Composing Greatness: #8. The Musical or Comedy Scores - "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996)

Scene from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Composing Greatness: #1.The Musical or Comedy Scores - "Pocahontas" (1995)

Scene from Pocahontas

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Alan Menken is Officially an EGOT!

Alan Menken

There is a lot that's uncertain about the year ahead. Among them is the potential for theaters to open, and whether anything will ever return to normal. It's easy to become skeptical during this time and think that nothing good comes during this time. Well, in a strange turn of events, this past weekend brought with it some great news for longtime Disney fans. Composer Alan Menken has finally achieved the illustrious EGOT status, becoming only the 16th person to achieve this. With his Daytime Emmy win for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, he comes full circle in a fruitful partnership with Disney that has rewarded him greatly. 

Legitimate Theater: Newsies (2011)

Newsies

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Legitimate Theater: "Little Shop of Horrors" (1982)

Little Shop of Horrors

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Review: "Ralph Breaks the Internet" is a Smart Yet Overbearing Sequel

Scene from Ralph Breaks the Internet

As any of the countless studies have proven, the internet is a crucial tool to how we communicate with one another. So why then is it so hard to capture the feeling of digital relationships on film, itself a medium of equally limitless potential? Disney's latest Ralph Breaks the Internet is a film that attempts to be everything all at the same time. It tries to make the internet seem like a world of wonder, where Disney Princesses can be pulled up in a second's notice, while discovering something darker and more unpleasant about humanity. Ralph may be a video game character, but his insecurity is a real feeling and something that Disney has been grappling with in the past two years with many films exploring toxic masculinity (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Coco, etc.). For a character who was built in the first film as sympathetic and misunderstood, it's a bit of an odd shift. However, it makes the film one of the studio's boldest films in a long time, serving more as an essay on internet culture than genuine entertainment. It may hurt the film, but it also makes it a unique achievement. 

"Sausage Party" Enters the Oscar Race... For Some Reason

Scene from Sausage Party

This Oscar season is shaping up to be quite the interesting bunch of nominees. Along with the potential heavyweights like La La Land and Jackie, there have already been big showings in the indie cinema landscape with Moonlight. However, there is one film that is wanting to break into the big boys league that you probably didn't even think about. No, it's not something that would qualify as drama, or even come within two Russia-sized countries of the word "prestigious." The movie that wants to shake up this year's Oscar season is the R-Rated animated talking food movie Sausage Party.

The Oscar Buzz is Celebrating its Fourth Anniversary!

Today marks the fourth anniversary of The Oscar Buzz's launch. Back in 2012, it started as a blog to discuss all things Oscars, but mostly as it related to director Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. In 2016, it has evolved into its own impressive mixture of commentary on the award's history and its various awards. I hope that in that time you the reader have not only come to better understand the Oscars, but get a better understanding of me as a cinephile. So, how do you celebrate four years? It only seems right to go with the crowning achievement: The E.G.O.T.. For those who don't know, this is specifically for artists who have won awards in the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony fields: all of which are considered the heights of their fields. I am going to rank my 10 favorite winners, who for the sake of posterity I will only judge based on their Oscar wins and not their subsequent nominations. Thanks again for reading, and as they say in politics, here's to "Four more years! Four more years!"

Best Song: "Falling Slowly" (2007)

Scene from Once

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Best Song: "My Heart Will Go On" (1997)

Scene from Titanic

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" Remains Disney's Underrated Masterpiece 20 Years Later

Scene from Hunchback of Notre Dame

There were few studios in the 1990's that had as great of a winning streak as Disney. In 1991, they produced the first ever animated film to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination with Beauty and the Beast. With help of course from Alan Menken in the music department, they released a whole string of now iconic films such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Lion King, and Mulan. Along with introducing princesses, it was the last gasp of fresh air for traditional hand drawn animation with some of the most beautiful mainstream cinema outside of Studio Ghibli. However, there is one film that often gets forgotten among the traditional musicals: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. While it gave the world gypsy princess Esmeralda, it gets overshadowed for being the darker tale that the studio has released. After 20 years, it still remains the most underrated of Disney's 90's animated hits - and it's definitely worth giving a second chance.

Best Song: "A Whole New World" (1992)

Scene from Aladdin

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Best Song: "Beauty and the Beast" (1991)

Scene from Beauty and the Beast

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Best Song: "Under the Sea" (1989)

Scene from The Little Mermaid

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Best Song: "Take My Breath Away" (1986)

Scene from Top Gun

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

My 10 Favorite Double Digit Oscar Nominees

Chris Rock

Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially getting close to one of the biggest days in every Oscar season: the nominations! That's right. In 10 days, we will be informed on every nominee for this year's festivities. While I intend to make a predictions list, I am choosing to celebrate the last 10 days of uncertainty by paying tribute to a different kind of double digits. That's right, I'm going to pay tribute to the nominees and winners of Academy Award history who have earned 10 or more moments of recognition. While it was hard to whittle down the list (sorry Edith Head fans), these are the ones that I like the most and feel are more than deserving of their legacies. This category will look at everyone beyond acting that has been nominated, so expect a nice and diverse crowd.