#coasting on the musical build of hans zimmer
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tbh im sticking my head in the sands this oscar season because i just know oppenheimer is going to sweep and i dont wanna see it happen
#oh you gave the oscar to n*lan for a movie rehabilitating the image of a guy with the framework of *single genius changes the world*#because that's how n*lan fundamentally sees the world (and himself)? all the women in it are either sexy and crazy or housewives?#groundbreaking....#coasting on the musical build of hans zimmer#i watched this movie in the cinema and argh i could see why so many people were reacting to it the way they did#the structure of its intentions are so blatant it's almost clap-worthy that this nonsense Works for people#hits so hard with the messaging of genius men change the world over and over and over again as the Point#you almost forget they killed people#n*lan works with excellent cinematographers and excellent artists
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ONUKA - ZENIT
[7.40]
Q: Who can we feature to fill out our 2020 sidebar as quickly as possible?
Wayne Weizhen Zhang: "Zenit" is one of those weird monstrosities that defies description. Imagine the littlest recorder solo recorded in 4th grade music class, accompanied by marching band drums, with synths that sound like water dripping out of your ear. Then add in Nata Zhyzhchenko's oddly soothing but slightly bratty voice, cinematic warm horns from outer space, and then the blaring horn from Britney's "Stronger." "Zenit" sounds like a chimera of a Charli XCX, Bjork, Britney, and M83 song, yet the end result is completely unlike any of them. Is this what people who like 100 gecs think 100 gecs sounds like? [9]
Alfred Soto: Leading with a minute of electronic fooferal, "Zenit" creates ponds of sound with brass instruments and keyboards. The translated lyrics suggest self-affirmation -- as if the confidence of "Zenit" didn't already speak for itself. [8]
Will Adams: I love Onuka for most of the same reasons I love Kate Boy. Both hone in on themes of human potential, of reaching a point of perfection, and both avoid falling into cloying territory by making the music as massive as possible. "Zenit" is Onuka in standard form, with the traditional Ukrainian instruments vaulting octaves over tectonic, Homogenic-esque beats. Nata Zhyzhchenko is a more reserved vocalist than Kate Akhurst, so the arrangement does most of the lifting here. But that walloping drop is exquisite nonetheless. [7]
Ian Mathers: I mean, the bit with the drumming and the flute or flute-like instrument is so much better than the more singy bits that at first it's a letdown, but further reflection reveals the singy bits are nice too. [7]
Camille Nibungco: It would be reductive to draw similarities to Enya, though that's what I immediately think of. But the aggressive switching between the minimal to pounding production and unique sound of the Ukrainian instruments give Onuka its novelty. [5]
Katherine St Asaph: One of those tracks that impresses or suffers in context. Placed adjacent to a bunch of other artpop/alt-pop tracks in a playlist, which it could be, the flute would sound akin to so many other pop flute samples in the last decade, the percussion akin to so many other such drops, the snaking soprano line like so many others, in tone as well as melody (I hear Charlotte Martin's "Cut the Cord" but am not convinced I'm not actually remembering something else). The arrangement's lapses into near-silence and that ratcheting-up synth -- imagine a kid's cartoon, the SFX for pouring liquid to fill up a measuring cup -- are striking, but more striking when heard in isolation. But then, everything in the track is; I'm grading on that curve. [8]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Repetitive flute melodies are admittedly overdone, but the sopilka has an abrasiveness to it that adds tension and bombast to this stop 'n' go stadium romp. Similar songs abound, but "Zenit" at least sells its drama. [6]
Iain Mew: The skittering chaos of the drop, high-end and low-end in wild accordance, is everything in "Zenit." The rest is build-up and playing with tension as to when it's going to blast its way through again. It doesn't drag because they play their teasing so well, picking out different echoes of the drop to lurk in the distance each time. [7]
Julian Axelrod: I can't remember the last time I heard professional production sound this rickety and abrasive. That's a compliment, of course; I'm happy to give myself over to the song, even as it grinds my nerves to dust with a beat that's equal parts Hans Zimmer and Chinese water torture. The drop sounds inhuman, unstable and all-encompassing, a shrieking behemoth that threatens to tear the track to smithereens. The fact that it reaches the finish line in one piece is a feat in itself. [8]
Brad Shoup: They've paired the techno blats of "Vidlik" with the atmospheric, cinematic chirp of "Vsesvit." Instead of going as hard as either, they coast on cold air until it's time to call the Zimmerblast down. Gorgeously mixed, austere without being chilly: I can't believe I forget how good these folks are. [9]
