Armchair Commentary

Amazon Pilots Inside Story: David Javerbaum ("The Daily Show") on "Browsers," Bebe Neuwirth, Music and More

When the characters in Browsers feel something, they don’t just say it. You don’t just see it. They sing it. They even dance it. And they do it with such wit – almost like an 11-time Emmy award-winning writer for The Daily Show is putting words in their mouth.

And one is: David Javerbaum. He’s actually got a dozen Emmys, having picked up one for the song “Broadway: It’s Not Just For Gays Anymore,” which so memorably opened the 65^th Tony Awards. And he’s also an author (The Last Testament: A Memoir By God; What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’ Guide to the First Three Trimesters).

Browsers, one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM,  is about four interns at Gush, a content-aggregating website (a la The Huffington Post or The Daily Beast) founded and run by the charismatic but mysterious Julianna Mancuso-Bruni (Bebe Neuwirth). “The show pokes fun at modern workplaces, the media, and more specifically Gush — starting with its penchant for deriving most of its content by cutting and pasting material from other websites,” Javerbaum said.

We asked Javerbaum about the setting of Browsers, the terrific cast, and the challenges of mixing comedy and music.

Why this world, why these characters?

I’ve long considered The Huffington Post the quintessential cultural artifact of our time in terms of what it covers, how it covers it, and why it remains popular. It literally provides a window into the state of the world, and so I thought setting a show there — and making the entirety of its universe fair game for our show — would provide an enormous amount of material.

As for the characters, as soon as I began formulating ideas for musical television shows, I knew I wanted the leads to be young people in their 20s, because that’s the age where you have the most energy, passion, uncertainty, and all that other good interesting quirky singable stuff. 

How does having music in the show adds to the experience/story?

The songs serve a different purpose here than they do in shows like Smash and Glee, not only because they are original, but because they are not “actually” happening. Rather, the songs are internal, taking place inside the character’s heads, meaning they are bound only by the laws of imagination and not by reality. 

Tell me about your awesome cast, and what they brought to the show.

Bebe Neuwirth (Julianna): The consummate professional. Hilarious on take one, still hilarious on take five.

Brigitte Davidovici (Kate): A beautiful person inside and out. Instantly winning from the moment you see her. Also an excellent baby-sitter.

Dustin Ingram (Josh): Gets more comedy out of one word than most people get out of a book. (Even the Bible, which is pretty funny.)

Constance Wu (Prudence): Beautiful. Intense scene presence. Funny and smart. Extremely fun to be around.

Marque Richardson (Gabe): Brings an inherent likability to a serious, sometimes humorless character. And man, can he tap dance. (For a later episode…)

Chris Wood (Justin): The interns’ supervisor. Half-man, half-douche, all-awesome.

Writing songs is hard enough – how much does it increase the degree of difficulty to also make them funny?

Actually, writing funny songs — at least songs I think are funny — is not that difficult once you come up with a single solid comedic premise for each one. The songs are for the most part much shorter than songs in either pop music or musical theater — two minutes tops, with the one-time exception of the opening song in the pilot episode — and, like a Monty Python sketch, we’re free to stop them at any time as soon as they no longer feel funny. But the good thing about writing songs in this format is that the burden of comedy is shared by not only the song and the performer, but by the visuals and the directing, and that is where a director of Don Scardino’s skill comes in and makes a song that was good on paper look amazing on screen.

How has the Amazon experience been so far?

I would not want Browsers to be anywhere else on TV — not network, basic cable or premium cable. The amount of freedom and trust I’ve been given, the commitment of money and resources, the directness of the communication with the powers-that-be and the quality of their notes, the possibilities entailed in a show about a website being aired on one — I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Check out the Amazon Studios Hollywonk blog for a song-by-song look at the Browsers soundtrack, available for free at Amazon MP3.

DVDs from the Vault: Bowery Boys Volume 2, Jackie Chan, Repo Man, Eddie Cantor and More!

