New Professional Site

The time has come for me to have my own website for my professional work, so here it is:

http://www.aaronmbuckley.co.uk

As a result my blog will be moving there as well. However, I've made it easy as at the bottom you can subscribe via RSS or Email. Thanks for following and don't forget to follow me on twitter: @aaronmbuckley

Moving On

After running this blog for about 2 years now, I've decided to bring it to a close. I'm in my final year of university now and the work load is really piling on, so I'm focusing on my attention on that right now, and feel it is time to move on. I can say I've really enjoyed doing this blog though and would recommend blogging to anyone that is thinking about doing it. Do it because you want to, not because you have to.

You can still read my other blog on what I'm getting up to though and the different filming projects I'm working on here.

http://aaronbuckleyfilm.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you've enjoyed it. And don't forget to follow me on twitter: @aaronmbuckley

Knight And Day

After watching the trailer to this film I was quite excited about seeing it. It's been quite a while since I've seen a film with Tom Cruise in and well I think he is an amazing actor, so was quite looking forward to it.

Having seen it now, I'm not that bothered by it. It's not a must rush out and see film, in fact you could go your whole life without seeing it and wouldn't make much difference. But if you're board then I'd say it does kill some time.

It wasn't a bad film, it just wasn't a great film, and didn't live up to my expectations at all. And it's been a while since I've been let down by my expectations of a film, after Avatar and Micmacs exceeded them by lightyears.

I did find the film lost the excitement about halfway through and I did actually find it quite boring for a while, but luckily it picked back up again before the end.

I think the reason I was disappointed with the film overall though was because I found that the trailer made the film out to be quick and witty and exciting. However, I found that all the funny lines from the funny scenes were in the trailer, which meant that a scene which I thought would only be 10 seconds long, was more like 10 minutes long and I simply found myself waiting for the punch line which I'd already heard, so had lost most of it's humour anyway.

Ultimately the film could have been half the length for that exact reason, and I think I would have enjoyed it much more. A half hour version would have been much more exciting.

Although I still don't think the ending would have been any stronger. I wouldn't call it weak, but... it wasn't amazing.

To conclude, if you've got nothing better to do then give it a shot, but otherwise wait for the DVD, if that.

Toy Story 3

15 years since the first Toy Story film. One of the reasons that these types of films need to be more than just kids films, because the kids (me) that go and see the first one at the cinema aren't kids when it comes to to see the third one. And it's a good thing that they're not just kids films.

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are both great family films, and Toy Story 3 is no exception. It is just as good as the other two. And if you've enjoyed watching the other two then no doubt this is a must see for you.

I don't want to say much else about the film because frankly if you don't see this film then... well, you're missing out on something special.

However, Toy Story 3 is of course in 3D and whilst I didn't find that when I went to see Toy Story again when it was released in 3D that it was really worth watching in 3D, and thought the same of Toy Story 2 (apart from the opening video game sequence), I think that this film should definitely be seen in 3D.

Why? Well because 3D is the future of films. It can be denied no longer that one day, all films will be in 3D and that it has surpassed it's "gimmick" label, as far as I'm concerned. I didn't consciously notice the 3D, but I did feel that it added something to the film, and when I did the quick glasses on glasses off test, I saw that there wasn't really any loss in colour when I put the glasses on, which I've found with pretty much every other film.

You won't really lose anything if you see it in 2D, but I think that since this film was made as a 3D film, that it should be watched the way the creators intended.

But either way, watch it!

Inception (Soundtrack)

For me this score worked perfectly in the film, the only cue I didn't particularly like was the one from the end scene, but otherwise I would say I loved the music and it really helped to heighten the emotion.

Unfortunately though I didn't find it worked so well on it's own, and the music didn't impact me half the way it did when I was watching the film.

There aren't exactly any bad cues, but there aren't really any cues that really grabbed my attention either. "Mombasa" is perhaps the only track that caught my attention a little, and that was because it was much faster. However, it reminded me quite heavily of Zimmer's Mission: Impossible 2 score, so I felt I'd kind of heard it before.

