Issue 1247 - The Courier

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Top
Movie
Soundtracks
5
If you only considered the main theme of
LOTR, you’d still be looking at a marvellous
sound, but it’s the smaller themes
that really make the soundtrack. The
strings in ‘Journey in the Dark’, the violin
in ‘King of the Golden Hall’, the brass in
‘White Tree’; it all comes together beautifully,
and with the upcoming The Hobbit,
it looks like the trend will continue.
4
An odd choice, perhaps, but one of the
best selections of period pieces and
modern tunes that helped crystallise the
mood of the piece, from Bob Dylan in the
opening titles to Philip Glass’ haunting
Prophesies with Doctor Manhattan. A
pity the trailer music didn’t make it into
the film.
2
Lord of the Rings
Watchmen
3
The ilms of Ridley Scott
A bit of a cheat, but Scott’s choice of
music is brilliant for setting the mood of
a piece. From action themes like ‘The Battle’
in Gladiator to more melancholy title
pieces for Black Hawk Down and Kingdom
of Heaven, Scott has near faultless taste.
Intimate, sorrowful and chilling, John Williams’
work here is hauntingly brilliant,
epitomising the themes of loss and senselessness.
The use of Hebrew folk music is
superb in reinforcing Spielberg’s desire to
give identity to the victims of the Holocaust.
1
Schindler’s List
The ‘Three Dollars’ Trilogy
Again, Enrico Morricone’s famous theme
from The Good The Bad and the Ugly
overshadows a superb series of work; from
the title themes of each, to more intimate
tracks like ‘60 Seconds to What?’, these
redefined the Western genre as much as
Eastwood’s performance.
It’s time to face the music
With film and music often overlapping,
Mallory McDonald looks over the fabled
musicians who have braved the divide.
While in the real world, crossing
into another profession without
the required training doesn’t
happen, in the entertainment industry,
where people get paid millions to play
make believe for a living, this is kosher.
However, as arrogant as it is when a pop
star decides they can pursue acting and
vice versa, there have been a few successes.
It’s arguably most appropriate to switch
professions like this when it’s a popstar
playing a popstar on film. Two intertwined
and un-ignorable figures in this
are Diana Ross and Jennifer Hudson. In
Berry Gordy’s development of Motown
to create films/take over the world, he
produced Lady Sings the Blues about the
late songstress Billie Holiday, casting
Diana Ross as the lead. For this role Ross
received an Oscar nomination but no
Oscar. In 2006, Jennifer Hudson, failed
American Idol contestant, portrayed Effie
White in Dreamgirls (aka Florence Ballard
from the Supremes) while Beyonce
took on the role of Deena Jones (aka Diana
Ross). Whereas Beyonce’s efforts were
ignored by the Academy, Jennifer Hudson
walked away with an Oscar for portraying
Florence’s story of betrayal by her
bandmates and descent into alcoholism.
While in Dreamgirls Effie White is given
a happy ending, the reality is Florence’s
story ended in an early death catalysed by
her treatment at Motown. Hudson receiving
the Academy Award for the portrayal
of her life, while Ross never achieved the
prize, is arguably a last laugh at Ross and
Gordy who made the most out of the
publicity from Ballard’s death.
Beyonce and Madonna are two popstars
snubbed by the Academy for roles they
believed were tickets to Oscar gold. Their
attempts to win nominations included
Madonna, after her stint as Eva Peron,
continuing to dress as the late Argentinian
and Beyonce dressing like an Oscar
in the lead up to the nominations. You
know, because it’s not how you do your
job, it’s what you wear.
However, Oscar gold is not always the
aim of pop stars turned actors; some just
While ticking all the boxes
on your CV tends to receive
criticism for selling out this
is Newcastle and we like
putting our fingers in lots of
pies
enjoy mixing the two careers. Elvis is
arguably the first connoisseur of this art,
his film career coming hand in hand with
his music. While ticking all the boxes on
your CV tends to receive criticism for
selling out, this is Newcastle and we like
putting our fingers in lots of pies... well,
we like lots of pies.
And finally Will Smith, the man, the
myth, the (I Am) Legend. Is Will a musician?
Is he an actor? Is he even human?
All we do know is he is a gift, a walking
enigma sent to Earth as a guiding light
and inspiration to us mere mortals. (Disclaimer:
this is my own opinion and I am
in no way under threat from the music
section of this paper to write this).
That’s terri-brill!
Sam Hopkins
discusses the appeal
of terrible cult films.
We all know that feeling:
sitting down to watch a
film, whether it be in the
cinema or at home, and realising it’s
truly dire. Awful acting, laughable
screenwriting and sloppy direction
are so often the staple of these kinds
of films; yet often, these films are so
bad, so dreadful, so pitiful, that they
can become true classics. They are so
badly executed that they have come
‘full-circle,’ and it can be argued that
they have in fact formed a new genre:
one entitled ‘films so bad that they’re
good.’
Take a look at last year’s Trespass.
Starring a botox-ridden Nicole Kidman
and a truly terrible Nicholas Cage, an
undisputed master in the art of making
bad films, it was an absolute mess. The
script was absurd and went around in
circles, the acting, particularly from Cage,
was abysmal, and the characters were so
badly sketched a three-year-old could
have done better. But, I for one absolutely
loved it, and my flatmates and I spent
hours in uncontrollable hysterics watching
it, maybe because of Nicholas Cage’s
refusal to speak below shouting voice,
or Nicole Kidman’s inability to move her
forehead. But, all the same, we loved it.
The joy of watching a bad film can be
traced back through numerous films,
ranging from Paul Verhoven’s abysmal
Showgirls, to Martin Brest’s Gigli, and Luis
Llosa’s Anaconda. They’re awful, but isn’t
that kind of the point?
Who can forget 1997’s Batman and
Robin? A film widely panned and slated
on its release, it has become something of
a cult classic. Sure, it’s beyond camp, and
Arnold Schwarzenegger possibly gives
the worst performance in movie-making
history, uttering ice-based puns such as
“ice to see you…”, but this is perhaps what
makes it so great: you can’t help but bellylaugh
and question how on earth this film
has ever seen the light of day. Another
example is Tommy Wiseau’s Th e R o o m.
A film so bad that it has to be seen to be
believed, this is an exercise in the worst
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Th eCourier
Illustration: Daisy Billowes
Serial Offenders: With many
dire career turns, Nicolas
Cage (top left) Tommy Wiseau
(bottom left) and Arnold
Schwarzenegger are amongst
the zany actors who sustain
the ‘so bad its good’ genre.
of everything film-oriented. Wiseau himself championed it as a
‘masterpiece,’ which it was, but not in the way that he intended.
Now a cult classic, it has been cemented as one of the front
runners in the ‘so bad they’re good’ films. And what of John Travolta’s
vehicle Battlefield Earth? Originally intended as a pseudo
action movie based on the novel of the same name, the film has
widely become considered as one of sci-fi’s greatest comedies of
all time - unintentionally, of course.
But that’s not to say that all bad films can be considered within
this new genre: there are still films that are so bad that they’re
bad. Unfortunately, I will never get back the two hours I wasted
whilst watching 2004’s Catwoman, a film so horrific that I despair
thinking of it. Although the line between bad and ‘so bad
it’s good’ will always be a fine one, and although these films don’t
aspire to lofty intellectual pretensions, they still hold a special
place in our hearts, minds and most importantly, drinking
games.