By Brett Blake The most harrowing film we’re likely to see all year, DUNKIRK is the supremely impressive latest offering from director Christopher Nolan, and though it might not be his most emotionally direct or accessible movie to date, it is unquestionably one of his most technically accomplished. Perhaps even the most. Telling the story of the attempted evacuation of Dunkirk, France (which took place over roughly one week in May and June of 1940), from three separate perspectives, DUNKIRK presents a fairly narrow range of characters to represent each aspect of the broader evacuation: a few young soldiers trying to get off the beach (Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, and Harry Styles, among others), a civilian yachtsman (Mark Rylance) crossing the English Channel to help evacuate the 400,00 stranded men, and a pair of RAF pilots (Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden) patrolling the skies above Dunkirk. Other characters come and go (some performed by the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, and James D’Arcy), but Nolan primarily uses these three anchor points - which are unfolding over three separate periods of time and which eventually converge - to give the audience a fairly complete picture of this pivotal moment in the early days of the World War II. It cannot be overstated what a massive production and undertaking this film is. The word “epic” gets thrown around so often that it has truly lost almost all of its value and weight, but DUNKIRK is a full-on, proper, cinematic epic, a movie of enormous scale which no doubt had countless logistical hurdles to overcome. Christopher Nolan, experienced on big films, orchestrates everything with supreme grace and confidence, filling the frame with thousands of real extras in real locations, dozens of real boats on the real sea, and real dueling airplanes actually flying through the air. There are inevitably moments of digital enhancement and fakery in here somewhere, but the totality of the experience is one of extreme verisimilitude; this all feels real, and simply from a staging standpoint, this is the most impressive war-centric film production since SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in terms of its scope and ambition. It’s staggeringly effective filmmaking. Another phrase that’s been overused is, “It’s an experience.” You’ll hear people often say about a movie (usually ones that are more style over substance), “Well, it’s an experience.” Again, sometimes the overused cliche proves to be true, because DUNKIRK is, more than anything, an example of a “You are there!” film. Nolan’s goal is to drop you into the Dunkirk evacuation and make you feel what that experience might have been like. There’s comparatively little dialogue, and the plot is very simple; there are no great twists to be revealed, no big mysteries to be solved, no transformative character arcs. That does raise the issue that there are few (if any) characters we can really get behind on an emotional basis (more on that below), but the movie is concerned with the experience of being part of the evacuation and making you - the audience - have a visceral or even physical reaction to it. It’s a tightly-paced, tightly-wound film, and the unrelenting intensity that Nolan generates is often close to overwhelming (in the best way). The editing and the (jaw-droppingly fantastic) sound design combine with the crisp cinematography to produce an immersive quality that is striking. The only element of the movie that could be called an outright miscalculation would be the score from Hans Zimmer. For as much as he gets knocked for frequently coasting on autopilot, Zimmer also has a long history of exciting experimentation (see his previous Nolan score, INTERSTELLAR, which is one of his very best and most singular); his experimentation with DUNKIRK, however, mostly results in a harsh and frequently grating “sound design”-esque sort of score that, admittedly, does help ramp up the suspense at points, and does have a propulsive quality which is (more or less) effective, but for the most part - as music - is either pounding and overbearing or bland, textural/atmospheric stuff, and this is coming from a Zimmer fan. The force of the imagery is so strong that we don’t need the music to unnerve us even more, yet that’s what Zimmer goes for. One can only wonder what a traditionally symphonic, more thematic score would have done for the movie. DUNKIRK absolutely delivers spectacle in spades, but is there anything more meaningful to be pulled from it? It’s unclear. Nolan’s technical mastery is unimpeachable, and this may well be his best-directed film; however, it’s also one of his coldest, save for the final moments, which are - in fairness - legitimately stirring and affecting. The contrast between INTERSTELLAR - his warmest and most openly emotional movie - and DUNKIRK is truly stark. Nolan mostly relies on the audience’s willingness to care about the Allies because we all know the stakes of World War II and the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis; he doesn’t seem particularly interested