It’s been a great year for film music. I say that as someone who had to endure the laughably dated qualities of Alberto Iglesias’ Exodus: Gods and Kings and had to swallow the pill that is Howard Shore‘s latter days Middle-earth music. But it has been a great year. Clint Mansell gave us haunting, complex soundscapes in Noah, the …
Set during the pioneer era, The Homesman subverts the usual trajectory of westerns set in this time by instead focusing on a journey from what will eventually become Nebraska territory in the West to more Eastern Iowa, wherein defeat via the frontier is a primary concern, whether it be a defeat of the mind, body, soul, or all together. Director Tommy Lee Jones’s last theatrically released film was The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), a contemporary neo-western with shades of Sam Peckinpah in its flavour. The Homesman may have the set dressing of a more traditional, old-school genre entry, but this film, adapted from Glendon Swarthout’s 1988 novel, is much more offbeat than one might expect.
The top three films at the US box office this weekend are a sequel, an adaptation, and an original property. Leading the way is new release Dumb and Dumber To, the sequel to the Farrelly Brothers’ 1994 film Dumb and Dumber. The third film in the franchise saw original stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise …
As the end of the year approaches, the number of question marks in the Oscar ranks continues to sink lower. This past week, Selma, American Sniper, The Gambler and A Most Violent Year all dropped at AFI Fest, leaving only movies like Unbroken (still presumed to be a front-runner in a crowded field), Exodus: Gods …
The Hype Cycle is News Editor Brian Welk’s roundup of industry news, reviews and predictions of everything Oscar, boiled down into weekly power rankings of the buzziest and most likely contenders in this year’s awards season. This article is Part 2 of this week’s Hype Cycle column. Read Part 1 from yesterday. 7. Foxcatcher and …