Reviews

Interview: A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST composer Joel McNeely tames the Old West

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 05/31/2014
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST soundtrack | ©2014 Backlot Music

When Wisconsin-born composer Joel McNeely went from a land of good old fashioned American purity to the far more ornery streets of Los Angeles, his innate melodic talent arrived just at a late 80s time when newfangled synths and rock music were taking their place as underscore – putting any number of old studio composers out to pasture as they tried to adapt to the changing sound of Hollywood – or saw their legendary careers bite the bullet. Yet McNeely was a greenhorn with the symphonic chops to more than match his elders, with a particular talent for a golden, […]Read On »


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CD Review: CREEPSHOW soundtrack (3,000 edition)

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER
CREEPSHOW soundtrack | ©2014 La La Land Records

From the time when the denizens of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD shambled through its farmhouse field to the tune of creature feature stock music, George Romero’s horror films have had a pulp throwback feel to them that recalled the graphic, moral comeuppance of such E.C. comics as “Tales From the Crypt” and “Vault of Horror.” So it was only natural that the filmmaker would unleash his own cinematic, blood-colored anthology with 1982s CREEPSHOW, authored by no less than Stephen King. It’s a film that for many remains the director’s most unhinged and pleasurable effort, especially with its seamless combination […]Read On »


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Movie Review: THE LOVE PUNCH

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 05/30/2014
THE LOVE PUNCH movie poster | ©2014 Ketchup Entertainment

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Emma Thompson, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, Louise Bourgoin, Laurent Lafitte Writer: Joel Hopkins Director: Joel Hopkins Distributor: Ketchup Entertainment Release Date: May 23, 2014 If THE LOVE PUNCH had come out in the ‘70s, with two big-name stars and its cheery attitude, chances are it would have been a hit. The movie’s problem is that it’s coming out in 2014, and although its particular concerns (corporate raiders, vanishing pension funds) have a timely ring, the overall effect is retro. For some, this will be a plus; for others, this kind of lighthearted thriller seems now […]Read On »


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Movie Review: A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST movie poster | ©2014 Universal Pictures

Rating: R Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman Writers: Seth MacFarlane & Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild Director: Seth MacFarlane Distributor: Universal Release Date: May 30, 2014 There are moments of laugh-out-loud brilliance in A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST, writer/producer/director/star Seth MacFarlane’s send-up of classic Westerns. There are also plenty of just generally funny things. And then there are things that will make at least some people go, “I’m not with you on this one.” It’s 1882 in the Territories, a scrubby stretch of the Old West […]Read On »


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Movie Review: MALEFICENT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN
MALEFICENT movie poster | ©2014 Walt Disney Pictures

Rating: PG Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Tom Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Isobelle Molloy, Michael Higgins Writer: Linda Woolverton, based on Walt Disney’s SLEEPING BEAUTY and Charles Perrault’s story LA BELLE AU BOIS DORMANT Director: Robert Stromberg Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: May 30, 2014 Almost everyone who saw Walt Disney’s animated SLEEPING BEAUTY as a child, regardless of when that childhood was, had the crap scared out of them by the villainess Maleficent. An evil fairy who cast a death spell on an innocent baby, had green vapor surrounding […]Read On »


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CD Review: RIO 2 soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER
RIO 2 soundtrack | ©2014 Sony Classics

From having elephants hear whos to training dragons and teaching penguins tap dance, John Powell rules the animated animal kingdom when it comes to scores that fly on wings of energetic exuberance. Now he once again takes flight to Brazil with a return to the world of RIO, whose new trip up the Amazon gives him even more opportunities to bring on exotic South American percussion and winds, courtesy of such indigenous guest artists as UAKTI, Milton Nascimento and Carlinhos Brown. They’re peppy, pop-py birds of a feather in giving Powell a wonderfully manic, yet affectionately energetic sound depicting a […]Read On »


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CD Review: LAST PASSENGER soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 05/29/2014
LAST PASSENGER soundtrack | ©2014 Movie Score Media

Liam Bates dynamically wants us to know that he’s moving up from conductor to solely taking over the driver’s seat for this Brit train-to-hell thriller, which has a few passengers doing their damnedest to stop a madman from taking their once-normal ride to a flaming last stop. And right along with Bates on the pedal are the gleeful ghosts of Michael Kamen and Jerry Goldsmith, with the smashing, brassy action touch and John Williams-esque swirling strings pressed right to the floor (along with that composer’s electric piano way with emotion). While it’s soon apparent that Bates doesn’t quite have their […]Read On »


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Exclusive Interview: THE LORD OF CATAN Writer-Director Stuart C. Paul chats about his short film

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 05/28/2014
Amy Acker in THE LORD OF CATAN | ©2014 Stuart C. Paul

THE LORD OF CATAN is a thirteen-minute film that stars Amy Acker and Fran Kranz as, respectively, Krysta and Todd, an apparently happy couple whose marriage hits the crisis point during a game of SETTLERS OF CATAN. LORD has its East Coast premiere Thursday, May 29, at the New York Shorts Festival at the Landmark Sunshine Theatre inManhattan; actor Kranz will be present at the screening for a Q&A follow-up. The West Coast premiere is two days later at the Los Angeles-based Dances With Films Festival at the Chinese Theatre, where Acker and writer/director/producer Stuart C. Paul will engage in […]Read On »


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CD Review: DRAFT DAY soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER
DRAFT DAY soundtrack | ©2014 Lakeshore Records

As the second “sports” movie after MONEYBALL to deal with the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that makes for a league roster, DRAFT DAY takes on the far more physical world of football with a decidedly less musically cerebral approach. But that doesn’t mean that John Debney is all rhythmic brawn and no brain as he helps make heated phone conversations, chalkboard stats and Machiavellian negotiations into electrifying listening. Re-teaming with Ivan Reitman after helping the director move up a more youth-oriented yard line with the relationship dramedy NO STRINGS ATTACHED, Debney deftly plays between alt, pop rhythm and orchestral emotion […]Read On »


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TV Review: SUPERNATURAL – Season 9 – “Stairway to Heaven”

By RACHEL REITSLEFF 05/27/2014
Curtis Armstrong as Metatron and Tahmoh Penikett as Gadreel in SUPERNATURAL - Season 9 - "Stairway to Heaven" | ©2014 The CW/Cate Cameron

Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Curtis Armstrong, Tahmoh Penikett, Lindsey McKeon Writer: Andrew Dabb, series created by Eric Kripke Director: Guy Norman Bee Network: The CW, Tuesdays @ 9 PM Original Airdate: May 13, 2014 We all knew it was just a matter of time until that Mark of Cain made Dean (Jensen Ackles) turn mean, and sure enough, in “Stairway to Heaven,” the penultimate episode of SUPERNATURAL’s ninth season, the older Winchester brother loses it big time. On top of that, Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), who has gone from amusingly eccentric to a slimeball utterly worthy of takedown, […]Read On »


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