Tag Archives: Disney

July 31, 2012

Disneynature: Chimpanzee (2012)

By TheCinescopePodcast

Chimpanzee is the only Disneynature film that I’ve seen. It’s definitely a different sort of movie experience; there’s not any acting or plot for me to praise or criticize because everything we see is nature in action.

That being said, I did enjoy this documentary. The story of little Oscar’s struggle for survival and subsequent adoption by the leader of the tribe is a touching one, and it’s all the more impressive once you learn that this is the first time an instance like this has ever been documented on film.

However, I do have one complaint: Tim Allen as narrator. Now, he wasn’t awful all of the time; he did a fairly good job narrating, and he even managed to make me chuckle a few times. But there were moments throughout when I felt like he was trying too hard. I doubt Allen wrote his own material, which largely consisted of him assigning pointless dialogue to the fit the actions of the apes, so I can’t exactly blame him. Instead, I blame whoever decided to make Allen the narrator in the first place. In my opinion, Tim Allen (voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films) is too big of a Disney name for something like this. The narrating job should have gone to someone less affiliated with Disney so that the audience could watch the movie more objectively.

Despite my issues with Tim Allen as narrator, like I said, I did enjoy the film and would definitely be interested in watching other Disneynature films…hopefully with a different narrator.

Yay nature!

-Chad

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

MPAA: G

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in 2.5, Film Reviews

July 31, 2012

Bedtime Stories (2008)

By TheCinescopePodcast

I’ve always felt that there is a difference between “good movies” and “movies that people enjoy”; for example, I don’t think anyone would argue with me if I said that Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Russell Brand, and Guy Pearce, wasn’t a “good” movie, but I must confess – I enjoy the heck out of this movie.

I blame my love for this film on the likability of Russell Brand and Keri Russell. Brand has several delightfully quotable lines in this film (“I actually like ketchup on my face because it’s rejuvenating for the skin!”) that never fail to make me laugh, even on repeated viewings. Keri Russell, however, is charming and beautiful; I’ve been a fan of hers since I first saw her in August Rush, and she makes me smile every time she’s on screen. With fun stories told by a better-than-he-has-been-in-his-last-few-movies Sandler, cute kids, and an even cuter Bugsy, there’s plenty to like about this movie.

However, as I said before, this film wouldn’t typically be considered a “good” film. Sandler doesn’t come across as the kind of guy who should be telling kids bedtime stories. The voice-over from Jonathan Pryce is fine at the beginning and end, but there are a couple of instances in the movie when, as the narrator/Sandler’s father, speaks directly to Sandler’s character…it’s the one moment in the film that really irritates me. The story is cliche, the cause of the stories coming to life is never explored, and it is, admittedly, decidedly juvenile as a whole.

But none of that keeps me from chuckling every time Skeeter sees Bugsy’s eyes for the first time or when Rob Schneider makes an appearance as a Native American horse trader or when Russell Brand’s character wakes up from his so-called “sleep panic disorder”. Bedtime Stories is a kids’ movie through and through with some silly slapstick and obvious bits intended to make children laugh, but perhaps you’ll be able to find something to enjoy in it; as the Marty Bronson says in the film, “your fun is only limited by your imagination”.

-Chad

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

MPAA: PG – for some mild rude humor and mild language

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 2.5, Entertainment, Film, Film Reviews, Movies

July 30, 2012

Tangled (2010)

By TheCinescopePodcast

Tangled was a bit of a surprise for me – I LOVED it! I regret not having seen it in theaters, but I own it on Blu-Ray now and have seen it more than 10 times…probably even way more than that.

I love almost everything about this movie. The songs are catchy, Rapunzel is sweet, Flynn is sarcastic and likable, and Pascal and Maximus are both hysterical additions to the cast. From the great introductory “When Will My Life Begin?” to the amusing “I’ve Got a Dream” to the heart-warming “I See the Light”, Alan Menken does yet another fantastic job composing songs for a Disney animated film. The story is also one of my favorites by Disney; the princess not knowing that she is a princess is a nice twist on the traditional fairy tale.

It seems to me that there are a couple of nice parallels or references to earlier Disney animated films. For example, “I See the Light” makes me think of Menken’s “A Whole New World” from Aladdin every single time I hear it, and the end healing scene is reminiscent of the ending of Beauty and the Beast. Just an observation!

