I thought I would do a compilation of what I thought were the best film scores of 2009, so far. There are still some scores I have not heard that might change my ranking, like Hans Zimmer's score for Sherlock Holmes or Brian Eno's score for The Lovely Bones, but I thought I would do my ranking now regardless.
1. Star Trek - Composed by Michael Giacchino. This riveting reintrepretation of the Trek franchise is bold and heroic, masculine and triumphant. With snippets of Alexander Courage's original theme being interspersed throughout the score like bread crums, it finally comes together at the end credits. Giacchino's additions -- including a theme for Kirk and the Enterprise as established in the first track, "Star Trek", and a theme for Spock and Vulcan, as heard majestically in all its finality in "That New Car Smell" -- are layered and exciting. The best part of the scores lies in the heroic rendition of the Kirk/Enterprise theme ("Enterprising Young Men") which encapsulates the pulsating feel of the film. Spock/Vulcan's theme resembles a poetic wailing sound, characteristically female, that is calm and soothing. It is a bit predominently fantasy-esque score, one that is a little hesitant of its science-fiction origins, but still confident and bold regardless.
2. Moon - Composed by Clint Mansell. This is Mansell's second foray into science-fiction -- his first was his beautifully stunning score for Darren Aronosfky's The Fountain, so he was an obvious pick here. He delivers in spades. Much like the film, Mansell's score is highly understated, presenting a light-hearted leitmotif in the opening track, "Welcome to Lunar Industries", and then getting somber for "Memories", which tragically illustrates the main character's sense of lonliness. He presents an almost whimsical motif in "The Nursery", and seamlessly mixes that with his somber tones as heard earlier in the score. "Sacrifice" picks up the pace, with a pulsating middle half that flows & ebbs along. It ultimately culminates with "Welcome to Lunar Industries (Three Years Later)", and Mansell has once again produced a heartfelt, genuine, minimalist piece of music that is soft on the ears but heavy on ideas.
3. Avatar - Composed by James Horner. I was initially really hesitant about this score because Horner can be a bit of a repetitive hack sometimes, regurgitating some of his previous work into his new scores (just listen to his score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and then his score for Aliens and you'll get my drift). However, while remnants of Titanic and the aforementioned Star Trek II are present in Horner's work here (primarily the "Reliant" theme, representing the theme of the film's villain, Quaritch), it is a relief to report that a lot of the score for Avatar is refreshingly original. There are two musical themes/planes/ideas going on in the score for Avatar, and one is a leitmotif representing the Na'vi aspect of the story, with its tribal drums and female choir, and then there's the bold, masculine, militaristic tone of the Marines/Jack Scully aspect of the story. Horner manages to seamlessly interthwine the two different musical planes, culminating in an eight-minute long track entitled "War" that is like a cresendo that just builds and builds musical momentum. The rest of Horner's score is at times beautiful, charming, elegaic and pulsating, and definitely some of Horner's best work in years.
4. Where The Wild Things Are - Composed by Karen O and Carter Burwell. The musical score for Spike Jonze's unconventional adaptation of the beloved children's book is as unconventional and unique as the film itself. Recorded with the assistance of the kids that helped make the film, there's the album that Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O recorded with the kids, and then a more traditional score accompanied by composer Carter Burwell (an alumni of the Coen Brothers). When you the mix the two together, you get an etheral experience that suits the film so incredibly well. Karen O has a very whimsical, very childish tone that belays the film's content, mixed with the somber, yet concurrently youthful motifs supplied by Burwell. The album's first track, "All is Love", is a great song that symbolizes the film's spirited atmosphere. The rest of the album are tracks mixed with dialogue from the film, and the end result is a wildly imaginative score.
5. Angels & Demons - Composed by Hans Zimmer. As a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, returning prolific composer Hans Zimmer embues the score for Angels & Demons with a much more pulsating tone that the first film. This is showcased in the first track, "160 BPM ", powered by Zimmer's electronic snyths that propel the score forward. Most of the score are long musical tracks taken from the film's many action set pieces ("Air", "Fire", "Black Smoke") that feel almost Bourne-esque in their musical drive. There is one track that is probably one of the finest pieces of music to hit movie screens this year, and that is the track "Science and Religion", a graceful, elegaic, beautiful piece of music that mixes the film's ideas of science verses religion with definite ease. Despite Zimmer's proclaimation that Angels & Demons would not feature a reprise of any of the themes or leitmotifs exhibited in The Da Vinci Code, Zimmer indeed reprises the theme from "Chevaliers De Sangreal" which he turns into Robert Langdon's theme, as heard in "The God Particle" and then in gorgeous violin rendition (performed by Joshua Bell) in "503".