I wouldn't rush out and buy the Inception Soundtrack, unless you really loved some of the slow tracks from the soundtrack to Quantum Of Solace, as it also reminds me of that. If you've seen the film then you can judge for yourself if you wish to buy it. Otherwise I'd check this out first. It's a half hour performance by Hans Zimmer and a 20 piece orchestra featuring guitarist Johnny Marr of the score from Inception, and sums up the soundtrack perfectly. Just click here to watch it.

Whether you're going to get the soundtrack or not, if you are interested in the music, or in Hans Zimmer's other works there is a great interview with him at ScoreNotes.

Inception

A film I was very much looking forward to seeing, and which I was expecting great things from. Unfortunately usually when my expectations are so high they aren't usually met, I was even a little disappointed with The Dark Knight. Avatar and Micmacs are the only films to have exceeded my expectations. However, I can now add Inception to that list as well. And I think this is by far better than The Dark Knight, which is still an excellent film.

I don't really want to give any of the story away as I feel if you go in like I did not really knowing anything about it then you get a greater experience, because you don't know what to expect.

I can tell you though that the film is excellent in every way. It is shot beautifully and has some incredible slow motion shots in it that make The Matrix look a little dated.

Hans Zimmer's score is perfectly fitting, perfect until the end scene, but maybe that music will grow on me.

It has such a great cast in it. Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing as ever, and is joined by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy to name just a few. All the cast are great in this film and whilst Ellen Page wouldn't have been my first choice for her part, she really was great.

With a very original story written by Christopher Nolan himself, this is a must see film, that is just incredible and completely blew my mind.

Two Steps From Hell - Invincible (Trailer Music)

This album is a little different from most other soundtracks and is a rarity which I encourage you to buy.

Trailer music is an important part of the movie industry as whilst some trailers do use music from the film, most trailers use trailer music due to the film score being unfinished at the time the trailers are released.

Whilst trailer music gets churned out at an alarming rate, it is generally impossible for you to get your hands on it, simply because it is not available to the general public and is for movie trailer use only.

However, luckily for us there are a few trailer music releases that have been made available to the general public.

The first one to my knowledge was the album Epicon. This contained some popular themes from the trailer music company Immediate Music. However, it was released under the name Globus, and also contained lyrics, which for me defeated the point of releasing a trailer music album.

Immediate Music did release another album to the public though not so long ago called Trailerhead, this time under the more understandable name of Immediate, and this time containing no lyrics.

This album Invincible is the first publicly available album from the trailer music company Two Steps From Hell.

No doubt you will recognise some of the music on this album, but won't know the names to the tracks so I've decided to do a track listing making reference to the trailers the music features in.

01. Freedom Fighters
featured in the trailer to Star Trek (trailer 3)

02. Heart Of Courage
featured in the trailer to The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (trailer)

03. Master Of Shadows
featured in the trailer to 2012 (theatrical trailer)

04. Moving Mountains
featured in the trailer to Jumper (trailer 2) and The Twilight Saga: New Moon (trailer)

05. Am I Not Human?

06. Enigmatic Soul

07. Fire Nation

08. Black Blade
featured in the trailer to Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (trailer)

09. Super Strength

10. Invincible

11. False King

12. Hypnotica

13. Fill My Heart

14. Protectors Of The Earth
featured in the trailer to Inkheart (trailer 2)

15. Velocitron

16. Undying Love

17. 1000 Ships Of The Underworld
featured in the trailer to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (trailer 2)

18. Tristan
featured in the trailer to Austrailia (trailer 2)

19. Breath Of Ran Gor

20. Infinite Legends

21. To Glory

22. After The Fall

All in all this album is outstanding and I would definitely recommend people buy it and in doing so also support the release of future trailer music albums.

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Soundtrack)

I'm more of a John Powell fan (him being my favourite composer) than a Harry Gregson-Williams fan, however, I have to say I really loved this score.

From great sweeping strings that depict the landscape of the desert perfectly, not unlike the music from The Mummy, to very ethnic percussion filled action cues. As well as the obvious romantic cues, this soundtrack has something for everyone on it, and I couldn't find a bad track on it.

Or perhaps I could. All of the 18 tracks of score are great, however, the final track is a song performed by Alanis Morissette, which I definitely wouldn't call myself a fan of. It's not the worst song in the world. But on the first few listens I didn't really like it. Maybe it'll grow on my though.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Soundtrack) is definitely worth buying for anyone who loves film music.