Warner Archives has issued The Bowery Boys: Volume 2, a four-disc collection featuring twelve titles from the impossibly long-running comedy series. The dozen pictures collected in the set roughly cover the first decade of the team's stint under the Bowery Boys' moniker after two previous decades as the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys and East Side Kids. The tone of the Bowery movies is decidedly more slapstick than in previous incarnations (thanks in part to the behind-the-camera presence of Three Stooges vet Edward Bernds and Jean Yarbrough, who directed numerous Abbott and Costello features and TV shows), and as the series progressed, swiftly moved into psychotronic territory: in Spook Busters (1946), a mad scientist wants to put the brain of Sach (Huntz Hall) into a gorilla, while a spate of candy consumption in Master Minds (1949) gives Sach psychic abilities, which attracts the attention of another mad scientist (Alan Napier from the TV Batman) with noggin-swapping designs for his monster (Glenn Strange). Bernds' The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1955) goes all-out in its grab for the horror-kid crowd, offering up mad scientist John Dehner a gorilla, robot, vampire and a man-eating tree (maintained by The Waltons' Ellen Corby). The other Boys' adventures included in the set are only moderately less weird - they develop a vitamin drink that makes Hall an unstoppable football champ in Hold That Line (1952), tangle with outlaws in Bowery Buckaroos (1947), faux spiritualists (Hard Boiled Mahoney, 1947) and con artist Amanda Blake in High Society (1955), which was accidentally offered up by the Academy for a Best Story Oscar. The Bowery Boys' titles are definitely an acquired taste, but for former Saturday afternoon matinee habitues of a certain age, their antics are comfort-food-level pleasures, dependably broad and daffy and entirely predictable; the WA set features pressed discs and widescreen presentations on Meet the Monsters and two other titles.

MOD of the Week: "The Show" and "Vitaphone Varieties Volume 2"

Though not quite the same jaw-dropping spectacle as Freaks (1932), director Tod Browning's silent melodrama The Show (1927; Warner Archives) offers its own array of startling and contextually loaded visual images, as well as a robust performance from its lead, John Gilbert. Set in a Hungarian carnival, the film's central love triangle, between barker/rogue Gilbert, former flame Renee Adoree and the malevolent Greek (Lionel Barrymore), is really just the framework on which Browning hangs his true interest: the macabre denizens of the carnival sideshow, which includes the disembodied hand of Cleopatra (who collects tickets), a mermaid, half-lady, and most arresting of all, "Arachnadia, the Spider Lady," a baleful, glaring woman's head atop a huge spider body (played by Edna Tichenor from Browning's London After Midnight). It's a marvelously perverse showcase for the director's particular brand of erotically charged horror, as is the recreation of Salome's Dance, with Adoree smothering the severed head of John the Baptist (Gilbert) with post-decapitation kisses. The rest of the picture is moderately engaging, thanks in part to the leads and a genuinely bizarre moment involving a poisonous lizard, but the picture's real passion lies behind the sideshow curtain.

Only slightly less head-spinning is Vitaphone Varieties Volume 2 (Warner Archives), a two-disc collection of vaudeville shorts made by Warner Bros. and First National in the late '20s and early '30s using the titular sound-on-disc system. A wide variety of acts, from Hawaiian music quartets, jazz orchestras and early comic teams to the indescribable Chaz Chase, are showcased in the 35 shorts included in the set, as well as established stars of the period, like comic Joe E. Brown and actress Blanche Sweet. The shorts also provide a glimpse at name performers in the natal stage of their careers, like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Wizard of Oz co-stars Jack Haley and Bert Lahr (in separate shorts), radio icon Fred Allen, actor Pat O'Brien and a young Natalie Schafer decades before her turn as Mrs. Howell on Gilligan's Island. The clips are energetic and more than a bit off-beat - how else to describe Guido Deiro, "The World's Foremost Piano-Accordionist" or the aforementioned Chase, whose act hinges on his consumption of paper and other found objects? Though the technology is dated, the sheer drive of the performers featured in the set outshines even the most ardent hopefuls on American Idol and the like, and makes for a fascinating glimpse at what kept audiences entertained nearly eight decades ago. -- Paul Gaita

