’s cinematic framing further builds on the somber and haunted atmosphere that Cooper’s direction and screenplay capitalize on. 'The Pale Blue Eye' fully brings to life the essence of Poe’s most dreary works, while folding in a fictionalized interpretation of the author’s potential heroism. Set to the score of Howard Shore, it’s hard to go wrong with the package that Cooper has pulled together."
Maggie Lovitt, Collider
"The distinguished cast notwithstanding, the real star is Masanobu Takayanagi’s bleak and chilly cinematography, with a vein of malevolence laced throughout the imagery that’s fed by Howard Shore’s stately orchestral score. But those two elements end up doing a disproportionate amount of the atmospheric work, highlighting the deficiencies of the writing, direction and performances."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE WHALE - Rob Simonsen
"That it’s all played with such heightened emotion, backed by a soundtrack of strings factory-made to wring out catharsis, does lend an air of duplicity. The reports of a weeping auditorium in the wake of Venice’s press screening should be believed, but whether or not such a reaction is warranted will be the cause of fiery debate. The climax is marred by an over-egged score, yes, but my god, how often has Hollywood so authentically captured the bone-deep trauma of parental abandonment?"
Jack King, The Playlist
"The best moment is when Sink’s mother arrives, questioning the contact that was made because she has full custody (Charlie left the family because he was in love with a man; though blissful for a time, it ended in tragedy). It’s a single scene between Samantha Morton and Fraser. It’s the best scene in the movie because it’s the least predictable. There’s time to reflect, to pause in a doorway to make an offering. And the area to explode through years of shared shattered expectations. Morton, too, was more of a mainstay in the early 2000s and has faded into lesser roles. Fraser’s best emotional acting is opposite her. There’s a flicker of a long faded connection. Outside of this scene, it’s primarily a parade of battling testimonies from the two younger characters, with Chau there to calm down an overbearing musical score."
Brian Formo, Collider
"Say what you will about Darren Aronofsky, but his devotion to Grand Guignol exhibitionism is never boring. In his latest film, 'The Whale,' Brendan Fraser plays the middle-aged Charlie, a morbidly obese man endeavoring to eat himself to death. Throughout, Aronofsky invites us to gawk at Fraser’s prosthetic-enhanced appearance as his character showers, masturbates, and precariously moves around his rundown Idaho apartment with the aid of a rickety walker. When the man binges on meatball sandwiches or chocolate bars, it’s shot and scored with the bombastic revulsion of a horror movie."
Mark Hanson, Slant Magazine
"If an alien landed on Earth and wondered whether the human species found its largest members attractive or repellent, 'The Whale' would clearly communicate the answer. Aronofsky turns up the foley audio whenever Charlie is eating, to emphasize the wet sound of lips smacking together. He plays ominous music under these sequences, so we know Charlie’s doing something very bad indeed. Fraser’s neck and upper lip are perpetually beaded with sweat, and his T-shirt is dirty and covered in crumbs. At one point, he takes off his shirt and slowly makes his way to his bed, sagging rolls of prosthetic fat dangling off his body as he slouches toward the camera like the rough beast he is. In case viewers still don’t get that they’re supposed to find him disgusting, he recites an essay about Moby-Dick and how a whale is “a poor big animal” with no feelings."
Katie Rife, Polygon
"Shooting in the snug 1.33 aspect ratio might seem to box us in even more, and the shortage of light seeping in from outside Charlie’s apartment is perhaps a tad symbolically heavy-handed. But DP Matthew Libatique’s spry camera and Andrew Weisblum’s dynamic editing bring surprising movement to the static situation. The one significant questionable choice is the overkill of Rob Simonsen’s emotionally emphatic score, rather than trusting the actors to do that work."
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.
Screenings of older films in Los Angeles-area theaters.
