Posts Tagged ‘Star Wars’
Indiana Jones and the Memorable Themes
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Perhaps no composer has ever made the absolute most of the major 5th like John Williams. When it comes to scoring for Hollywood, Danny Elfman, Thomas Newman, James Horner and their ilk try, but Williams remains the master of the movie soundtrack.
If you’re like me and always hum along when you hear the march from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” you’ll want to snap the “Indiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection” box set out today. It contains the remastered soundtracks of “Raiders,” “Temple of Doom” and “The Last Crusade,” plus the latest adventure – “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” – as well as unreleased music and interviews with Williams and filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. It doesn’t get much better than that. Of the four movies, though, the score for “The Last Crusade” is a brilliant orchestral piece in itself, with some truly great incidental music that most composers wished they could write.
Wanna hear more? Here are some more of Williams’ greatest hits:
The “Star Wars” saga. Let’s not even count the genius use of Wagnerian leitmotifs for the iconic characters: No tune is as well-known as the one that accompanied those all-too-familiar opening text scrolls. Like the movies, the first trilogy of soundtracks are better than the second. “Return of the Jedi” is my personal favorite on the whole, yet the “Cantina Band” tune (from the original flick) is pretty rad, too.
The “Harry Potter” theme. He only scored the initial three Potter movies, and the equally playful and mystically mysterious theme has been co-opted for every film since. The first, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” is particularly good.
“Empire of the Sun.” A relatively obscure soundtrack compared to the likes of Indy and “Star Wars,” the epic film set amid the Japanese occupation of China offers one of Williams’ most emotional scores. “Cadillac of the Skies” is as elegant and beautiful as anything Mozart ever dreamed up.
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” “Jaws” may have that infamous two-note theme, but the “Close Encouters” gets the five-note one, the magical series of tones that communicates between human and alien in universal harmony. A little trivia: Williams created more than 300 thematic iterations of five notes before Spielberg settled on a choice.
Overture to “The Cowboys.” With the sweeping, heroic gallops and tender ballad sections, you kinda wish Williams scored more Westerns than this 1972 John Wayne film. The piece is collected on “By Request: The Best of John Williams” (which just happens to be the first CD I ever owned), a compilation that also includes his buoyant marches from “Midway” and “1941″ and the majestic “Superman” theme.
What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? Email ‘em to novapoppin@gmail.com or put ‘em in the comments.
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Happy Day-after-Election-Day! I have no idea what to obsess about now that Barack Obama’s our very cool president-elect — maybe the new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace”? (That title still makes nary a lick of sense to me.) Whether you’re a Sean Connery guy or you prefer the newbie, Daniel Craig, as 007, you can never discount the British spy’s very colorful rogues gallery. I mean, who doesn’t love Oddjob, the rotund Asian guy who threw his hat at people? 
Now you can be one, too. The Times of London is hosting all kinds of Bond-laden goodness because of the new flick, but the best is the Be a Bond Baddie site.
It’s so easy, you’ll have it done way before that laser beam reaches the family jewels: Pick a template (male or female, in case of any Bond femme fatales out there), upload a pic, tweak a little bit, accessorize (I highly suggest the eyepatch paired with the safari hat), choose a tagline reeking of malevolence and — voila! — you’re only a couple mwah-hah-hahs from being a full-fledged villain bent on global domination.
Make sure it’s good, though — you gotta have somebody pretty nasty to compete with the likes of Jaws, Dr. No, Blofield or Auric Goldfinger there on the right.
Maybe you see yourself as more of a sci-fi fantasy character? Take this quiz to see which one you have the most in common with. For some reason, they think I’m like Galadriel from “The Lord of the Rings.” Um, yes, because I am soooo in tune with my inner Cate Blanchett.
This is a great post about the questions one woman asked her boyfriend about Star Wars, and his very informative and humorous answers. Haven’t we all had this conversation at least once in our lives, my fellow geeks? (By the way, I think I have to have this shirt.)
Got any great web links? Or a favorite Bond movie? Toss ‘em in the comments section or email novapoppin@gmail.com. Here is your video of the week:
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
… what are you waiting for?! Hoth to freeze over? Let Lando Calrissian be your inspiration today as you get your democracy on.
