Composing Greatness: #9. The Musical or Comedy Scores - "James and the Giant Peach" (1996)

Scene from James and the Giant Peach

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.

Review: "The BFG" Brings Back the Spielberg Magic That We've Been Missing

Scene from The BFG

Everyone has that moment in their lives when they first discover the magic that is Steven Spielberg. For many, it was how terrifying the water was in Jaws; or how cloning dinosaurs in Jurassic Park was a bad idea. There's an unabashed amazement that comes with realizing the potential of cinema on a grand scale with the power to produce works that wouldn't seem fathomable on anything less. For kids of today, the magic of Spielberg may seem like a thing of the past, especially with back-to-back serious dramas like War Horse, Lincoln, and last year's excellent Bridge of Spies. However, the Spielberg that brought magic to family films is back with his take on Roald Dahl in The BFG. Lead by Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill, the fantasy adventure film may not be quite as captivating as the director's finest works, but it sure is a lot of fun while taking the viewer into a new and exciting landscape that only works because of Spielberg's assurance as a director, and we're all the more better for it.

A Look at Roald Dahl's Box Office Curse

Scene from The BFG

While everyone is busy today celebrating Independence Day, it looks like director Steven Spielberg may have a bit of worry on his hands. His latest film The BFG opened this past weekend, and the results were far from the stellar numbers that you'd expect from the man behind Jaws and Jurassic Park. With an estimated $18 million opening weekend for a film budgeted at approximately $140 million, it's going to need major business overseas to even recoup its initial cost. However, what if I were to say that this is pretty common for movies adapted from Roald Dahl books? Yes, to date there has only been one runaway hit of the seven big screen adaptations, and it's one of the less revered titles on the list. The following is a look at those films and the curse of Dahl.