"Pop" Artist: Lou Adler on the 45th Anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Music Festival

The career of Lou Adler seems comprised entirely of historical superlatives - manager of The Mamas and the Papas; songwriter for Sam Cooke, among others; founder, Dunhill Records; producer, Carole King's Grammy-winning Tapestry album, as well as records by The Grass Roots, Spirit, Johnny Rivers and many others; owner, the Roxy Theater on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip; producer, The Rocky Horror Picture Show; director, Up in Smoke and Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. With such a staggering c.v., it's hard to imagine that Adler had time to for anything else, especially a festival on the scope of the Monterey International Pop Festival, which he and Mamas and Papas leader John Phillips helped to organize on June 16-18, 1967.

A groundbreaking effort in rock festivals, the Monterey festival introduced American audiences to such legendary performers as Jimi Hendrix, who famously lit his guitar on fire at the conclusion of his set, as well as the Who, Janis Joplin and soul singer Otis Redding; such '60s icons as the Animals, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield and Ravi Shankar filled out the remainder of the bill. The festival's highlights, which represented the cultural zeitgeist of the Aquarian Age in compelling sights and sounds, were captured on film in D.A Pennebaker's documentary, Monterey Pop.

June 16-18, 2012 will mark the 45th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival, and Adler has seen fit to mark the occasion in a variety of media. He's penned the introduction for A Perfect Haze: The Illustrated History of The Monterery International Pop Festival by Harvey Kubernik and Kenneth Kubernik, and will appear with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas at a screening of Monterey Pop in Los Angeles on June 17. He also took time to talk with Armchair Commentary about the challenges faced in mounting a festival on the scale of Monterey, as well as its lasting impact on music and pop culture.

QUESTION: You've achieved so much over the course of your career. If you had to grade them, where would the Monterey Pop Festival fall?

LOU ADLER: The way I look at it is that they're all Number One - they're all in different categories. And I haven't done a lot of festivals, so it's definitely Number One [in that category].

Pistol Camera - "X The Unheard Music" and Other Great Punk Documentaries

On March 13, MVD will release a new edition of the 1986 documentary The Unheard Music, which profiled the seminal Los Angeles punk band X. The new "Silver Anniversary Edition" disc, which commemorates the quarter-century since the film's original release, offers a new transfer and 5.1 surround sound mix, as well as new interviews with founding members Exene Cervenka and John Doe along with outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage. 

More than just a snapshot of the L.A. underground music scene in the 1980s, The Unheard Music is just one of a handful of documentary features that attempted to chronicle the development of punk - both music and lifestyle - during its seminal years in the 1970s and 1980s outside of the frequently uninformed coverage of the mainstream media. Following are 10 great punk docs that preserve the sound and passion of the period. 

Sadly, such exceptional efforts as Lech Kowalski's D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage (1980) and Penelope Spheeris' The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) and The Decline of Western Civilization III (1998) are excluded from this list, as all are, as of this post, unavailable in legal DVD releases.

Urgh! A Music War (1982) The music does the talking in this who's who of punk and New Wave in concert. Performances by major players like the Police, Dead Kennedys, X, DEVO, Go-Gos, Cramps, XTC, Pere Ubu and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are paired with footnote figures like Magazine, Surf Punks and Skafish, which (intentionally or not) underscores the democratic intent of the scene. The film's showstopper/curio piece is performance artist Klaus Nomi, whose soaring falsetto and alien presence were later detailed in the 2004 doc The Nomi Song.

Another State of Mind (1984) This harrowing account of Social Distortion and Youth Brigade's tour through Canada and the U.S. in 1982, should be required viewing for all aspiring punk musicians. Not only does it detail the highs and lows of live performances, from dedicated fans to dilapidated vans and unscrupulous club owners (Youth Brigade drummer Mark Stern displays a fistful of penny rolls offered in payment for a San Francisco show), but also the hazards inherent to playing music outside the mainstream, from disdain to threats of arrest and outright violence. While aspects of punk has gained some respect in 21st century society, the hardships faced by the bands here, which are joined by Ian MacKaye and Minor Threat near the end of the film, are still a reality in corners of the world, making this cautionary tale still relevant after nearly three decades. 

