For Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck,” composer Carter Burwell created his loveliest and most ambitious score, entering the interior worlds of two deaf children, Rose (Millicent Simmonds) and Ben (Oakes Fegley), who flee to New York 50 years apart and discover a mysterious connection at the American Museum of Natural History.
“It was about how to play those two periods [1927 and 1977] and those two kids, but at the same time not having it feel like two movies,” said Burwell, who previously collaborated with Haynes on the Oscar-nominated “Carol,” HBO Series “Mildred Pierce,” and glitter-rockfest “Velvet Goldmine.”
Finding Their Voices
“Wonderstruck” weaves in and out of the black-and-white silent movie world of Rose, which, without dialogue, relies heavily on Burwell’s score, and the gritty world of Ben. Each kid searches for a missing parent to solve a puzzle and becomes immersed in two very different New Yorks (one ascendant in ’27 and the other at its nadir in ’77).
Burwell,...
“It was about how to play those two periods [1927 and 1977] and those two kids, but at the same time not having it feel like two movies,” said Burwell, who previously collaborated with Haynes on the Oscar-nominated “Carol,” HBO Series “Mildred Pierce,” and glitter-rockfest “Velvet Goldmine.”
Finding Their Voices
“Wonderstruck” weaves in and out of the black-and-white silent movie world of Rose, which, without dialogue, relies heavily on Burwell’s score, and the gritty world of Ben. Each kid searches for a missing parent to solve a puzzle and becomes immersed in two very different New Yorks (one ascendant in ’27 and the other at its nadir in ’77).
Burwell,...
- 10/27/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Some movies are governed by such a potent premise that their logline titles tell you everything you need to know. Runaway Train. Castaway. Maniac Cop. Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. Samuel Jackson is rumored to have signed on to Snakes On A Plane after hearing the title (that’s actually not true).
And so it is with Fist Fight. The trailer opens with a highly economical first second, juxtaposing a mad-as-hell schoolteacher Ice Cube against a scared-shitless schoolteacher Charlie Day—culminating in screaming and a foley-enhanced punch. Ushered in by the sweeping opening of Carl Orff’s overused cantana, Ice Cube’s Ron Strickland makes a quietly intimidating promise to colleague Andy Campbell (Day): “I’m gonna fight you.” And from there, the tempo of “Carmina Burana” escalates the unfolding insanity. The promise of adult fisticuffs causes jubilation among the student body, while unraveling their milquetoast English teacher (#teacherfight is...
And so it is with Fist Fight. The trailer opens with a highly economical first second, juxtaposing a mad-as-hell schoolteacher Ice Cube against a scared-shitless schoolteacher Charlie Day—culminating in screaming and a foley-enhanced punch. Ushered in by the sweeping opening of Carl Orff’s overused cantana, Ice Cube’s Ron Strickland makes a quietly intimidating promise to colleague Andy Campbell (Day): “I’m gonna fight you.” And from there, the tempo of “Carmina Burana” escalates the unfolding insanity. The promise of adult fisticuffs causes jubilation among the student body, while unraveling their milquetoast English teacher (#teacherfight is...
- 9/22/2016
- by B.G. Henne
- avclub.com
Among the numerous festivals that take place during the month of July, Lollapalooza may be the historically richest. Having taken place off and on in different formats since 1991, the event series has succeeded in propelling a variety of artists into the mainstream spotlight. While superstar DJ/producer Kaskade may not necessarily be one of them, he does hail from the festival’s hometown of Chicago – and he played a set at this year’s installment that absolutely brought the house down.
We haven’t exactly been celebratory of all of Kaskade’s recent material, but when it comes to tearing it up on the decks, his recent performance demonstrates that he still knows how to get a crowd hopping. Studded with favorites like “Room for Happiness” and “Atmosphere,” the mix did contain a few of his less-deserving tracks – like his remix of Jack Ü’s “Where Are Ü Now,” for instance.
We haven’t exactly been celebratory of all of Kaskade’s recent material, but when it comes to tearing it up on the decks, his recent performance demonstrates that he still knows how to get a crowd hopping. Studded with favorites like “Room for Happiness” and “Atmosphere,” the mix did contain a few of his less-deserving tracks – like his remix of Jack Ü’s “Where Are Ü Now,” for instance.
- 8/5/2015
- by John Cameron
- We Got This Covered
If you see a movie for the first time and swear you've heard the score before, it may not be your imagination...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
- 6/9/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Justin Bieber's chiseled, tattooed chest endures the yolky sting of retribution in the first promo for the pop star's upcoming roast special, which airs on Comedy Central on March 30th.
The 30-second spot finds Bieber mugging and flexing for the camera before he's pelted with a torrent of eggs in slow motion while the fittingly hyper-dramatic "O Fortuna" movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana plays. The pop star takes the beating in stride, however, and even whips an egg back at the camera as the closing tag — "Come and get it" — appears.
