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The idea of a focus on the soundtrack work of Hans Zimmer was an exciting prospect. How can I spin this subject and create a new way to approach these popular scores that are loved by so many? The task itself was far more daunting; scouring through Zimmer’s filmography felt like being an archivist, for a film composer only active since the mid 80s, his output is significant. He’s one of the most famous contemporary film composers on the world stage today; the type whose fans create YouTube videos of hours-long ultimate Zimmer loops and purchase his instrumental sample packs for their digital audio workstation software. In a popular culture that feels despondent towards cinema and the many players involved in the making of it, Zimmer strikes out as a household name.In going about this mix, Zimmer’s whole filmography is explored. His cherished signature sounds are represented: tribal instruments,...

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By Doug Oswald

A Japanese Naval officer and an American Marine Corps aviator are marooned on a Pacific island during WWII in “Hell in the Pacific,” available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The film is a virtual silent movie with the exception of the Pacific island sounds of surf, wind, birds and the occasional words spoken by the co-protagonists portrayed by Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin. However, neither understands the other’s language. The film opens with Mifune scanning the horizon for any signs of rescue when he spots a deflated life raft. The rubber raft belongs to Marvin who is hiding in the thick jungle growth nearby. Marvin is able to elude discovery by Mifune, but eventually thirst forces him to reveal himself on the beach.

Mifune captures Marvin after several attempts are made by Marvin to take water from...

KollywoodAccording to the police complaint filed by the actor, two men who came on a bike snatched the phone and fled.Digital NativeDigital NativeActor Gautham Karthik’s mobile phone was stolen while he was cycling on Wednesday morning near Chennai’s Ttk Road. According to the police complaint filed by the actor, his mobile phone was attached to the handlebar of his cycle while he was riding. He said two men who came on a bike snatched the phone and fled. The incident happened around 5.30 am. A case has been registered. An investigation is on as there are many similar complaints from cyclists in the city. Police have begun to collect the CCTV footage from nearby shops and showrooms to find the phone snatchers. Gautham, who is actor Karthik’s son, is known for his roles in Mani Ratnam’s Kadal (2013), in which he debuted, Ivan Thanthiran (2017) and Rangoon (2017). He...

New Delhi, Nov 17 (Ians) The advent of Ott has not only been a boon for fresh talent. Many senior actors are also seeing a fresh lease of life to the careers thanks to the digital domain.

Ians lists names of actors who saw a new life to their career all thanks to OTTs.

Sushmita Sen

The actress, who was last seen in the 2015 Bengali film "Nirbaak", made her acting comeback with a fierce avatar through the web series "Aarya". The show is about how her protagonist Aarya is pulled into the narcotics business when her family is threatened. The series streams on Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Sushmita now looks forward to the second season of the show.

"The response to ‘Aarya' has been overwhelmingly great. An entire team of fantastic people put this show together and we knew we were creating something magical with ‘Aarya'. However, even we could not fathom...

She has done some of the finest make-up and prosthetic work in Bollywood. We are talking about the award-winning Preetisheel Singh. Among the many directors she has worked with, some of her best transformations have been for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic films.

Preetisheel first worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Bajirao Mastani where she curated Ranveer Singh’s look in the film. Then she got a second chance to work with the prolific filmmaker with Padmaavat. For this film, she not only worked on the stunning looks of Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor, but designed the look once again for Ranveer Singh, this time transforming him as the intimidating Alauddin Khilji.

And now, Bhansali has repeated Preetisheel to curate the look for Alia Bhatt for his upcoming saga Gangubai Kathiawadi.

“Working with Sanjay Sir is one of the most important milestones of my career,” says Preetisheel. “It feels surreal.

Eric Pleskow, who ran United Artists, co-founded and led Orion Pictures and produced John Boorman’s Beyond Rangoon, died today in Westport, Ct. He was 95.

The Austria native also has served as president of the Vienna International Film Festival since 1998. The Viennale announced his death but did not provide any details:

Eric Pleskow (1924-2019)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our president and friend Eric Pleskow. pic.twitter.com/80dJc5J0p9

— Viennale (@Viennale) October 1, 2019

“His death is a great loss for all of us,” the Vienna fest said in a blog post.. “Eric had a fulfilled and long life and we appreciated him as a longtime friend and companion of our festival. As president and patron of the Viennale, he has always carried us with his humor and foresight.”

Born on April 24, 1924, in Vienna, Pleskow and his family fled Europe via France days before...

Rebecca Clough Jan 20, 2017

As America gets its new President, we look at some excellent political drama films that may have slipped under your radar...

Political dramas can be entertaining, informative and even educational, opening up debates and offering new points of view. (When experiencing a year of tumultuous change like the one we’ve just had, they can also be a comforting reminder that, no matter what your situation, it could always be worse...) With the full whack of corruption, war, and conspiracy, here are 25 political dramas which deserve to be better known.

