Composing Greatness: #16. The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "If Beale Street Could Talk" (2018)

Scene from If Beale Street Could Talk

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.

Here's the Official List of This Year's Academy Award Winners!

The cast and crew of Green Book

Well, the moment has come and gone. The 91st Academy Awards ceremony brought with it many highs and lows, but most importantly were the winners. With Green Book taking the top prize, it was a year full of diverse nominees that were fascinating and reflective of the growing body of voters. Before Oscar recap coverage begins, it only feels right to get to the heart of this Oscar season and answer the question: who won? The following is a rundown of every winner in the 24 categories. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and look forward to more coverage coming in the day and week to come.

Here's My Final Predictions for This Year's Academy Awards!

Scene from Black Panther

This is it! Tomorrow marks the day that everyone has been waiting for. After months of speculation, it's time for The Academy Awards ceremony to present to us the winners. It's an exciting time, and one has to wonder who is going to take home the gold. As is tradition, it's time to end the pre-Oscar coverage with my own predictions. I'll admit that 2018's line-up is a bit difficult to call, as it has been a wildly unpredictable year. While I feel less certain than normal about my picks winning, I can only hope that this year is a lot more exciting than it has gotten credit for. So, what are my picks? Read on and feel free to share your picks in the comments.

Composing Greatness: #3. Oscars 2019 Edition - "If Beale Street Could Talk"

Scene from If Beale Street Could Talk

Welcome to a very special edition of Composing Greatness. In this limited series, I will be looking at the five scores nominated for this year's Best Original Score category. To avoid favoritism, the list will be done in alphabetical order of composers and feature the same guidelines as the original series. This is meant to explore the music behind the great films of 2018, and provide insight into what makes each of them special and whether or not they deserved to be nominated at all. Join me all week as I listen to the  music, leave some thoughts, and hopefully sway you to check out these wonderful, wonderful scores.

Coming Soon: Composing Greatness Looks at This Year's Nominees

Terrence Blanchard

In what will become an annual tradition, it's time once again for Composing Greatness to revive itself for a week of covering every Best Original Score nominee from this year's ceremony. Given the great diversity in styles, it's going to be fun to look through what's here and find the heart of why these scores were nominated. So feel free to join in, starting the week of February 18 as I cover all five of the scores in alphabetical order by title. How will BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk, Isle of Dogs, and Mary Poppins Returns compare with previous nominees? You'll have to wait and see.

*NOTE: Due to Composing Greatness' return, this month's Legitimate Theater has been cancelled. Please feel free to enjoy it next month when it returns.

Review: "If Beale Street Could Talk" Finds Power in Compassion

Scene from If Beale Street Could Talk

The world can be an awful place and it is only nature to retaliate with animosity in your heart. However, there's something even more compelling about the films of director Barry Jenkins. As a man of compassion, he has taken to exploring a more tender side of African American culture. It's something that seems revolutionary by virtue of simply depicting a group whose cultural relevance has only been to radical protesters or submissive in a way that is, for a lack of a better word, human. With If Beale Street Could Talk, he adapts James Baldwin's novel into a tale of love that doesn't ignore the violence but instead finds optimism around it. There's no rioting in the streets. It's a tale of being grateful for the love in your life even as the world knocks you down. It may not be the most inventive story, but what Jenkins has done is provide a warm optimism to guide audiences in a time where cynicism runs rampant, and that's all that's really necessary.

A Look Back at My Pre-Season Oscar Nominations: How'd I Do?

Christian Bale in Vice

This past Tuesday marked one of the best days of the year. It was when the Oscar nominations were announced. If you're like me, it's one of the most exciting days of the year when things finally get cleared up and suddenly everything begins to make sense. However, it's also a chance when I get to look back and ask myself: how good of a prognosticator am I really? I usually post a line-up pre-Oscar season, or late August. I want to see if the buzz around films can sustain as the narratives are finally shaped into what they will be come. So, how did I do this year? In a period where everything is unpredictable, it's a tad hard to call my line-ups a success. The following is a list of the actual nominees followed by what actually made the category. Trust me, it's pretty embarrassing and reflective of something more in tune with what a "classical" Oscar year might have looked like. 

Here's My Predictions for the Oscar Nominations

Scene from Green Book

With tomorrow marking the Oscar nominations announcement (click here for more info), it only feels right to take this moment for one last shot at some fun. As many have done before, the Oscar nomination predictions is a beloved past time, and one that's often more fun than the results. As I have done every year here on The Oscar Buzz, I will be breaking down the Top 5 categories in hopes of getting a perfect score. There hasn't been too many years where I've gotten that honor, often being off by two or three in each category, but I still have fun nonetheless. The following are my predictions for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Feel free to share your predictions in the comments.

Here's My Pre-Season Oscars Predictions

Scene from Roma

With the start of September, it only feels right to enjoy the final naive days of Oscar season by playing the game every prognosticator loves to do: predict. Speaking as many films haven't so much as appeared on the radar yet, these columns are always ridiculous and antiquated, mostly going based off of what's popular in September. With that said, why not take chances and try to make bold predictions, of which might come true? The following is my attempt to predict the six top categories, including all four of the acting fields. What will make the final cut? Come back in a few months when I'll compare these to whatever makes the cut. I assure you that it may end up being a worthwhile laugh after a busy, hard fought season of more unpredictable achievements. 

A Roundup of Movie Trailers for Oscar Season Hopefuls

Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots

With the end of August upon us and the Venice Film Festival currently going on, it's time to get prepped for the 2018 Oscar season. That means that there'll be a lot of returning goodies (see this post for all of the details) and a lot of prognostication as the season heats up. But before the summer ends officially, it's as good of a time as any to look back at the trailers that premiered in the past few months and have already promised to make this Oscar season a fascinating and exciting one. The following is a rundown of the films that have already staked their claim in the race, making it difficult for the films that still need to make their presence known, such as Adam McKay's Dick Cheney biopic Backseat. But for now, these are the films that may be worth keeping an eye on, at least until the film festivals say otherwise.

The First Trailer for "If Beale Street Could Talk" Finds the "Moonlight" Director Returning to Oscar Conversation

Scene from If Beale Street Could Talk

It was only last year that the Academy experienced one of the most exciting Best Picture wins in over a decade. Director Barry Jenkin's Moonlight was a film that undid a long pattern of milquetoast winners dominated by white leads and filmmakers. It was rejuvenating and just what cinema needed in 2016. So, what does Jenkins have in store next? He's returned with another film, based on a James Baldwin story, called If Beale Street Could Talk. With positive reviews swelling ahead of the film festivals, it's already an exciting time to expect another return to Oscar glory. If the teaser, released on Baldwin's birthday, is any indication, this is going to be another great turn for Jenkins and another impeccable cast likely to dominate the season.