Honorable mentions: Terminator Salvation (composed by Danny Elfman), Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince (Nicholas Hooper) and (500) Days of Summer (album, not score).
1. Star Trek - Composed by Michael Giacchino. This riveting reintrepretation of the Trek franchise is bold and heroic, masculine and triumphant. With snippets of Alexander Courage's original theme being interspersed throughout the score like bread crums, it finally comes together at the end credits. Giacchino's additions -- including a theme for Kirk and the Enterprise as established in the first track, "Star Trek", and a theme for Spock and Vulcan, as heard majestically in all its finality in "That New Car Smell" -- are layered and exciting. The best part of the scores lies in the heroic rendition of the Kirk/Enterprise theme ("Enterprising Young Men") which encapsulates the pulsating feel of the film. Spock/Vulcan's theme resembles a poetic wailing sound, characteristically female, that is calm and soothing. It is a bit predominently fantasy-esque score, one that is a little hesitant of its science-fiction origins, but still confident and bold regardless.
2. Moon - Composed by Clint Mansell. This is Mansell's second foray into science-fiction -- his first was his beautifully stunning score for Darren Aronosfky's The Fountain, so he was an obvious pick here. He delivers in spades. Much like the film, Mansell's score is highly understated, presenting a light-hearted leitmotif in the opening track, "Welcome to Lunar Industries", and then getting somber for "Memories", which tragically illustrates the main character's sense of lonliness. He presents an almost whimsical motif in "The Nursery", and seamlessly mixes that with his somber tones as heard earlier in the score. "Sacrifice" picks up the pace, with a pulsating middle half that flows & ebbs along. It ultimately culminates with "Welcome to Lunar Industries (Three Years Later)", and Mansell has once again produced a heartfelt, genuine, minimalist piece of music that is soft on the ears but heavy on ideas.
3. Avatar - Composed by James Horner. I was initially really hesitant about this score because Horner can be a bit of a repetitive hack sometimes, regurgitating some of his previous work into his new scores (just listen to his score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and then his score for Aliens and you'll get my drift). However, while remnants of Titanic and the aforementioned Star Trek II are present in Horner's work here (primarily the "Reliant" theme, representing the theme of the film's villain, Quaritch), it is a relief to report that a lot of the score for Avatar is refreshingly original. There are two musical themes/planes/ideas going on in the score for Avatar, and one is a leitmotif representing the Na'vi aspect of the story, with its tribal drums and female choir, and then there's the bold, masculine, militaristic tone of the Marines/Jack Scully aspect of the story. Horner manages to seamlessly interthwine the two different musical planes, culminating in an eight-minute long track entitled "War" that is like a cresendo that just builds and builds musical momentum. The rest of Horner's score is at times beautiful, charming, elegaic and pulsating, and definitely some of Horner's best work in years.
4. Where The Wild Things Are - Composed by Karen O and Carter Burwell. The musical score for Spike Jonze's unconventional adaptation of the beloved children's book is as unconventional and unique as the film itself. Recorded with the assistance of the kids that helped make the film, there's the album that Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O recorded with the kids, and then a more traditional score accompanied by composer Carter Burwell (an alumni of the Coen Brothers). When you the mix the two together, you get an etheral experience that suits the film so incredibly well. Karen O has a very whimsical, very childish tone that belays the film's content, mixed with the somber, yet concurrently youthful motifs supplied by Burwell. The album's first track, "All is Love", is a great song that symbolizes the film's spirited atmosphere. The rest of the album are tracks mixed with dialogue from the film, and the end result is a wildly imaginative score.
5. Angels & Demons - Composed by Hans Zimmer. As a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, returning prolific composer Hans Zimmer embues the score for Angels & Demons with a much more pulsating tone that the first film. This is showcased in the first track, "160 BPM ", powered by Zimmer's electronic snyths that propel the score forward. Most of the score are long musical tracks taken from the film's many action set pieces ("Air", "Fire", "Black Smoke") that feel almost Bourne-esque in their musical drive. There is one track that is probably one of the finest pieces of music to hit movie screens this year, and that is the track "Science and Religion", a graceful, elegaic, beautiful piece of music that mixes the film's ideas of science verses religion with definite ease. Despite Zimmer's proclaimation that Angels & Demons would not feature a reprise of any of the themes or leitmotifs exhibited in The Da Vinci Code, Zimmer indeed reprises the theme from "Chevaliers De Sangreal" which he turns into Robert Langdon's theme, as heard in "The God Particle" and then in gorgeous violin rendition (performed by Joshua Bell) in "503".
Honorable mentions: Terminator Salvation (composed by Danny Elfman), Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince (Nicholas Hooper) and (500) Days of Summer (album, not score).