Robin Hood (Soundtrack)

Marc Streitenfeld is the composer with whom Ridley Scott now works with on all his films. However, I've never actually heard any of his music before, separate from any film, and I've never actually seen any of the films he's scored either.

When I saw the film this film though the score is one thing that stuck out for me, and in a good way. Whilst there weren't exactly any major themes that I could pick out, there were definite sounds. The sound of the quick strings, a classic Remote Control style (for whom Marc previously worked with, and how he came to work with Ridley Scott), and the amazing sound of the Uilleann Pipes (or at least some other type of bagpipe!).

However, when I first came to listen to the soundtrack away from the film I didn't find it that great. Yes, there were a few really good tracks, but they all seemed to short amongst the rest of the music.

Luckily however, this soundtrack is a grower, and whilst Marc Streitenfeld might not use the Uilleann Pipes like Bear McCreary did in some of his action cues for Battlestar Galactica, he still manages to rock those pipes!

Robin Hood is definitely worth a listen.

Clash Of The Titans (Soundtrack)

Another great score from Remote Control Productions (previously known as Media Ventures), the music studio set up by Hans Zimmer. Ramin Djawadi who's previous scores include Iron Man as well as TV shows Prison Break and FlashForward, gives us a great score to this blockbuster movie.

This soundtrack starts off with a song performed by Tino Dico and is composed by Ramin Djawadi and Neil Davidge. Whilst my initial thoughts on the song weren't great, after a couple of listens it had grown on me quite a lot.

Neil Davidge also has one other track on the album, a 10 minute action cue. I believe Neil was brought it for his work with electronic music. Whilst I did like the cue, I didn't like it as much as Ramin's music which takes up the rest of the soundtrack.

Some great themes and very exciting string work makes for an action score not to miss. But the soundtrack is not entirely action tracks. There are a few slower and darker tracks as well as more emotional, and at times suspenseful.

If you liked Ramin's score to Iron Man then you're going to love this even more.

You can listen to an interview with Ramin Djawadi where he talks about his score to Clash Of The Titans here at ScoreNotes.com

http://scorenotes.com/interviews.html

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

Having played the original game a long time ago I'd pretty much forgotten everything about the story other than the whole dagger thing. Saying that though my friend told me that the movie doesn't really follow the same story as the game. So if you're a big fan of the first game then you might be a little disappointed there.

Another thing you might be a little disappointed with is how much the dagger gets used. It really isn't that much at all. On the other hand though, when the dagger is used the CGI is amazing.

Those are the only two problems I really had with the film (although the first wasn't really a problem for me), otherwise I found it very entertaining.

One thing we do see a lot of in the film is what I guess you would call some form of free running. In the game he was a very accrobatic person which is something I'm glad they've kept in the film.

A thoroughly entertaining family film, definitely see it if you liked The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.

Sex And The City 2

I've not seen any of the series or the first movie, but I did enjoy this one. As a guy I would say its definitely one for the girls and any guy who is a fan of the series or first film. But if you're a guy that's not a fan of either then this isn't exactly a must see. But if you do end up going to see it then don't worry because it is quite amusing.

My friend who is a massive fan of the series and film found this one a little disappointing because of the whole Aidan thing. Where as for me I just thought there were a few to many "movie" moments.

For example, Carrie leaves her passport somewhere unfortunately, and there really is no point, because it doesn't exactly hold them up when they leave, because they just go straight back to where she left it and it's there. So I think it could have been a bit shorter. Not that I got bored, just because there was a lot of unnecessary moments in the film.

Definitely a woman's film though, although I did find myself still laughing a little throughout which was good.

Robin Hood

Everyone knows the story of Robin Hood, but this film is basically a prequel to the normal Robin Hood story. I really enjoyed it and thought it was very good. My only major problem with it was the all of the cast were just too old.

People back then didn't live very long so it seems strange that Robin Hood would be peaking in at 46. The cast of Saving Private Ryan were younger and at a better age than this cast. However, if you look past this factor then the film is very good.

It's filmed amazingly and there is some great camera work in it which I really enjoyed. The music was great and even the end credits were amazing.

