Two new movies are opening wide this Memorial Day weekend:
Dreamworks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 directed by Jennifer Yuh and featuring the voice talent of Jack Black Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Gary Oldman, David Cross, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, Victor Garber and Dustin Hoffman is opening in almost 4000 theaters. The film’s music is by Hans Zimmer and John Powell. A score album has been released by Varese Sarabande. For details and audio clips, visit our previous article. Also check out Film Music Magazine’s audio interview with Zimmer, in which he talks about his collaboration with Powell on the score among his other recent projects.
Also opening wide is the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II directed by Todd Phillips and starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson. The film’s score is by Christophe Beck. No score album has been announced, but a soundtrack including the songs featured in the movie has been released by Watertower Music. Check out our previous article for the track list and audio clips.
Opening in limited release is Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Alexandre Desplat has written the original score for the film, which also includes a number of classical pieces. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring Desplat’s score. For audio clips and more details, visit our soundtrack announcement. Also check out First Showing’s interview with the composer at the Cannes Film Festival about his first collaboration with Malick.
Opening in Los Angeles this weekend and expanding to other cities in the next couple of weeks is the documentary Dumbstruck. The film’s music is composed by Daniel Licht (Dexter). A soundtrack album featuring his score will be released later this summer on BSX Records. The documentary is directed by Mark Goffman and takes place at the annual Vent Haven Convention in Kentucky, the ventriloquism capital of the world. In the film, Goffman explores the careers of five different colorful ventriloquists. For more information on the project, visit the official movie website and check back on this page for a soundtrack announcement.
Also opening in Los Angeles after receiving a release in a couple of other cities is the documentary Make Believe. The film’s score is composed by Lucas Vidal. As previously reported, a soundtrack album including Vidal’s score has been released by MuMo Record and is now available exclusively on iTunes. The film directed by J. Clay Tweel follows six of the world’s best young magicians as they battle for the title of Teen World Champion.