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, September 26th, 2008
Not only is the warm weather leaving us for the rest of the year, but this weekend looks full of rain. Hopefully, it will stay away so I can go to Barktoberfest on Saturday before geeking out with my friends indoors, but it doesn’t look too promising. So it could be a good couple days off for a movie-watching weekend! One member of the NoVa Pop Nation, “ivy2jy,” queried about the best movies to watch on a dreary, rainy day – ask and you shall receive! Here’s a quick list:
1. “Star Wars.” The original, none of that Jar-Jar stuff. If you watched “How I Met Your Mother” on Monday, you learned that Ted watches it when it’s rainy out, so why not you, too? Its awesomeness cannot be measured.
2. “The Princess Bride.” Fred Savage got to hear the fairy tale of Wesley and Buttercup when he was home sick from school. Wrap yourself up in a blanket and watch this for the first or the 1,400th time.
3. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” A good-natured, idealistic and naive small-town dude goes to Congress to truly help out his state and the rest of the country. Yep, that pretty much only happens in the movies.
4. “Miracle.” Hockey season is upon us. The Capitals are gonna be good this year. America rocks. It doesn’t get much more feel-good than this, as the the underdog U.S. pulls off a monumental upset of the Soviet hockey squad in Lake Placid. If only the Russians had had Alex Ovechkin…
5. “High Fidelity.” A movie list should include a movie with lists, right? Jack Black is great, John Cusack plays the slightly jaded everyman like nobody’s business, and the snappy dialogue and good tunes make this Nick Hornby adaptation oh-so-watchable.
Need to add to this list, or have an idea for another? Hit up the comments section or novapoppin@gmail.com.
If you MUST go to a movie theater for your on-screen entertainment, “Eagle Eye” looks promising as Shia LaBeouf runs around a la “The Fugitive,” as does Spike Lee’s intriguing World War II tale, “Miracle at St. Anna.” At Cinema Arts Theatre, “The Lucky Ones” opens today and is a more modern slice of life, following three soldiers (Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena) who are sent home from the Iraq War due to battle injuries and have to find their way back into the world they left behind.
And “Iron Man” hits DVD on Tuesday! The Robert Downey Jr. superhero vehicle was one of my favorite movies of the summer, and I am all about the uber-cool, Target-exclusive Iron Man head packaging. (I’m a nerd. That’s how I roll.) The Judd Apatow comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is also getting a release as well as the steroid documentary “Bigger, Stronger, Faster.”
Tuesday Tuneage: NKOTB hits, Jonas misses, opera rules
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
Tuesday means it’s the day for tuneage. So buckle in and let your ears do the drivin’.
Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban have made a career out of combining pop music with their classically trained pipes. Yet they’re solo acts – no Josh Groban Band to speak of. In this niche falls the East Village Opera Company, which takes operatic gems and molds them into impressive tracks mainstream radio would play if mainstream radio wasn’t lame. Think Bond, the sexed-up, all-girl classical-crossover quartet, but actually good. Some songs on “Olde School” work better than others – you would think anything that hints at Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” would work in a band context, but not so much with “The Ride.” Instead, it’s the lush and gorgeous “Gloria” (from Giovanni Bononcini’s “Griselda”), the funked-up, gospel-tinged “Walk” (Handel’s “Semele”) and breezy “You’re Not Alone” (a Bach cantata, no less) that make you turn around and realize how rockin’ the classics really are.
New Kids on the Block. “Greatest Hits.” That pretty much speaks for itself. Ironic, however, that it comes out the same day as the newest release for the boy band of the moment. I remember first hearing the Jonas Brothers some three years ago, back before they were best buds of Miley Cyrus and when they recorded a CD for Columbia Records that never came out. Know what immediately came to mind? “Hey, it’s Hanson!” Now, I listen to the new “A Little Bit Longer” and think, “Hey, I wish this was Hanson.” Maybe I would appreciate them more if I found Joe Jonas “dreamy,” and I will admit that tracks such as “Tonight” and “One Man Show” have a few hooky passages, but ultimately it’s forgettable, three-chord fluff from these three bros. They’ve got something, but it’s not the right stuff.