in getting us to care about individuals, but rather the cause as a whole, and this specific moment in time during the conflict. We get invested because the filmmaking puts us right there with the young men on the beach and the civilians crossing the Channel to help, not because any of the characters are particularly worth caring about (in terms of narrative) on their own merits. Some stabs in that direction are made, but it’s pretty perfunctory stuff (though - admittedly - very well performed by the cast members; Rylance is particularly great, making a lot out of very little on the page). The degree to which any of that ultimately hurts the movie is up to the viewer. Speaking only for myself, I think the totality of the cinema here - the direction, the cinematography, the sound design, the editing - is truly powerful stuff, and for those elements alone, DUNKIRK is one of the year’s truly indispensable films.
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By Brett Blake & Breanne Brennan With the year a little more than halfway done, we've decided to take a look back at a crop of 2017's film scores--some noteable, some underwhelming, and some flat-out fantastic. Read and take a listen... Alien: Covenant Music by Jed Kurzel A tremendous horror score, albeit not an aggressively downbeat or morose one. Jed Kurzel is definitely one to keep on your radar after notable work on MACBETH and ASSASSIN’S CREED. In some ways, this score exists as a heartfelt tribute to Goldsmith’s ALIEN score, illustrating that Kurzell himself is “one of us,” a fan of classic scores of the past. Kurzell fuses his own sensibilities for ambient textures with a splash of pulsing electronics and a healthy dose of ferocious brass. It also can’t be overlooked that he liberally incorporates Jerry Goldsmith’s theme from the original ALIEN; he doesn’t use the Goldsmith material as a crutch, though, but rather incorporates that wonderfully mysterious theme into new settings that feel totally at home with Kurzell’s modern approach. A must-listen for any horror music buff. The Book of Henry Music by Michael Giacchino A tale of two scores. On one hand, we have playful and openly emotional material that would feel right at home in an Amblin film from the 1980s. On the other hand, we have dark, ominous suspense material that feels more akin to Giacchino’s work on things like LOST and LET ME IN. In that sense, it’s a score at war with itself. The movie’s main theme is a good one, though somewhat underwhelming as it’s a clear variation on two similar themes he wrote for STAR TREK BEYOND and ROGUE ONE last year; he does often apply interesting instrumentation to the theme which helps (a little) to give it its own identity. The darker material is occasionally interesting, though the album lingers more on that stuff than it needs to. All told, this mostly feels like Giacchino on autopilot. It’s okay, but not great. The Circle Music by Danny Elfman It’s great to hear quirky Elfman again. His synthy tech-like tunes here are almost reminiscent of MEET THE ROBINSONS, with evocative synthetic textures and electronic rhythms propelling us through. It’s a more upbeat score than not, complete with some trademark Elfman quirk, though it lacks the sweeping and lush melodic undercurrent at which he’s best. And like the movie itself, which really pulls its punches, the score could have benefited from going to more overtly dark areas, something Elfman would no doubt have been quite capable of pulling off. Still, it’s fun to hear Elfman in such a predominantly electronic setting. A Cure for Wellness Music by Benjamin Wallfisch A somewhat madcap score befitting the utter insanity of the film itself. Wallfisch is clearly an adherent of the adage “Go big or go home,” because he goes all the way with this one, crafting a pair of memorable themes in the process. He puts his themes through their paces constantly, shifting between pathos, menace, sympathy, and bombastic grandiosity when appropriate. At its best, the score will remind listeners of the likes of Danny Elfman’s darker Tim Burton collaborations, and that’s meant as the highest compliment. This is a monstrously entertaining score. The Great Wall Music by Ramin Djawadi Textbook Djawadi, for better and worse. He’s improved considerably as a composer since his early days, and this score is not without a few significant highlights, particularly the main theme, which incorporates an eastern flavor (complete with frequent Chinese choral elements) that is appropriately reverent and uplifting. The action writing often falls into fairly nondescript territory, but there are a few stirring moments of heroism and sacrifice which Djawadi handles well. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Music by Tyler Bates Bates returns from the first film with core thematic ideas in place, and he relies on those heavily for VOL. 2. Rather than simply regurgitating, note-for-note, stuff from the previous movie, Bates gives us new variations on that stuff, eventually culminating in a finale cue (called "Dad") of grand and emotional proportions, and which is one of the best standalone cues of the year. It’s very much a continuation of the first score rather than some reinvention, so if you enjoyed that first movie’s music, you will find things to enjoy with this score. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Music by Daniel Pemberton Pemberton has been on our radars for a while, and his effort for this film is one of the more interesting musical takes on King Arthur we’ve ever heard. Totally modern, it eschews stereotyped nobility in exchange for rough-around-the-edges, rock-infused rhythms, and Pemberton couples that with strong harmonic sensibilities which make the score a strangely compelling listen. The ballad, “The Devil and the Huntsman,” provides some additional flavor to the already solid score with its rumbling low brass and sharp vocals. Kong: Skull Island Music By Henry Jackman Easily the least interesting King Kong-related score since the 1960s, Henry Jackman contributes a “just okay” score that lacks any sort of distinctive personality. It has one really good main theme (which conveys an appropriate sense of mystery), but it’s a theme that would be equally at home in a superhero movie or any other action film, really. So, too, is the action writing exactly the sort of chaotic, blaring brass that has (unfortunately) become the norm for many big blockbusters. Don’t get me wrong, there are some nice moments (the writing for strings and solo trumpet is often particularly effective, as are the quieter, more exploratory sections), but it just doesn’t feel idiosyncratic enough. The Lost City of Z Music by Christopher Spelman Spelman’s simple score has some evocative cello themes, and ambient string themes that suggest a sense of wonderment and mystery. While Z is not one of the more standout or memorable scores of 2017, it’s successful in presenting some subtle melodies that pair well with the atmosphere of the film. The Lovers Music by Mandy Hoffmann What a nice change of pace. Were you to listen to the score before seeing its associated movie, you might think it was something out of an old Hollywood romance or a fairy tale, given its lush, lilting Golden Age-style orchestrations. This overlooked score is worth repeated listens for anyone looking to escape the blare of Summer action movie scores. Old fashioned in the absolute best way, the music here is superb evocation of a style of scoring that has mostly fallen out of fashion. Unabashedly dripping with a classic sensibility. THE MUMMY Music by Brian Tyler So far, it’s one of the best scores of the year so far, which is a kind of shocking accomplishment for Tyler, as the film itself is incredibly flawed. Tyler divests himself of the more rock-and-roll impulses which often crop up in his scores and instead delivers a traditional, symphonic epic, complete with big themes and huge orchestration. Interestingly, Tyler’s score manages to walk the line between horror and adventure better than the actual movie does, as he’s not afraid to take things in overtly sinister directions while also selling a sense of tremendous scale and providing a fun, heroic action theme to balance out the darkness. The quiet moments are interesting and mysterious (and almost always exploring some kind of melodic idea), while the big action moments are dense and complex without losing a sense of structure or thematic identity. Tyler has done good work in the past, but this is his crowning achievement as of this point in his career. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Music by Geoff Zanelli In short, it’s a typical PIRATES score. With a fifth installment and a new composer, Zanelli brings some great stuff to the table. Not only does he revive almost every one of the franchise's themes and motifs (in appropriate moments), but he also introduces a handful of fantastic new themes to the menu, including a terrifically swashbuckling new action motif and a wonderfully evocative melody for the story’s central quest. Villains often get memorable themes within the series, and Salazar’s music cue here is particularly menacing and fitting. The score doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s shamelessly entertaining, and one of the best of the series. Spider-man: Homecoming Music by Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino’s second score for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (after last year's terrific DOCTOR STRANGE) is absolutely fantastic, and a very worthy entry in the canon of cinematic Spider-Man music. He gives Spidey a very memorable theme, one brimming with youthful optimism, and also supplies the villain, The Vulture, with a menacing motif that is equally catchy. The orchestrations are often playful and fun, underlining the good-hearted teenage heroics of the character, and the action scoring is some of the best of Giacchino’s career, never descending into mindless noise and mayhem but instead almost always focusing on a thematic throughline. This is another one of 2017’s best scores so far. War for the Planet of the Apes Music by Michael Giacchino Giacchino’s certainly been busy this summer, and his latest APES score is arguably one of the best