The sound of music: Favorite movie soundtracks

Alfonso Cuarón’s astronaut thriller “Gravity” has proven to be a hit with both fans and critics, pulling in almost as much revenue its second weekend as it did its first. The film has breathtaking special effects and a moving performance by Sandra Bullock, but a factor that deserves just as much praise is the film’s soundtrack. Although movie music typically doesn’t get as much attention as the actors, the director, the special effects, etc., most great movies wouldn’t be great without a distinctive musical score to help set the tone. “Gravity’s” soundtrack is tense and eerie, pulling in the audience and turning the film into an even more nerve-wracking experience.

Great movie music blends so seamlessly with the images that we’re seeing onscreen that we almost don’t notice it in the background; and yet, if you stripped the music away, the film just wouldn’t have the same impact. James Bond just wouldn’t be James Bond without the series’ signature theme, and Howard Shore’s rich score made the “Lord of the Rings” films seem even more epic.

Here are some of my personal favorite film scores, and I’d love to hear what yours are, as well! 🙂

“Tron: Legacy”
Composed by Daft Punk

Disney’s “Tron” sequel may have been visually spectacular, but critics and fans seemed to agree the plot didn’t dazzle as much as the CGI did. While I was a bit disappointed in the film itself, I will always be grateful to the movie for introducing me to French electronic group Daft Punk. The music is the perfect compliment to the computer-themed visuals, smoothly blending techno and symphonic flavors. It wasn’t like any film soundtrack I’d ever heard before, and that made it feel fresh and exciting. Sometimes haunting, sometimes elegant, “Tron: Legacy” ranks among Daft Punk’s best work and is one of the best modern movie scores.

“Sherlock Holmes” (2009)
Composed by Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite film score composers. I’ve enjoyed his work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, his themes for Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” reboot (particularly his work on “The Dark Knight Rises”), and his main theme for this summer’s “Man of Steel.” However, one of his most unique scores is for the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law “Sherlock Holmes” movie. The first time I heard the soundtrack, I didn’t even realize Zimmer had composed it, though when I listened more carefully, I picked up echoes of his style. The music is quirky and creative, using just slightly out-of-tune pianos and squeaky violins. It perfectly captures the spirit of Guy Ritchie’s touch-of-steampunk version of Sherlock Holmes.

“Star Trek” series (2009-2013)
Composed by Michael Giacchino

While I also loved Michael Giacchino’s jazzy score for the Pixar film “Ratatouille” and his re-imagining of the classic “Mission Impossible” theme for “Ghost Protocol,” perhaps my favorite is Giacchino’s work on J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” reboot series. Like the films, the music is bold and energizing (no pun intended). 😉 He combines themes from the TV series with original music, managing to pay homage to the work that came before him while also creating something refreshingly new. Some of the best pieces include the track “Enterprising Young Men” from the first film, as well as Khan’s eerily elegant theme from “Into Darkness.”

“Star Wars” saga (1977-2005)
Composed by John Williams

John Williams is arguably the greatest film score composer of our time, and he’s written countless themes for now classic movies. Although his “Star Wars” themes are my personal favorites (surprise, surprise!) ;), it’s tough to narrow down John Williams’ body of work to a few selections, because he’s written so many iconic pieces of music, such as “Jurassic Park,” “E.T.,” “Indiana Jones,” “Jaws,” “Schindler’s List,” and more.

His “Star Wars” scores have become just as beloved as main characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia. From the main theme that’s now synonymous with the films to the brisk “Imperial March” to the jazzy “Cantina” song, Williams’ score helps to bring that galaxy long, long ago and far, far away to life. Although the prequel films have divided fans, Williams earned praise for his work on the newer three films, as well. There’s the pounding, choral epic “Duel of the Fates” that accompanies the Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan lightsaber battle, and the aching, haunting melody of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé’s theme “Across the Stars.” I’m looking forward to hearing the score Williams will write for the upcoming episode VII.

‘Bait & Switch: A sci-fi Sherlock Holmes’

I apologize in advance for this shameless bit of self-promotion, but I’ve been working on a project for a while that I finally finished and wanted to share about. 😉

I enjoy writing fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy, and over the past several years I’ve been playing around with a couple of ideas for novels. I’m a huge fan of the BBC TV show “Sherlock,” and I love how they took some of the elements from the classic Sherlock Holmes detective stories and then updated them to modern times. The show captures the essence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings but also adds its own creative twist.