January 27
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (John Carpenter) [Alamo Drafthouse]
BEND OF THE RIVER (Hans J. Salter) [Los Feliz 3
DJANGO UNCHAINED [New Beverly]
ENTER THE VOID [New Beverly]
FANTASTIC PLANET (Alain Gouraguer) [Nuart]
FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter) [Alamo Drafthouse]
LOLITA (Nelson Riddle) [Nuart]
LOSING GROUND (Michael Minard) [Academy Museum]
MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON (Daniele Luppi) [Los Feliz 3]
THE NEVERENDING STORY (Klaus Doldinger, Giorgio Moroder) [Los Feliz 3]
SANTA SANGRE (Simon Boswell) [BrainDead Studios]
STALKER (Edward Artemyev) [Aero]
UNDER THE SKIN (Mica Levi) [BrainDead Studios]
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (Air) [New Beverly]
WAR HUNT (Bud Shank), RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (George Bassman) [UCLA/Hammer]
WRITTEN ON THE WIND (Frank Skinner) [Los Feliz 3]
January 28
THE BAD BATCH [Los Feliz 3]
BEETLEJUICE (Danny Elfman) [Academy Museum]
THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Keith Forsey) [Academy Museum]
CISCO PIKE [Academy Museum]
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Wendy Carlos) [Nuart]
THE DARK CRYSTAL (Trevor Jones) [New Beverly]
ENTER THE VOID [New Beverly]
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT [Los Feliz 3]
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (Howard Shore) [BrainDead Studios]
HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY (Bruce Broughton) [El Capitan]
INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (John Williams) [Landmark Westwood]
KILLER'S KISS (Gerald Fried) [Nuart]
MI VIDA LOCA (John Taylor) [Los Feliz 3]
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE PRESTIGE (David Julyan) [BrainDead Studios]
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley) [Nuart]
SHADOW OF A DOUBT (Dimitri Tiomkin), THE THIRD MAN (Anton Karras) [
TICKLED (Rodi Kirkcaldy, Florian Zwietnig) [BrainDead Studios]
THE VIGIL (Michael Yezerski) [New Beverly]
January 29
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (John Williams) [Aero]
AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (Jean Weiner) [Los Feliz 3]
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (John Williams) [Academy Museum]
THE DARK CRYSTAL (Trevor Jones) [New Beverly]
ENTER THE VOID [New Beverly]
FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter) [Alamo Drafthouse]
HOOP DREAMS (Ben Sidran) [Alamo Drafthouse]
KILLER'S KISS (Gerald Fried) [Nuart]
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (Heinz Roemheld) [BrainDead Studios]
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
SECONDS (Jerry Goldsmith) [Los Feliz 3]
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (Nacio Herb Brown, Lennie Hayton) [Alamo Drafthouse]
SOLOMON KING (Jimmy Lewis) [UCLA/Hammer]
STAND BY ME (Jack Nitzsche) [Fine Arts]
THE TARNISHED ANGELS (Frank Skinner) [Los Feliz 3]
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [Nuart]
WATCHMEN (Tyler Bates) [BrainDead Studios]
WONDER BOYS (Christopher Young) [Academy Museum]
January 30
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME (Joel McNeely) [Los Feliz 3]
KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (John Massari) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE LONG GOODBYE (John Williams) [New Beverly]
SET IF OFF (Christopher Young) [Aero]
January 31
BLUE (Simon Fisher-Turner) [Los Feliz 3]
DANGEROUS MEN (John Rad) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Alfred Newman) [Academy Museum]
THE LONG GOODBYE (John Williams) [New Beverly]
WITTGENSTEIN [Los Feliz 3]
February 1
DANGEROUS MEN (John Rad) [Alamo Drafthouse]
THE KILLING (Gerald Fried) [Nuart]
MILLENNIUM MAMBO (Giong Lim) [Los Feliz 3]
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (John Lewis), NO WAY OUT (Alfred Newman) [New Beverly]
UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (Disasterpeace) [BrainDead Studios]
February 2
GROUNDHOG DAY (George Fenton) [Fine Arts]
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (John Lewis), NO WAY OUT (Alfred Newman) [New Beverly]
SPARTACUS (Alex North) [Nuart]
TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (Jean Wiener) [Los Feliz 3]
February 3
BARBARELLA (Charles Fox, Bob Crewe) [BrainDead Studios]
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Gustavo Santaolalla) [New Beverly]