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DUNKIRK REVIEW
The man behind the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar, Christopher Nolan, is back with the WWII epic, Dunkirk. Dunkirk is focused on a battalion of British troops backed up against the coast of Dunkirk, France. The beach is just a boat trip from France to England. British attempts at a full rescue have been thwarted by German aircrafts, since they hold Dunkirk. With home on the horizon, civilian ships from England set sail to help bring the 400,000 stranded soldiers home.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD
CHARACTERS / PERFROMANCES
Nolan’s films have a tendency to show off some incredible performances, as well as have some very interesting characters. Dunkirk offers some brilliant pieces of acting, but without any character you can really latch onto. The film chronicles the rescue through three different perspectives: Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), a soldier stranded on Dunkirk, Farrier (Tom Hardy), a British pilot headed for Dunkirk, and a civilian boat comprised of Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney), and George (Barry Keoghan). All the performances here were very believable and compelling; Fionn Whitehead’s performance being the most compelling and striking. Harry Styles put on a great performance, I will say. In his acting debut, he genuinely impressed. Cillian Murphy also did a great job, and same to Kenneth Branagh. But again, there were no true standout characters here, despite the wonderful performances.
It’s always tough to convey character with little dialogue, and I’d say the first 20 minutes or so has one line. The film is very atmospheric in that way. But the film didn’t allow you to connect fully to the characters. You were aware of their situation and felt their desperation via great storytelling and cinematography, however almost every character was underdeveloped. It was clearly deliberate, almost making the focus be on all of the troops while also giving you a set of people to focus on. Make no mistake, it generally works.
However, this is actually out of character for Nolan where he usually has some great character work in all of his films. Without a strongly written protagonist, even just one, the film feels a bit barren. It makes the film a tad bit stretched too thinly, as all the characters we’re meant to identify the film with don’t truly standout from one another. I couldn’t have told you the names of any of the characters when I left the theatre without the help from IMDb. Also, I have to say everyone looks the same, save for a few distinct characteristics. At times I felt detached from the characters because I really didn’t know who was on screen. This is clearly perpetuated by the all-white 99% male cast, which I understand is for historical accuracy, but it’s weird regardless. On a separate note, the focus on narrative and atmosphere does serve the film well throughout. I appreciate that we were really only to focus on what was happening and Nolan didn’t feed us some cliché backstories or even just forced characterization. We were only to focus on their struggles on getting off the beach of Dunkirk. So there are pros and cons to this approach.
WRITING / DIRECTION
Where the writing lacks in the character department, the storytelling holds it up. The film goes back and forth from not only three different perspectives, but different times where the characters all kind of intersect by the end. One part, following the soldiers on the beach, plays out through the week before rescue titled “The Mole”, the next segment is “The Sea” following the civilian boat headed for Dunkirk a day before the rescue, and then next is “The Air” following Tom Hardy’s pilot an hour before the rescue. Each piece weaves itself in and out of each other, very cleverly I might add. It was definitely a unique choice to progress this story sort of non-linearly. The different perspectives serve the film very well when they begin to intersect and our main characters’ paths cross.
Perhaps the most impeccable part of the film, though, was its cinematography and score. Nolan has a knack for creating some brilliant and grand scenes, and with Hans Zimmer creating the musical atmosphere, how can you lose? Hans’ score is extremely clever, using a ticking clock throughout the film, and even when there isn’t a clock, the songs resemble a ticking. The film’s atmosphere was remarkable. The whole film is executed with precision and it’s inspiring. The film progresses almost carefully, building suspense, but not having it feel like its dragging. There’s always something pulling you to keep watching, and the film’s shorter than Nolan-usual run time suits it well. Dunkirk could’ve run into some issues if it were any longer, but Nolan managed to have it feel like a complete experience in its 100 minute run time. In addition, war movies tend to try to grasp the brutality, intensity, and the carnage of WWII, but Nolan expertly crafts the movie in a way where it captures the sheer desperation and anxiety that comes with waiting for your rescue or your death.
