Composing Greatness: #48. John Williams - "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017)

Scene from Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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 2017, 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.

Review: "Eighth Grade" Finds the Comedic Heart of Wanting to Be Accepted

Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade

In the opening scene of director Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade, Kayla (Elsie Fisher) stares into the camera, distorting her image with pixelation as she espouses tips on how to be a better person. But here's the question: how does a middle-class, socially awkward kid know what's best for the world? Throughout the course of the comedy, there's an exploration of self that delves into the typical awkward phases of childhood, especially on the cusp of the highly romanticized high school years, and wonders how anyone knows anything. With the adults poorly using contemporary slang such as "lit" and "dabbing," the film already feels like a miscommunication, that nobody could understand Kayla. So how then can she expect people to understand her views on how to be a confident person through YouTube videos, of which reach a tragically low amount of people? The answer is one of the most painstaking, honest, and funny comedies of the summer that finds a way to take characters who do nothing but look at phones and find their inner humanity.

A24 A-to-Z: #43. "Oasis: Supersonic" (2016)

Scene from Oasis: Supersonic

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.

Composing Greatness: #47. John Williams - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015)

Scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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.