[Closed] Now Playing XXXVI

The Edge - Jerry Goldsmith

Now what's this? A serious film - but the score has a THEME! My god, how ridiculous. How cheesy. How did anyone manage to get through the film without exploding into uncontrollable bursts of laughter?

To me, the Barry influence (and Vangelis influence) is most clear in 'Old Souls'. The melody itself and the way the melody is echoed in the accompanying arrangement suggest Barry. The texture suggests Vangelis (and in its' own way recalls some of his melodies from BLADE RUNNER).

I don't have BLU yet. I got the DVD and I love it anyway. I watch for the movie and the sheer genius, not the quality

NP: The A-Team - Alan Silvestri

I really enjoy this score. Yeah, I'm completely surprised by this realization. I have to listen to this score once a day and even though there's nothing new to discover the beyond that first two listen, the enjoyment level doesn't drop. One of my favorites this year.

Alexandre Desplat - The Ghost Writer

I love this score and I love Desplat. Probably the most intelligent composer in the industry today, when it comes to writing, orchestrations and approach.

Still haven't watched the movie. Will probably buy on DVD.

Favourite cues?

JOHN DEBNEY - predators

First listen and i can't trace anything else than constant loud banging...where are the themes? Where's the consistency in this one? Any musical aim whatsoever? Damn i must be getting old....Anyway, repeated listens will show; or not.

You know, not every score is based on the idea of featuring a leitmotif.

Honestly, I was only joking.

I haven´t heard it yet, and if it´s a mix between the Silvestri original and Scorpion King, I can only imagine what it is suffering from, so there you go.
Not that I find either of them bad, far from it, but a combination might be as tiring as Tyler´s AVP:R.

Well, both of them are very tiring to be honest. At least with AVP:R there are some very impressive highlight tracks with some memorable elements, 2-3 cues max. I am struggling to find something in Predators too. Anyway, as i said, repeated listens will reveal that to me; or not

Don't know yet my friend; people here will tell you it is; i got the same headache and turned it off mid-way.

Maybe you can lead me to some specific cues? 'Cause it all sounds similar to Tyler's wall of loud noise to me as well.

Agree. ( and I enjoyed a couple of AVR tracks )

NP: Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 - Bear McCreary

Absolutely brilliant! One of the finest modern day scores I've heard in the past 10 year or so. I was at first dismissive of Richard Gibbs and Bear McCreary's approach to scoring this series but once Michael (franz conrad) introduced me to "Storming New Caprica" I was instantly converted. IMHO, it's one of the greatest action cues ever composed! And to hear it in context is absolutely thrilling!

Gibbs and McCreary's sound for this series was spot on. A percussion led series of scores that I never thought in a million years would have worked in keep my attention. But for all of the banging and crashing of Taiko Drums and various other percussive elements there's a plethora of instantly recognizable themes, motifs and melodies that have you coming back for more. For instance, McCreary's adaptation of "All Along The Watchtower" is a stroke of genius. Again, if someone had told me that they were going to adapted this Bob Dylan tune into the Galactica universe I would have laughed and walked away. But now that I've heard the tune in context I couldn't imagine any OTHER themes for the "final five." Additionally, "Admiral and Commander" is about as perfect of a theme as you can find for Adama, his relationship with his son and the crew of the Galactica.

Creative, complex, daring, smart, inventive, emotional... the entire series of scores are bloody fantastic!

EDIT - I just want to keep talking about this score. Not since Lost have I heard a finer TV score that packs a punch in the emotional department. Of course there's the "Adama's Theme" which I've mentioned above but then there's heart-breaker's like the "Refugees Return" adagio or the string led "Violence and Variations" which is probably my favorite theme from the entire series. It's been a while since I've heard someone write for strings like this. I don't understand how any of these scores didn't receive Grammy Award nominations. We talk about Oscar and their blunders but not recognizing these series of brilliant TV scores is IMHO one of the biggest blunders of them all! It's disgusting that McCreary had to wait until this year to receive his first Grammy nomination for Human Target.

If you are looking for TV scoring at its absolutely finest I don't think you will find a more engaging or satisfying score than Battlestar Galactica: Season 3.

-Erik-