One thing I did find interesting though was that the end battle scene was basically the Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe version of the opening battle scene in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks. Not that that's a bad thing as it was still pretty cool. So if you like Saving Private Ryan then I'm sure you'll like Robin Hood.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Now I've not seen the original but really anything has got to be better than this film. I really liked the opening credits, but as soon as they finished I thought well this film is shit. And after about 5 minutes I wanted to leave, it was that bad.

However, I did stay until the end. The film did slowly get better, but it's best wasn't really good enough for me and I still think it was really bad. I just wanted all the actors apart from Thomas Dekker to die because they just annoyed me so much.

Stay well clear of this one if I were you.

Pushing Daisies Season 2 Soundtrack Petition

"Pushing Daisies was a great show that ended long before it should have. There were many elements that made the show magical, one of those being the soundtrack. Jim Dooley won an Emmy award for the Pushing Daisies Season 1 Soundtrack, and the Season 2 Soundtrack hasn't even been released. Sign this petition to get the Pushing Daisies Season 2 Soundtrack released. The show is over but the music doesn't have to be..."

If you wish to sign the petition click here.

Hot Tub Time Machine

After seeing this my friends said that it was very funny. Well I didn't hear them laughing that much, and as a comedy I didn't find it that funny, but then I don't tend to find these sorts of comedies comical.

That said, I still enjoyed the film and there were some definite funny moments. A film that doesn't take much thinking and that you can just sit and watch.

Iron Man 2

I really enjoyed the first film, and when it ended with Tony Stark saying that, yes he was Iron Man, then I couldn't wait for the sequel.

However, whilst I did enjoy Iron Man 2 I didn't like it as much as the first one, simply because I new that Mickey Rourke was the villain of this film, and I felt as though as was waiting for the final show down between his character and Iron Man since the moment the film began, and I would have appreciated it if it happened a little sooner.

Not to say I didn't like the film though, as I did really like it. But it was missing something that Iron Man had, and I'm not sure what. Iron Man felt full of action, and Iron Man 2 was full of action and yet it didn't feel to me as though it was full of action.

Definitely go see the film though if you're into that sort of thing, it is quite entertaining and whilst not quite as comical as the first, still very funny.

There is one scene in the trailer though that I'm pretty sure isn't in the actual film, but perhaps I just wasn't paying attention. Pretty sure I was though.

And on an end note, the bit after the end credits isn't really worth watching unless you're a fan of marvel and know about The Avengers. I'm not and don't really know anything about The Avengers, so didn't really get it.

Green Zone (Soundtrack)

A definite Powell score and similar in style to the Bourne soundtracks and United 93, probably because they're by the same director and that is the style he is after. Whilst I didn't think it as good as the Bourne soundtracks, I did still think it was very good.

Heavy on the percussion and underlying electronics, with strings and brass that sound like United 93. Definitely wouldn't say this score is pieced together from Powell's other work though, as this is all new stuff and does sound different in it's own way.

Well worth it if you've like Powell's other work for Paul Greengrass, and if you like the modern Media Ventures/Remote Control Productions scores.

Alice In Wonderland (Score)

When I watched the film I quite like the music, however, I found that on the soundtrack the main theme in the film is hard to find as in the film I don't remember it having lyrics, which it does on the soundtrack.

As it happens I actually prefer the soundtrack version as in the film I feel the main theme sounded too close to one of the themes in Avatar. Unfortunately though "Alice's Theme" is really the only track on the soundtrack that I do like. The rest is quite average I found.

Not one of Elfman's best scores, but if you feel the need to buy it then do. But otherwise I'd just buy the first track off iTunes or something.

Clash Of The Titans

Before I start I must say that I saw this film in 2D.

Wow. I wasn't expecting much of this film when I went in. I thought it could go either way. But oh my God it is absolutely amazing.

The scenes with Haydes did it for me. I wouldn't have minded if these were the only scenes in the film, because they were visually stunning. At one point a load of soldiers get sucked into a big black cloud, and then all their armour gets spat back out again. And holy shit if looks good. So real. I kind of want to go and see the film again in 3D just for these scenes.

But Haydes wasn't the only good part of the film. Overall I really enjoyed the film and found it very entertaining. It was by no means perfect, but it did pretty good. I'd recommend this film to everyone. 3D or not though is your choice. I know I wished I'd seen it in 3D.