Filmmaking dynamic duo, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead are scientific anomalies in cinema. Their stories are so uniquely their own and so much so, they find themselves at the forefront of the genre landscape. But they’re also at the forefront of their own cinematic lens. If infamous is when you’re more than famous, then “in cinema” means, they are actually IN the movies. Yet for all the intergalactic yarns that have endeared them to scores of festival crowds, they try to dive into people more than plots. And when they do, even something as seemingly simple as that becomes a huge hot pot of thought-provoking ideas and genres. Sci-fi, comedy,…
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Interview…Composer Theodore Shaprio on ‘The School for Good and Evil’, ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ and Cracking Musical Puzzles
For more than two decades, Shapiro has been solving cinematic puzzles both light and dark. He scored some of Hollywood’s classic comedies—including Idiocracy, Old School, Tropic Thunder, and Dodgeball—with regular collaborators such as Paul Feig, Todd Phillips, and Jay Roach. He’s also cracked the code of political dramas (the Emmy-nominated Game Change, Trumbo), adventures both animated (Spies in Disguise), and unconventional (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), as well as sexy, stylish mysteries (A Simple Favor). Shapiro is like a character actor, putting on different musical costumes and adopting accents to disappear into roles much like Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which he scored with rays of…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…’The Visitor From the Future’
You can tell from the very first few seconds that The Visitor From the Future (Le visiteur du futur) is going to be different. And at Fantastic Fest, this is our kind of different. François Descraques brings his film to FF where it was met with applause, acclaim and plenty of split sides and ticked funny bones. In the story, young Alice protests against the construction of a nuclear plant created by her father and soon after a strange visitor takes them in 2555 – a future devastated by the explosion of the facility – in an attempt to convince him not to build it in the first place. It is…
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[Fantastic Fest Review]…’The Banshees of Inisherin’
For those needing a change of pace, and prefer something with subtlety and substance, The Banshees of Inisherin is your cup of tea. Tea? Feck tea! In Ireland, they drink something stronger. So serve up a pint and prepare to enjoy every last drop of this hoppy, foamy, and delicious slice of cinema from Martin McDonagh. Set just about 100 years ago, on a fictional island just off Ireland’s west coast, we jump to the end of two characters’ lives – who never really had much going on – when one decides that the banality of life is just not enough. As time is slipping away for all of us,…
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Music Review…’The Batman’ Is A Ballet of Brooding, Brains and Brawn
There’s a lot to love in the music of Michael Giacchino. He’s been to space, he’s been lost on an island, he’s been to the moon, far from home, he’s been up and inside out, and when it comes to modern composers, he’s the right one to let in if you want to get to the heart of the story. On that note, this film marks his fourth time collaborating with Matt Reeves, and what a team they have made over the years. The Batman finds him exploring new ground, well, for Reeves that is; Giacchino is all kinds of familiar with a superhero sound. But the world of dark…
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G-S-T Review…’The Innocents’
In The Innocents, a group of children face something extraordinary about themselves. Something that in another film would be used for spectacle and wonder, and a more commercial agenda. In another film, those kids would be superheroes facing a vile monster threatening to exterminate us as a species. But The Innocents takes place in a Norwegian building complex that reeks of the mundane and limits associated with low-class families. The kids play in a sandy park that’s full of rust. Ida, a young girl, is sick of having to help her autistic sister Anna. Anna doesn’t speak. When Ida pinches her, she doesn’t cry for help. Ida simply watches as…
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Interview…Composer Dominic Lewis on the Multiple Soundscapes of ‘Bullet Train’
2022 has been a thrilling year for cinematic experiences, and one of the most exciting times we’ve had was with David Leitch’s Bullet Train. Federico and I were excited about it when we discussed our most anticipated films, but man did it deliver! Films these days tend to pander and not stray too far from sequel/prequel territory and it’s so good to get an original IP like this (and I bet the book is even better!). It’s just a fun time in the theater. What was thrilling enough to watch on screen only marginally outshines the auditory journey on this white-knuckle actioner starring Brad Pitt. Composer Dominic Lewis has a…
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Editorial: A Year Full of Studio Ghibli Films
It’s been a while since we’ve done a list, but something about our love of Studio Ghibli has us thinking about their films as we usher in the New Year. Maybe it’s our positive feelings about 2022, maybe it’s the unfailing hope in each of these films or just nostalgia for the heartwarming and fanciful tales. Coincidentally, there are a total of 22 in the studio’s catalog. Perhaps the stars are aligning for this list. Regardless, Ghibli’s works showcase wondrous landscapes and are propelled by unassuming heroes, inspiring themes and quirky humor. Whatever is loved about these is really seemingly loved by the whole planet. So as we take another…
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G-S-T Review…’The Matrix Resurrections’
For a film franchise that broke all the rules and changed the entire entertainment industry, one might expect subsequent adventures down the rabbit hole would be welcomed, mind-bending yarns. But alas – system failure – The Matrix Resurrections sports no significant advancements in this upgraded sequel. We’ll get that out of the way up front as it’s probably the worst part about plugging back into the beloved series. So dig in, this is going to take a while. Often times, sequels are all about familiarity and there is a certain comfort when expectations are met. So while Lana Wachowski is never content to do the same thing, she wanted this…
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G-S-T Review: ‘Last Night In Soho’
Edgar Wright is one of our favorite directors. His style, skill, and sense of humor are just a few reasons why we’re so endeared to his work. While he’s made a name for himself as a powerful and highly competent genre filmmaker, he’s still growing as an artist. His latest – a throwback ghost story – finds him committing to a kind of period piece as he tries his hand at a murder mystery. Yes, we know, Hot Fuzz is a murder mystery, but it was filtered through the lens of a buddy cop comedy. Last Night In Soho is entirely different. How, you ask? Let me expand. As mentioned…
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Interview…Philip Gelatt and Morgan King on ‘The Spine of Night’
The mainstream entertainment world doesn’t get a lot of animated dark fantasy. So, besides outliers like Fire & Ice, Heavy Metal, and, to a degree, Netflix’s Castlevania, if you wanted to dive deep into mystical and alluring universes in the world of adult animation, your choices are finite. Now enter a curious entry called The Spine of Night. It clicks most of the boxes those titles occupy, and then some. Sorcery? Check. Wildly imaginative? Check. Violence, nudity and dazzling visuals? Check, check and check! The Spine of Night is an epic fantasy tale about the history of a land that never was. The story begins when an ambitious young man…
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Interview…Junkie XL on the Mondo Box Set of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’
It’s been a while since we chatted with Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL), and boy how his career has soared. It wasn’t enough to follow George Miller to the ends of the ear and destroy the sonic landscape with such raw and powerful drums. As an artist, he had to push farther, and we’re so glad he did. His signature blend of rhythms – a style that comes from deep down in his DNA – can be heard in all his scores no matter how far apart they seem on the surface. Are we saying that Mad Max: Fury Road, Mortal Engines and Sonic the Hedgehog are the same? Yes.…