The only part of this movie that I didn’t like was Mother Gothel, particularly her opening song, “Mother Knows Best”. I know she’s the villain and that I’m not supposed to like her, but this was more than dislike – it was annoyance. I can’t stand “Mother Knows Best”, but I love the reprise later in the film. All in all, it’s a pretty petty complaint about a film that I enjoy immensely.

Tangled is an all-around fantastic movie, and it’s not just for girls, either; boys, if you’ll give it a chance and watch it, I’m willing to bet that you’d really enjoy it. Aside from the romantic aspects of the film, there is plenty of comedy, action, and adventure to appeal to just about everyone. Give Tangled a chance!

-Chad

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

MPAA: PG – for brief mild violence

P.S. – Read my review of this film’s score, composed by Alan Menken, here!

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 5, Entertainment, Film, Film Reviews, Movies, Music

July 30, 2012

Hercules (1997) – Alan Menken

By TheCinescopePodcast

Hercules holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first film that I remember viewing at the movie theater; I remember sitting next to my grandmother and cheering Hercules along from my seat in the audience. Looking at the soundtrack now brings back good memories.

Let’s look at the musical numbers first. The music is composed by renowned Disney composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), with lyrics by David Zippel. The musical numbers are all over the place, with styles ranging from gospel to heroic to a sort of soul/pop mix. Making the Muses a gospel trio is probably the best part of the soundtrack, with infections songs like “Zero to Hero” and “A Star is Born” dominating. “Go the Distance” is probably the most memorable song from the film, though, and rightly so; it’s an anthem for persevering and chasing your dreams. I can almost guarantee that any kid who grew up in the early 90s could sing along with at least part of this song.

Though the musical numbers are the focus, the instrumental score composed by Alan Menken is full of gems as well. The latter portion of “The Gospel Truth/Main Title” is instrumental and features the main hero theme heard in the film, a fantastic horn fanfare that rings out proud. Menken also gives us some very different stuff, such as in “The Big Olive”. This track emulates the traditional “New York” style of music without using anything heavy-sounding, making it sound like what I’d imagine an ancient urban Greek city might have sounded like. Other standout tracks include “Meg’s Garden”, a sweet song that hints at the musical number “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” with some beautiful strings and piano, and even the short “Hercules’ Villa” is fun and a bit jazzy.

What more is there to say? The soundtrack to Hercules has something to offer for everyone, from great, flashy musical numbers to a beautiful, triumphant score by Alan Menken. Though it may not be as “classic” as Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, Hercules gives plenty of evidence as to why Alan Menken is one of the best musical composers, as well as one of the best animated film score composers, out there. 

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

  1. “Long Ago…”   0:31
  2. “The Gospel Truth I/Main Titles”   2:26
  3. “The Gospel Truth ll”   0:59
  4. “The Gospel Truth lll”   1:06
  5. “Go The Distance”   3:14
  6. “Oh Mighty Zeus”   0:46
  7. “Go The Distance (Reprise)”   0:58
  8. “One Last Hope”   3:01
  9. “Zero To Hero”   2:21
  10. “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)”   2:20
  11. “A Star Is Born”   2:04
  12. “Go The Distance (Single)” – Michael Bolton   4:42
  13. “The Big Olive”   1:07
  14. “The Prophecy”   0:54
  15. “Destruction Of The Agora”   2:07
  16. “Phil’s Island”   2:25
  17. “Rodeo”   0:40
  18. “Speak Of The Devil”   1:31
  19. “The Hydra Battle”   3:28
  20. “Meg’s Garden”   1:14
  21. “Hercules’ Villa”   0:37
  22. “All Time Chump”   0:38
  23. “Cutting the Thread”   3:24
  24. “A True Hero / A Star is Born”   5:34

Total Length: app. 48 min.

iTunes Album Link

-Chad

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in 4, Entertainment, Film, Movies, Music, Scores, Soundtrack Reviews

July 14, 2012

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – Hans Zimmer

By TheCinescopePodcast

Zimmer Week continues!

Hans Zimmer takes the reins from Klaus Badelt in composing the score for the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Dead Man’s Chest.

