• Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Composer Don Davis Shares Stories Plugging Into ‘The Matrix’

    In a world of remakes and reboots, one property we thought we’d never see expanded or revisited was the universe of The Matrix. It was, and still is, a landmark film, one that raised the bar for filmmakers and the industry as a whole. A triple-kick of story, visuals and action, The Matrix was a high watermark for cinema. As the series expanded, the arcs of the three leads finished in a less than satisfying (or deserving) way, yet it still seemed the most logical and inescapable end. Fate? Perhaps. The third film culminates in an uneasy truce between humans and machines (and between programs themselves). More importantly it’s not…

  • Composer Series,  Features,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    The Matrix Revisited: Composer Don Davis Reveals Secrets from His Score to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of ‘The Matrix’

    Editor’s Note: This post contains the introduction to an article I wrote specifically for The Hollywood Reporter. It was a great honor to work on a post about a film, and film score so dear to my heart. In this retrospective, composer Don Davis plugs back in to recall the lengths he took to satisfy the Wachowskis’ exacting vision. Click here to read the full article. Twenty years ago, The Matrix blew audiences away with its ground-breaking, generation-defining style. That was in tandem with substantive themes that were esoteric yet accessible. For every Hong Kong-styled wire fight, there was an equally engaging reference to Plato.  One integral component to the success of…

  • Movies/Entertainment

    Sweet (International) Trailer…'Jupiter Ascending’

    You’ve got to hand it to the Wachowski siblings – whether you like (or understand) their films they repeatedly put things on screen the likes of which we’ve never seen before. But, at the cost of losing the audience, do they go too far? Perhaps but they’ve amassed a very loyal following even if their work hasn’t really moved the mercury for general audiences since the first Matrix film. In their next sci-fi, let’s call it an “experiment”, the duo look to either further engage or alienate viewers with another grand vision of the future. So far, many aspects of this production (casting, visuals, et al) don’t look like a…

  • Movies/Entertainment,  Reviews

    G-S-T Review…Side By Side

    For over 100 years photo chemical film has been the gold standard in the film industry. But in the last two decades the advent and advances in digital technology have offered filmmakers a cheaper, easier and sometimes better alternative as a means to capture images and tell stories. In Side by Side, Keanu Reeves and writer/director Chris Kenneally put their finger on the pulse film world and explore the levels to which digital capture technology has created a paradigm shift across the world. From directors, to colorists, to editors etc, no trade is unaffected by this change in the medium. Is this the end of film? Well, it’s not a clear cut answer…

  • Movies/Entertainment,  Quick 5/Top 10

    G-S-T Top 10 – Kick-Ass Films To Kick Off Your Summer

    They say that there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues, but hopefully that’s not true. After some thought I think I have one remedy for all you heat riddled film fans in the form of 10 incendiary and bombastic action titles. These flicks serve aren’t like any of Christopher Nolan’s intellectual roller-coaster rides, but rather fun and fast ways to beat the heat in the cool confines of a theater (or home theater). What follows is a slightly personal but hopefully an they’ll serve as a diversion from the great wall of heat that hits us hard this time of year, especially here in Dallas; we’re just a week into Summer…