The 30-second spot finds Bieber mugging and flexing for the camera before he's pelted with a torrent of eggs in slow motion while the fittingly hyper-dramatic "O Fortuna" movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana plays. The pop star takes the beating in stride, however, and even whips an egg back at the camera as the closing tag — "Come and get it" — appears.
- 2/17/2015
- Rollingstone.com
What makes music “epic”? Artist Rashaad Newsome has been pondering that question with his latest art video, which makes its debut at Miami’s Select art fair tonight and features a soundtrack comprised of a remix of Carl Orff’s "Carmina Burana." Described by New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini as “a human cry against cruel fortune,” the choral and orchestral work features one section, O Fortuna, that’s become so synonymous in media with full-blown impending doom that it’s now almost a pop-culture joke — cued up whenever the judges make their entrance on The X Factor, whenever Shrek heads to a bookstore, and whenever actors, in a slow-motion montage, bite into things covered with chocolate spread in a Hershey’s commercial.Newsome was fascinated by the way "Carmina Burana"’s larger-than-life narratives overlapped with narratives found in hip-hop. Orff’s piece, he said “is based on these pagan...
- 12/3/2014
- by Dawn Chan
- Vulture
Salinger
Directed by: Shane Salerno
Documentary
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 20, 2013 (Chicago)
Plot: A documentary about the life of J.D. Salinger, who wrote The Catcher in the Rye, and then disappeared.
Who’S It For? Those who can accept a documentary’s many flaws for the abundance of information it provides.
Overall
Salinger fanboy Shane Salerno probably would have preferred that A Perfect Day for Bananafish had more suicides, or that the cruise in Teddy borrowed its final moments from the nautical genocide in The Poseidon Adventure. A rare kind of bad movie treat for both the world of documentaries and the fan universe of J.D. Salinger, his doc Salinger is an absurdly wrong passion project with a presentation spiritually and intellectually unrecognizable to Salinger’s work, or even the author’s attitude about his work. Salinger is a not a documentary that complements the life-story of its hero,...
Directed by: Shane Salerno
Documentary
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 20, 2013 (Chicago)
Plot: A documentary about the life of J.D. Salinger, who wrote The Catcher in the Rye, and then disappeared.
Who’S It For? Those who can accept a documentary’s many flaws for the abundance of information it provides.
Overall
Salinger fanboy Shane Salerno probably would have preferred that A Perfect Day for Bananafish had more suicides, or that the cruise in Teddy borrowed its final moments from the nautical genocide in The Poseidon Adventure. A rare kind of bad movie treat for both the world of documentaries and the fan universe of J.D. Salinger, his doc Salinger is an absurdly wrong passion project with a presentation spiritually and intellectually unrecognizable to Salinger’s work, or even the author’s attitude about his work. Salinger is a not a documentary that complements the life-story of its hero,...
- 9/20/2013
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Sometimes, even when bodies are splattering, brows are furrowing, and explosions are flattening entire downtowns, you just can’t be sure a Hollywood villain is truly villainous. Fortunately, screenwriters and music supervisors have a foolproof mechanism for underscoring a bad guy’s evil genius: classical music. Often, it’s a few well-placed bars of “O fortuna” from Carl Orff’s manically apocalyptic choral cantata Carmina Burana laid over juicy, deranged onscreen mayhem (never mind that the text is actually a thirteenth-century Latin whine about the vagaries of fate — a depressive medieval monk’s version of “Luck Be a Lady Tonight”). Sometimes it’s the old Wagner chestnut “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre, better known as the helicopter attack music in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. But usually it’s Beethoven. Malcolm McDowell and his droogs turn Symphony No. 9 into "Ode to Rape" in A Clockwork Orange. Gary Oldman...
- 6/28/2013
- by Justin Davidson
- Vulture
by Vadim Rizov
Alps begins with a rhythmic gymnast (Ariane Lebed) facing off against her coach (Johnny Berkis). She wants Euro-trashy club music to soundtrack her ribbon-twirling; he insists on the deadly backing of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana” (its opening movement, "O Fortuna," is a staple of movie trailers). The bulky trainer threatens to break her arm the next time he questions her musical judgment. "You aren't ready for pop," he tonelessly declares.
Is writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos ready for pop? [Listen to our podcast.] Alps, his follow-up to the extreme dark comedy of 2009's Dogtooth, shares several quasi-joke touchstones with its predecessor: violence against women, incest and psychological terrorization, all committed with blank disaffection. Both films take place in a budgetary universe far from Hollywood, but that doesn't mean Alps' characters or creator disdain it. "Who's your favorite actor?" a paramedic asks a girl who has been badly injured. "Jude Law?" Celebrity...
