danny elfman

CLOSED Competition: Win THE BATMAN On Blu-ray

Unmask the truth behind Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne with The Batman, now on Digital Download and 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on 13th June, and to celebrate its release Movies In Focus has two [...]

June 8, 2022

Review: THE BATMAN Is A Refreshing But Flawed Take On The Dark Knight

The Batman is the latest big screen incarnation of Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s iconic comic book hero. Over the last 30-odd years there have been multiple film takes on Batman from Tim Burton’s brooding gothic noir and Joel Schumacher’s [...]

March 8, 2022

Assorted News On THE BATMAN

The March release of Matt Reeves’ The Batman is nearly upon us and more information and assorted marketing goodies are being unveiled to whet the appetite. First-up: The Batman‘s running time has been confirmed as 175 minutes (two [...]

January 24, 2022

Notebook Reviews: PSYCHO

Gus Van Sant – 1998. It’s obviously nowhere near as good as Alfred Hitchcock‘s original, but Gus Van Sant‘s updating of Psycho isn’t too bad. This shot-for-shot remake could have been a total disaster, but it manages to [...]

October 30, 2021

The Bat’s Back: Michael Keaton’s Batman Teased In First Footage From THE FLASH

This footage from The Flash opens to musical strains from Danny Elfman‘s 1989 Batman score. It shows an abandoned Wayne Manor and features Michael Keaton‘s Batman/Bruce Wayne in voice-over. We never see him, but his presence as felt this [...]

October 17, 2021

An Introduction To BATMAN

I’d always loved films growing up., James Bond, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, any action adventure film amazed me and captured not only my attention but my imagination, I still have vivid memories of sitting in front of the television reading the [...]

June 23, 2021

Notebook Reviews: BIG FISH

Tim Burton – 2003 Big Fish is a gloriously wondrous piece of filmmaking from director Tim Burton. The fantasy-drama hits the mark in all the right places and the cast is excellent. Albert Finney and Billy Crudup are the standouts here – [...]

June 8, 2021

Notebook Reviews: THE FRIGHTENERS

Peter Jackson – 1996 Peter Jackson‘s director’s cut of The Frighteners is an enjoyable horror–comedy, but there’s just something missing to make it great. Michael J. Fox excels in the lead role (as always) and the [...]

May 21, 2021

Review: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION Is A Delightfully Devilish Take On Tales From The Crypt

The Mortuary Collection is an entertaining and darkly comic horror film from writer/director Ryan Spindell. A variation on the Tales From The Crypt type anthology, the film stars Clancy Brown as Montgomery Dark, the ghoulish Mortician in the New [...]

May 6, 2021

Blu-ray Review: Tim Burton’s Brilliant BIG FISH Is Worth Catching

The films of Tim Burton have often been criticised for being more about style than substance. Critics would say that they feature a lack of humanity, leaning heavily on visuals rather than heart. This cannot be said for 2003’s Big Fish, a [...]

May 3, 2021

Notebook Reviews: MARS ATTACKS!

Tim Burton – 1996 Mars Attacks! is a fantastic Tim Burton directed effort, which is hugely underrated. It doesn’t get enough appreciation. The cast on display here is out of this world – Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah [...]

April 19, 2021

Remembering 2017’s Misjudged JUSTICE LEAGUE

Now that Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally upon us (read the review), Movies In Focus thought it was a good time to visit the misjudged version of Justice League which was retooled by Joss Whedon and released back in 2017. Unlike [...]

March 16, 2021

Michael Keaton Becomes The Ghost With The Most In This Behind The Scenes Pic From BEETLEJUICE

Beetlejuice was a break-out film for Tim Burton and one which really put him on the map as a director (it got him the Batman gig). It’s a true gem of a movie, loaded with great moments and a wonderful score from Danny Elfman. It stars Geena [...]

September 2, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION Is Ghoulishly Macabre

August 29, 2020

Remembering Universal Pictures’ Ill-Fated DARK UNIVERSE

2017 was a much simpler time. It was a time when Universal Pictures decided to follow the Marvel route and attempted to create a shared universe for the classic Universal Monsters. The studio scored an A-list cast: Johnny Depp as the Invisible [...]

June 7, 2020

Remembering 2017’s JUSTICE LEAGUE

The recent news that Zack Snyder is finally getting the opportunity to complete and release his cut of Justice League on HBO Max got me thinking about the 2017 superhero mash-up. Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Comics Extended [...]

May 23, 2020

The Best Scene In Tim Burton’s BATMAN

There’s much to enjoy in Tim Burton’s Batman. The 1989 release is packed with wonderful production design from Anton Furst, a brilliant Danny Elfman score and great performances from everyone in the cast. Not bad for a movie which was [...]

April 25, 2020

Listen To How Bernard Herrmann Inspired Danny Elfman’s BATMAN Theme

Having enjoyed Bernard Herrmann‘s score for the 1972 mystery Endless Night, I was once again reminded of how Herrmann’s score for Journey To The Center Of The Earth(1959) inspired Danny Elfman‘s brilliant soundtrack for [...]

April 1, 2020

The Best Scene In Tim Burton’s BATMAN

Tim Burton‘s Batman is 30 years old. It’s crazy to write that – I remember seeing it on the big screen back in 1989. I was nine years old. Thirty years before 1989 was 1959 – a very different era. The world went Batman crazy [...]

June 23, 2019

Blu-Ray & DVD Review Round-Up: BABY DRIVER, CAGE DIVE, BELLE DU JOUR, CHANNEL ZERO & More

This time around we take a Journey To The Centre Of The Earth; discover a Resurrection Of Evil; Cage Dive gives a new meaning to going ‘down under’; Belle Du Jour is the order of the day; A Kind Of Murder is suspect in more ways than [...]

October 28, 2017

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