My friends know I'm quite critical about many things. Movies are no exception. In fact, there are so many aspects in a motion picture to be critical about that it is very rare for me to walk out of the theater without voicing some critique. Lately, especially with the newer releases, one thing that has disappointed me often has been the score. Commercial movies are produced on a conveyor belt and music-wise what we end up with are utterly forgettable tunes that fail to add anything to the movie and that lack depth and imagination. Well, of course one can't expect much from the mainstream...
What I just want to say is, I miss a couple of composers from the 80s and the 90s who've left me with rather high standards. One, Basil Poledouris, I've already discussed in The unifying sound of nostalgia. Another, whom I've for some reason never mentioned in this blog, is probably the biggest name there is (literally!): Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, aka Vangelis. I hope I'll be able to come across a contemporary composer with the vision, finesse and know-how of this man in the years to come. Watch him work:
Edit 14.5.2014: The original video that I linked has been removed and cannot be found. Hence I'll replace it with some live footage from one of his breathtaking performances.
It is odd that I've omitted him, for I've always been a huge fan of Blade Runner. The score fits the film like a one-liner in a Schwarzenegger-movie. A good soundtrack is one that stays on your mind long after the credits have stopped running, one that instantly takes you back to milieu and feel of the film when you hear it and one that can be enjoyed even when separated from the main title and even by a listener who has never seen it. Among many other works by Vangelis, the music of Blade Runner falls in that category.
I haven't talked a lot about anything recently. It's been even longer since I talked about movies.
The trend in science fiction films for a while now has been to make remakes and spin-offs of old ideas and concepts. Spider-Man, X-Men, Robocop, Godzilla, etc. The list goes on. Considering the genres, where the idea is to push the limits of imagination, such unimaginative approaches are quite a turn-down, as there is just so much new that you can do with an old idea. Luckily there are some gems in store for the coming year, with original ideas, or at least debut film adaptations of books and comics. Some of these are, not surprisingly, works of smaller and independent studios, which also means a smaller budget and a narrower distribution. Quite a shame. Here are some trailers of science fiction titles I found especially interesting:
I'll also add a CGI short film created mostly by one Kaleb Lechowski. Hopefully this does turn into a whole feature, as the work is very impressive.
Look beyond the mainstream, people, and I'm sure you'll find many a new favorite and plenty of food for thought.
Let's start with some music that very nicely expresses in sound the endless abysses of space between celestial bodies:
Now, I've been bitten by a fly... a sci-fi-fly at that. After staying away from new fiction authors for almost two years, I decided to fill in some gaps in my knowledge. I was torn between Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series, Iain M. Banks' the Culture series and Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence. I had always been a big fan of Ursula K. Le Guin's approach to the cultural and social aspects of societies in a science-fiction setting. After some pondering I ended up starting with Card's "Ender's Game", in part because of it's brevity and also because I really wanted to read the next book, "Speaker for the Dead", but wanted to follow the series in the order the books were published.
So, I devoured the short book with enthusiasm, enjoying Card's plain, almost barren style of telling the story of Ender's youth. I finished the book while travelling, but that didn't stop me from purchasing the sequel with my kindle and continuing without a pause. The reason why I was so interested in "Speaker for the Dead" was that it dealt greatly with sociology and anthropology. One of the questions that persisted throughout the book was how can you study and be in contact with a society (or an individual!), without affecting it and in turn being affected by it and to what extent are impartiality and objectivity objectives that should be pursued. I was also eager to know how Card's imagination and creativity compared to Le Guin's when it came to giving birth to new species and their societies. I was not disappointed and at times I couldn't help but remember the time when I was reading "The Word for World Is Forest" for the first time, even if the approaches and styles of writing were very different.
Before I started reading the series, I hadn't even noticed that a film adaptation of "Ender's Game" is coming out this year. I'm trying hard not get too excited, but at the very least, based on the trailer, we're in for an audiovisual treat. And for the first time since he last played Han Solo in 1983, I think they've actually found a fitting role for Harrison Ford.
Well, as had happened before, I gobbled up the book and was prepared to move right on to "Xenocide". I bought the book and read the first chapter, but for some reason I didn't feel the urge to go on quite yet. So I hopped over to Banks' "Consider Phlebas", the first book of the Culture series. The difference in style and setting was dramatic, but I managed to adapt and found myself enjoying the change. Even if Banks' story is more action packed, it also packs plenty of deeper meanings, some of which are expressed very bluntly.
Experience as well as common sense indicated that the most reliable method of avoiding self-extinction was not to equip oneself with the means to accomplish it in the first place.
Today at work I suddenly remembered that they were making a movie based on one of my very favorite books. Within a minute I knew that the movie had already come out earlier this year. Even though I knew I shouldn't, I continued by reading some reviews. As always, opinions clashed and many had a lot to say about the plot, the style, the cast. So many things were discussed, yet I found none that mentioned the relationship between the script and the original work of prose to a satisfying degree. Maybe this was for the best. I saved the trailer of the film till the evening, partly because I didn't want to watch it without sound at work.
