Category: Best Music

Posted on 2022-04-15 | No Comments |

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Ever since I first learned about the HMS Bounty, I’ve been fascinated by the story and how this group of mutineers changed the history of Pitcairn Island. In this version of one of the most famous mutinies ever, Captain Trevor Howard is so domineering and abusive that eventually even Marlon Brando has had enough and provokes a mutiny. While it does have some beautiful views of the expansive sea, this film is just way too long. It takes over half of its three plus hour runtime to even get to the actual mutiny. I was having a hard time getting into Brando’s portrayal (he has a very strange accent and various affectations), especially when compared to Clark Gable in the 1935 version, but I eventually warmed up as it makes sense that he’s rather sniveling and pompous until Howard’s callousness is even too much for him. For such a stupid long movie, the ending comes rather abruptly and doesn’t seem to have any connection to reality.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Film Editing; Best Effects, Special Effects; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Score – Substantially Original

Posted on 2022-04-14 | No Comments |

Belfast (2021)

The coming of age tale of nine year old Jude Hill, including an absentee father working in London and an attraction to a Catholic classmate, is disrupted when the Troubles comes to his neighborhood. His entire family must decide which path they will follow from that point on. The whole film feels like a personal memoir for writer-director Kenneth Branagh, very similar to Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma all the way to the black and white cinematography. It’s an oddly short film for the subject manner and I wish there was more time spent on characterization, particularly of grandparents Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench who are both delightful and wise in their roles. The film is often shot from a lowered perspective, giving a great feeling as if it is truly from a child’s perspective.

Posted on 2022-04-09 | No Comments |

San Antonio (1945)

Cattle rustling is rampant in Texas and Errol Flynn has the evidence that Paul Kelly is responsible. He has to survive the general lawlessness of San Antonio and the attraction to visiting singer Alexis Smith in order to arrest his prey. The stakes don’t feel particularly high in this film, but there is plenty of gun-play especially in a full-throttle, no holds barred, barroom brawl. The costumes are prettier and less rugged than a John Wayne western, but that helps to highlight the athleticism and charm of Flynn.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color; Best Music, Original Song

Posted on 2022-04-08 | No Comments |

The Sandpiper (1965)

Single mother and artist Elizabeth Taylor’s delinquent son is forced by the courts to attend headmaster Richard Burton’s school. Though he is married to Eva Marie Saint, he begins an affair with the free-spirited Taylor. All the men in the film seem to have been in love with Liz at some point and she is really gorgeous in the film. I suppose audiences at the time might have enjoyed Taylor and Burton carrying on an extramarital affair onscreen in a way that somewhat mirrored their own lives, but I personally don’t feel much chemistry between the two of them. I relate most to Saint’s level-headed, sensible character and the film wastes her power.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

Posted on 2022-04-05 | No Comments |

Shall We Dance (1937)

Ballet dancer Fred Astaire falls for Ginger Rogers, but she doesn’t want anything to do with him. When a ruse goes awry, they must pretend to be married for the sake of their careers. This is my last Astaire-Rogers pairing and while it’s not my favorite, there are a couple of moments that shine. While they are on a ship travelling back to the United States, they spend a lot of time bonding on the dog walking deck, which the deck is very cute with all the puppies walking and in special ship kennels. The highlight remains the tape dancing routine between the two of them on roller skates. I watched it multiple times just to watch the intricate overlap between their tap skills and skating while dancing together.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

Posted on 2022-04-02 | No Comments |

Jack London (1943)

This is a tedious, episodic biopic on the life of author Jack London, portrayed by Michael O’Shea. I don’t know how faithful it is to his actual life, but there is a forced quality here to make it relevant to the World War II era by framing the entire story around the 1943 launch of the liberty ship named Jack London. The episode involving his time as a foreign correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War even gives him a chance to foretell Japanese attacks in the future. None of this is helped by the poor quality copy on Hoopla, but at least it features a decent role for Louise Beavers as his beneficiary early in the film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

Posted on 2022-03-22 | No Comments |

Hawaii (1966)

In this big-budget epic based on the James Michener novel, Max von Syndow is a Christian zealot who drags his young wife to Hawaii to educate the heathens after an appeal by one of their converted princes. It takes the film a long time to even get to this point in the story and it’s quite a drag before they get to the islands. From there, it’s endlessly frustrating watching von Syndow’s fanaticism beat against everyone else he meets, especially the native population and his wife, even when they are on his side. The performances are rather good with strong appearances from Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, and Jocelyne LaGarde.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Effects, Special Visual Effects; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Music Score

Posted on 2022-03-19 | No Comments |

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Two astronomers Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio discover a comet hurtling towards earth and find out in a post-truth worth that it’s impossible to get anyone to take the threat seriously and more importantly to find leaders who find it politically beneficial to do something about it. The satire is a bit too on the nose most of the time and the film drags for way too long. None of the characters feel real in any way, but there are some entertaining moments scattered throughout and the overall plot is probably as realistic as any other take on the story could be.

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score); Best Original Screenplay

Posted on 2022-03-18 | No Comments |

The Power of the Dog (2021)

In 1920s Montana, ranchers Jesse Plemons meets and marries widowed inn owner Kirsten Dunst, much to the chagrin of his abusive brother Benedict Cumberbatch. During the summer, Dunst’s son Kodi Smit-McPhee visits the ranch and also endures Cumberbatch’s abuse but overtime finds common ground with the rancher. Not being a fan of Jane Campion nor really of Westerns, I didn’t have high expectations of going in, but I came away quite impressed. There’s a long interwoven tale here of shifting power dynamics, sexuality, and gender roles that slowly reveals itself and doesn’t become clear until its final moments, and maybe not even then. The performances are strong across the board and play against each other in incredible ways.

Oscar Win: Best Achievement in Directing

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2); Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Sound; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Posted on 2022-03-18 | No Comments |

Encanto (2021)

Mirabel Madrigal is the only member of her multigenerational Colombian family who was not bestowed a special talent as a child. On the day her younger cousin Antonio receives his gift, Mirabel notices that the Madrigal’s magical home seems to be cracking at the seams and she’s determined to find out why. Like Raya and the Dragon before it, this film is beautifully animated with even more gorgeous backgrounds and details. Unfortunately Mirabel isn’t a particularly inspirational main character and many of the other family members would have made more appealing leads. I like Stephanie Beatriz as an actress, but her voice does not come across anywhere near that of a teenager. The soundtrack is apparently very popular, but didn’t work organically within the movie for me. Instead the songs feel like they were made for an eventual stage production than this animated film. Both the build up and the resolution of the main conflict are a bit muddied, but I do like the concepts of familial pressures and magical gifts even if some of those were a bit duds in terms of usefulness.

Oscar Win: Best Animated Feature Film

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score); Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)