Ever since I really started to listen to film scores separate from their originating films, sometime last year, I have been wanting to pick up one of the
Harry Potter scores, but some reason I never did. Why, I cannot say, I mean the music has always worked well within the films, two of them have been nominated for Oscars, and three of them have been scored by one of the greatest film composers to ever write a note, John Williams. Well, now I have the opportunity to give a listen to the music from
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a few days prior to the opening of the film. This is the fifth film, the fifth score album, and the third composer. After Williams scored the first three (with help from William Ross on
The Chamber of Secrets), he left the franchise with Patrick Doyle taking the reigns for
Goblet of Fire, now he is gone and Nicholas Hooper has delivered a memorable score for the fifth film of the franchise.
I recently came into possession of a number of new and upcoming releases from Locomotive records. Among the group of disks was a pair of albums from Waltari. First thing I did was find out which one was older, since I had two, I figured it would be best to listen to them in order. This was the second, so it is not my first experience with the band, although it was really close. My first real listen was Blood Sample, and what an experience it was. It was like getting hit upside the head with a baseball bat. It had been some time since I heard a band that possessed so much talent and had a sound that was so over the map and cohesive at the same time. Needless to say, I was quite impressed. Having enjoyed the wild diversity of that album, I eagerly anticipated slipping this one into the player. Was Blood Sample a one shot deal? Was it possible that there could be more creative energy waiting to explode on another album?
Iced Earth is a band that has never received the kind of attention that they deserve. I first discovered them in the world of comic books, as they has done a concept album based on Todd McFarlane's Spawn. It was a good album, one I liked better when I revisited it years later. I would revisit it when the followup album came out, the phenomenal Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is where this story begins. It was 1998 when this album was unleashed, and now, nearly ten years later, that era of Iced Earth's history is being revisited and reimagined.
A new year at Hogwarts is brought to us by a new creative team, building off what has come, as should be expected. This building of the story is greated with an increasing issue of accessibility. I have found that each successive outing makes it a little bit harder for newcomers. You almost need to have seen the previous four films before going into this one in order to get the full effect. Now, I know that there are probably very few viewers like that, but I found myself feeling a little at a disadvantage, as it has been awhile since I've seen Goblet of Fire, but I think I fared pretty well. This outing picks up with Harry feeling the dramatic effects from the conclusion of the last film, leading us into a world that is getting considerably darker than it had been. The Order of the Phoenix is a step up as a film from the last one, and promises that the true darkness is yet to come.
The Goblet of Fire came to a close following a battle between Harry and the returning Voldemorte which resulted in the death of fellow student Cedric Diggory. This death and the the danger that Voldemorte represents lies heavily upon the head of young Harry. The weight is evident in the very first scene, which is one of the few, so far, to take place away from Hogwarts and its related areas, and occur in the "real" world. Harry, wearing an face that is much more angst-ridden and weary beyond his years expression, has a confrontation with his cousin, Dudley, which is stopped short by the appearance of a pair of Dementors on the prowl for the young wizard. Left with little choice, Harry casts a spell to save himself and Dudley, an action which results in his prompt expulsion. You see, it is against the rules for minors to cast spells away from the school.
This brings Harry back together with his permanent companions, Hermione and Ron, and also introduces him to The Order of the Phoenix, a group that is all about putting a stop to Voldemorte's advances. All this before they even get back to the school!
A couple of new characters are introduced in The Order of the Phoenix, the best being Dolores Umbridge. She enters in the revolving door of Professor of the Defence of Dark Arts, if you are looking for trouble, this is the first teacher you should look for. She is, essentially, a tool for the Ministry to move into the school, where she employs all sorts of new rules. Imelda Staunton's portrayal of the woman is that of a sweet, but stubborn, woman who really needs a good smacking. I guarantee that by the end of the movie you will want to throttle the woman. terribly effective. The other is a new student named Luna (Evanna Lynch), not sure where they are going with her, but I found her to be a little bit creepy.
hesitantly taking up a leadership role in the battle that is to come. It is interesting to think of the growth that he has had over the course of five movies, to see it visualized os quite good. Daniel Radcliffe slips into character like a worn in coat, he has been playing so long that it cannot take long to get into that mindset and become this young man that seems to attract danger.
Director David Yates brings a stronger vision than Mike Newell did last time, and is more on par with Alfonso Cuaron's Prisoner of Azkaban. I am happy that he has been signed to direct the sixth film as well, so we will be able to see how his vision continues as the stakes continue to become higher. This film also brought in a new screenwriter, Michael Goldenberg, replacing Steve Kloves, who had written all four of the prior films. He developed a nice script, for the most part, that really allowed the characters and their relationships to grow (except for the big kiss, which felt like a throwaway scene just for the fans). There is also a new composer in Nicholas Hooper, who has brought a nice touch to the film with a strong score that successfully builds the emotions throughout.
This is a good example of what horror fans have to put up with. Horror fans all know about the good horror films that get everything firing on all cylinders, from acting, to story, to the all important scares. Horror fans all know about the bad horror films - the ones that are so inept that they wouldn't scare a child and are plagued by a bad story and even worse acting. Then there are films such as The Hills Have Eyes II, which, for my money, does a lot of things right, but is tempered by the presence of some awful dialogue and acting. It has a story that we have seen before, but builds enough tension and delivers enough gore to keep us - or me at least - interested until the inevitable conclusion.
Taking elements from the Victorian era through post-World War II, Perfect Creature brings a new take to the standard vampire mythos. Writer/director Glenn Standring takes the supernatural origins of the bloodsuckers and brings it a few steps closer to reality by presenting them as the next evolutionary step for humanity. The movie is interesting in its mashing of styles and concepts, but ultimately relies a bit too heavily on the standards of crime procedurals to make too much of an impact. Not to say it is bad, but it could have been so much better, making this a frustrating experience seeing what could have been.
Persuader recently came to my attention when I had the opportunity to check out their first album, Hunter, now I get to see the evolution of a band on their latest release, When Eden Burns. I do not, however, have their sophomore effort, Evolution Purgatory, so I cannot compare the growth through all three. When listening to The Hunter and When Eden Burns back to back, you can definitely hear the progression from one to the other, however you will also notice that there is something a little different. It is still a good addition to the world of metal, but the underproduced aspects of the first seem to have been removed. This is a much more melodic outing, though it does not sacrifice all of the aggression, there is a different feel to this album. Still, if you want to raise your horns, you could do a lot worse than this!
Wizard is a power/heavy metal band from Germany that has been patrolling the stages since 1989, however, this is my first experience with them. This is something that has been happening more and more frequently in recent weeks. Not that I am complaining, it has been great discovering some of these bands, especially when the albums are as good as Goochan. This is Wizard's seventh album and their first with the Massacre Records label (distributed in the US by Locomotive Records). It is a concept album that centers on the witch Goochan who is needed to help defend the remainder of humanity as the planet is being destroyed by an invading alien force. It is standard fantasy lore given a strong musical playground.
If you want to point to one of the most influential martial arts films ever made, The One-Armed Swordsman has to be near the top of the list. Released in 1967, it was the first film to crack the $1 million barrier at the Hong Kong box office, and helped to usher in a new era of martial arts films that would run through the 1970's. The movie itself is fantastic, it features a strong, brooding, charismatic lead in Jimmy Wang Yu, some interesting swordplay, and the emergence of Chang Cheh as one of the leading directors of this new movement.