See related 25 underrated political thrillers 17 new TV shows to watch in 2017 Taboo episode 3 review The Girl On The Train review 25. The Marchers/La Marche (2013)

When teenager Mohamed (Tewfik Jallab) is shot by police, his friends want revenge, but he has a better idea: peaceful protest. Marching from Marseille to Paris, they band together with quite an assortment of characters along the way.

Holding the festival is an incredibly difficult task especially after the recent attempted military coup in Turkey. The West cannot lose Turkey, a modern and western nation which is also Islamic and is the literal bridge between the West and the East. The Antalya Film Festival feels it is imperative to show that life still goes on after the coup, and the creative and recreative power of entertainment leads the show.Military Coup Blocks Bridge Over the Bosphorus — bbc.co.ukInspired by the failed July 15th coup, films about life under coups suggest what might have happened had the July attempt succeeded. The Sun’s Eclipse program is a powerful testament to the importance of democracy and human rights, and includes films from Turkey, Brazil, USA, Chile, Argentina.

We in the west often regard Turkey more as Eastern than Western…understanding why leads us to recognize the power of our...

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The sensational, overlooked film scores from the years 1990 to 1999 that really are well worth digging out...

The movies went through tumultuous and exciting changes in the nineties. Quentin Tarantino exploded onto the scene with Reservoir Dogs, Generation X gave rise to slacker marvels like Clerks, and blockbusters like The Matrix put the awe back into special effects.

However, the 90s was also a sensational decade for film music, gifting us classics including the likes of Jurassic Park, Titanic, Total Recall, Braveheart and countless others. But the sheer quality of these soundtrack treasures shouldn’t overshadow those undervalued hidden gems that demonstrate the extraordinary range and versatility of our finest film composers, ones that may have passed you by. So here’s our selection of those incredible works: ranging from the earworming to the unsettling, the melodic to the chaotic, these are the scores that simply demand your attention.

A while back I got the chance to interview Patricia Arquette, an actress I’ve been following for thirty years (yes, thirty). Her work has been quietly impressing me all along,...

Us actress best known for her work in Coen Brothers’ movies including Fargo to receive talent award.

Us actress Frances McDormand is to be awarded the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award 2014 at the 71st Venice International Film Festival (Aug 27 - Sep 6).

The prolific actress is best known for her collaborations with the Coen Brothers in films including Fargo, Raising Arizona, Burn After Reading and her first ever film role, Blood Simple.

McDormand will receive the honour on Sept 1 in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) and will be followed by the out of competition screening of Olive Kitteridge directed by Lisa Cholodenko.

The four-part HBO miniseries adaptation of the eponymous Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Elizabeth Strout co-stars Richard Jenkins, Bill Murray, John Gallagher Jr. and Zoe Kazan.

The Playtone / As Is production will debut on HBO in the Us in November and is executive produced by McDormand alongide Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks and [link...

Into the Abyss; The Lady; Patience (After Sebald); The Story of Film: An Odyssey

At a key moment in Into the Abyss (2011, Revolver, 12), a quietly metaphysical inquiry into the awful realities of senseless murder and state-sanctioned execution, an off-camera Werner Herzog asks an apparently self-possessed prison chaplain to "tell me about an encounter with a squirrel".

The question, delivered with Herzog's trademark deadpan Bavarian drawl, seems to come from nowhere and to bear little relation to the ongoing discussion about the last hours of condemned inmates facing death by lethal injection. Yet as always with Herzog, there is an insightful intuition at work behind the apparent absurdity of his approach and a moment later the formerly guarded reverend (whose duties on death row await him even as he speaks) is in tears, talking of the sanctity and preciousness of life, however great or small, and apparently confronting the "ecstatic truth...

The Luc Besson film has no scheduled release in Burma, but pirated DVDs have been available for months

They move in crowds, thrusting handfuls of bills into sellers' hands before slipping their purchases stealthily into their bags. With its poor sound quality and shaky videography, this is one DVD that would not normally merit such secrecy – or popularity – on the streets of Rangoon.

But these are not normal circumstances, and this is not a normal film. The Lady, Luc Besson's long-awaited biopic of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has no scheduled release in Burma and is likely to be banned by the military-backed civilian government.

The buyers are undeterred and eager to know more about 66-year-old "Auntie Suu", as she is known here, who, after 15 years of house arrest, will contest a parliamentary seat with her opposition party National League of Democracy in April's byelections.

Aung San Suu Kyi...

Year: 2009

Director: Gareth Edwards

Writers: Gareth Edwards

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: rochefort

Rating: 5 out of 10

"Six years ago, Nasa discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear there and half of Mexico was quarantined as an Infected Zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain 'the creatures'..."

That's the juicy and just-cryptic-enough setup for "Monsters", English director Gareth Edwards' story about a down-on-his-luck American photojournalist named Andrew (Scoot McNairy) who is tasked by his boss to escort the boss' daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) out of Mexico, back to the U.S. border and presumed safety.

The advance word (more like hopeful speculation, really) was that this would be the "Mexican 'District 9'", but "Monsters" is a much more modest and subdued affair,...