The Clash - Westway to the World (2000) / Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten (2007) The UK's mighty Clash and its singer and chief lyricist, Joe Strummer, are paid proper respect in these two retrospective features. Director Don (The Punk Rock Movie, Punk: Attitude) Letts' Grammy-winning Westway to the World is a capable introduction to the band's history via footage from their heyday (1977-1982) and interviews with its members post-breakup, while Julien Temple's The Future is Unwritten digs deeper to present a warts-and-all bio on Strummer, with detailed focus on his life pre- and post-Clash.

The Filth and the Fury: A Sex Pistols Film (2000) Julien Temple attempts to place the Sex Pistols into a context far removed from the hysteria and shock that erupted during their emergence in late '70s Britain. The result, which combines period footage with new interviews with the surviving members and a dizzying array of visual non sequiters, is neither a canonization nor a dismissal of the Pistols, but rather an effort to preserve the righteous indignation of their music in the face of a country and culture in mid-collapse, which draws uncomfortable parallels to the present-day global economic situation.

Instrument: Ten Years with the Band Fugazi (2001) An exhaustive overview of Ian Mackaye's highly influential, post-Minor Threat outfit Fugazi, this two-hour-plus effort by Jem Cohen is a collection of live performances from the band's lengthy history along with interviews that detail the development of their fan-oriented ethics (low ticket prices, all-ages shows, label allegiance). Those looking for a historical document may be thwarted by the film's loose construction, but fans will be rapturous over the wealth of live material spanning Fugazi's 16-year history.

End of the Century - The Story of the Ramones (2003) The history of the Ramones, from their status as rock and roll's saviors in the early '70s to their fractious, messy end in 1996, has been detailed in countless books, magazine articles and films, but this long-gestating project, launched in 1994 and completed nearly a decade later, details both the joyful and ugly aspects of their myth in the words of the band members themselves. What results is a honest depiction of the Ramones as history makers who ignited the conflagration of punk rock for the generations that followed, but ultimately were themselves unable to keep warm by it.

New York Doll (2005) A bittersweet story of downfall and redemption, this award-winning feature details the life of Arthur "Killer" Kane, bassist for the glam-punk pioneers the New York Dolls, who endured decades of substance abuse and emotional turmoil before finding solace in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When a opportunity to play with his former bandmates arises in 2004, the fragile Kane must weigh his own self-preservation against a chance to reclaim his legacy. Alternately enthraling and heartbreaking, New York Doll is a moving testimony to the perils of rock and roll, as well as its power to reinvent and revive.

We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen (2006) San Pedro's beloved and fiercely independent Minutemen, who railed against political injustice in their tightly wound blend of punk, jazz and roots rock, receive a loving tribute in this recollection about their under-the-radar but potent influence on alternative music. The fraternal relationship between singer D. Boon and bassist Mike Watt - now an elder statesman of the indie scene - and their attempt to make intelligent, passionate music in the grisly pop/rock scene of the early '80s are detailed in interviews with Watt, drummer George Hurley, and an all-star list of punk admirers, from Henry Rollins and Flea to critic Richard Meltzer and future Watt cohorts Joe Baiza, Nels Cline and Ed Crawford (fIREHOSE).

American Hardcore - The History of Punk Rock 1980-1986 (2006) Summing up punk rock in a single film is a daunting prospect that invariably leaves one or more factions of fans feeling slighted, and both this documentary, inspired by Steven Blush's book of the same name, and the following pictures, have earned brickbats for their omissions (here, it's the Dead Kennedys and Husker Du, undoubtedly for legal reasons). But for its wealth of interviews and vintage clips, American Hardcore is a worthwhile addition to any punk aficionado's collection. 

Punk's Not Dead (2008) and Punk: Attitude (2005) Both features have their merits, with Don Letts' Punk: Attitude offering a historical perspective via interviews with veteran performers, and Punk's Not Dead taking the genre's pulse in the 21st century. Again, neither presents the Compleat Punk Picture, but serve as competent and often invigorating elements of a vast, unruly and still-vibrant punk portrait.

