[Closed] Now Playing XLIX

No, it is not. I had a positive reaction when I first saw it, due to its performances from Hanks and Rylance, but on further reflection I think I was high. It is quite boring. People with colds sitting in rooms. Then a scene on a bridge, and everything turns out fine.

John Williams didn't miss out on much. Thank the Force he did Star Wars instead.

Great idea! Wouldn't that be an awesome thing!

I thought Bridge of Spies was a real solid Cold War thriller. It's not great but it's not as bad as Steven makes it out to be. Wonderful performances, great music.

-Erik-

Now You See Me 2 Brian Tyler

We've hardly been as lucky as last year in terms of scores, but this is my favourite so far. Tyler's never been better.

Still, I do hope the coming blockbusters are saving the best for last. I have high hopes for Desplat's Star Wars score.

Hans Zimmer - Spanglish

I forgot how good this one is! I think it's some of his best orchestral writing alongside Da Vinci Code (no synths to be heard on this one), the last track is a beauty and it's a corker of a theme. Heartfelt, small-scale, purely orchestral (though without brass) and with some beautiful guitar writing.

After getting some praise in reviews this score went totally under the radar. Same thing happened with Frost/Nixon, sadly, another very good Hans Zimmer score that got some recognition but later was flushed under the blockbusters.

Any score with so much mickey mousing is not for me (zootopia neither

Only if you have Spielberg nostalgia. Enjoyed it at the cinema myself, for that very reason but wouldn't revisit. Quite an enjoyable score too.

Btw is Lincoln as bad as they say? I heard it's a completely pointless and meaningless film and i avoided it completely so far (whilst i've seen every other spbg film so far apart this and bfg)

I liked it. Lincoln is far from pointless and meaningless, it's a fine film for what it is. But it's quite a slog to sit through in one sitting. It's more like a two and half hour play with great performances, most notably Daniel Day Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones. Not a film for cinema and popcorn, but some excellent scenes worth watching.

Normally they probably wouldn't have it for something like Spanglish, which is the kind of cinema that is dying in this time (the adult middle-budget cinema is waning today), but it being a film for his very best friend as it was (Spanglish was the reason, as Hans told me, he quit Kingdom of Heaven), he probably preferred to do it for less money than usual and if James Brooks WANTED an orchestra, he got it.

I enjoyed Bridge of Spies for the reasons Thor would (and I think did). It's a great visual experience, with a huge beginning sequence done completely without any score AND relevant dialogue ("Upstairs!") and quite tense and well-organized at that. Kinda got back to his roots with that (though ET's opening of course was exquisitely scored, it was still largely a sequence told by visuals). I also liked the match cuts sometimes with nicely humorous results (a courtroom's "All arise!" leading to a shot of kids in a classroom going through a nuclear drill). More small-scale than the typical Spielberg thriller, it was still a decently made film and I heavily enjoyed it. Probably my favourite Spielberg film since Munich. So I would recommend it for the visuals and performances, including a really strong Tom Hanks.

NP: Quantum of Solace - David Arnold

I really miss Arnold's action/writings. Thomas Newman's Bond scores were just boring!

FIRST LISTEN???

Where have you been hiding?!!

Man, I wish I could listen to Apollo 13 for the first time (again).

That's true to an extent but you must remember the first time you heard a particular melody, phrase or pattern in a film score (or any media for that matter) and thought, fuck, that's good. No repeat listen can match that experience. Happens less these days, admittedly.

Same with film in general. There are so many films I wish I could erase my memory of and watch fresh.