music | the m0vie blog

Ludovico Einaudi at the National Concert Hall

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Darren

I had the great pleasure of catching Ludovico Einaudi, the contemporary composer, at the National Concert Hall last night. Being honest, I hadn’t heard the name until the better half suggested that the show might be worth a look. Interestingly enough, doing a bit of research, I discovered I’d actually heard a decent selection of his music without ever being aware that is was him – I suppose that’s one of the great things about composing the sort of wonderful ambient music, there’s always a film or television soundtrack in need of a bit of atmosphere.

Classic(al)...

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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: ambient music, arts, caprica, Ludovico Einaudi, Movies, music, National Concert Hall, soundtrack, Stargate Universe, StargateUniverse, Syfy | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Crazy Heart

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Darren

We all know the story. Artists are apparently particularly self-destructive, especially those who write country and western songs. Crazy Heart isn’t exactly a boldly original film by any stretch of the imagination – in fact, it’s typically predictable up until the end – but it does have a thing or two working in its favour, which elevates it just a bit above these almost conventional films. The first is a rather endearing soundtrack which is – in many ways – better written than the film itself. The second is Jeff Bridges.

Jeff Bridges plays your heartstrings...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bad blake, biopic, colin farrell, country, country and western, crazy heart, film, jeff bridges, maggie gyllenhaal, Movies, music, non-review review, otis blake, review, soundtrack, western | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Get Him to the Greek

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Darren

I quite enjoyed Get Him to the Greek. It wasn’t quite as wonderfully put together as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but it’s a pleasant little comedy that treads familiar ground, but in a witty and confident manner. The movie isn’t exactly a laugh-a-minute, it is one of the better major releases so far this summer.

Aldous is about to have his world rocked...

Note: My brother and correspondent, Ciaran, reviewed the film earlier in the week. My thoughts aren’t too different than his – save a few details here or there (I maybe liked it a tiny bit more). It’s well worth a read.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: aldous snow, colm meaney, comedy, films, forgetting sarah marshall, get him to the greek, jonah hill, music, non-review review, p. diddy, puff daddy, review, russell brand, sean combs | 4 Comments »

Glass Houses: The Music of Philip Glass

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Darren

I have the pleasure of checking out Philip Glass at the National Concert Hall tonight. Despite the fact that I know next-to-nothing about music, I’m quite fond of Glass’ rather wonderful compositions – mostly through pop culture osmosis. It seems that Glass is the go-to guy if you need something wonderfully emotional and catchy, yet grandiose and sweeping to accompany a given film. He’s done countless soundtracks, but these are the big “on-screen” moments which I think of when I think of Glass.

First up, Watchmen. There’s a wonderful sequence on Mars scored to Glass’ Prophecies and Pruitt Igoe, which is perhaps the best scene in the entire jumbled up and deeply flawed film, as the past and present collide to the ominous soundtrack and narration. However, I can’t find that, so watch the trailer instead.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: battlestar galactica, films, glass, Movies, music, philip glass, soundtrack, the truman show, watchmen | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Boat That Rocked

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Darren

This is a movie that ends with a rendition of the classic Bowie pop number Let’s Dance, because it couldn’t fit it anywhere in its linear narrative amid all the time-specific pop and rock tunes. The movie has quite a bit in common with that most financially successful of songs from the Thin White Duke. It’s light, it’s breezy and it’s catchy, with just a hint of some extra darkness that is rarely found among its light and fluff compatriots. It’s also the work of an intensely talented artist (and, indeed, artists) who probably should be doing more innovative and important work, but we almost can’t blame them because it’s so much fun. Almost.

Quite a board walk...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bill nighy, british cinema, comedy, emma thompson, kenneth branagh, Movie, music, nick frost, non-review review, philip seymour hoffman, pirate radio, radio, review, rhys ifans, richard curtis, rock, the boat that rocked | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Once

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Darren

Maybe Once is that mythical “good Irish movie” that comes along roughly once every five years or so, or maybe I’m being a little soft on it, but I really enjoyed it when I caught it last night. It does have some rather glaring flaws, but it seems to work well despite them.