Also worth seeing: Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (1994), Todd Phillips' profile of the doomed, nihilist rocker, who took punk's transgressive qualities to self-destructive lengths; Afro-Punk (2005), which examines issues of race within the punk community, with performances by and interviews with black and interracial acts like Fishbone, TV on the Radio and 24-7 Spyz; The Gits (2008), a moving look at the life of the Seattle band and their frontwoman, Mia Zapata, whose 1993 murder cut short a promising career; and Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam (2009), which examines the rise of punk culture among Islamic youth in both the U.S. and abroad. -- Paul Gaita

Q&A with "happythankyoumore" featured artist Jaymay

In anticipation of Josh Radnor's (How I Met Your Mother) sharp comedy centered on a group of 20-something New Yorkers struggling to find themselves, we sat down with the movie soundtrack's featured artist, Jaymay, to get her take on happythankyoumore, music, movies, and more.

A. How did you like working with the cast and crew of Happythankyoumoreplease?
J: It was inspiring to see josh behind the camera. The cafe scene starring Tony Hale and Malin Akerman was definitely a highlight (huge fan of Arrested Development). I loved meeting Todd Diciurcio, the artist responsible for Rasheen's drawings (my apartment wall is now adorned with the "dashing russian aristocrat" that is Sam Wexler). Above all, I am grateful to have worked with the score's producer, Michael Brake, whose cleverness and timing are impeccable. It's truly magical the way he synced song lyrics with pivotal moments and every time I watch the movie i notice something new.

A. How did you get involved with the film and what does it mean for you to be the featured artist of the soundtrack?
J: Josh sent me the screenplay and I sent him a couple of songs that I thought would be fitting. He chose New York City as his setting which is perfect because that's basically all I write about. I was originally only gonna have two or three songs in the film, but then I think it felt natural to use more as my music truly narrates relationships in the city. Seeing my name on "the big screen" at Sundance is something I'll never forget. I've always, always wanted to be part of a movie soundtrack so it's definitely a dream come true.

A. Do you relate at all with any of the characters in the film?
J. I totally identify with Mary Catherine: New York City is home.

A. How did you get into the music industry? When did you start playing/performing?
J. One monday in august 2003, I attended the sidewalk cafe open mic in the East Village and I just knew.

A. Who are you inspirations in music?
J. Lately I've been all about authors. "Never Be Daunted" is a Hemmingway line and Kurt Vonnegut has this awesome short story called "Long Walk to Forever" (it's featured in a book called "Welcome to the Monkey House"). His story is a happy one -- I think it's the only happy one in the whole collection -- so I turned it into a song with a sad twist. I call the song "Long Walk to Never" and it's all about a couple who fails to be like Vonnegut's Catharine and Newt. I have another song called "Lamb to the Slaughter" which is adapted from Roald Dahl's short story bearing the same title.

A. Name a musician you’d love to work with in the future.
J. It would be so cool to work with the band Blonde Redhead. The album "Misery is a Butterfly" kills me. I also wanna do a duet with Mason Jennings.

A. What’s a great movie you’ve seen lately?
J. Copie Conforme. I think I need to see it again (and then maybe once more) to fully understand it, but Juliette Binoche is just too stunning and talented for words.

A. Your music has also been featured in How I Met Your Mother. Any future plans for TV or Movies?
J. I recently had a song in The Switch ("Sea green, See blue") and Barney's Version ("All Souls"). I certainly hope there's more tv/movie opportunities in the future.

A. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
J. 1) Jurassic Park 2) E.T. 3) Jon Brion's "theme" from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 4)"He Needs Me" from Punch-Drunk Love 4) Aimee Mann's "Wise Up" from Magnolia

A. Will you be touring soon?
J. Yup! a US tour this fall perhaps?

 

 

To see and hear more from Jaymay, check out her Artist page here. happythankyoumoreplease is available on DVD and Blu-ray June 21.

