Posts by Thomas Hobbs

The 10 best film soundtracks of 2021

By Thomas Hobbs

From Mica Levi’s crashing, trap-infused Zola score to Emile Mosseri’s delicate piano work on Minari.

Last Man Standing

By Thomas Hobbs

Nick Broomfield rakes over the coals of the Biggie vs 2Pac saga but doesn’t find anything particularly new.

review

How Ace in the Hole foreshadowed the post-truth era

By Thomas Hobbs

Billy Wilder’s 1951 noir has obvious parallels with our current age of fake news and alternative facts.

The 10 best film soundtracks of 2020

By Thomas Hobbs

From Birds of Prey’s intoxicating mix of rap and pop music to Tamar-kali’s atmospheric Shirley score.

Know The Score: Open Mike Eagle on Punch-Drunk Love

By Thomas Hobbs

The Chicago rapper describes the moment he fell in love with Jon Brion’s dreamlike score.

The sobering prescience of Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days

By Thomas Hobbs

The director’s 1995 tech noir isn’t her most critically or commercially successful film, but it might just be her most important.

Know The Score: El-P on 2002’s Solaris

By Thomas Hobbs

The producer and rapper reveals the soul-cleansing moment he discovered Cliff Martinez’s soundtrack.

Max Richter’s Sleep

By Thomas Hobbs

Max Richter’s eight-hour concept album is brought to life via Natalie Johns’s immersive concert film.

review LWLies Recommends

Know The Score: Julia Holter on Andrei Rublev

By Thomas Hobbs

The avant-pop musician on how Andrei Tarkovsky’s dark epic helped to mould her own approach to composing.

Know The Score: Max Richter on 2001: A Space Odyssey

By Thomas Hobbs

The British composer discusses how Stanley Kubrick’s use of classical music enhances his 1968 sci-fi epic.

The Uncertain Kingdom

By Thomas Hobbs

This anthology of 20 short films presents an interesting but imbalanced cross-section of modern British life.

review

Know The Score: Bobby Krlic on Alien

By Thomas Hobbs

The Midsommar composer, better known as The Haxan Cloak, reveals how he drew inspiration from Jerry Goldsmith’s classic soundtrack.

Know The Score: Rachel Zeffira on The Godfather

By Thomas Hobbs

The composer and Cat’s Eyes member discusses her deep connection to Nino Rota’s 1972 masterpiece.

Know The Score: Tamar-kali on The Double Life of Veronique

By Thomas Hobbs

The singer-songwriter and rising film composer reveals how she was seduced by Krzysztof Kieślowski’s doppelgänger drama.

Know The Score: Nicholas Britell on Chariots of Fire

By Thomas Hobbs

The Moonlight and Succession composer reveals how Vangelis’ score made him want to become a musician.

Know The Score: Clams Casino on how Kids changed his life

By Thomas Hobbs

The influential New Jersey rap producer on the impact of Larry Clark’s notorious teen movie.

Know The Score: Colin Stetson on Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Prisoners

By Thomas Hobbs

The experimental musician and composer reflects on the work of his late friend.

Know The Score: Heather McIntosh on the strange charm of True Stories

By Thomas Hobbs

The composer reflects on how David Byrne’s endearingly weird soundtrack inspired her to become a musician.

‘Young black men are not statistics’ – Rapman on redefining the hood movie

By Thomas Hobbs

The rapper-turned-director discusses the making of his ambitious debut feature, Blue Story.

The star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is reclaiming the film’s queerness

By Thomas Hobbs

Mark Patton opens up about his experiences as the first ever male scream queen.

Know The Score: Merrill Garbus on the joys of Clue

By Thomas Hobbs

The lead singer of art pop duo Tune-Yards’ discusses the cartoony genius of John Morris’ famed score.

Know The Score: Cliff Martinez on For a Few Dollars More

By Thomas Hobbs

The American musician and composer sings the praises of Ennio Morricone’s iconic spaghetti western soundtrack.

Inna de Yard

By Thomas Hobbs

A group of pioneering reggae musicians hark back to the good old days in this middling music documentary.

review

The Hummingbird Project

By Thomas Hobbs

The thrill-a-minute world of fibre-optic cable laying backdrops this uneven tale of humanity versus capitalism.

review

An Accidental Studio

By Thomas Hobbs

This affectionate doc tells the story of how George Harrison’s HandMade Films changed the face of British cinema.

review

The Upside

By Thomas Hobbs

Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart pair up for a wholly unnecessary remake of French dramedy The Intouchables.

review

John Carpenter’s The Fog is even more chilling if you live by the sea

By Thomas Hobbs

A personal essay on the director’s 1980 horror, which returns to cinemas this Halloween.

Vs

By Thomas Hobbs

Director Ed Lilly’s against-the-odds tale of a white UK rapper feels like a missed opportunity.

review

The Man from Mo’Wax

By Thomas Hobbs

A new documentary profiling trip-hop pioneer James Lavelle and his influential label Mo’Wax Records.

review

How Session 9 explores the horrors of toxic masculinity

By Thomas Hobbs

This forgotten 2001 horror set in an abandoned asylum offers a pertinent look at a modern issue.

Studio 54

By Thomas Hobbs

This profile of the 1970s New York disco nirvana is a rollicking examination of American excess.

review LWLies Recommends

Filmworker

By Thomas Hobbs

This documentary provides a fascinating insight into Stanley Kubrick’s world, via his right-hand man, Leon Vitali.

review

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: Menace II Society

By Thomas Hobbs

Screenwriter Tyger Williams reflects on the legacy of the Hughes Brothers’ controversial crime saga, which turns 25 this year.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: CB4

By Thomas Hobbs

How a low-budget Chris Rock comedy exposed the absurdity of gangsta rap.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: Juice

By Thomas Hobbs

With its thrilling performances and damning anti-gun message, Ernest Dickerson’s portrait of America continues to touch a nerve.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: New Jack City

By Thomas Hobbs

The box office success of this 1991 drama forced America to view the crack epidemic from a different perspective.

Beats, Rhymes and Cinema: King of New York

By Thomas Hobbs

How Abel Ferrara’s brutal 1990 gangster flick captured the imagination of the hip hop community.

Why Lake Mungo is the best ghost film you’ve never seen

By Thomas Hobbs

This Aussie indie horror from 2008 is the perfect supernatural chiller to watch this Halloween.

How Death Line used cannibal horror to expose social inequality

By Thomas Hobbs

This 1972 British B-movie is essential viewing in the wake of the recent Grenfell tragedy.

All Eyez on Me

By Thomas Hobbs

This lamentable tribute to Tupac Shakur is an exercise in how not to make a music biopic.

review

Why Alien’s gender politics run a lot deeper than Ellen Ripley

By Thomas Hobbs

The revelation that Lambert is a trans woman transforms what we know about Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror.

How I was seduced by the ‘Dark Side of the Rainbow’ phenomenon

By Thomas Hobbs

I was skeptical about pairing The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd, until I decided to put the fan theory to the test...

Have we become the audience in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare?

By Thomas Hobbs

The director’s satirical 1994 horror explores what happens when society embraces its worst monsters.

How Gridlock’d exposed America’s broken healthcare system

By Thomas Hobbs

This Tupac and Tim Roth starring social drama feels more relevant today than ever.

Why do women make better film editors?

By Thomas Hobbs

Despite so few opportunities for female directors, women are currently thriving in the cutting room.

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