Composing Greatness: #13. The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "Moonlight" (2016)

Scene from Moonlight (2016)

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.

Nothing But the Best: "Green Book" (2018)

Scene from Green Book

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: "Green Book" is an Entertaining Ride Towards Empathy

Scene from Green Book

For many people watching director Peter Farrelly's latest Green Book, there's a certain familiarity that comes with the story. Most of us have been in cars, driving long distance with someone who is, to be polite, not seen as pleasant. Yet there is some magic that can be found in those moments, when the hours pass and the comfort set in. It's when the real conversations start as it kills time between the different pit stops. It's also here that the film really succeeds at capturing a chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who make a car ride through 1960's deep south America into something that is an enjoyable exploration of character. Yes, it's another drama about race relations, but it's also about two men learning to open up and empathize. As rudimentary as the racial politics may come across to some seeking more than saccharine simplicity, it does work thanks to the chemistry of its two leads and the feeling that we're stuck on the road with them with one entertaining conversation after another.

Review: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" Reinvents the Superhero Narrative Perfectly

Scene from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

With over a half dozen superhero movies released annually, it does seem difficult to answer such a simple question: what makes someone a hero? It takes an act of bravery for sure, but most films feature familiar archetypes fighting supernatural forces more than getting to the heart of how the person watching the film could ever imagine themselves on screen. It's exactly what makes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so revolutionary and one of the quintessential superhero films of the decade. It isn't just that the animation pushes the boundaries of conventional CGI, but that it manages to find the humanity within the style and bring something new to something oh so familiar.

How "The Place Beyond the Pines" Turned Bradley Cooper Into a Serious Actor

Bradley Cooper in The Place Beyond the Pines

*NOTE: Spoilers

It's something that can be taken for granted, especially given the buzz surrounding the 2018 adaptation of A Star is Born. Bradley Cooper wasn't always a prestigious actor, producing enough quality work to earn him four Oscar-nominations over three years and a status as a charismatic lead in comedies like Silver Linings Playbook as well as heavy dramas like American Sniper. However, there was a time only five years ago when considering him an Oscar stalwart was worthy of a few laughs. At the start of 2013, his highest credits were in frat boy comedies like The Hangover and Wedding Crashers. He had little to distinguish himself as someone worth paying attention to beyond a fluke Oscar nomination. However, anyone questioning his potential only needed to wait a few months for a film that should've changed the conversation with a powerful drama about fathers and sons that also saw fellow 2018 Oscar Best Actor competitor Ryan Gosling in a duel role. The Place Beyond the Pines was ambitious and nuanced in ways that Cooper hasn't really been allowed to play before or since, and he really should've gotten more chances before A Star is Born.

A24 A-to-Z: #42. "Moonlight" (2016)

Scene from Moonlight

In case you didn't know, A24 is one of the great purveyors of modern cinema. Since 2013, the studio has found a way to innovate independent cinema by turning each release into an event. As a result, A24 A-to-Z will be an ongoing series that looks at every release from the studio by analyzing its production history, release, criticisms, and any awards attention that it might've received. Join me on a quest to explore the modern heroes of cinema by exploring every hit and miss that comes with that magnificent logo. They may not all be great, but they more than make A24 what it is and what it will hopefully continue to be for ears to come.

Nothing But the Best: "Moonlight" (2016)

Scene from Moonlight

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.

Why "Moonlight" Winning Best Picture is a Big Deal

By all accounts, the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony was going according to plan. Over the course of the evening through 24 categories, the nominees who had won almost every preliminary got up and gave acceptance speeches. There was nothing new. There rarely is when it comes to the Oscars. Viola Davis won. Emma Stone won It was a predictable even. That is, until the last category was announced. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced La La Land, which was predicted to sweep the entire ceremony. Moments later, it was revealed that there was a mistake and that Moonlight actually won. While this is a moment that will be analyzed for decades to come, it should also be seen as a ceremonious moment that hopefully marks a change in the Academy Awards. Hopefully, this is the moment where things become more inclusive.

Review: "Moonlight" Embraces the Complex Beauty of Black Lives in Exciting New Ways

Scene from Moonlight

Director Barry Jenkins has produced something magnificent with his latest film Moonlight. In an era where cutting edge cinema is often spoken about in a technical sense, he has found a way to explore it in a spiritual sense. With a story that spans three key periods of a black man's life, he has found a new and exciting way to explore the black experience through an art house gaze. With limited exception, the story of Chiron is one that is personal and captures a beauty rarely seen in American cinema. The film's title refers to the way that black skin shines in the moonlight. To say the least, few have captured it as beautifully and artfully as Jenkins has, leading to the question as to why that is. It may only be a small piece of the bigger puzzle, but it is evidence that black lives can be beautiful, even in dire circumstances.

"Moonlight" Becomes a Box Office Hit with the Highest Per Screen Average of 2016

Scene from Moonlight

If you're one of the loyal Oscar fans, you'll know why you should be keeping an eye out for director Barry Jenkin's Moonlight. The film currently holds a 99% on critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes and has been slowly hyped up as one of the first films to warrant Oscar buzz during this Fall season. While other films based around black culture (The Birth of a Nation) seemed to come and go without much notice, Moonlight will at least be around for a short while thanks to its impressive feat. After opening this past weekend, it is currently the highest box office debut on a per screen average not only for the week or month, but for 2016 in general.