After discovering the BBC’s “Sherlock,” I got to thinking that it might be interesting to try a similar concept, except instead of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes to do a science fiction Sherlock Holmes, blending the styles of the BBC’s “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who.” I wrote a short sci-fi story using the Holmes, Watson and Lestrade characters, and I had so much fun with it that I decided to expand it to a novel.

It’s called “Bait & Switch: A sci-fi Sherlock Holmes,” and it’s now available for download on Amazon.com: www.amazon.com/Bait-Switch-sci-fi-Sherlock-ebook/dp/B00A58SIYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353351674&sr=8-1&keywords=Ashley+Bergner+bait+and+switch. Right now the book is solely in Kindle eReader format, but I believe there are apps that can adapt it to other devices: www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=dig_arl_box?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.

A preview of the book is available for free on Amazon, and I also made a book trailer to go along with the novel:

I set the story on a futuristic planet, and Holmes lives in apartment complex 221 in the city’s rundown “Quadrant B.” He works as a consultant for the planet’s “Civic Security” organization, and he becomes friends with Jaymie Watson, a medical student, who ends up helping him solve cases. The novel is divided into six different “cases” that all tie together at the end, as Holmes realizes he’s being manipulated by a certain professor/scientist named James Moriarty.

The cases aren’t based on any particular Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; rather, I took some of the characters — such as Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, Moriarty, and Mrs. Hudson — and tried to portray what they might be like in a science fiction story. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite literary characters, and science fiction is my favorite literary genre, so I thought it might be fun to combine the two.

Anyway, if you’re interested, let me know what you think! 🙂 I appreciate everyone who follows and comments on my blog “Box Office Buzz.” I’ve been blogging with Word Press for about a year, and I’ve really enjoyed writing about movies and reading other bloggers’ entries and reviews, as well. Thanks for reading!

TV review: CBS’ ‘Elementary’ can’t quite escape from ‘Sherlock’s’ shadow

I’ll admit I was somewhat skeptical about CBS’ modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes. The show, which is called “Elementary,” premiered last night and features Holmes as an ex-Scotland Yard consultant who’s living in New York City. Regardless of what CBS officials might say, it’s clear this show is (right or wrong) an attempt to take advantage of the famous literary detective’s recent spike in popularity. The concept of CBS’ show is fairly similar to the BBC’s “Sherlock,” which is set in modern-day London and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes.

As an avid fan of “Sherlock,” I was afraid “Elementary” was simply an attempt to “Americanize” the BBC show. Still, I tried watch “Elementary’s” pilot as objectively as possible and judge it based on its own merits. However, I have to confess the pilot fell just a little bit flat for me. It’s different enough from “Sherlock” that it unfortunately doesn’t share the BBC show’s strengths, and yet it’s similar enough that it can’t escape from “Sherlock’s” shadow.

“Elementary” re-imagines the Sherlock Holmes character as a recovering addict (played by Jonny Lee Miller) who does consulting work with the NYPD. Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu) is his live-in sober companion. While her job is supposedly to make sure Holmes doesn’t have a relapse, she ends up tagging along with him to crime scenes and helping him to solve cases.

I think the main reason the show didn’t quite work for me is that I didn’t ever really feel like I was watching a Sherlock Holmes story. The “Elementary” pilot seemed more like a straight-up CSI-type procedural, with a few elements from the Sherlock Holmes stories tossed in every once in a while. The British flavor of the original stories is pretty much gone, and I haven’t quite decided whether or not I like how the writers have portrayed the characters.

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu were good casting choices, but I felt like the show runners were holding them back and not giving them enough to work with. The writers didn’t really give them a chance to build the type of chemistry Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have as Holmes and Watson in the BBC’s “Sherlock,” or Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Guy Ritchie’s recent “Sherlock Holmes” films. There’s a hint of witty banter here and there, but not nearly enough. I also felt the show didn’t have the same passion or energy the BBC or Guy Ritchie versions had.

Miller does, I think, have the potential to give us an interesting portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. “Elementary” features a slightly more punk version of Holmes — he has several tattoos and a more “grunge” style of dress. And the show did contain some nice “Holmes” moments: when Watson first meets the detective, he’s watching multiple programs on multiple TV screens at the same time, and the bit about “small talk” was funny (I won’t spoil the moment if you haven’t seen the pilot yet). He also tells Watson he doesn’t really need her to be his “sober companion”; he tells her that when he decided to quit drugs, that was it, and he is done for good. Holmes does strike me as the sort of person who could suddenly compel himself to quit “cold turkey” one day and succeed out of a sheer act of will.

