In Theaters Soon: "It Might Get Loud"

Rock documentaries are all the rage these days. And as a network who splits its loyalties between movies and music, quite frankly we couldn't be happier about it. But to be honest it has created something of a glut. (If we get one more 3D Disney tween concert movie shoved down our throats, we're not sure we can be held accountable for what follows.) But one thing the Jonas Brothers' movies do accomplish, however, is make us all the more grateful when the good stuff comes out. And It Might Get Loud, my friends, is the good stuff. (And don't be turned off by the fact that it's directed by An Inconvenient Truth's Davis Guggenheim. This is no powerpoint presentation.) The formula is simple. Take 3 of the most talented, creative and innovative electric guitarists in the world, get them in a room together and stand back. They play, they compare notes, and generally gush about the wonders of the guitar. As the one sheet said, the movie might not affect how you play guitar, but it will change how you listen. Not one to miss.

Opens Friday August 14th in LA/NY. (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

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Featurette: 'The Women of THE SPIRIT'

Because let's be honest. They're the only reason most of us will be seeing the movie anyway. (Courtesy of Lionsgate)

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TV on DVD: Freaks and Geeks, Sports Night & MST3K

It seems like every week there's an announcement that some old TV show is getting released on DVD. But it's never the ones you want. Granted, there must be some audience for the 'Golden Girls Season 4' and 'The Best of Dr. Katz' or they wouldn't release them, but it seems like the best shows are always out of print. Until now. This holiday season, Shout! Factory is releasing 3 TV-on-DVD box sets that had me updating my Amazon wishlist for the first time in a long time.

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First up, the 'Freaks and Geeks Yearbook Edition'. The show that launched the career of Judd Apatow and pretty much everyone he knows has a rabid cult following and has been out of print for years. And now, not only do you get 6 DVDs of a great show, you get 2 discs of extra stuff and a completely superfluous 80-page yearbook of photos and stuff. It's pretty much your dream come true.

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'Sports Night: The Complete Series 10th Anniversary'. I can't believe it's been 10 years since Aaron Sorkin affected his way into the hearts of American TV watchers with his signature snappy dialogue and steadicam hallway walk-n-talks. Those became standards of his later, more well-known series 'The West Wing' (which ruled) and 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' (which blew). If you liked either of those, you owe it to yourself to check out 'Sports Night'.

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And of course, MST3K. There's certainly no shortage of available DVDs for this one, but it's all just so good I can't help but plug it when new stuff comes out. This 20th Anniversary Edition features 4 DVDs of the series' most requested shows, 4 lobby cards and a figurine of Crow. It also happens to come in a tin box, which I think is meant to be a selling point.







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Kidulthood on DVD

Not many people saw KIDULTHOOD, but those of us who did won't soon forget it. Dark, graphic and downright disturbing, it's sort of an updated, underground British version of Larry Clark's movie KIDS from 1995. Both are harsh, gritty and pretty hard to watch at times, earning most of their cred from their unflinching realism. As a side note, KIDULTHOOD also happens to boast a pretty stellar soundtrack, especially for fans of UK hip-hop. Here's the trailer. (Trailer courtesy of Image Entertainment)

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The Spirit - The Short Trailer

Apparently our Red Bull brains can't sit still for a full 2 1/2 minute trailer, thus necessitating the advent of the 'short trailer'. Here's the new one from THE SPIRIT, due out Christmas Day. The previous full-length trailers have left lots of us feeling uninspired. Is the short one any better? Your thoughts. (Trailer courtesy of Lionsgate)

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Transporter 3 - New Clip!

It's hard to not love Jason Statham. Even when he does crap movies like DEATH RACE and that even more crap Uwe Bol DUNGEON SIEGE movie, he still manages to pull off whatever the badass male version of the 'hooker with a heart of gold' thing is. And for us, it all started with the TRANSPORTER movies. Number 3 is due out in the US on November 26. Here's a new clip. (Clip courtesy of Lionsgate)

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Soundtrack Review: Charlie Bartlett

The movie was charming and funny in parts, but ultimately too fluffy and flawed to carry any real weight. And the soundtrack kind of feels the same way. The produced tracks are a grab bag: spunky, hollow electro pop from Spiral Beach, slightly grittier pop from Hard-Fi and The Subways, plus a front row seat to Tom Freund's best Dylan impression. And most of Christophe Beck's jazzy, minimalist score cues sound like they were ripped straight from episodes of "Mad About You":



Our 2¢: Netflix a season of "Mad About You". Or swallow some bleach. Whichever hurts less.

Our helpful 2¢: Check out CB's far superior score for YEAR OF THE DOG instead.
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Score Review: UNTRACEABLE by Chistopher Young

UNTRACEABLE had an interesting premise. A crazy guy with a webcam hooks people up to this torture machine that kills them fast or slow, depending on how many hits the website gets. In the tired torture porn genre, it sounded original-ish. But ultimately, it didn't really do it for us. And while it was nice to see Diane Lane in something other than a romantic comedy (and to see Colin Hanks in anything at all), it wasn't enough. And neither was Young's music, really. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't bad. Young is a composer of crazy talent. And if anybody can write a good score for a bad movie, it's Young. (Think GHOST RIDER, THE CORE, etc). And for thriller music, UNTRACEABLE is actually pretty listenable. There's more than a little of James Newton Howard's FUGITIVE influence present here. (That's a compliment.) As a result, tho, there's nothing terribly new or captivating going on.



Our 2¢: You can probably live without it. Unless you're a Christopher Young groupie. Or have, for your own reasons, taken a blood oath to buy the soundtrack for every Diane Lane movie. (You know who you are.)

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Welcome back, Blogger!

Yes, we've been MIA for a while. And we're sorry. We've been focusing our efforts on the soon-to-launch STC HD. That's right - everything you love about STC in 1080p and 5.1 surround sound. Drool away. But as you've still got a bit to wait for that one, we'll soften the blow by getting back into the swing of posting more soundtrack reviews (complete with sweet imeem streaming tracks, if you promise to be on your best behavior). Bear with us tho, as we've got a bit of catching up to do. (And by a bit I mean we're going back to February. Ha! You thought we forgot about the UNTRACEABLE score, didn't you? Oh no. We've just been saving it for the right moment...)

That's right, John. We're back home.
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New Podcasts Available

Hola everybody. New STC News podcasts are up. This week, in the Hollywood Headlines, we've got a look at the boring writers strike, plus a boring round-up of the awards season thus far. In the Movie Music News, there's look at a great movie music podcast, plus some scoring updates from Patrick Doyle and Christopher Young. The Soundtrack News takes a look at the scores from CITY OF MEN and IN BRUGES. And the Movie Tech News explores a few creative ways to keep yourself entertained when you're not watching Soundtrack Channel.

Also, the STC Previews show featuring the Valentines Day releases is up. Mieke's got reviews of DEFINITELY, MAYBE, STEP UP 2 THE STREETS, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, JUMPER and DIARY OF THE DEAD. Nothing says 'I Love You' like an evening with George Romero.
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