action movie scores of the year so far. Deep, rich chorales from the previous film are carried over and enhanced with driving animal-like percussion. The orchestrations are relatively restrained for an action score, and the main waltz-style theme shines in delicate piano sequences, offering perfect emotional contrast to its more forceful renditions. Wonder Woman Music by Rupert Gregson-Wiliams The highlight here is Wonder Woman’s gnarly electric guitar theme carried over from BATMAN v. SUPERMAN, which is a welcome sound to Gregson-Williams often brass-heavy score. On the plus side, he does add a nice regal theme in the opening that manifests throughout, but on the whole, most of the score is nothing we haven’t heard for a superhero movie: bombastic brass, choral voices, loud drum hits, etc. A few recognizable notes from other scores (we’re looking at you Danny Elfman’s BATMAN, and Klaus Badelt’s PIRATES) make their way into this one, and it’s difficult to ignore for the avid movie soundtrack listener. While much of the score is perfectly serviceable and works within the context of the movie, everything else is by-the-book, bog-standard, over-the-top blockbuster scoring, with an emphasis on portentous brass statements and thundering percussion. The Zookeeper’s Wife Music by Harry Gregson-Williams Nothing notable from Gregson-Williams here. It’s one of those somewhat pedestrian drama scores that are “nice to listen to,” but don’t break any new ground. Nevertheless, he still provides some beautiful, moving piano and woodwind themes that give the score its heart. By Brett Blake The third film in the revamped PLANET OF THE APES franchise (and the ninth overall, if we go all the way back to the beginning), WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES capably picks up the baton handed to it by DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and though it doesn’t quite race triumphantly across the finish line, it nevertheless gets across with no small amount of technical wizardry, thoughtful character work, and yet another impressive performance from Andy Serkis. Picking up a few years after DAWN, we find Caesar (Serkis) and his band of apes actively fending off attacks from a rogue military unit; led by the ruthless Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson), the unit - one of the few remaining pockets of mankind left - strikes a particularly gruesome blow against Caesar’s community, which leads Caesar himself to undertake a desperate mission, aided only by his inner circle: Maurice (Karin Konoval), Luca (Michael Adamthwaite), and Rocket (Terry Notary). Their journey leads them not only to the discovery of a mute little girl named Nova (Amiah Miller) and a friendly - and talkative - ape named Bad Ape (Steve Zahn), but also the secret base from which Col. McCullough hopes to enact a plan to reclaim the planet from the apes once and for all. As with the two previous movies, the conversation sort of needs to begin with Andy Serkis. It’s the film writing equivalent of beating a dead horse at this point, but his work as Caesar is the most impressive and affecting motion capture performance ever, and the degree to which he is able to express emotion and intelligence through layers of digital makeup (for lack of a better phrase) is pretty remarkable. These movies live or die on his shoulders, and he makes it look incredibly easy. Of course, he’s aided by computer effects which are simply astonishing; the ape characters look as close to photorealistic as I think is humanly possible, and the movie luxuriates in close-ups of their faces, letting the audience see the potent emotions being displayed through the performances and the special effects. The direction from Matt Reeves is great throughout; he’s clearly got a gift for composition and staging, as the opening sequence is nearly bravura-level in how it presents an escalating skirmish as something deeply cinematic. He also cleanly navigates the contours and zig-zags of the plot, which has some developments that have not been hinted at in the marketing; indeed, the film sort of transitions from one sort of story into another at the halfway mark, and this transition keeps the movie from feeling like a retread of DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, even though Reeves (aesthetically) keeps us in that same visual arena. As with its two predecessors, the movie admirably treats its subject matter with sincerity and conviction, and it wrestles with difficult moral questions in the process. What value is there in revenge? Must a more advanced society be destined to dominate a less advanced one? How is someone’s humanity measured? These are less complex questions than were grappled with in DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, but they’re handled well, and give just enough meaning to the story to make it feel worthy of its PLANET OF THE APES title. It’s also a nakedly emotional movie; whereas DAWN is a more cerebral film of the mind, WAR is a movie of the heart. If there’s a primary complaint to be lodged, it could certainly be that the movie’s seriousness results in it being