Skip to main content

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Featurette

Soundtrack Review: Mortdecai

A disappointing array of score music profligates an otherwise funny film.

Review by Matt Cummings

If audiences didn't quite respond to January's comedy caper Mortdecai (ok, they frankly hated it), it might have had something to do with Actor Johnny Depp's "Here we go again" approach to the titular character that kept audiences away. While I loved the film's zaniness, I was wondering whether the soundtrack by Composers Mark Ronson and Geoff Zanelli had anything to do with that experience. After listening to it, I can say an emphatic 'no.'

The problem here is that the score is more set-up music and less big riffs that help to identify the actors or push the scene further. Take something like Hong Kong: you must go nearly 3 minutes into the 4:25 track before finding anything remotely like a big theme or a connecting melody. Once you get there, it's all 60's schlock and totally fun, but the wait is almost not worth the time. Johanna does much the same, setting in motion the definite feeling of meh that permeates an album with some true flashes of greatness, but settles in for melodies of mediocrity. The Farmer's Daughter, The Painted Lady May Be In Play finally gets us somewhere, before again cutting things too short.

Spinoza, Los Angeles, and Georgina finally FINALLY get us to a good place, giving us the musical backbone of the film. When Heart's a Liar (featuring Rose Elinor Dougal) arrives, it's fun 60's retro, but it's something better suited on XM's old channel On the Rocks than on this CD. Curiously Interspersed with Erotic Dreams is perhaps the strongest track of the set - giving us pure Austin Powers in only 1:28 - but Open Your Balls might be its funniest. It's all Russian chants, and without the voices its chorus could work in any spy film; but it gets back to the main theme a third of the way through. Again, it makes for a nice experience with Dreams.

As we move towards the middle of the score, we get Questionable Attack, Jock which Ronson dials up with good syncopated drum beats, Hammond Organ, and trumpets pushing the chorus. Then it's The Duke's Funeral, which reminds vibes a lot of Depp's Dark Shadows. But then The Heist arrives, which is merely set up music and tones, along with Con Fuego which sounds more like a ringtone you might get with your new phone. It's well-produced as is Well Spun Rumour, but you have to go over 1 minute into things before you get a great trumpet theme that immediately goes quiet and flattens the track.

The Auction provides us with a textbook explanation of why this score fails: there's moments of greatness lost just as soon as the track gets going. We literally can feel it begin to soar before being forced down with more random set ups. Luckily, Epilogue arrives to cheer our mood, with flutes, syncopated drums, and trumpets strutting their stuff until Balls returns for another great moment. Had the score ended there, I might have been more forgiving in my review, but In the Bathub arrives with the thud, not even serving as the film's true end credits music.

It's clear that Ronson and Zanelli miss the mark here, both in terms of set up and delivery. Musicianship is definitely not the problem, it's the arrangements. True, most composers are usually the last to touch a film, but look at what Steve Jablonsky did with the first Transformers film. His tracks were deeper and longer than those used in the film, establishing several memorable riffs that were used more as background music for the action. Had the duo released that kind of soundtrack, I would be probably be praising their efforts.

In the end, I'd stay away from the suspect Mortdecai score and direct you to the movie, which I hope gets better play in the home market. A score like this works when it doesn't take itself too seriously, or when it mocks others like the terrific Penguins of Madagascar. There is some of that here, but with too much set up and not enough theme, the score is a definite dud.

Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sex Tape Review: Overly Sexual, Rude, Vulgar, and Absolutely Hilarious

The raunchy Sex Tape will divide audiences and critics, but who cares? Sex Tape suggests a growing practice among loving partners: that of making a raunchy testament of their escapades for posterity. But what happens when that evidence gets seen by friends, neighbors, and even the mailman? This is the plot that pits Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) in an effort to secure every iPad gift Jay has given, his record company playlists being the envy of the recipients, but which has also inadvertently spread the video to every device. The reason for the act - termed in the movie as pulling "the full Lincoln " for its three-hour length - stems from the couple's non-existent social life, brought on by the constant demands of their children. The couple has a lot to lose: a burgeoning business relationship between Annie and Hank (Rob Lowe) could end if the iPad she's given to Hank exposes the video, and so the couple sets out to reclaim and wipe the incrim

New Clip & Release Date For Chaos Walking Starring Tom Holland & Daisy Ridley

In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt ( Tom Holland ) discovers Viola ( Daisy Ridley ), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets. .   In theater & IMAX March 5th.   Discuss this with fellow SJF fans on Facebook . On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms Please Leave A Comment-

Half Nude Images From MAGIC MIKE. Your Welcome Ladies

Ladies here you go. Plenty of sexy photos of the cast from MAGIC MIKE . Make sure to check back, we will be hosting the advance screening in Sacramento. Mike ( Tatum ) is an entrepreneur. A man of many talents and loads of charm, he spends his days pursuing the American Dream from as many angles as he can handle: from roofing houses and detailing cars to designing furniture from his Tampa beach condo. But at night… he’s just magic. The hot headliner in an all-male revue, Magic Mike has been rocking the stage at Club Xquisite for years with his original style and over-the-top dance moves. The more the ladies love him, the more they spend, and the happier that makes club owner Dallas ( McConaughey ). "It's Raining Men" In This Magic Mike Clip-Your Welcome- See all the images after the Jump... Mike (Tatum) is an entrepreneur. A man of many talents and loads of charm, he spends his days pursuing the American Dream from as many angles as he ca