JAMES NEWTON HOWARD

The film is great and as time goes by - apart the fact that i want to re-watch it, i realize it's just a misunderstood little gem.

Then I like Lady in the Water way more, I like The Happening beause it is still Shyamalan and not just an average director. His wonderful story telling and creation of build up is still astounding, but I guess the movie fails because it doesn't have an ending, or a feeling I was resolved with, perhaps the story itself isn't so fascinating.

Ah well, considering the cinema version was so quietly, I need to see this one again through my brother's home cinema, loud and without pauses, the way any movie is meant to be

There have been lots of opinions about Michael Clayton! They mostly coincide with your own. Personally I think that's a little generous - I found it worse than generic, actually it's downright bad!

I find it to be perfect background music for writing.

I absolutely disagree. The score creates a very nice atmosphere that crawls around and gives you a certain feeling of uneasiness. Helps me very much while I write dialogue about mysteries and stuff.

No, because their flow is too jumpy and disrupting. Your choice of words (non-intrusive) was perfect, actually. Occasionally, I use a collection of quiet tracks from different JNH scores.

There are two MICHAEL CLAYTON cues that play very well in the film. One is the opening scene. The other comes as Michael Clayton leaves a message on Tom Wilkinson's phone, while the latter wanders the streets. On their own they're not pieces you could listen to, I imagine. But they have an undeniable chemistry with the images.

The problem with the rest of the score is that it doesn't work well enough to make me think that it couldn't have been done better. I think the electronic emphasis was appropriate - it suits the film's cold, reflective surfaces. But it's not hard to imagine the writing being a bit more adventurous, even as it maintained that electronic, minimalist exterior. And the moral redemption of Clayton is given almost no comment in the music - I feel this is a miscalculation.

While it has a few rhythmic problems (embedded in the screenplay), the film is very good. If you like SYRIANA and THE INSIDER, you'll probably find this one has much to offer. Performances strong all around.

Oh, they do! Never fully figured out why, but they do!

Hey hey - who is BADMOUTHING the great GEORGE?!

Thomas' review of The Happening
http://www.maintitles.net/reviews/the-happening/

I like the score quite a bit, especially those two last pieces. The sudden raise of the orchestra, trumpets and the increasing tempo in the End Credits piece, at 3:50 belongs to my favourite film score moment of this year. It's really frightening!

I expect nothing but total acceptance and understanding of my review

Ps, if The Happening wasn't the last Shyamalan/Newton Howard score, I would have been different in my rating, but I stand firm in my belief that this is the weakest of all their collaborations

I think the movie is not well, I like moments but I don't get a feeling out of it, neither of the score, not even at the ending, at least the guys of the podcast agree with me, they seem to be the only ones

I expected him to be doing this, since it's Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) again. Hopefully it'll be a far more interesting score.

Good interview, I like JNH's comments on The Postman!

Sounds promising.

I'm a sucker for these kind of films but I have to say that there are so many other great and un-told stories from WWII, so much of it seems to centre on Jews and the holocaust etc etc, I want someting different.

p.s. The Warsaw Ghetto has already been handled brilliantly by Polanski in The Pianist.