FINAL RATING – 8.25/10
Dunkirk may be remembered for years to come as a great war movie, telling a seldom told tale about WWII. Christopher Nolan’s trademark cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s score are truly the most captivating pieces of this film. Aside from that, the film's clever storytelling and on-point performances by the whole cast bring the film to near soaring heights. The only things really holding the film back is its lack of real character development. I would’ve loved to feel really attached to these characters, not just the actors’ performances, and that holds the film back for me a bit. Nolan had the workings of something that could be considered a WWII masterpiece, but it falls slightly short of it, but it’s great nonetheless.
#dunkirk#christopher nolan#dark knight#inception#interstellar#movies#films#film#movie#movie review#review#film review#out of 10#harry styles#tom hardy#war#war movie#war movies#world war 2#world war ii#wwii#history
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The most heartbreaking sequence in 'Blue Planet II': A pilot whale mourning her calf
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This Saturday’s episode of BBC America’s Blue Planet II takes us out into the “big blue,” the open ocean. “Here there is nowhere to hide and little to eat. It’s the marine equivalent of a desert,” narrator Sir David Attenborough says at the top of the hour. If you’ve been waiting to see more whales in the series, this installment is for you. But it won’t all go down easily.
As you see in the sneak peek above, the crew captured what producer Mark Brownlow describes as “a profoundly tragic story” — a pilot whale refusing to let go of the body of her dead newborn. His team worked closely with a cameraman based in the Canary Islands who’s been filming pods of pilot whales for many years and has witnessed, a couple of times, mothers holding on to their dead infants for days. “Pilot whales have such large brains, so filled with the cells called spindle cells, which scientists know are responsible for conscious thought and emotions — they really believe that these whales have the ability to mourn and feel the sense of loss the same way that we do,” Brownlow says. “So there’s this incredible connection that the audience has with this story.”
Scientists also know that plastic in the water can combine with other industrial pollutants to form a toxic chemical cocktail. The heartbreaking theory: “When you have top predators like pilot whales, they accumulate over time high levels of toxins as they feed on the fish and squid and things that themselves have fed on all these different levels of the food chain that have accumulated these toxins. It leads to these lethal doses. When they suckle their newborns, they can actually be poisoned by their mother’s contaminated milk,” Brownlow says.
That familial bond is a happier story in a sperm whale sequence. The team worked with a cameraman who had been filming a particular pod of sperm whales off Mauritius for more than six years. One of the most beautiful, peaceful shots of all of Blue Planet II is the pod resting, floating vertically in the water. A calf, estimated to be about 2 weeks old, communicates to its slumbering mother that it’s hungry through a series of clicking sounds. “They’ve learned to accept him, and it enabled him to get incredibly intimate portrait details in a way that you’ve never seen before,” Brownlow says.
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Scientists from The Dominica Sperm Whale Project have studied families of sperm whales since 2005, but for the first time, with Blue Planet II, they were able to put a sucker cam on the back of a sperm whale they knew by name, Fingers, to see how she dove with her calf, Digits. The camera, which detaches on its own after 30 hours, records video, sound, and scientific data. As the video above shows, you can see how closely the calf sticks to its mother, touching her repeatedly (“as if for reassurance,” Attenborough says). Because a calf can’t hold its breath as long as adults, it has to return to the surface and wait — sometimes as long as an hour — for its mother to finish hunting squid, which gives her the energy to produce milk.
Avid nature series viewers may find themselves tensing — we know calves are often prey. “You could say that sperm whales are the largest carnivore on the planet and you’d think they’re invincible, but the calves are subject to attack by pilot whales and killer whales,” Brownlow says. “When they are left at the surface, you do kind of fear for them, but they do communicate, send clicks out to their mother and the rest of the family. They are very social and protective. Sometimes they even leave a sort of nanny relative to nurse them whilst the others all dive in the deep.”
