"With one notable exception - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," from 1939's The Wizard of Oz - Bolton doesn't choose songs that were actually premiered in a film, preferring to pick songs that showed up in a film years after they were first written or recorded. As such, Songs of Cinema doesn't really feel like a collection of songs from the movies. Rather, it just plays like a collection of oldies ... Bolton doesn't take himself too seriously. That spirit extends through the (...) the record, all of which is played straight but lacking the bombast of his earliest hits. This relatively light touch is welcome and gives Songs of Cinema its appeal".