 

 

The Greatest Stories Ever Filmed

Easter is a great time to reconnect with the great Christian and Biblical stories, many of which have been captured in splendid and moving cinematic versions. Stirring films of the life of Christ and the saints can inspire the whole family. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. The Greatest Story Ever Told: Max von Sydow gives the performance of a lifetime as Jesus, equal parts godly and human, showing nuance, grief and deep love for his fellow (flawed) men. The Greatest Story Ever Told takes its sweet time in unfolding the life of Jesus, and some parts seem slow--but all of it is deeply felt and deeply moving.

2. Song of Bernadette: There was a time in the '40s and '50s when most of Hollywood was eager to star in or direct religious features. Song of Bernadette (1943) features one of the era's biggest stars, Jennifer Jones, as Bernadette, the simple French peasant girl who claimed to see visions of a "beautiful lady" near the town of Lourdes. Jones won an Oscar for Best Actress for her subtle yet fervent performance, and the cinematography is gorgeous as well.

3. Lilies of the Field: Sidney Poitier won an Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field, playing a handyman passing through a small town in New Mexico. He ends up staying and helping a convent of nuns build their chapel, and faith takes form among the small group of new friends.

4. Jesus Christ Superstar: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were in top form when they composed this rock opera, and the score alone created pop-culture history. But the story of Jesus, told through a more earthy lens, is also very moving, and the conflict of some of the villains in the traditional telling--like Pontius Pilate--is portrayed with nuance. (Honorable musical mention to Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)

 5. Jesus of Nazareth: This masterpiece by Franco Zeffirelli was originally made as a TV miniseries, detailling every known minute of the life of Jesus. Its all-star cast, including James Mason, Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey and Stacy Keach, is so glittery it's almost distracting, but the attention to period detail and the sense of solemnity give Jesus of Nazareth gravitas as well as accessibility. Watch this over the course of Easter Week.

6. The Last Temptation of Christ: Martin Scorsese's controversial film (not suitable for little ones) is actually quite moving in its way. Whether or not Jesus had a wishful dream that he could have been a regular man, and be spared his ultimate sacrifice, it doesn't diminish the choice he made to fulfill his destiny. If you haven't seen this film based on the protests that greeted its release in theaters, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Clearly Scorsese is a man of deep faith.

7. The Ten Commandments: Even now, Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic telling of the Old Testament saga of Moses and the Israelites is impressive. Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner have never been more magisterial, and the sheer size of DeMille's vision is moving and thought-provoking.

--A.T. Hurley

 

 

The Best Movie Music of 2010

Film scores generally fall into two categories: the bad ones you don’t remember and the great ones that are impeccably crafted to heighten your overall experience, becoming as crucial as script, direction, and performances. A third class is music that stands out from a lesser film and draws attention to itself, good or bad. Film music in 2010 gave us an unusually rich sampling of the kind that you may not have noticed because it was so perfectly tuned to the movie. There were also a few notable scores that distinguished themselves from some otherwise undistinguished material.

The Oscar nominated scores are pretty squarely in the so-good-you-don’t-notice category, but they deserve plenty of notice as standalone pieces of contemporary composition by artists in full. My winning pick is Hans Zimmer for his eerily affecting and innovative contribution to Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Zimmer is a longtime pro whose collaboration with Nolan and composer colleague James Newton Howard were also integral to the outstanding dramatic impact of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Zimmer's moody, alternately subdued and dominant themes in Inception are thrilling echoes of the film's emotional intensity and ingeniously executed action. (Do some Internet snooping for the fascinating link between one of Zimmer's recurring cues and Edith Piaf's recording of "Non, je ne Regrette Rien," which is a key plot device.)

The rest of the nominees are all strong runners-up, especially the dark, techno-flavored partnership Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provided for The Social Network. The score impacts what could have been a thoroughly mundane story in the hands of talents lesser than director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. It is unexpected and often jarring as a compliment to the film's striking visual style. A.R. Rahchman's score for 127 Hours takes a similarly daring approach to the anachronistic way Danny Boyle presents his story of courage, boredom, terror, and triumph. "Liberation," the piece which accompanies the film's gruesome money sequence is an excellent example of how expertly music can heighten mood with its extension of dramatic sensitivity. Rahman and Boyle are as in sync as they were two years ago when they both won Oscars for their respective roles in Slumdog Millionaire.