almost perversely grim. Yes, there is some comic relief courtesy of Bad Ape (who is a delight throughout), but the totality of the movie’s tone is fairly bleak, with death lurking at every turn. There’s a sense of sadness and culmination here, the sense that bad things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen to ape and human alike unless something radically changes, and the story takes some incredibly downbeat (yet also somehow satisfying and appropriate) turns. It’s a movie that will not send you out of the theater on a sugar high, but rather will usher you out of the darkness with some thought-provoking moral questions on which to chew. Ultimately, WAR’s ending is absolutely an appropriate conclusion, but it does feel as though certain things before that are presented in more stark and upsetting ways than might have been necessary to achieve the same end. Another (slight) miscue: this movie tips its hand fully in favor of the apes over the humans. The beauty of the storytelling in DAWN was that each camp was treated with nuance and, well, humanity. It didn’t present either faction as intrinsically more virtuous than the other; each side was led by characters trying to do the right thing but who were undermined by more fanatical and bigoted elements in their ranks which pushed the sides towards a conflict, a conflict that was presented as tragic because the possibility of coexistence seemed to be so within reach. In WAR, that superb complexity is mostly out the window, and we have arrived at a situation where “ape = good” and “human = bad,” with Nova, the little girl Caesar and his team discover, being the lone exception. Woody Harrelson makes for a solid (and nicely underplayed) villain, but he’s exactly that... a villain. Where the previous two films presented us with many human characters worth caring about, WAR gives us fairly one-note baddies. It ultimately works for the specific story the filmmakers want to tell here, but allowing the humans to have some more shades - not merely fanaticism - would have been even better. That shading and humanity is still fully present in all of the ape characters, however. Through Nova we are given full opportunity to see the warmth and kindness that these characters are capable of. They can be warriors when necessary, but their concern and decency is always right there under the surface; Maurice, Luca, Rocket, and Bad Ape are wonderfully realized and fully rounded characters here, and their moments both with each other and with Nova are where the movie’s emotional punches really land. These emotional punches are frequently aided by Michael Giacchino’s terrific musical score, which not only offers affecting themes, but also some enjoyably odd and idiosyncratic instrumentation which feels like a tip of the cap to Jerry Goldsmith’s landmark score for the original PLANET OF THE APES. All told, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES represents a fitting conclusion to the story of Caesar, and is the finale of a trilogy of unusually high quality, character-driven science fiction tales. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES remains the best of the three, but WAR is close behind due to the sterling work from Serkis and the effects team, as well as the quite moving and effective character beats which dominate the story. By Brett Blake Though it falls slightly short of being a completely triumphant return to form, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is still the best movie to feature the character since 2004, and Tom Holland picks up where he left off last year in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR to deliver what may end up being the definitive version of a teenage Spidey and Peter Parker. Picking immediately after the events of CIVIL WAR, we find Peter Parker (Tom Holland) under the watchful wing of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), honing his abilities as Spider-Man and trying to do good in his little corner of New York, though he feels that Tony isn’t giving him a chance to really be all he can be. When he accidentally stumbles across an illegal arms deal involving recovered alien weaponry, Peter finds himself on the trail of Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) a ruthless man capable of holding grudges and willing to do almost anything to get what he wants. The two eventually come into conflict, all while Peter tries to balance being a superhero with the responsibilities of also being a normal high school student with normal concerns... like finding a way to ask his crush, Liz (Laura Harrier), to the Homecoming dance. This is both the best and most thoughtful Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2 (which remains a true masterpiece of the genre). While it has some stumbles along the way, what HOMECOMING gets right, it gets very right, particularly its tone and its emotional heart. The themes of the story revolve around classic “coming of age” ideas, and there is a nice moral in here about being a good person and earning your stripes rather than feeling entitled to something because of your (possibly