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Blue Planet II was also able to place a sucker cam on a pregnant whale shark, revealing how silky sharks will bounce against her rough skin, perhaps to rid themselves of parasites. The goal is to find out where whale sharks give birth, to make sure those waters — and the migration route — are protected. “It’s extraordinary: This summarizes how little we still know about the ocean and its creatures. Here we have the largest fish of all, and we still don’t absolutely know where it gives birth to its pups,” Brownlow says. Though Jonathan Green of the Galapagos Whale Shark Project believes he’s close to a discovery at Darwin Island (which is explored more in Blue Planet II‘s seventh episode, “Our Blue Planet”). As Brownlow explains, “These pregnant whale sharks are indeed turning up to this tiny pinprick of an island in the Galápagos, for literally just two or three days, having swam across the Pacific Ocean. Then they just disappear after three days, but during that time they appear to have all gone down to the base of Darwin’s Arch, we think to give birth.”
“The boiling sea.” (GIF: BBC America)
Another great search, which is chronicled in the making-of segment at the end of this episode, was the Blue Planet II crew’s quest to film the phenomenon known as “the boiling sea,” a rare event fishermen and scientists have documented but no one has ever filmed. The sea literally erupts with whitewater as yellowfin tuna jump at the surface preying on a shoal of spawning lanternfish, which has been herded upward by hundreds of hungry spinner dolphins.
“It’s a nail-biting endeavor making a film of the open ocean, because finding your subjects is extremely hard. You’re combing this huge area of ocean every time, as opposed to let’s say a coral reef where you can work with scientists who’ve even identified individual fish that do these pieces of amazing behavior,” Brownlow says. “So it’s not for the faint-hearted, but if you put in the time, the effort, and stick with your conviction, more often than not you are rewarded.”
Spinner dolphins herd lanternfish. (GIF: BBC America)
After one failed expedition trip off the coast of Australia — it was the start of El Niño, when the sea temperatures rise to a point that disrupts the spawning behavior — the team had to wait 18 months until conditions improved to try again. This time, they traveled to Costa Rica to search for the dolphins first. It took 10 days in a helicopter for Brownlow to spot a pod, and another three weeks until the team was finally able to film them in “boiling sea” action.
“Euphoric joy!” is how he describes that moment. “You can’t really relax until you’ve filmed it, because it’s one thing eventually hitting upon the event, the other thing is then, Christ, it could be over in 10, 15 minutes. So we have to make sure that we cover it the very best way that we can. And sure enough, we were able to get action from both above from the helicopter, and underwater from the divers,” Brownlow says.
You’ll feel as though you’re part of the pursuit and the frenzy. “All these predators know that the lanternfish will only be at the surface momentarily, so they all have to race to get to the prize before it disappears again into the deep,” Brownlow says. “I wanted to reflect that in the way that we filmed it, that’s why we had to develop these camera systems that would enable us to fly alongside the dolphins and tuna as they are charging toward the bait ball. And then once [two cameramen with handhelds are] in the water, being in the middle of 40-mile-an-hour underwater torpedoes — these tuna are massive and they could knock you out, but they are so agile and they know exactly where you are, so they don’t actually run into you. Thank God.”
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As always, the music in this episode is memorable as well. Hans Zimmer and the team at Bleeding Fingers particularly outdid themselves in the feeding Portuguese man o’ war sequence above. “That particular sequence was an homage to Pirates of the Caribbean, which of course Hans composed,” Brownlow says. “We wanted to have a bit of fun at that point. Of course this is a documentary — all we’re showing is truth and science — but at the same time, we want to build a connection with these characters with the audience, and music acts as our bridge. We wanted people not to feel coldly toward this sort of alien-like Portuguese man o’ war, but give it a bit of personality through the music. That’s what’s so incredible about Hans. He can make something profoundly moving, like the pilot whale sequence, through music, and then have great, great comedy like with the Pirates of the Caribbean music for the Portuguese man o’ war. Music has that ability to help to build these connections, and Hans is the master.”
Blue Planet II airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. on BBC America.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
The most terrifying sequence of ‘Blue Planet II,’ the Bobbit worm
Why ‘The Deep’ episode of ‘Blue Planet II’ is the one you can’t miss
‘Blue Planet II’ premiere: Bird-eating fish and 5 more sequences you’ll be talking about
#_revsp:wp.yahoo.tv.us#mark brownlow#bbc america#_author:Mandi Bierly#_uuid:b28359d8-22d3-3f8f-a727-72677dc0f494#video#pilot whale#_category:yct:001000086#blue planet II#_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT#interviews#sperm whale
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Wonder Woman (2017)
The 2016 film, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, contained a scene wherein the future members of the upcoming Justice League were introduced through the contents of a flash drive. Rushed and clunky as the scene seemed, it did provide a glimpse at the new DC superheroes and a hint at the origins of the recently introduced Diana Prince through a decades-old photo of the costumed Prince in World War I. The newly released Wonder Woman effectively acts as a prequel to that photograph and as an origin story for Prince’s never-named, super-heroine identity, Wonder Woman.
