Film Concerts PH is on a roll. They just did a “One Piece” concert, followed by a two-night show featuring the musical scores of John Williams and Hans Zimmer. In March, they’re back to do the music of “The Witcher.” Last year, they did S”tar Wars,” Marvel Studio’s “Infinity Saga” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
I was truly lured by the prospect of finally the very special, rousing, and fun music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” I got my own ticket for the Williams-Zimmer show.
Film Concerts PH has recently returned from an almost decade long hiatus, and judging from the sold out shows and the announcement of new shows, people love hearing the scores from their favorite shows come to life.
The first half of the show was devoted to the John Williams pieces. If you grew up in the ‘70s and early ‘80s you’ll get quite the nostalgia trip as the orchestra did music from “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Indiana Jones” and “ET” were part of the repertoire. For the second, Zimmer half, they did themes from “Top Gun,” “Lion King,” “Interstellar” and “Gladiator.”
Truly “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Suite” (where credit also goes to Klaus Badelt) was such a highlight for me — with the cellos doing their thing and the drums doing the marches and everything else. I was absolutely giddy every second. Conductor Gerard Salonga even looked like he was swashbuckling through it all.
I was quite pleased to be at a concert sitting down, enjoying the aural and visual feast of a great orchestra delivering such emotive and iconic music.
Salonga has had a distinguished international career and he’s been the Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra since 2019. I’m so glad he’s back doing this. Since they’ve done “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars,” how about just the Pirates music?
Whatever calm and relaxation I got from this concert was completely shattered at the press screening for “Primate.” I went because it was less than an hour and half and there’s so much buzz about how director Johannes Roberts evokes terror in one setting (a home in Hawaii) and one villain (Ben, a pet chimpanzee).
There is no rabies in Hawaii but Ben is somehow bitten by a rabid mongoose and goes, well, apeshit.
The screening audience was reacting the whole time with screams and of course, shouts to the kids on screen “andyan na!” This movie is best enjoyed with a big group of friends so you can all scream and get freaked out together. Watching without a gang, somehow, truly stressed me out. It’s also pretty gory.
When I was in fifth grade (forever ago), some kid thought it was cute to bring their pet monkey to class. Was I going to join the circle forming around the monkey? Nope. That pet monkey ended up grabbing and pulling another student’s hair which was neatly done in braids. When I had to get shots after an animal bite 10 years ago, the doctor had to leave me to take a call because some monkey scratched a four-year-old girl. Some parents thought it was cute to have at a birthday party.
On that note, I’m taking a breather from the horror and doing more music in the coming weeks. To those watching the 25th anniversary screenings of “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” this weekend, I raise my Prancing Pony pint to you, cheers.