DR. STRANGELOVE, OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (Laurie Johnson) [Nuart]
ICE STATION ZEBRA (Michel Legrand) [Los Feliz 3]
MILLENNIUM MAMBO (Giong Lim) [Los Feliz 3]
THE SHINING (Wendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind) [Nuart]
SHOWGIRLS (David A. Stewart) [BrainDead Studios]
TRUE ROMANCE (Hans Zimmer) [New Beverly]
THE WICKER MAN (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
WOODSTOCK [New Beverly]
February 4
AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY (George S. Clinton) [BrainDead Studios]
BAD EDUCATION (Alberto Iglesias) [BrainDead Studios]
THE CANTERBURY TALES (Ennio Morricone) [BrainDead Studios]
DR. STRANGELOVE, OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (Laurie Johnson) [Nuart]
FULL METAL JACKET (Abigail Mead) [Nuart]
MILLENNIUM MAMBO (Lim Giong) [Los Feliz 3]
MOONSTRUCK (Dick Hyman) [Alamo Drafthouse]
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD [New Beverly]
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (John Williams) [New Beverly]
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley) [Nuart]
THE ROOM (Mladen Milicevic) [Landmark Westwood]
SHOW PEOPLE [UCLA/Hammer]
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE (Danny Elfman) [Alamo Drafthouse]
WOODSTOCK [New Beverly]
February 5
BARRY LYNDON (Leonard Rosenman) [Nuart]
BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES (William Axt), PEG O' MY HEART (Herbert Stothart) [UCLA/Hammer]
BOYZ N THE HOOD (Stanley Clarke) [Alamo Drafthouse]
CHUNGKING EXPRESS (Frankie Chan, Michael Galasso, Roel A. Garcia) [Alamo Drafthouse]
GROUNDHOG DAY (George Fenton) [Fine Arts]
LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER (Rodrigo Leao) [Fine Arts]
MO' BETTER BLUES (Bill Lee) [BrainDead Studios]
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (John Williams) [New Beverly]
SWEET CHARITY (Cy Coleman) [BrainDead Studios]
THE WICKER MAN (Angelo Badalamenti) [Los Feliz 3]
WOODSTOCK [New Beverly]
THINGS I'VE HEARD, READ, SEEN OR WATCHED LATELY
Heard: The Power and the Glory (Rosenthal), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Williams), Return of the Jedi (Williams)
Read: The Peking Target, by Adam Hall (aka Elleston Trevor)
Seen: The Eternal Daughter; The Price We Pay; You People; Night Moves [1975]; Reds; The Witches of Eastwick; The Mercenary; It Can Be Done...Amigo; When You Finish Saving the World
Watched: Star Trek: Enterprise ("Babel One"); Bob's Burgers ("Spaghetti Western & Meatballs"); Counterpart ("Twin Cities"); The Good Place ("Dance Dance Resolution"); The Deuce ("We're All Beasts"); Hacks ("1.69 Million"); Fargo ("The Law of Non-Contradiction"); Inside Amy Schumer ("The Horror"); Justified ("The Man Behind the Curtain"); Key & Peele ("The Branding"); The Knick ("The Busy Flea"); Silicon Valley ("Sand Hill Shuffle")
*The biggest disappointment is the total shut-out of Decision to Leave, especially as I thought it was far superior to the mega-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front. I thought Babylon would fare better than it did -- even though I found much of it off-putting in a way that might also turn off many voting members, I've discovered a lot of younger filmgoers are appreciating it much more than I did - I don't know if it's because they're less familiar with the historical period than I am (the ending, where the filmmaker seems to be saying "I didn't rip off Singin' in the Rain - Singin' in the Rain ripped off my fictional characters!", is a particular head-scratcher), or because they have a higher tolerance for cinematic golden showers, defecating elephants, and a shrill, constantly coked-out Margot Robbie (between Babylon and Amsterdam, I suspect no one will be making an all-star 20s/30s movie featuring Robbie again for quite some time). Very surprised that both The Woman King and Till were shut out completely, especially the former, which was both well-reviewed and a relative box-office success. Andrea Riseborough's nomination for To Leslie was by far the biggest shock on the list - I'd seen one article that suggested she was a contender, but it only was when I looked up the film on IMDB later that I realized I had actually already read the (generally very good) reviews of it after its one-week/one-screen run in Los Angeles (technically, Santa Monica).
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