extraordinary) circumstances. It’s been publicly stated that the movie was initially pitched as a John Hughes-ian sort of take on Spider-Man, with the intention of bringing the character back to high school and focusing a great deal on Peter Parker’s high school relationships. That’s all in here (in fact, there’s probably too much of it, to preview some of the negatives), and one can certainly feel a kind of Hughes flavor in certain moments, but the movie HOMECOMING reminds me of most is actually BACK TO THE FUTURE. Tom Holland has said he took some inspiration from Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly, but it’s more the movie’s dazzlingly charming tone - and the screenplay’s fairly tight construction on a narrative level - that might lead a person to think of BACK TO THE FUTURE. There’s a sense of enormous and good-natured fun on display, and a breathless, gee-whiz quality to the weird science (to borrow a John Hughes title) and tech stuff that is not too far removed from flux capacitors and the like. The action is all great (often thrilling, well shot, and packed with entertaining gags, particularly an early nighttime chase through the suburbs), but where the movie truly excels is in its performances. Tom Holland is absolutely wonderful as Peter, selling a fundamental decency and selflessness with an easy-going charm and just a dash of awkward nerdiness. What Holland sells particularly well is the notion that Peter will always put doing the right thing above his personal happiness, and that quality makes it incredibly easy to root for him. Also, while some of the other movies about Spider-Man have featured him in high school, Holland’s Peter is very much still a kid, a distinction which opens up a whole world of untouched angles for the character, and Holland has such a youthful energy that sets him apart from the Peters of the past. He’s truly great as the character. As Holland’s opposite number, we have Michael Keaton in the finest of forms. His Adrian Toomes is an eminently believable character, a grounded villain with realistic (if not completely sympathetic) motivations. Keaton plays it very straight, and goes into genuinely menacing, PACIFIC HEIGHTS-style territory without making the guy a cartoon monster. Toomes is no supervillain, but he’s one of the best villains the Marvel Cinematic Universe has yet produced, and most of that is because of the credibility Keaton brings to it. HOMECOMING also uses Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in exactly the right way for this story. Unlike in the AVENGERS movies or CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (which is as much about Tony as it is about Steve Rogers/Cap), Tony is a true supporting character here, not a sneaky co-lead. It represents another step in his character arc, certainly, but it’s in service of Peter Parker’s overall journey, and RDJ and Holland establish a truly wonderful older brother/younger brother sort of bond that feels like a distinct and fresh element for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, having the two characters on screen together should really satisfy fans of the comic books, where one superhero “guest starring” in another’s story has always been a common component. Michael Giacchino’s score is absolutely fantastic. He gives Spider-Man a very memorable theme, one brimming with youthful optimism, and also supplies Toomes with a menacing motif that is equally catchy. The orchestrations are often playful and fun, and the action is some of the best of Giacchino’s career, never descending into mindless noise and mayhem but instead almost always playing with melodic ideas of some sort. This is 2017’s best score so far. No movie is perfect, and HOMECOMING is no exception. It may be the best Spider-Man tale since 2004, but it has a few bumps along the way. The high school hijinks probably take up a little too much of the film’s 133-minute running time, and some of the humor in these sections feels unabashedly tailored to that particular age group in a way that might be slightly off-putting to the older crowd (though, again, it’s quite charming and funny stuff). The movie also goes out of its way to remind the audience that Spider-Man is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so not only do we have Tony Stark playing a supporting role, but there are almost countless in-jokes and references to other characters and other movies which threaten to overwhelm the actual story being told here (at times). Also, Peter’s would-be love interest, Liz, is mostly a non-entity, having little in the way of a personality other than being pretty and nice to Peter; Harrier does just fine in the role, but she’s not served terribly well the screenplay, which has its priorities in other areas. Even so, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is still a supremely entertaining ride that fans of the webslinger should have a ton of fun with. It might not be the best Spidey movie so far, but Holland is well on his way to being the best cinematic incarnation of him that we’ve ever seen. |
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