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Author	Topic: Team America!

sean Standard Userer	Wow! This is one funny-ass movie! Everything that I felt should be in a September 11th-premised film was in here. And they weren't kidding about Alec Baldwin being pissed off at this movie ("What's better than being a baldwin!?!"; "Nothing!" LOL!). The audience didn't seem sure or maybe comfortable with some of the off-colour or near-racist humour of the movie (some were obviously not "prepared" for what was to come [poor them]); for myself, I couldn't contain my laughter—its easily the funniest film I've seen in a long time! A friend asked me if this was a "naughty" movie or just a "goofy" one, and I'd have to pick the former... there are no barriers for the humour in Team America. With the amount of time that Harry Gregson-Williams was given to score this film, he did an impressive job. Nothing is a direct copy of anything else he's done, and some of the themes he uses are great. There are some quasi-Hans Zimmer anthems in the picture that work wonders. (Did anyone notice how well The Peacemaker score was cut into the trailer for this film?) The "Arab" music for the terrorists in the film are obviously Black Hawk Down-esque... probably someone from MV who worked on that worked on this; and the "Asian" music for Kim Jong IL is very much like the percussive Japanese music in Pearl Harbour. Are the songs in the film by Marc Shaiman? There's a hilarious 80s pop song—sorta like Transformers—for the Team America theme song (and the lyrics are just killer!), and that country song about "freedom" is too funny. Can't wait to pick up the CD and see this fine piece of cinema again next Friday!
posted 10-09-2004 11:21 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	Thanks for the report. I'm really looking forward to seeing this...
posted 10-10-2004 01:18 AM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	I just learned from an interview with Matt Stone and Trey Parker that Alec Baldwin wanted to do his own voice for the film! That's very big of him considering how much they rail him during the movie! Parker and Stone told him to forget it, 'cause they wanted to use someone else to impersonate Baldwin. I dunno, considering Baldwin would actually go for it, I think I woulda let him do it (if only I were a mover and a shaker). NP: King Arthur (Hans Zimmer) ***/***
posted 10-10-2004 10:09 AM PT (US)

HadrianD Standard Userer	Disappointing. This movie wasn't as great as I was hoping it'd be. Some great funny bits. Some of the songs were very funny. But some were just distateful. Perhaps my tastes sensibilities have changed, but overall, the film felt lacking in parts. They tried too hard to be funny. I love the South Park movie because it was a brilliant satire that has heart. This seems cold. The decision to let Harry and some MV composer do half the score was a very good choice, given the film's prediliction toward spoofing Bruckheimer action films. It was a bold mix, sqitching between Shaiman bouncing brassy cues and satire songs with the diverse mix of music that we know from the MV composers.
posted 10-10-2004 02:47 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by HadrianD: They tried too hard to be funny. I love the South Park movie because it was a brilliant satire that has heart. This seems cold. How on earth could you put "heart" in a movie with puppets called Team America: World Police Force? The very title is cold, and the visuals funny; everything required is there. It's like saying make a movie about the war in Iraq with "heart" in it. That's just not possible and wouldn't be credible even if it were attempted (just look at Michael Moore's stupid film, Fahrenheit 9/11). Team America needs and delivers laughs, not "heart."
posted 10-10-2004 06:19 PM PT (US)

jonathan_little Standard Userer	Isn't this the movie where all of the liberal characters have their heads blown up? Sounds very... uhh... "funny" I guess?
posted 10-10-2004 08:04 PM PT (US)

HadrianD Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: How on earth could you put "heart" in a movie with puppets called Team America: World Police Force? The very title is cold, and the visuals funny; everything required is there. It's like saying make a movie about the war in Iraq with "heart" in it. That's just not possible and wouldn't be credible even if it were attempted (just look at Michael Moore's stupid film, Fahrenheit 9/11). Team America needs and delivers laughs, not "heart." Okay. And like I said above, I expected more, and the movie was lacking.
posted 10-10-2004 10:39 PM PT (US)