Alps begins with a rhythmic gymnast (Ariane Lebed) facing off against her coach (Johnny Berkis). She wants Euro-trashy club music to soundtrack her ribbon-twirling; he insists on the deadly backing of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana” (its opening movement, "O Fortuna," is a staple of movie trailers). The bulky trainer threatens to break her arm the next time he questions her musical judgment. "You aren't ready for pop," he tonelessly declares.
Is writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos ready for pop? [Listen to our podcast.] Alps, his follow-up to the extreme dark comedy of 2009's Dogtooth, shares several quasi-joke touchstones with its predecessor: violence against women, incest and psychological terrorization, all committed with blank disaffection. Both films take place in a budgetary universe far from Hollywood, but that doesn't mean Alps' characters or creator disdain it. "Who's your favorite actor?" a paramedic asks a girl who has been badly injured. "Jude Law?" Celebrity...
- 2/22/2012
- GreenCine Daily
Ray Mickshaw / Fox “X-Factor” finalists, from left to right, Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene.
Who will win the first season of “The X-Factor”? Singers Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene are all in the running. Speakeasy is live blogging the finale. Follow along and leave your thoughts in the comments.
12:31 am
Goodnight. Time for the Zzz Factor...
9:59 pm
Melanie sings "Listen" from "Dreamgirls." It's become a signature song for her. It's a ragged rendition, as...
Who will win the first season of “The X-Factor”? Singers Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene are all in the running. Speakeasy is live blogging the finale. Follow along and leave your thoughts in the comments.
12:31 am
Goodnight. Time for the Zzz Factor...
9:59 pm
Melanie sings "Listen" from "Dreamgirls." It's become a signature song for her. It's a ragged rendition, as...
- 12/23/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Dogtooth director Yorgos Lanthimos returns this year with Alps. He has promised this film will be darker, stranger and funnier than Dogtooth, his polarizing portrait of a very messed-up family that became an unexpected Best Foreign Film Oscar contender. We've seen a few images [1] from Alps, which is about three people who aid the grieving process of strangers by standing in for their deceased loved ones. Now we've got a teaser, which doesn't offer a damn shred of info about the plot, but does poke fun at the notion that the film is archly serious festival fare. IndieWire [2] has the teaser premiere. This is the synopsis we've had in the past: A Nurse, a Paramedic, a Gymnast and her Coach have formed a service for hire. They stand in for dead people by appointment, hired by the relatives, friends, or colleagues of the deceased. The company is called Alps while their leader,...
- 8/30/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Ever since he was a kid, Joe Queenan has loved movies featuring Vikings or Greeks. But which is the best? Hold on to your heads as he wades into a very bloody battle
In the vastly underrated 2005 Anglo-Icelandic-Canadian film Beowulf & Grendel, the actress Sarah Polley refuses to go along with the gag, stubbornly clinging to her flat, emotionless, early 21st-century Canadian accent. Everyone knows that Norse sagas only work if everybody in the cast keeps a straight face and sticks to the Hrothgar of Elfungstan intonations, if all hands on deck refrain from smirking and winking at the audience when Ulrich of Vlinkstenndntmarksendondt declares: "Great are the tales of the Spear-Danes. Some tales sail; others sink below the waves."
Gerard Butler (Beowulf) certainly understands that, adroitly fudging a fifth-century Geat accent by using his authentic, all-purpose Scottish burr: the perfect one-size-fits-all accent for any movie set in any era preceding the discovery of penicillin.
In the vastly underrated 2005 Anglo-Icelandic-Canadian film Beowulf & Grendel, the actress Sarah Polley refuses to go along with the gag, stubbornly clinging to her flat, emotionless, early 21st-century Canadian accent. Everyone knows that Norse sagas only work if everybody in the cast keeps a straight face and sticks to the Hrothgar of Elfungstan intonations, if all hands on deck refrain from smirking and winking at the audience when Ulrich of Vlinkstenndntmarksendondt declares: "Great are the tales of the Spear-Danes. Some tales sail; others sink below the waves."
Gerard Butler (Beowulf) certainly understands that, adroitly fudging a fifth-century Geat accent by using his authentic, all-purpose Scottish burr: the perfect one-size-fits-all accent for any movie set in any era preceding the discovery of penicillin.
- 3/18/2010
- by Joe Queenan
- The Guardian - Film News
The Bach Festival Society closes its Season of Love and War with a romantic Spring program featuring a variety of works. The Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra will perform Carl Nielsen?s Hymnus Amoris and selections from Carl Orff?s Carmina Burana. The orchestra will also perform Sergei Rachmaninoff?s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Tchaikovsky?s Romeo and Juliet Overture. The two performances take place Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. in Knowles Memorial Chapel at Rollins College. Tickets range from $20 to $50, depending on seat location.
- 3/17/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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