music
Using archival footage and interviews, Score: A Film Music Documentary is an inspired look at one of the most elusive art forms today.
A Hard Day’s Night not only works as a celebration of The Beatle’s iconic music, but as a satire on the very nature of stardom and celebrity.
Music, improvisation and intimacy: these are the ingredients that have made Derek Cianfrance’s films such emotionally-satisfying treats.
Bad Rap documents the hard time Asian Americans have getting into the American hip hop scene, but should’ve offered a deeper exploration.
I Called Him Morgan is a riveting look at jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, examining his life, his music, and his impact on those who knew him.
Song to Song brings A-game performances and an was aesthetically pleasing look, all that was missing was a strong plot.
Though with an unimaginative score, Akron effectively tells a story about two gay men who meet and fall in love in Midwestern America.
London Town is a fictional story about a boy in 1970s London meeting up with his music idol, Joe Strummer; it is a mostly entertaining romp.
Sing is a film which is trying to look on the more positive side of these singing competitions; it is about hope and a real desire to change.
La La Land was one of last year’s big hits, and if you’ve read much about it, you’ve probably heard Jacques Demy cited as an influence. And he should be – not for nothing does the word “parapluies” appear near the place where La La Land’s main character works, a direct shout-out to the French title of Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Of course, it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on him when La La Land draws on plenty of other influences, including various strains of American musical, Nicholas Ray, Powell and Pressburger, and maybe even Alfred Hitchc*ck.
With the spectre of white nationalism once again rearing its ugly head in the guise of the so-called ‘Alt-Right’, Matthew Ornstein’s profile of the musician, author, actor and lecturer Daryl Davis, Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America couldn’t be more relevant. Davis has an unusual hobby for a black man:
Magnolia Pictures brought important documentaries like Blackfish and Food, Inc to the public at large, and now they’re bringing us Danny Says. While Danny Says might not be an activist film meant to make an impact on our present day lives and the world we live in, Danny Fields made a huge impact on the world of music from behind the scenes – and this is his story, directed by Brendan Toller. Experimenting With Rock n Roll As a fan of documentaries, biographies and music, this film was right up my alley.
Director Lee Kirk is just about to release his sophomore effort, Ordinary World. The film is about an former rockstar, played by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, reflecting on the “path not taken”- of committing to his rock-god dreams, instead of settling down in the suburbs and raising a family. Alistair Ryder spoke to the filmmaker about the autobiographical nature of the film and how his love of music helped bring the screenplay to life.
A midlife crisis is roughly defined as a period of anxiety and disappointment reflecting on your past as you approach middle age. Those going through a midlife crisis are noted to act irrationally compared to their previous behaviour in a need to get out of a self-perceived rut. It has often been noted that no two people react to the dawning of maturity in the same manner, even if the cause of the anxiety is always the same.
A largely-overlooked but critical element in an action film is its ability to tell a story with sound. Dialogue and musical score notwithstanding, sound cues and effects are incredible tools for storytelling in the genre; subtly adding depth and detail without ever compromising action or hogging screen-time. Given recent advances in the field of sound technology, filmmakers are even now using these techniques to great advantage in crafting critically-acclaimed action films.