Composing Greatness: #7. "A Beautiful Mind" (2001)

Scene from A Beautiful Mind

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.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Les Miserables" (2012)

Hugh Jackman

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Nothing But the Best: "A Beautiful Mind" (2001)

Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

R.I.P. John Forbes Nash (1928-2015)

John Forbes Nash

This past Saturday, mathematician John Forbes Nash and his wife for close to 60 years Alicia died in a car crash. With an impressive career that earned him a Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, he influenced the the math world with his radical new ways of thinking with Game Theory. It even came to be that he earned the nickname of The Phantom of Fine Hall for his desires to scribble arcane equations in the middle of the night (a reference that made it into Rebecca Goldstein's "The Mind-Body Problem"). For a man with such a storied career going back to the 50's with a published paper on non-cooperative games, he left a valuable mark on the world that would be hard to properly summarize. This is largely because despite an amazing career with a lot of revolutionary ideas, he also developed mental illness - a notion that makes his achievements all the more interesting.

Nothing But the Best: "Gladiator" (2000)

Left to right: Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Review: "Noah" Mixes Grandiose with the Surreal and Philosophical in Amazing Ways

Russell Crowe

When director Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan became a financial success story, including an Oscar win for Best Actress (Natalie Portman), it seemed rather fascinating on where he would go next. Known for having a catalog of unpredictable, surreal takes on contemporary society, his latest Noah seems like somewhat of a detour. However, knowing that it is his passion project helps to make the $125 million budget make more sense. Whether seen as a biblical epic or a disaster film, this film manages to go straight for the widest possible audience. Luckily, Aronofsky's passion comes through in one of the most bombastic, unique, and best biblical epics in decades. 

Review: "Les Miserables" is the Amazing Musical Adaptation We've Been Waiting For

Hugh Jackman

One of the greatest joys of watching director Tom Hooper's latest Les Miserables is the realization that the musical genre has been regenerated with life. After mainstream duds like this past summer's Rock of Ages, it is fascinating to watch as Hooper takes the beloved stage show based on Victor Hugo's novel and turn it into this big lavish story with an all star cast and live recordings. Even if the film has flaws (which it does), it wears the passion and craft so proudly that it turns a movie that is essentially three hours of singing into a well constructed narrative with vivacious tunes and some jaw dropping performances. Les Miserables is a refreshing sight for the sheer fact that it feels like people are trying. But with all of this effort in place, can it go the extra mile and earn Best Picture?

An Amazing Trailer #2 for My Best Picture Front Runner

Amanda Seyfriend

Update: I have written a review posted here.

There is no doubt that anyone who has been to the theaters to see the "prestige" films of 2012 this fall has been forced to sit through the original trailer for director Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, which features Anne Hathaway belting "I Dreamed a Dream." It has been effective enough to make it this long as the film's sole trailer (not including the Regal Theaters exclusive behind the scenes video). However, as the release date for one of the biggest films of the year comes around, it is time to start moving out the heavier promotional materials.