The brief and tenuous feelings of connections that led to this movie are noticeable. DC Comics is playing catchup to Marvel, with a cinematic universe that was begun five years and seven films after the latter. Wonder Woman is the first time DC finds itself on solid footing, following three flops with a good movie.
The movie enters the world of Greek mythology on the island of Themyscira, rid of men and full of women training in battle in order to kill Ares, the god of war.
The protagonist, Prince, played by Gal Gadot, is something of an outsider on this island. She is brought into the human world when Chris Pine’s character, Steve Trevor, crashes and lands off the coast of Themyscira. With the combination of godly origins and a story set during a world war, Wonder Woman’s plot is somewhat a combination of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Thematically, the film capitalizes on the fact that it is the first female-led superhero movie in the DC Cinematic Universe, something Marvel has not yet created. Prince is an outcast from her own world and is like a downright alien in Trevor’s world. The fact that she is a woman in the early 20th century only contributes to the exclusion she faces.
Along with Trevor, she goes into battle with Sameer, Charlie and “The Chief,” two of whom are people of color with a similar feeling of being outsiders. Though the characters are not exceedingly fleshed out, there is real camaraderie and the ideas are strong.
The visuals of the DC Universe have tended toward immortalizing heroes. Slow-motion and kinetic cinematography are used to emphasize the legendary status of the super-powered protagonists.
Of all the superheroes so far in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is the most deserving of this godlike visual rendering, especially as she belongs in a pantheon, being related to Zeus and Hippolyta.
Director Patty Jenkins creates this cinematic effect, in a way which feels more apt than the fetishizing treatment by Zach Snyder in Man of Steel or Dawn of Justice.
Jenkins utilizes color to distinguish place in Wonder Woman. Themyscira is an island of bright and summer-like colors that emphasize the ideal nature of the land. Off island, the world is in dark blues, moody and dark.
The visual highlight of the film is the contrast between the dark night and the bright, glowing yellow of Wonder Woman’s lasso. As beautiful as the colors are, it is disappointing to have yet another superhero movie shying away from bright, positive colors.
As much as the look may play well with the World War I setting, Wonder Woman is still reckoning with its predecessors, besides being its own movie.
Building off Dawn of Justice, the film has some wonderful music. Hans Zimmer wrote themes for each superhero in the preceding film, and Wonder Woman’s music is anthem-like.
It has power and edge to it, syncing up perfectly with Gadot’s unscripted smirk in Dawn of Justice’s climactic battle. Here, Rupert Gregson-Williams takes the pre-existing musical theme and develops it, playing with Eastern tonality and speed, among other factors.
The music and the visuals all contribute to a feeling of something epic at work. Prince is powerful, fighting with sexist generals in a boardroom and combatting enemy soldiers on the battlefield.
When the film has a rating that was kept down to PG-13 for young girls to enjoy, it is clear that there is something important happening here with representation. Wonder Woman has the agency and inspirational quality to be a powerful symbol, the film using its medium to create something iconic.
As powerful as the symbol of Wonder Woman feels, the movie is good, but not great. It is the best entry of the DC Cinematic Universe so far, but its character sketches, redone plot and elements that have been seen too many times weigh it down from reaching its fullest potential. Origin stories have become far too prevalent and superhero movies are generally supposed to be fun. There is a sense of humor to this film, more so than in the previous films, but to a degree, it is still a glum film.
Wonder Woman is an important film because of its use of a great female lead and a move forward from DC’s recent past. Though the film is just explains the plot in a mediocre movie, it still is good.
Gadot dazzles and an icon is reborn. While men get outraged over an all-female screening of the film, Wonder Woman shows a complex reality, where men and women have equal potential—for evil, or to be something wonderful.
Originally published in Baruch’s The Ticker
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