I will watch the film once I get hold of it. I am prepared for the worst, as there is no way the masterful collection of words composed by Peter Bieri under his pseudonym, Pascal Mercier, can be successfully turned into a motion picture. Yet there is a small part in me that hopes that the film manages to capture at least some of the magic contained within the pages of Night Train To Lisbon.
"One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be like an addiction, the all-determining addiction of his life, for it would stand so clearly before his eyes that disappointment is not a hot, destroying poison, but rather a cool, calming balm that opens our eyes to the real contours of ourselves."
Sorry for the long silence... needless to say, I've been busy. So have other people, as I have an outstanding movie trailer to share... The long wait is almost over and the theatrical trailer for Iron Sky is here! Please enjoy and spread the word: THEY COME IN PEACE!
I know I've been quiet but I've been trying to enjoy my vacation here. Instead I'm constantly reminded of the hopefully great, but at least long expected movies coming out next year. Oh yeah, belated wishes of merry winter solstice!
Checked out the American film version of Stieg Larsson's "Män som hatar kvinnor", ie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Can't really compare it with the Swedish film, but overall I must say it was better than decent. Daniel Craig was pretty useless, but Rooney Mara playing lead actress was convincing. Can't wait for the rest of the parts of the trilogy to come out.
I had wanted to watch this movie for some time, but had not found myself in the right mood before last Sunday. Breathtakingly beautiful with an inspiring plot and a calming score. Bound to put anyone into a zen state of mind. I'll have to take a look at other titles by Ki-duk Kim when I find the time.
PS. My limited edition red transparent vinyl Svartir Sandar arrived a day late and my order of two white Sólstafir t-shirts also finally found its way home. Good stuff.
Yesterday I made some Finnish "pannukakku" (literal translation is pancake, but it differs drastically from what is internationally understood by the term) and today after taking an exam I bribed myself with greasy French onion soup topped by bread and gruyère cheese. Peeling and slicing the onions was very emotional...
A year or two ago I was introduced to Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera (Lemonade Joe), a 1964 Czechoslovak film. It was running at an old cinema that plays films from the Finnish National Audiovisual Archive and a friend of mine who has spent some time around Slovenia and eastern Europe wanted to go and see it. I agreed to go with her and did not regret it one bit. Even though half the subtitles were missing, the plot was easy to follow and the whole experience was very enjoyable.
I am clueless as to why the film came to my mind again, but I do know that it didn't take me long to find it from the internet. It was in youtube, complete with subtitles, but has been removed. Here's a bit of the action though:
I saw the ending of this a year or two ago. I told myself I'd watch the whole film soon, but alas that was not to happen. We see beautiful things all the time and promise ourselves we will do something about them. They slip through the holes in our memories, and only find their way back if we're lucky.
It had been a while since I'd seen Starship Troopers and I had nothing better planned for my ten hour shift, so I dove once again into the horrible, horrible acting and lovely, lovely special effects of the late 90s. In the end, it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered and at one part I realized that the score was quite fantastic and sounded somewhat familiar. Not similar in the sense that I'd heard it before (as I had seen the film twice before), but in the way that I could feel the soul behind the music.
After the film I had no choice but to apply the palm of my hand gently but firmly upon my face, as the man behind the score was no-other than Basil Poledouris. Now, I'm sure most people have heard his works, but have never head his name. Those that do recognize the name might associate him with a number of flicks. For me, he will always first bring to mind Conan the Barbarian, as that is the movie I have seen more times than any other. I sure hope that the composer for the remake will at least come close to the original. I'm actually rather excited, as Jason Momoa ought to fit into the sandals of the black maned mountain lion better than Arnold. Of course, Arnold will always be the original Conan and his lines will live forever within my heart, but his character didn't really fit into the image of Conan that Robert E. Howard had created.
I also came to realize that the theme of Starship Troopers did remind me a bit of Basil's other composition, the battle theme from the 1987 RoboCop:
And only because I'm at work. I've somehow managed to fit quite a lot of social life into the past five days, while also doing over fifty hours of work. Still, I'm pretty worn out and two days off couldn't come at a better time.
I've actually hauled my ass into the cinema two times within the week. First I checked out the latest (last) Harry Potter feature, which turned out to be precisely what I expected. Same, unsurprising acting, tons of CGI and an unmemorable score. Yet it was a pretty decent ending for a series where the books are way better than the films and still way worse than what you'd expect from the money the author has made. I saw the 2D version, fortunately.
The second film was in 3D, but for the first time since Avatar it didn't bother me (Tron was close, but still failed). It was THOR! Corny, shiny, flashy, muscles, Norse mythology (quite accurately), beer, fire, ice, lightning, fists, swords, hammers, axes... It was entertaining, surprisingly well made and actually had a plot that you couldn't foresee and could even enjoy. And it looked and felt awesome, especially Asgard and the bridge leading to the Bifrost. Enough hype, just check it out.
This night's crawling along way too slowly... luckily I remembered an old computer game from my youth, or more specifically its soundtrack. Behold, the work of one Alexander Brandon:
PS. You might know him better from Deus Ex or the Unreals...