Every single track on this album is outstanding…something I don’t usually say about a Hans Zimmer score, but it’s well-deserved in this instance. The opening track, “Jack Sparrow”, is fitting for the Johnny Depp character, with a drunken cello solo taking up the first minute and a half before it shakes off its stupor and takes off into a swashbuckling, adventurous pirate theme – something that Mr. Zimmer certainly seems to have a knack for.

Perhaps the best thing that this album has to offer is the use of the organ. While it may seem a bit strange to use an instrument like an organ so liberally in a film score, Zimmer puts it to good use. In “The Kraken”, we hear a brooding bass line that is almost reminiscent of John Williams’ theme to Jaws; it takes its own slow pace before building into a full orchestra playing just about as loud as it can, which then dwindles back down to a simple, haunting organ line. The rest of the track simulates the kraken’s hunting of its victims and their impending doom. It’s a terrific backdrop for such a terrifying creature.

The organ also features pretty heavily in “Davy Jones”. The opening of this track is very ethereal and music-box like, showing the more tender side of the character that the track is named for. However, this doesn’t last long before the organ takes over and turns the innocent theme into the inner turmoil that Jones feels inside. It ends the way it starts, but the theme is now slower…almost heartbreaking.

Other standout tracks on this album include “Dinner is Served”, which is aggressive and tribal before transitioning into a waltz that sounds more delightful than the part of the film it is featured in. The joke is, I think, that the swinging cages are meant to represent trapeze artists, an image that the music fits fairly well. “Two Hornpipes (Tortuga)” is raucous and fun, while “Wheel of Fortune” could be used as the definition for “adventure”.

I could go on naming tracks that I love, but let’s face it: I’ve already mentioned more than half of them. If you couldn’t tell, Dead Man’s Chest is my absolute favorite Hans Zimmer score, so go and give it a listen. Every single track on this album is fantastic…minus the DJ Tiësto remix of “He’s a Pirate” from the first film, but it doesn’t count.. Though I’m giving it the same rating, know this: this film’s score is better than Inception‘s. Enjoy!

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

  1. “Jack Sparrow” (6:06)
  2. “The Kraken” (6:55)
  3. “Davy Jones” (3:15)
  4. “I’ve Got My Eye on You” (2:25)
  5. “Dinner is Served” (1:30)
  6. “Tia Dalma” (3:57)
  7. “Two Hornpipes (Tortuga)” (1:14)
  8. “A Family Affair” (3:34)
  9. “Wheel of Fortune” (6:45)
  10. “You Look Good Jack” (5:34)
  11. “Hello Beastie” (10:15)
  12. He’s a Pirate (DJ Tiësto Remix) (7:03)

Total Length: app. 52 min.

iTunes Album Link

-Chad

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 5, Entertainment, Film, Movies, Music, Scores, Soundtrack Reviews

June 29, 2012

Cars (2006) – Randy Newman

By TheCinescopePodcast

The score to the Disney/Pixar film Cars was composed by Randy Newman, who was also responsible for the scores to all three Toy Story films, A Bug’s Life, andMonsters, Inc. However, like most of Pixar’s film soundtracks, there are a few songs in the track list that are lyrical.

In the case of Cars, nearly half (9 out of 20) of the tracks are vocal songs, and 4 of those were written specifically for the film. I’ll briefly walk through each of these 9 tracks before getting to the actual “score”.

The first track on the album is “Real Gone” by Sheryl Crow. This is one of the songs that was written for the film. This song, aside from just being lots of fun and making references to cars, has lyrics that fit Lightning McQueen’s character at the start of the film: “you got your blinders on”, referencing the things placed to side of a horse’s eyes so that it can only see straight ahead, refers to McQueen’s love for nothing but himself and his career.

Next is Chuck Berry’s “Route 66”, which is on the album for obvious reasons that I hope I don’t have to explain. John Mayer has another decent version of this song available on the album.

Rascall Flatts’ version of Tom Cochrane’s 1991 hit “Life is a Highway” is also included on the album for obvious reasons, but it also has a set of lyrics that fit in well with the themes of the film, found in the bridge:

“There was a distance between you and I

A misunderstanding once

But now, we look it in the eye.”