John Powell's score for the animated feature How to Train Your Dragon is much better than it needs to be by maintaining integrity to tradition in its soaring, sweeping themes. It sometimes lilts with Celtic influence and sometimes drifts into the whimsy that captured the movie's delightfully entertaining reach to such a wide, enthusiastic audience. And Alexadre Desplat, one of the most prolific and adept film composers working today gave The King's Speech a big part of its audience appeal, adding to the poingnance of the story without pandering to its sentimentality.

Desplat is also in contention for the Film Composer of the Year award from the International Film Music Critics Association based on his work in The King's Speech and in Roman Polanski's deliciously quirky thriller, The Ghost Writer. Though Polanski's film was shockingly shut out of Oscar contention in any category, Desplat's score could easily have had a real shot at winning and is arguably more interesting and more essential to an artistic whole than his work in The King's Speech. Using signature tinkles of piano and a light touch in orchestration motifs, Desplat's music in The Ghost Writer has a playful mystery that archly reflects the mischievous tone of Polanski's matchless technique. (Desplat's busy year of composing also produced scores for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Stephen Frears' little-seen comic romance, Tamara Drewe.)

More of the year's best movie music includes some other glaring Oscar omissions for Academy rule violations. Carter Burwell, who has risen among the greatest and most productive American film composers was deemed ineligible to compete for two of the three scores he wrote in 2010. Burwell has scored all but one of the Coen brothers' films, and his exclusion for the beautiful, evocative work that made True Grit so great has outraged many. His lovely, sorrowful compositions that run counter to the themes traditionally heard in westerns are based on 19th century Protestant hymns, and therefore "diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music," according to a story in Variety. Burwell's music is original as can be, and gives True Grit a large part of its affecting splendor. The Academy's second slap came when it excluded his score for The Kids Are All Right, which was "diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs," according to its rule book. Hogwash.

Michael Brook's haunting, ethereal score for The Fighter was subject to the same spurious decree for the inclusion of too many period pop songs. A third composer who ran afoul of the Academy's statutes was Clint Mansell, whose classically tinged and spooky accompaniment to Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan echoed aspects of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," but was hardly an adaptation and was easily among the top scores of the year based on the merits of its own dramatic resonance.

A final few of the best of 2010 include the taut, edgy compositions from old timers Howard Shore for Edge of Darkness, James Newton Howard for Salt and The Tourist, and Elliot Goldenthal for Julie Taymor's eccentrically handsome interpretation of The Tempest. In the category of scores that rise well above the movie's that gave them life, the French techno-dance duo Daft Punk was a good enough reason to make Tron: Legacy an experiment that was not an utter failure. And to follow the rule of if you you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, I'll also make mention of The Wolfman. Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, and the audiences who wasted their time with the loony remake may wish to forget, but the talented composer Danny Elfman can still honorably keep the memory alive with music that was biting and brutal, even though the movie should have been euthanized.--Ted Fry

Separated At Birth?

Just watched the Grammy Awards. Guess the actors are taking over, what with Gwyneth Paltrow singing with Cee-Lo and Johnny Depp performing with Keith Urban and Norah Jones.... no wait, that's not Johnny Depp.

 

 

 

 

Pssst, it's John Mayer! --Ellen

"Green Hornet" and the Other Unlikely Superheroes

The release of The Green Hornet, Michel Gondry's revisionist take on the venerable radio and TV crimefighter, with Seth Rogen as a loutish trustfunder forced to take up arms against Christoph Waltz's villany, reminds us that for every traditional superhero - arms of steel, unwavering sense of duty, snazzy outfit - there are a few who don't quite fit the bill. Following are 10 of the more offbeat torch-bearers for truth, justice and liberty from films and television.

