music – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Green Room (2015)

May 10, 2017May 6, 2017Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, Horror, ThrillerTagged Alia Shawkat, America, Anton Yelchin, Horror, Jeremy Saulnier, music, neo-nazi, Patrick Stewart, police, political, punk, racism, right-wing, ThrillerLeave a comment

From Jeremy Saulnier, writer and director of Blue Ruin, comes a thrilling horror that hits all too close to home.

Pat (Anton Yelchin), Sam (Alia Shawkat) and their band mates find themselves performing to a group of right-wing extremist skin heads in America’s deep South. When they see something they shouldn’t have, they come face to face with the club’s owner, the terrifying Darcy (Patrick Stewart).

Tense and horrible in parts, this film hits a nerve in the current political climate and the darker side of the world of punk music. It’s currently on Netflix and definitely worth a watch.

100 Word Review – Moana (2016)

May 9, 2017May 6, 2017Posted in 100 Words..., adventureTagged adventure, Alan Tudyk, animation, Auli'i Cravalho, Disney, Dwayne Johnson, family, Fantasy, Jemaine Clement, Lin-Manuel Miranda, music, myth, Oscars, Polynesian, The RockLeave a comment

Nominated for two Oscars, including best animated feature, Disney’s latest princess is a chieftain’s daughter, chasing a demigod.

Written and directed by the hands behind Aladdin, Hercules and Princess and The Frog, this film is a wonderful and refreshing look at Polynesian mythology with a family friendly feel.

Music from the award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda (writer of Broadway sensation Hamilton), and star performances from the likes of Jemaine Clement (What We Do In The Shadows) and Alan Tudyk (Frozen, Serenity).

Newcomer Auli’i Cravalho is wonderful as Moana but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as arrogant demigod Maui manages to steal the show.

100 Word Review – Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

February 5, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-RatedTagged adaptation, Alexander Martin, Breckin Meyer, Comedy, Comic, Deborah Kaplan, Donald Faison, Harry Elfont, music, Musical, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson, Seth Green, Tara ReidLeave a comment

“Conform! Free will is overrated! Jump on the bandwagon! There is no such place as Area 51!”

Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Valerie (Rosario Dawson) and Melody (Tara Reid) are The Pussycats, until they find themselves caught up in the middle of a subliminal international conspiracy to influence the world’s youth.

Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison and Alexander Martin co-star as boy band Du Jour, whose questionable lyrics will stick with you for days.

Written and directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (Can’t Hardly Wait, Surviving Christmas) and adapted from the Archie comics, expect brilliant silliness from beginning to end.

100 Word Review – Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

August 5, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, RomanceTagged Drama, Jim Jarmusch, John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska, music, Romance, Romantic, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, VampiresLeave a comment

This film is sublime.

Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) are in love. They always have been. Adam is a brooding Romantic (note the capital R), while Eve enjoys the chaos of the world around her. But being a vampire in the C21st has it’s problems.

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog, Broken Flowers), it is filled with a gentle melancholy encompassed by a humorous, thoughtful edge. Co stars Mia Wasikowska and John Hurt are sublime in their roles, playing off the central pair with true artistry. This film is dark and beautiful and only subtly vampiric.

100 Word Review – Whiplash (2014)

August 4, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged Drama, drumming, drums, IMDb, jazz, JK Simmons, Miles Teller, music, Oscars, tenseLeave a comment

I came out of this feeling like the skin on a snare drum that had been steadily tightened. Tense doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a keen drummer in his first year at elite music school Schaeffer, determined to make a name for himself. When he is chosen for The Studio Jazz Band by acclaimed conductor Fletcher (JK Simmons) he this he’s on his way. Little does he know his fight is just beginning.

The relationship between these two actors is mesmerising. It is no surprise that Simmons won an Oscar for his role. He’s breathtaking.