Bond1965 Standard Userer	I'm with Hadrian. I was really let down by this. I really felt the premise grew very thin as it went along. The audience I was with laughed sporadically, but not nearly as much as in other comedies I've seen. The score was a good take on the MV/Zimmer sound for the Bruckheimer films and as sad as I am that Shaiman was replaced, Harry Gregson-Williams, et. al. did a bang up job on short notice. Some reviews claim the score is "James Bondish" but I didn't hear anything that remotely sounded like a Bond score. (As usual, when they do mention the music, they haven't a clue.) James
posted 10-16-2004 03:20 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	I had fun with this. Twisted puppet action, hysterical songs... That's what I was in the mood for. The Alec Baldwin song at the end of the credits is absolutely hysterical.
posted 10-16-2004 04:47 PM PT (US)

rkeaveney Standard Userer	Can anyone see the irony of TEAM AMERICA? Media Ventures guys write self-serious music for satire of movies that Media Ventures guys write self-serious music for??? C'mon! HGW's main theme is a variation on that solemn stuff from ARMAGEDDON ("Basically the worst parts of the Bible"). While nice, it's the only serious thing in this movie. And I truly think that few are getting the satirical Bruckheimer elements... So why score the movie that way? A few laughs are here (mainly due to the songs, I mean where else can you hear "America" ryhmed with "**** yeah!"??), but 80-90 minutes of shrill puppets wears thin. Bill Pope is my hero. Ryan
posted 10-16-2004 07:59 PM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Standard Userer	I prefer Mike Mercury, Supercar myself. LOL. John. "Lean forward, Master Spy. Lean Backward, Master Spy." as they sit in a car on a church steeple and the guy in front sit giving directions to the fat spy in back so the car wont fall.
posted 10-16-2004 08:37 PM PT (US)

johnmullin Standard Userer	Am in the minority in here in thinking that HGW and company's score was junk? My main problem with it was that it wasn't really all that different from the usual Media Ventures stock. I was hoping for something a little more subversive... with wit and humor instead of a virtual dupication of music that's already come and gone. The music took everything way too seriously whereas I think the smart approach might have been to come up with something that really gave the finger to these kinds of movies and their scores. I don't always like Marc Shaiman's music, but he seemed like the right guy to on a picture like this and I was greatly saddened to hear that he'd been bounced at the last minute. What's even more sad is that his work was replaced with about the worst kind of mass-produced movie music garbage there is. Oh Parker and Shaiman... they made such a great team on the South Park movie and on the Mr. Hankey Christmas Classics album... So sad to see that end.
posted 10-17-2004 11:09 PM PT (US)

Lancelot Standard Userer	What's really sad is that anyone thinks Gregson-Williams' music is "mass produced garbage". If that's so, then all film music is mass-produced garbage. Every composer has to write fast--not all of them can afford the luxury of inspiration. Composers have a job to do, and if they're any good, they rise to the occasion. No one out there can hit a single button and have a whole score (as much as some directors would like that ability.) Gregson-Williams' provided a wholly appropriate score for a movie that was both parody and satire--the humor is that the music is playing straight. The man can write music. I find it sad that people don't realize it, and would rather jump on the "he was once associated with Hans Zimmer, let's stone him!" bandwagon.
posted 10-18-2004 08:58 AM PT (US)

Jeff78 Standard Userer	I actually liked his score for the film. It did have some good themes. I would still like to have heard Shaimans score but that won't happen. Here hoping for just a score release for Team America.
posted 10-18-2004 10:43 AM PT (US)