This chunk of lyric could fit either Lightning’s relationship with Sally, which grows from a mutual annoyance to a blossoming romance, or with Doc, which starts with a lack of communication/understanding but becomes a strong teacher/student or father/son relationship.

Brad Paisley wrote two songs for Cars the first of which is titled “Behind the Clouds”. The lyrics in this song talk about the silver lining that can be found in situations that appear bleak at first, i.e. Lightning getting lost and trapped in a near-ghost town in the middle of nowhere. Which turns out to be a blessing! Yay for songs that fit the story!

The third song on the soundtrack that was written for the film is titled “Our Town”, composed by Randy Newman and performed by James Taylor. This song, a Grammy winner and Academy Award nominee, reveals one of the morals of the film: what you have is only what you make of it, and no one can take it away from you. An awesome message, and one of the reasons why I love Pixar (even if Cars is far from my favorite).

“Sh-Boom”, a 1954 song by The Chords, is played during the scene where McQueen and the citizens of Radiator Springs restore the city to look the way it did in its heyday as a surprise for Sally. I wasn’t alive back then, but this song just seems to define the 50s for me. It’s relaxed and fun and perfect for this scene in the film.

The final lyrical song written for the film is another by Brad Paisley, this one titled “Find Yourself”. (On a quick side note, I now have Cars to thank for the presence of country music on my iPhone! Who’da thought it’d ever happen?!) This song, like “Our Town” is particularly poignant because it talks about how, though we may lose our ways in life sometimes, it’s at those times that we’re lost that we often discover who we really are and what we really want, as Lightning does in the film.

The final lyrical song included on the soundtrack album is Hank Williams’ “My Heart Would Know”, which, as far as I can tell, has no lyrical connection to the story, merely serving the purpose of establishing the setting/context/feel of the film.

And now we (finally) move on the the actual film score by Randy Newman. Unfortunately, Randy’s film scores are often like Hans Zimmer’s and Danny Elfman’s in the sense they sound the same a lot of the time (certainly not Randy’s themes, just his background music usually), and the first two instrumental tracks, “Opening Race” and “McQueen’s Lost”, do nothing to prove that theory wrong. “Opening Race” reminds me of some bits from Toy Story, while “McQueen’s Lost” has an entire 7-second section of music that almost sounds exactly like a theme from A Bug’s Life. (go to YouTube and compare :37-:44 of “McQueen’s Lost” to :34-:40 of “The Bird Flies”)

Luckily, Randy completely switches gears in the next track, “Bessie”, which suddenly turns into what could easily be mistaken for the intro to a country/western song. Thank you, Randy! Although there were hints of Toy Story again in the next track, “Dirt is Different”, and in a couple of other tracks later on, Randy sticks to a Western-feel, occasionally bluegrass-y, that is for the most part refreshing and different coming from him.

I don’t want to go into too much (more) detail, so I’ll sum it up.

Overall, while a bit familiar, the country feel to Cars’ instrumental score, in addition to the excellent vocal tracks that accompany it, makes this a better soundtrack than I initially expected. My favorite track is “McQueen and Sally”.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

1. “Real Gone” Sheryl Crow 3:22

2. “Route 66” Chuck Berry 2:52

3. “Life Is a Highway” Rascal Flatts 4:37

4. “Behind the Clouds” Brad Paisley 4:09

5. “Our Town” James Taylor 4:07

6. “Sh-Boom” The Chords 2:26

7. “Route 66” John Mayer 3:25

8. “Find Yourself” Brad Paisley 4:11

9. “Opening Race” 2:05

10. “McQueen’s Lost” 2:29

11. “My Heart Would Know” Hank Williams 2:27

12. “Bessie” 0:59

13. “Dirt Is Different” 1:28

14. “New Road” 1:17

15. “Tractor Tipping” 1:22

16. “McQueen & Sally” 2:00

17. “Goodbye” 2:42

18. “Pre-Race Pageantry” 1:31

19. “The Piston Cup” 1:52

20. “The Big Race” 3:07

Total Length: app. 53 min.

iTunes Album Link

-Chad

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 3.5, Entertainment, Film, Movies, Music, Scores, Soundtrack Reviews