Yet there were several moments in the pilot that felt very un-Sherlock Holmes like, and these moments are part of why the show left me with mixed feelings. At one point, Holmes remarks, without sarcasm or irony, that “sometimes I hate it when I’m right.” To me this seemed to be a bit of a departure from the traditional character, who is known for his obsession with always being right. At another point in the show, he also apologizes to Watson for being wrong. It almost seems like the writers are trying too hard to create a more sympathetic, vulnerable Holmes. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that; it’s just that the character probably won’t seem a lot like “Sherlock Holmes” anymore.

Holmes’ arrogant narcissism can be frustrating, but it also is part of what makes the character so fascinating. I think the BBC show did a better job of capturing the complexity of Holmes’ character. Occasional moments of vulnerability will slip through (such as when he is concerned for Watson’s safety, and in the episode with Irene Adler, “A Scandal in Belgravia” — which is, I think, one of the best “Sherlock” episodes), but Holmes never apologizes for who he is. He’s a brilliant but highly flawed person, and I think that’s the reason the character is intriguing.

I’ve heard “Elementary’s” show runners plan to bring in separate love interests for Holmes and Watson, and this concerns me a bit, as well. I just don’t think Holmes is the type to have a committed, “normal” relationship. It’s just not who he is. The character typically has viewed love as a “distraction.” Both the BBC and Guy Ritchie versions have flirted with a Holmes/Adler dynamic, but I thought both versions handled it quite well, using the situation to bring out some interesting facets in Holmes’ personality but not compromising who the character is as a whole. Anyway, I’m probably being too picky, and it could be that I’m just an overprotective “Sherlock” fan. 😉

While I’m planning on giving “Elementary” another try next week, I’m not sure I’ll end up enjoying the show as much as I enjoyed Guy Ritchie’s touch-of-steampunk Sherlock Holmes movies and the BBC’s modern-day “Sherlock.” Both these productions have taken some creative risks, as well as some liberties with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original material. However, they still felt like authentic Sherlock Holmes stories to me. “Elementary” simply felt a little too much like “CSI: Sherlock.”

CBS’ Americanized ‘Sherlock Holmes’ TV show too big a risk?

When the BBC decided to re-imagine the classic “Sherlock Holmes” detective stories and set them in modern-day London, it was undeniably a big risk. It’s always a little dangerous when you deviate significantly from the source material while adapting a well-known literary work. However, it’s a risk that ultimately paid off, and the BBC show, called “Sherlock,” now has become many fans’ favorite portrayal of the famous detective. The second season of the show already has aired in the United Kingdom, and it will air here in the United States on PBS in May.

The U.S. television network CBS has apparently taken note of “Sherlock’s” success and is now working on its own Sherlock Holmes TV show called “Elementary.” The show is set in modern-day New York City and will star Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes. In another departure from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, Holmes’ assistant and best friend Dr. Watson will be a female character, played by Lucy Liu. In this version of the story, Holmes is a former Scotland Yard consultant who travels to New York City to enter rehab, and Watson is an ex-surgeon who has lost her license and is now helping Holmes to stay sober. Holmes has been consulting for the NYPD, so he and Watson most likely will team up to solve cases.

I must admit my initial reaction to CBS’ announcement was not a very enthusiastic one. I love BBC’s “Sherlock,” but I’m not sure “Elementary” can capture the same magic. I’m a little skeptical CBS can make a modernized and Americanized version of Sherlock Holmes work.

The Sherlock Holmes saga has always been quintessentially British, and the city of London plays just as significant a role in the stories as Holmes and Watson do. Even though BBC’s “Sherlock” changed quite a few details and updated the story to modern times, the show still is set in London. New York City has a very different vibe than London, and a modern Sherlock Holmes story set in New York may be too much of a departure from the source material for fans to swallow.

Shows that work in one setting can’t always be successfully transplanted to another. For example, “White Collar,” a smartly-written crime drama about former “white collar” con artist Neal Caffrey, is set in New York City. The location helps set the tone of the series, and “White Collar” just wouldn’t be the same if it were set in, say, Dallas, Texas, or Portland, Oregon. This doesn’t mean you can’t make a good crime drama set in Dallas or Portland; you’d just have to come up with a different story that utilized the unique cultural features of those two cities.