James Standard Userer	[Consarn this infernal message board, that's the wrong smiley!] I don't think 2 out of 6 people disliking the score really constitutes a bandwagon, but at any rate, I'm making it 2 out of 7. Harry Gregson-Williams's score sounded mostly like what you would expect from Media Ventures doing Jerry Bruckheimer, and it worked beautifully. As John Morris and Ira Newborn have taught us, playing it straight when scoring a comedy yields great things. Furthermore, there was one recurring heroic theme that didn't sound like your typical MV stuff...more reminiscent of G-W's work with John Powell...and I liked that theme a lot. This was the hardest I've laughed in a movie theater in a long time. There were moments when I was crying profusely and had trouble breathing. Just thinking about that mano a mano fight in the opening sequence still cracks me up. And every song in the film has been running through my head constantly since I saw it. You need to have a taste for it - if you don't like South Park's brand of humor, you won't like this either - but as Abraham Lincoln said, "People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like." Matt Damon!! Kirk NP - Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (Saint-Saens) [Message edited by James on 10-18-2004]
posted 10-18-2004 01:31 PM PT (US)

Jeff78 Standard Userer	Hmm.. It's Oct. 19th and still no sign of the soundtrack on iTunes.
posted 10-19-2004 12:36 PM PT (US)

Quill Standard Userer	My cheeks and gut still hurt...clearly this movie's humor will connect with a certain audience...I'm just glad I'm part of that group. On the music front, I was very surprised with the amount of time given to the score and how it was approached. The songs...unforgettable! One of the funniest of them (and understated) was the Montage song. The lyrics are hysterical. 11/2 for a score release...I hope there is a good amount of score in addition to the songs. MATT DAMON!!
posted 10-19-2004 03:56 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	Even Rocky had a montage!
posted 10-19-2004 04:04 PM PT (US)

Jeff78 Standard Userer	The "Montage" song is actually from a South park episode. Can't rememebr which one though.
posted 10-19-2004 04:15 PM PT (US)

SBD Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Jeff78: The "Montage" song is actually from a South park episode. Can't rememebr which one though. It was the hilarious "Asspen"; one of several SP refs in the film. Others include: - "Oh, you're breakin' my balls!" from "Fun With Veal". - "Kreplah!", said by Tim Robbins in the movie and Mel Gibson in "The Passion of the Jew".
posted 10-19-2004 06:38 PM PT (US)

James Standard Userer	Actually, that word is "Qapla," a Klingon battle cry from Star Trek. It translates (roughly) to "success." [Message edited by James on 10-19-2004]
posted 10-19-2004 07:09 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	Yeah, that sounded exactly like a Klingon battle cry.
posted 10-19-2004 08:03 PM PT (US)

Quill Standard Userer	I would like to visit DerkaDerkastan one day.
posted 10-20-2004 08:15 AM PT (US)

Jeff78 Standard Userer	Well I got the soundtrack early. There is roughly 30 minutes of score on the cd. Hey, that's a Varese release right there =Þ. I think one of the cues might be Shimans score as it sounds like a real full orchestra. Unless Harry had time to get his score performed with an orchestra.
posted 10-20-2004 02:09 PM PT (US)

Martin.Heimberger Non-Standard Userer	You can listen to a stream of the full CD at http://music.channel.aol.com/musicstyles/soundtracks.adp There you will find a link to the "Team America"-CD. The score starts at 18.40 min. Best wishes, Martin.
posted 10-20-2004 04:11 PM PT (US)

BMikeJ Standard Userer	Glad to hear there is score on the CD... I would have bought it just for the songs so I consider the score to be... gravy.
posted 10-20-2004 04:26 PM PT (US)

rkeaveney Standard Userer	Does anyone have track credits yet? The "Derkaderkastan Theme" sounds at odds with the rest of the score. Ryan
posted 10-20-2004 06:14 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by rkeaveney: Does anyone have track credits yet? The "Derkaderkastan Theme" sounds at odds with the rest of the score. Ryan Ryan, the end credits say "Derka Derk" is written by Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman. (This is Marc's only music in the film, contrary to what someone in this thread wrote about the heroic music in the film—it's all Harry's.) NP: Transformers - The Movie (Vince DiCola) ***/***
posted 10-20-2004 06:31 PM PT (US)

rkeaveney Standard Userer	Ah, I was wondering why it was my favorite cue Ryan
posted 10-20-2004 07:05 PM PT (US)

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