music

Review: MICHAEL Is An Energetic Prince Of Pop Biopic

A Michael Jackson biopic was always going to be a tricky proposition. The late pop icon went stratospheric in the 1980s and he still has hordes of dedicated fans, however his personal life was problematic to say the least, as his later years were [...]

August 18, 2026

Talking Danny Elfman’s BATMAN Soundtrack On The Scores Are Not Enough

In the 1980s, superhero films were not as ubiquitous as they are now. The Superman franchise had come sliding to a whimpering close by the time Tim Burton’s Batman hit screens in the summer of 1989. It went on to become a cinematic and [...]

August 6, 2026

Podcast Episode 111: Sean Rowe On Music, Songwriting & FRONTIER CRUCIBLE

Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe joins this 111th episode of the Movies In Focus podcast. Rowe wrote the songs on the soundtrack to Travis Mills’ excellent 2025 western, Frontier Crucible – and these punctuate the film as transitional pieces, [...]

July 29, 2026

Review: Take Flight With Wings Documentary PAUL McCARTNEY: MAN ON THE RUN

Most people would probably be right in thinking that there’s hardly any new information to be uncovered as people continue to try to unpick the history of The Beatles. At this stage, we’re probably looking at tens of millions of articles, books, [...]

March 23, 2026

Podcast Episode 88: Talking Music With Film Composer Tom Schraeder

Film composer and singer-songwriter Tom Schraeder joins this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast for an in-depth conversation. Known for his emotionally charged music, Schraeder has built a career that bridges the worlds of songwriting and film [...]

October 14, 2025

A man (Paul Simon) at a singing at a microphone

Review: IN RESTLESS DREAMS: THE MUSIC OF PAUL SIMON – An Exceptional Look At A Musical Icon

Folk star, musical icon and world music pioneer – Paul Simon has been many things across his long career. From his early days playing teenage pop alongside childhood Art Garfunkel as Tom & Jerry to their breakthrough Simon & Garfunkel [...]

October 20, 2024

Trailer: Timothée Chalamet Is Bob Dylan In James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Director James Mangold knows a thing or two about music biopics, having directed the acclaimed Walk The Line, a film about the life of Johnny Cash starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Now, almost 20 years later Mangold is back on the [...]

July 25, 2024

Notebook Reviews: BILLY ELLIOT

Stephen Daldry. 2000. Billy Elliot is a solid comedy-drama. The acting here is good – and young Jamie Bell gives as strong performance as the title character. The music is great – especially the T-Rex tunes. This features some fine [...]

July 20, 2024

Remembering The Great Michael Nesmith

Michael Nesmith, the music video pioneer, country music legend and iconic member of 1960s group The Monkees was born Robert Michael Nesmith in Huston, Texas on 30 December 1942. He shot to fame in the TV series The Monkees [...]

December 30, 2022

Ennio Morricone – Remembering A Maestro

The great Ennio Morricone died on July 6 2020 at the age of 91 years old. The Italian film was probably best known for his work with Sergio Leone, the most famous being the 1966 Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly [...]

July 6, 2022

Podcast – Episode 20: Lorne Balfe Talks About Composing The Music For TOP GUN: MAVERICK

Actors, writers, directors and producers all have key roles in production – but one of the most important aspects in a film is the musical score – a score can literally make or break a film. Composer Lorne Balfe joins the Movies In [...]

June 10, 2022

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

Bring Kenneth Branagh’s BELFAST Home This April

A huge hit with critics and audiences alike, Kenneth Branagh‘s Belfast is a semi-autobiographical tale about growing up in the city as the violence of ‘the troubles’ spread across Northern Ireland in the late 1960s. Written and [...]

March 7, 2022

Watch The First 6 Minutes Of Kenneth Branagh’s Brilliant BELFAST

Opening with a sumptuous montage of modern day Belfast, set to the strains of Van Morrison’s song Down To Joy, Kenneth Branagh’s regular cinematographer, Haris Zambarloukos, switches to luscious monochrome as we fall back into the [...]

February 10, 2022

Academy Awards 2022: A Full List Of Oscar Nominations

Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog leads the charge at this year’s Academy Awards. The Netflix western scored 12 nominations including Best Director for Campion. Campion is now the first woman to have been nominated for best director [...]

February 10, 2022

Review: Kenneth Branagh’s BELFAST Is Heartfelt And Emotionally Powerful

A wondrously nostalgic look at his childhood, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is a heartfelt and emotionally powerful piece of cinema. Branagh has crafted a film where whimsy and realism sit side-by-side so the viewer can visit a Belfast which is as [...]

January 24, 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

Remembering David Bowie

Musician, actor and cultural trendsetter, the great David Bowie was one of the few artists who managed to legitimately transcend pop consciousness – he was his own thing. He was David Bowie. Born David Jones on January 8, 1947, Bowie [...]

January 8, 2022

Notebook Reviews: THE GRADUATE

Mike Nichols – 1967. A cinematic game-changer when it was first released in 1967, Mike Nichols‘ The Graduate still impresses after all these years. Sure, it’s dated a little but the film’s core message still rings true. [...]

January 5, 2022

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