Kick-Ass (2010) Based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., this decidedly grown-up superhero pic follows Aaron Johnson's ordinary teen, whose complete lack of super abilities proves no deterrent in pursuing a career in smashing evil. Though Kick-Ass' blind bravado (and eventual tolerance for pain, developed through multiple severe injuries) make for a fascinatingly cracked character, it's Chloe Grace-Moretz's foul-mouthed, high-kicking Hit Girl who walks away with the film. 

Defendor (2010) Mental illness is the spark that sends Woody Harrelson's loner onto the streets of Toronto to fight corrupt cop Elias Koteas, whom he believes is an agent of his nemesis, the imaginary Captain Industry. 2006's Special, with Michael Rapaport as a a man who comes to believe he's a superhero after ingesting an experimental anti-depressant, follows a similar path.

The Specials (2000) A broad poke at the inherent brotherhood of superteams like The X-Men and The Avengers, The Specials are a second-string collection of misfits whose powers are only mildly impressive (or useful): Rob Lowe's Weevil has the strength and agility of that lowly insect, while Thomas Haden Church's Strobe is undone by his colossal ego and Jim Zulevic's Mr. Smart is preoccupied with making inventions with no practical applications.

Pootie Tang (2001) A deliriously childish parody of the superhuman heroes of '70s black action films, Pootie Tang stars Lance Crouther as the title character, an incomprehensible but impossibly accomplished entertainer-cum-badass who defeats evil via his daddy's belt. Producer and star Chris Rock and writer/director Louis C.K. spent years apologizing for the film, but it has its supporters.

Mystery Men (1999) Based loosely on Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics, this all-star comedy failed to find an audience, but in recent years, its gaggle of underdog heroes, including Ben Stiller's slow-boiling Mr. Furious, William H. Macy's Shoveler, and Paul Reubens' flatulent Spleen, have developed a cult following. In its best moments, it shows genuine wit as well as affection for its misfits, especially Hank Azaria's hapless Blue Raja, who can accurately hurl silverware (except knives). 

Big Man Japan (2007) Hallucinatory parody of Japanese tokusatsu with director Hitoshi Matsumoto as the latest in a line of guardians who can grow to giant size when Japan comes under attack by giant monsters. The problem: he hates his job, which is complicated by an aggressive agent, a dismissive population and truly ridiculous foes. If Ultraman was played by Paul Giamatti, he might be something like Big Man Japan.

The Greatest American Hero (1981) William Katt starred in this cult action-comedy series from Stephen J. Cannell as a schoolteacher who, after being given a suit with extraordinary powers by aliens, learns through trial and error (mostly the latter) how to be a superhero. The show's tongue-in-cheek tone, supplied mostly by the late Robert Culp as Katt's gonzo advisor, did much to elevate it beyond slapstick.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) The good guys don't have the monopoly on questionable candidates, as evidenced by Joss Whedon's winning comedy-musical about an aspiring villain (Neil Patrick Harris) whose attempts to join a evil coalition of heels are thwarted by his feelings for the kindly Penny (Felicia Day). Funded entirely by Whedon, the trio of Internet shorts has achieved cult status.

Zebraman (2004) Director Takashi Miike puts his unique stamp on the cape-and-tights genre with this bittersweet fantasy about a failed teacher (Show Aikawa) who finds solace from his miserable life by dressing like his TV hero, Zebraman. When an alien invasion erupts near his school, Aikawa discovers that he can summon Zebraman's powers to fight the menace and give some meaning to his existence. A typically action-packed effort from the prolific Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer), Zebraman also addresses the power of belief in surprisingly thoughtful terms.

Super (2011) James Gunn, who wrote and co-starred in The Specials (in addition to penning the 2004 Dawn of the Dead, Scooby-Doo and Slither), directed this violent dark comedy about a frustrated husband (Rainn Wilson) who becomes The Crimson Bolt, a pipewrench-wielding vigilante, when his wife (Liv Tyler) takes up with his drug-dealing boss (Kevin Bacon). Gunn's wry script takes the air out of the costumed avenger genre by depicting the reality of solving problems by bashing them with a massive wrench in hilariously gruesome detail; Wilson's sharp comic turn is well matched by Ellen Page as his psychotic sidekick, Boltie. -- Paul Gaita