Roger Ebert Home

James Newton Howard

Reviews

Jungle Cruise (2021)
News of the World (2020)
A Hidden Life (2019)
Red Sparrow (2018)
Detroit (2017)
All the Way (2016)
Concussion (2015)
Junior (1994)
Flatliners (1990)
Coupe De Ville (1990)
Pretty Woman (1990)
The Package (1989)
Tap (1989)
Off Limits (1988)
Russkies (1987)
Nobody's Fool (1986)
Wildcats (1986)

Blog Posts

Far Flungers

Not just an ordinary superhero

It seems to be an unwritten rule that every superhero origin movie should have a scene in which the main character excitedly experiments with his or her powers before fully donning the mantle of the titular hero.

Consider the scene from "Spider-Man" in which Peter Parker scales walls and jumps from building to building joyously, or the one from "Iron Man" in which a reckless Tony Stark flies too far into the higher reaches of the atmosphere just to break that altitude record, or that scene from "Superman" in which the young Clark Kent races with a train.

May contain spoilers

Festivals & Awards

'Aviator' leads Oscar nominations

"The Aviator" leads with 11 nominations. Jamie Foxx was nominated in two categories. A little film named "Sideways" won five nominations, but one of them was not for its star, Paul Giamatti. "Finding Neverland" was the dark horse, in a tie with "Million Dollar Baby" with seven nominations apiece.