Widescreen: A freebie from Marvel and two must-listen film scores
As they've done before with select episodes of "Andor" and "The Mandalorian," ABC will again be broadcasting a Disney+ streaming series for free. One key difference this time: The entire season will be televised.
"Ms. Marvel," a six-episode entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Iman Vellani as a teenage superhero, will air in its entirety over the next two Saturdays in three-hour blocks beginning at 7 p.m. on Channel 7.
Vellani plays Kamala Khan, an Avengers superfan from Jersey who has limb-stretching superpowers of her own. Her series leads directly into the forthcoming film "The Marvels," which teams her up with "Captain Marvel" star Brie Larson and "WandaVision's" Teyonah Parris. (That's scheduled for Nov. 10, but I'm guessing that Hollywood's reluctance to pay its actors and writers will cause a delay.)
Two treats for film-score fans
Ludwig Goransson's score for "Oppenheimer" did not disappoint. In the theater, it dominates the sound mix and makes Christopher Nolan's three-hour opus feel half as long, working in harmony with Jennifer Lame's editing. At home, coming through your phone's speakers, it's a pulsing, focusing work-from-home soundtrack; over your headphones, it reveals new intricate layers. I won't be surprised if this, not Metallica's "72 Seasons" or "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," is my top album when Spotify Wrapped 2023 drops in a few months.
Or it could be "The Dungeon Master's Jukebox" from Lorne Balfe, whose thunderous music can also be heard in "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning." This "jukebox" is a collection of themes Balfe wrote before filming began on "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," one of the year's great entertainments. The actual score is fine enough, but these fully realized leitmotifs are lush and tuneful - complete musical thoughts untouched by editing and studio interference. Check out "Holga Kilgore," the Celtic-infused fanfare for Michelle Rodriguez's character, whose arc is the heart of the film.
The spirits are calling
"Princess Mononoke," one of the greatest films ever made, returns to theaters across the suburbs Saturday through Wednesday.
The annual Studio Ghibli Fest celebrating the Japanese studio's gorgeous movies has reached Hayao Miyazaki's 1997 hand-drawn masterpiece about the collision of industry and nature in a magical world where giant wolves have raised the human protagonist of the title. Violence erupts when the leader of Iron Town encroaches on the forest - and the spirits who live in it.
The opening sequence featuring hero Ashitaka taking on a giant boar possessed by a dark curse with a bow and arrow is as terrifying and awe-inspiring as movies get.
Locations, showtimes and tickets are available at fathomevents.com. It's also streaming on Max, in both subtitled and dubbed versions.
• Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who gave "Tenet" another shot this week. Nope, it's still nonsense.