I’m afraid CBS is just trying to capitalize on the success of the BBC’s show and will turn this into “CSI: Sherlock.” There’s nothing wrong with the CSI series of shows; I just don’t think the Sherlock Holmes story would work as a typical procedural crime drama.

According to the U.K. news organization “The Guardian,” CBS reportedly asked the BBC if they could remake “Sherlock,” and the BBC turned them down.

“They approached to reversion our show, we said no and they just decided to make one anyway,” said Steven Moffat, who is the co-creator of “Sherlock” and also known for his involvement with the popular British sci-fi show “Doctor Who.” “So I’ll just leave you to speculate on what I think about that.”

That said, CBS’ “Elementary” does have a good cast. I like Jonny Lee Miller as an actor and really enjoyed his performance as Mr. Knightley in the recent BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma.” Lucy Liu has appeared on the TNT law enforcement drama “Southland.” Although I don’t necessarily have a problem with portraying Watson as a female character, I hope CBS is not going to turn her into a too-obvious love interest for Holmes.

I’m willing to give this show a chance, just to see what it’s like. I was skeptical of “Sherlock” before I saw the first episode, but now it’s one of my favorite TV series. However, I have a feeling CBS’ “Sherlock Holmes” experiment isn’t going to be as successful as the BBC’s was.

Movie Review: ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’

The key to making a successful sequel to a popular film is maintaining the same features that made the first film great, while at the same time bringing something fresh and new to the story. And that’s exactly what “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” does.

The film is a follow-up to director Guy Ritchie’s surprise 2009 hit, “Sherlock Holmes,” which brought a touch of steampunk to the classic literary tale and portrayed the famous detective as an edgier, more rough and tumble character than Hollywood has typically portrayed him in the past (although some could argue Ritchie’s vision isn’t entirely out of line with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories).

The sequel, “A Game of Shadows,” picks up pretty much where its predecessor left off, with Holmes (played by Robert Downey Jr.) scrambling to learn more about the man who will become his most infamous and most dangerous foe: Professor James Moriarty. Holmes and his assistant and best friend Dr. John Watson (played by Jude Law) must figure out how to stop Moriarty, who is both fanning the flames of rising political conflict and looking to profit when war finally erupts. While the first film was set primarily in Victorian England, this time Holmes and Watson’s travels take them across Europe, including stops in France and Germany, and a final confrontation with Moriarty in Switzerland.

I won’t go into a lot of detail about the plot, because part of the fun of the film is working along with Holmes and Watson as they piece together the clues and try to unravel Moriarty’s plan. But I very much enjoyed the film, and if you enjoyed the first Sherlock Holmes film, you’ll probably like this one as well.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law prove once again they were perfect choices for their roles. Before watching the original film, if you’d asked me who I thought should play Holmes and Watson, Downey and Law probably wouldn’t have crossed my mind. But after seeing the film, I can’t imagine anyone else playing those roles. Downey’s Holmes is brilliant, eccentric, and highly egotistical, but he truly cares about his friend Watson and would do anything to save him. Law’s Watson is more mild-mannered, but no less brilliant, than his friend Sherlock Holmes, and though Holmes’ unusual habits frequently exasperate him, he looks out for his friend. Hollywood tends to portray Watson as more of a bumbling, often clueless character, so it’s very refreshing to see him presented as more of Holmes’ equal in Ritchie’s version of the story.

Downey and Law also are joined in this film by Jared Harris, who plays Professor Moriarty. Harris resists the temptation to make Moriarty into a maudlin, over-dramatic villain, and his quietly sinister portrayal makes the character all the more menacing. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is he and Holmes’ chess match at the very end of the film — a scene that perfectly showcases the dynamic between the two characters.

The cinematography in the film is great, with possibly the best use of slow motion I’ve ever seen in a movie. Ritchie brings back a technique I really loved in the first movie, where he stops the clock and shows Holmes analyzing in slow motion how he is going to react to a situation (for example, he analyzes step by step how to bring down an attacker). Then, Ritchie speeds up the camera to normal speed, and we get to see Holmes act out in real-time what he’d just analyzed in his mind.

Also worth mentioning is another great score from film composer Hans Zimmer. His soundtrack to the first “Sherlock Holmes” movie was creative, quirky and very original (I loved the clanky, slightly out of tune piano playing on the film’s main theme), and Zimmer doesn’t disappoint on the sequel.

I really enjoyed this film, and I’m looking forward to watching it again so I can pick out all the details I missed the first time. To view a trailer for the film or production photos, visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091.