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” opens Friday, and the reviews are so far mixed. The same could be said of its soundtrack, composed by Kevin Kiner. You read that right – for some reason, this’ll be the first “Star Wars” feature not scored by the legendary John Williams, which is blasphemy, really. Kiner, whose cred mostly is built on TV shows (he’s the main composer on “CSI: Miami”), borrows” Williams’ iconic theme but doesn’t bastardize it, and the major orchestral parts are pretty decent. It’s in the parts where he’s tried to hard to be ethnic-based where it sounds off – did we really need tribal drumming tied to Jabba the Hutt? The Force is not so strong with this one.
What are you guys listening to these days? Let other NoVa Poppers know in the comments section, or whisper over to me at novapoppin@gmail.com.
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, August 7th, 2008
It’s almost the end of the first week of NoVa Pop! Today is the premiere of Pop-pourri, where I want you – yes, you, Mr. I’m Pretending to Work But Reading This Awesome Blog – to be very much involved. I want y’all to feel like this is your forum, too, where you can suggest things and get info and make it all organic and such. So ask questions, make suggestions, tell us what you want other NoVa Poppers to know and we’ll post ‘em in Pop-pourri on Thursdays. The email is novapoppin@gmail.com – learn it, love it, become one with it.
The great thing about the world of pop culture is the amount of STUFF there is. Especially to buy. So today, let’s look at a couple things you can purchase – and something you won’t want to miss at your local theater tonight.
The week’s leading sports story has been obvious: the ongoing soap opera of one Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers quarterback who’s like a broken thermostat when it comes to retirement. Well, this just in: He ain’t a Packer anymore. (I wonder if he caused this much drama on the set of “There’s Something About Mary.”) Late last night, he was traded to the New York Jets, and they must have had their marketing crew working overtime because within an hour after the trade, a No. 4 Favre Jets jersey was available online. If you’re a Jets superfan, or you just want to stick it to your Packer-loving ex, go get yourself one here. More locally, another recently traded, future Hall of Famer has his new jersey available, too: Redskins defensive lineman – and ballroom dancer – Jason Taylor. Go get yours at one of the Redskins stores in the area – such as Dulles Town Center or Fair Oaks Mall – or hit the Skins’ online store. (Also this season, profits from any Sean Taylor merchandise sold online or in stores will be donated to the Sean Taylor Memorial Trust Fund.)
Based in Fairfax, ThinkGeek is the one-stop shop for most any pop-culture nerd. They have some great “Star Wars” shirts, such as this Marc Ecko-inspired top I’ve been known to rock once or thrice, but perhaps the cutest items in their catalog is their series of plush microbes. At 8 bucks each, you can get your own cuddly version of the Plague, toxic mold, chicken pox, malaria and other, nastier viruses and diseases. Or give your loved one the flu. It’s all good!
I admit it: I was a TOTAL band geek back in the day, marching tuba when I was in high school at Jefferson and then at UNC. And one of the things I always meant to do was join a drum corps – in other words, a “professional” marching band without flutes, clarinets and saxophones, made up mostly of college kids. Well, it’s time again for all local band geeks to unite – at the movie theater! Drum Corps International is having its annual championships this weekend in Indiana, and they’ll be showing the top 15 corps at theaters all over the area tonight at 6 p.m. Check out “DCI 2008: Big, Loud & Live 5″ at the following cinemas: AMC Hoffman 22 (Alexandria), Ballston Commons 12 (Arlington), Fairfax Towne Center (Fairfax), AMC Tysons Corner 16 (McLean) and Lee Highway Multiplex (Merrifield). You can buy your tickets online for $18 – which is a pretty good deal for more than five hours of musical motion. The uncannily precise Cavaliers and classically bombastic Phantom Regiment will be favorites going in, but you can’t count out the uber-cool defending champs, the Blue Devils. (They’re like the Tom Brady of drum corps.) In case you still have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a taste of what you’ll see: