Overview of 2014 Scores Part 3 of 3

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10. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (Danny Elfman)

This score is just plain fun, full of adventure, whimsy, and boundless energy. The opening logo music (the first 31 seconds of “Mr. Peabody’s Prologue”) bursts right out of the gate, introducing the buoyant main theme on brass over a giddy flute ostinato; the theme then repeats over a rapid low brass beat, climaxing with flourishes from piccolo and choir. Elfman expertly molds the theme into disparate moods, from whimsical (“The Dog Whistle”) to baleful (“War/Disaster”) to epic (“The Drop Off”) and adventurous (“Reign of Terror”). “The Wedding Exodus” is Elfman’s take on grand, Rosza-esque music that often accompanied the historical epics of Golden Age Hollywood. “Trojan Horse” contains a brief but impressive bit of Latin chanting while “History Mash-Up” features tongue-in-cheek quotes of La Marsellaise and Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony. Another major theme represents Sherman’s relationships with both Mr. Peabody and love-interest Penny. First heard in “Deep Regard,” this enchanting theme soars in the musical set piece “The Flying Machine” and reaches its most mature development in “I’m a Dog Too.” As per the usual for Elfman, the tremendously exciting action music thrills without sounding messy or unfocused. A kind of sister to Elfman’s equally zestful score to Meet the Robinsons, this score far exceeds the rather pallid film it accompanies.

9. Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)

I wouldn’t have believed that a post-1998 Zimmer score would make my top-ten list, but the man has finally impressed me for the first time since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. First off, I do think this score has lengthy passages where not much of interest is going on. The themes are very short and simple, and even the best cues rely on repetition. However, there are about 30-45 minutes of music where Zimmer really takes off. The themes are quite affecting, and Zimmer assuages the repetition by adding more sounds, instruments, or musical figures with each successive iteration. I’ve always loved the sound of the pipe organ, and Zimmer isn’t afraid to have it blasting away. A theme introduced in “Cornfield Chase” (and closing the score in “Where We’re Going”) conveys the excitement and mystery of exploration quite well, while the “emotion” theme starts out as a mystical wisp in “Dreaming of the Crash,” developing to almost painful heights in “Stay.” My favorite theme is the inexorable pipe organ-led “danger” theme; “Coward” slowly builds it up, the lowest notes of the organ and blistering piano runs entering as the cue comes to its climax. In the even more overpowering “No Time for Caution,” the organ again starts out before steadily rising blasts explode from synthesizers and the orchestra, choir adding the final overwhelming touch.  I’m sure Zimmer’s sole goal in life is to write scores that I personally like, so I’m more than happy to say that he has achieved it with this score.

8. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Howard Shore)

I’ll say this about The Hobbit scores: Shore’s action music for them has gotten better and better with each installment; the composer has slowly shed the overly measured nature of his action music and learned to let it rip. The themes have never been as strong as those in The Lord of the Rings, but he does introduce a striking one here that gets a concert arrangement at the beginning of “Ironfoot” and a grand treatment in “Battle for the Mountain.” One of the most distinctive themes from the previous entry, the theme for Laketown, gets some rousing variations in “The Gathering of the Clouds.” “Guardians of the Three” features some neat fan-service moments, including the Lothlorien theme, the Evil of the Ring/Sauron theme, the massive chords from the “Galadriel almost loses it” scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, and a surging, triumphant rendition of the Rivendell theme. In a neat bit of thematic attribution, Shore shifts Smaug’s theme to Thorin, portraying his “Dragon-Sickness.” From “The Clouds Burst” to “To the Death” is almost continuous action music—37 minutes’ worth of it. Some moments of respite exist, particularly in “The Darkest Hour” and “The Fallen,” but for the most part, these cues comprise some of the most visceral action music in Shore’s Middle-Earth repertoire. Like the film, the score doesn’t quite have a fulfilling ending or a satisfying link to the beginning of The Lord of the Rings. Yet it entertained me a heck of a lot more than the score to An Unexpected Journey. Kudos to Shore for completing this massive series that in duration exceeds even Wagner’s colossal Ring cycle.

7. Monuments Men (Alexandre Desplat)

Monuments Men features a surprising number of first-rate themes. The opening cue “The Roosevelt Mission” introduces a noble trumpet melody that starts in a subdued manner but suddenly rises to something truly inspiring.  It receives a fuller development in “Normandy.” “Opening Titles” recalls Elmer Bernstein’s optimistic march for The Great Escape, the cheerful primary melody giving way to a spirited bridge (later heard in “The Letter”). One might be mistaken into thinking that this carefree march contains an inherent lightheartedness, but Desplat displays the malleability of his theme with rather touching piano renditions in “Stokes ” and “Jean-Claude Dies.” “I See You Stahl” introduces the antithesis of the title theme: a bold, imperious march with low brass proclamations and churning strings. And Desplat then twists this theme into a light waltz in “Stahl’s Chalet.” Want more? There’s also a delicate love theme, heard in “Champagne” and “Claire & Granger,“ a tune that rises higher before leisurely winding its way back down. “Into Bruges” percolates with muted brass, marimba, and bass clarinet while stirring, Medal of Honor-esque action (especially in the beginning of “Sniper”) threads its way throughout the score—and Medal of Honor-eqsue music (if we’re talking about the Michael Giacchino entries) is never a bad thing. Most of the themes receive fulfilling recapitulations in the impressive “Finale,” the score closing with a perky, whistled version of the title theme in “End Credits.” Although one can hear influences in this score, the overall style is Desplat’s own; the multitude of excellent themes, the clever musical development, and the composer’s always-dexterous orchestrations make this a delightful, outstanding score.

6. Big Hero 6 (Henry Jackman)

This score isn’t quite as good as Jackman’s score to Wreck-It Ralph (which I would now put at number 3 on my “Best of 2012” list) and the themes are pretty simple. Yet Jackman has a knack for making irresistibly attractive music out of simple melodies. For example, the “action” motif (best heard at 4:43-4:53 and 5:24-5:49 in “Big Hero 6”) is compositionally quite rudimentary, yet it thrills me to no end. The appropriately intrepid main theme makes its first full appearance in “Microbots,” bold brass sounding over peppy electronic beats. Rip-roaring statements of this theme bolster the action sequences in the cues “Upgrades,” “The Streets of San Fransokyo,” and “Big Hero 6,” while a pop version drives the toe-tapping “Huggable Detective.” The softer variations of the theme in “Family Reunion” and “I Am Satisfied with My Care” are (like the scenes they accompany) surprisingly poignant. A theme often associated with the robot Baymax first appears in a delicate arrangement 40 seconds into “Inflatable Friend.” It plays alongside the main theme in “The Streets of San Fransokyo,” the action climax “Big Hero 6” and the magnificently ascendant “First Flight.” Jackman’s dramatic instincts make this an impressively structured score; the early cues are fun and perky, almost pop instrumentals. However, the film’s emotional heart becomes more manifest as time goes on, and the score in turn strips away the electronics. As the film reaches its dramatic acme in “I Am Satisfied with My Care,” the music surges with mysticism, wonder, and, eventually, grief. There are some dull passages (like the first three minutes of “Silent Sparrow”), but overall, this invigorating score further substantiates Jackman’s considerable expertise at scoring animated films.

5. Godzilla* (Alexandre Desplat)

After The Golden Compass and Rise of the Guardians, those of us with ears all knew that Desplat could write action music, but this is something else entirely. Godzilla is straight-up brutal, hair-raising action of Elliot Goldenthal-esque proportions. The main theme emerges out of the haze to pound the listener in the track “Godzilla!” but this is admittedly not a score of strong themes. A tender, searching piano melody opens “Back to Janjira,” but such respites are few and far in between. An electronic pulse propels “Muto Hatch” forward until strings explode forth and brass statements reminiscent of original Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube’s work blast out. Voices surge to the forefront in “The Wave” while frenzied strings whirl away. String arpeggios in “Following Godzilla” evoke pleasant memories of Goldenthal’s action music, while dissonant voices tear though the thick swirl of action in “Golden Gate Chaos.” Just when you think there’s going to be another break in “Let Them Fight,” (though the name of the cue should be a giveaway) the fun starts again, and taiko-like drums hammer out a ferocious rhythm. The main theme rears its head in “Last Shot,” and another Goldenthal “trademark,” trilling French horns, makes an appearance. The music comes to a massively triumphant conclusion in “Back to the Ocean,” chimes tolling away under the orchestra’s final peroration. If you’re searching for memorable themes, this score probably isn’t for you, but for those seeking an adrenaline rush via intelligently composed, complex music, this score will serve as a welcome antidote to the mindlessly churning scores that accompany so many of today’s action films.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (Brian Tyler)

Like the score to Godzilla, this score is an action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. Tyler’s score does have a rousing main theme cut out of the same cloth he used for the themes to his Marvel scores (Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World). The main theme consists not only of the primary melody, but also a staccato rhythmic motif and a cyclical phrase that starts out enigmatically in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” before transforming into an ever-escalating action motif. The more subdued tracks (“Adolescent Genetically Altered Shinobi Terrapins,” “Origins,” “Brotherhood,” and “Project Renaissance”) contain some lovely renditions of the main theme and some cooing choral work, but all the other 13 tracks on the album are basically action cues. Luckily for listeners, Tyler provides his most adrenaline-soaked action music since Eagle Eye—and there is indeed a cue entitled “Adrenaline,” complete with impressively intricate trumpet lines. “Rise of the Four” plays like an energizing call to arms, choir and orchestra leading to the staccato action rhythm. The main theme charges forward over an irregular rhythm in “Cowabunga” before transforming into a march. “Shortcut” is probably my favorite of the many action cues; a thrilling passage features phrases being traded off among strings, trumpets, and horns with the main theme building to almost delirious heights. The action reaches its apex in “Splinter vs. Shredder” and “Buck Buck,” chanting choir bursting to the forefront in the former. Although the score is basically monothematic, Tyler breaks down and molds the theme enough to keep it fascinating in all its reiterations. Though this score is not as complex as the score to Godzilla, the writing is still intricate enough to elevate it beyond mere ear candy.

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel* (Alexandre Desplat)

The most striking aspect of this score is its inventiveness; I personally haven’t heard anything quite like it, though it bears some superficial resemblance to the composer’s brief score to Wes Anderson’s previous film, Moonrise Kingdom. The plucked balalaika and casual tone of “Mr. Moustafa” gives the impression that this score is going to sound like the equivalent of Eastern European easy-listening music. But “A Prayer for Madame D” introduces a compelling theme, ripe with mystery and a hint of danger. “Daylight Express to Lutz” presents a vaguely ominous motif as well as some onomatopoeic traveling music. Pipe organ rises to prominence in “J.G. Jopling, Private Inquiry Agent” alongside the now-familiar balalaika  while hand-clapping enlivens “A Dash of Salt (Ludwig’s Theme).” “Escape Concerto” has an almost jazzy beat, and “The Society of Crossed Keys” builds almost perpetually to its conclusion. “Canto at Gabelmeister’s Peak” introduces rich, chanting voices (which become diegetic at one point) before brass, B3 organ, and frenzied balalaika enter to underscore a whimsical sledding sequence. Every element of the score comes together in “A Troops Barracks (Requiem for The Grand Budapest)”; late in the cue, the pipe organ intones a menacing dirge that, after a pregnant pause, turns into a frantic, agitated ostinato. The end credits feature Desplat’s arrangement of the traditional tune “Moonshine,” balalaika giving way to full orchestra, B3 organ, and stentorian male chorus.  But what’s most impressive about this score is that it doesn’t just fit the film; it actually does much of the work in defining its tone. Congratulations to Desplat for composing not only this exceptional score, but four other outstanding ones in 2014 as well.

2. Maleficent* (James Newton Howard)

James Newton Howard doing fantasy is a film score fan’s dream come true, and Maleficent, while not one of the composer’s very best, comes extremely close. The themes don’t quite reach the sublimity of the themes for Lady in the Water, Dinosaur, or The Village, but Howard’s lush writing remains as exquisite as ever. Maleficent’s main theme pops up right under the opening Disney logo (not on the soundtrack), a simple melody that encapsulates the beauty and grandeur of the title character. The sumptuous choir in “Welcome to the Moors” will delight anyone who loves great fantasy music, while “Maleficent Flies” formally introduces the main theme as it soars with the young fairy. A repeating choir phrase that starts at about 2:20 is almost heart wrenching in its pure beauty (and now I’ve gone and built it up too much). Also introduced in this track (at 1:50) is a gorgeous theme for the moors and/or Aurora; it receives a beatific playing in “Aurora and the Fawn,” following an ecstatic build-up for strings and choir. “The Christening” includes a slinking tuba melody, some (effective) electronic percussion, and, most importantly, the theme for Maleficent’s curse. This choir-led theme, consisting of four pairs of notes, builds in volume and intensity with each repetition. The action music, heard in “The Spindle’s Power,” “The Wall Defends Itself,” “Path of Destruction,” “Battle of the Moors,” and the superb “Maleficent Is Captured” gush with Howard’s signature touches, including  vibrant French horn fanfares, surging string phrases, syncopated rhythms, and enormous choir outbursts. Throughout the action cues, the main theme declares itself in robust settings for brass, strings, and choir. Speaking of choir, voices play a large part in this score, and Howard definitely knows how to use  them to evoke mystical splendor. When JNH brings his A-game to fantasy, as he does here, few today can come close to matching him

1. How to Train Your Dragon 2** (John Powell)

The first HTTYD score was Powell’s magnum opus as a composer, featuring a plethora of stellar themes and a consistency that was often lacking in his other solo animation scores. This sequel score lives up to the original, boasting superior choral work, even more themes, and development of some of the original film’s themes. The curtain rises with “Dragon Racing,” opening with a fanfare of the first part of the flying theme before transitioning to the Berk theme, the themes for Hiccup and his friends, and Astrid’s theme, each gaining additional embellishment from when we last heard them in the first film; I especially like the expansion of the Berk theme starting at 3:37. “Together We Map the World” introduces the lilting, waltz-like theme for Hiccup and Toothless’s explorations, while “Toothless Lost” introduces Valka’s theme, with a haunting, hummed variation at 2:12 into the track. “Flying with Mother” adorns the exploration and Valka themes with inventive writing for female choir. “Losing Mom / Meet the Good Alpha” brings in the Alpha motif, a royal tune that sounds like it’s visiting from Basil Poledouris’s score to Conan the Barbarian (specifically, the cure entitled “The Orgy”). The theme for the villainous Drago (AKA “He who can control dragons by chanting the secret, mystical words, 'AAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!'”), like the character himself, is somewhat generic, the least interesting of the new themes. The exhilarating “Battle of the Bewilderbeast” shares some similarities with “Battling the Green Death” from the first score, but introduces colossal choir to accompany the invigorating statements of the various themes. An absolutely gargantuan buildup at 3:30 leads into a rapturous explosion of the flying theme; I also love the one-off action motif at 5:25. Strident bagpipes keen a relentless motif in “Hiccup Confronts Drago” and lend emotion to “Stoick’s Ship.” “Toothless Found” sees Valka’s theme reach its apotheosis, leading into an astonishing run of brass fanfares, a march variation of Valka’s theme, and a brief but spectacular eruption of the flying theme. Finally, “Two New Alphas” brings this sublime score to its conclusion, the flying theme fittingly ending the score with a euphoric cadence. There aren’t as many standout tracks as in the first score, and the flying theme doesn’t really get a full rendition. I also don’t like the new themes quite as much as most of the themes from the first score. But none of that takes away from the almost unbelievably epic writing, assured classical-inspired compositional complexity, and emotional depth of my favorite score of the year.

Overview of 2014 Scores Part 1 of 3

I know I’ve been mighty quiet on this blog the past year. I would like to say that I’ve gotten a lot busier—in fact, I have gotten busier. Nevertheless, I admit that I have been devoting my diminishing free time to pursuits other than writing. In any case, the time has come for me to slavishly follow the lead of the more prestigious film score review sites by compiling a list of the best scores of 2014. As in last year’s post, this will be more of a “year in review” post, covering all the new scores I heard in the last year.

I thought that 2014 was a better year for mainstream American film music than 2013. For example, Mark Mancina’s thrilling score for Planes managed to place 4^th in last year’s list. This year’s score for Planes: Fire and Rescue, while comparable in quality to the first (and maybe even a little better), placed 11^th this year. (I listened to 27 new scores in both 2013 and 2014). While Danny Elfman and Michael Giacchino didn’t get a whole lot of work this year, Alexandre Desplat did—and all five of his scores that I listened to evinced quality writing. I’ve always thought Desplat was a pretty good composer, but he’s starting to become a personal favorite now. Former collaborators Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell returned to film scoring after taking 2013 off; Powell’s comeback ended up being more glorious, though to be fair, he had a better canvas to work on. And surprise—Hans Zimmer, who seems to have taken leave of his talent since 1999 (with one or two exceptions), wrote one score that didn’t suck and another that was within a smidgen of being masterful.

Some notes on scores I heard in the film but not on the soundtrack: The Raid 2 (Fajar Yuskemal, Aria Prayogi, Joseph Trapanese) took a electronics-heavy approach similar to that Trapanese and Mike Shinoda used for The Raid: Redemption, though with more “ethnic” (presumably Indonesian) flavoring—but not anything terribly distinctive. Muppets: Most Wanted featured some charming songs by Bret McKenzie, but Christophe Beck’s score made no impression on me. Beck’s score to the entertaining Edge of Tomorrow (starring Mr. Scientology and Emily Blunt) consisted of themeless, stock action music that did nothing to distinguish itself from the music of countless boring action scores by Ramin Djawadi, Steve Jablonsky, Tyler Bates, and the like. God’s Not Dead had a score by one Will Musser, but I’m afraid the only music I remember from that film is the eponymous song by The Newsboys. Rupert Gregson-Williams (Harry’s brother) wrote some African-flavored music for the Blended (in which Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore meet cute for the third—or is it the 53^rd? --time) as well as some easy-on-the-ears romantic tunes, but nothing I felt like paying to hear on a soundtrack. Another Zimmer apprentice, Heitor Pereira, wrote music for If I Stay (starring Chloe Grace Moretz, playing a character who, in a dramatic change for the talented actress, is a normal human being). The music must have been pleasant enough, but again, I don’t recall any of it. Finally, David Fincher’s superbly directed Gone Girl received an underwhelming score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (par for the course for the pair as far as I’m concerned). As you can see, these scores ranged from unmemorable to downright insipid; I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not having them on album.

Part 1 will cover 27-21 (plus some special mentions), Part 2 will consist of 20-11, and Part 3 will comprise 10-1:

Special Mention: String Quartet #1/Early Chamber Works, Othello Ballet Suite (Elliot Goldenthal)

Sadly, Goldenthal doesn’t seem to be in demand for film work, but his record label, Zarathustra Records, did release a stellar pair of albums in 2014. The former CD exhibits Goldenthal’s considerable abilities and assured voice even at such a young age; the brass quintet in particular is especially wild while still manifesting compositional maturity. The Othello suite would rate in my top 10 if it were a 2014 film score; the slightly unhinged yet exhilarating “Tarantella” and alternately radiant and musically eclectic “Adagio” are particular highlights.

Special Mention: Into the Woods (Stephen Sondheim)*

Sondheim’s masterful, witty, twisted musical has been around for a while, but this Broadway show, one of the earliest (and best) fairy-tale mash-ups, finally made it to the big screen. Sondheim’s songs are, of course, magnificent in their sophistication and specificity to theme and character; from the classical sound of Rapunzel’s air (threaded throughout the score and forming the spine of “Stay with Me”) and the soaring excitement of “Giants in the Sky” to the melodramatic strains of “Agony” and the sincere emotion of “Witch’s Lament” and “No One Is Alone,” Sondheim’s craft is impeccable. The film actors do well pretty well with the singing, but the real attraction of the film soundtrack is the grand orchestrations of Sondheim’s melodies, both in the song backings and the score tracks. Cinderella’s theme and Rapunzel’s theme (the latter of which becomes more of a general theme as the film goes on) receive some especially lush treatments in “Cinderella at the Grave,” “The Forbidden Tower,” “Ever After,” and “The Far Away Prince.” I still prefer the singing of the Broadway actors (and Sweeney Todd remains my favorite Sondheim musical), but the instrumental arrangements in this film version make the soundtrack a must-buy for fans of the show—and good musicals in general.

27. X-Men: Days of Future Past (John Ottman)

X-Men: DOFP provided Ottman a golden opportunity, as he became the first composer to score more than one X-Men film. Unfortunately, he squandered that opportunity (though it may be director Bryan Singer’s fault), providing a dull, lifeless score that quotes his theme from X2 only once outside of the opening and closing credits. X2 used to be my least favorite X-Men score, but its orchestral mush sadly proves far superior to the prosaic, unpleasant electronics and simplistic ostinatos of DOFP.

26. The Equalizer (Harry Gregson-Williams)

Other reviewers have said this more eloquently than I, but The Equalizer sounds just how you’d expect a Denzel Washington/Tony Scott action thriller to sound (though Antoine Fuqua directed this film). Gregson-Williams knows how to create propulsive action music without sounding obnoxious; brash, thrashing electric guitars take no prisoners in the concluding cue “The Equalizer” and a touching motif plays to Washington’s relationship with Chloe Moretz’s character. But the score doesn’t feature anything Gregson-Williams hasn’t done better before in Spy Game and Man on Fire.

25. Guardians of the Galaxy (Tyler Bates)

If I were writing about the use of the songs in the film, then Guardians of the Galaxy would rate much higher on this list. However, I’m focusing on the score here, and Tyler Bates’s effort, while containing an adventurous main theme and a stirring anthem for the Nova Corps, fails to impress whenever those themes aren’t playing.  And, sadly, the themes don’t really play as often as I would have liked. The action music in particular consists of monotonous, simplistic string chopping that bores after about three seconds. As about half of the hour-long CD consists of action music, you can imagine how tedious it gets. Again, the songs are what provide the real musical interest in this superbly entertaining movie.

24. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Henry Jackman)

Jackman eschewed Alan Silvestri’s Captain America theme in his score, and his own simpler theme for the character pales in comparison. Yet Jackman’s orchestrations of the theme in “Taking a Stand” and in the even better cue (unreleased on CD) that plays under the closing few minutes of the end credits are quite stirring. The electronic screaming effect for The Winter Soldier, while unpleasant by design, serves as a distinctive accompaniment to Steve Rogers’s twisted, broken “antagonist.” And—I know this is blasphemy—I I like it more than the Joker’s music in The Dark Knight. While not a great score, the more consistent action material puts it a step above the score to Guardians of the Galaxy.

23. The Lego Movie (Mark Mothersbaugh)

This score sounds a lot better in the film than it does on CD; the film dials out the more obnoxious electronic noises (listen to the first few seconds of the opening cue, “Prologue,” and compare it to the opening logos in the film, for example). “Emmet’s Morning” is the catchiest cue, the electronics matching the energy of the music without overwhelming everything else. Serving as the antidote to the all the wild electronica, “My Secret Weapon” contains unexpectedly emotional writing for the orchestra. Emmet does have a main theme that Mothersbaugh molds into different guises, while Wildstyle gets a motif that sounds a bit like “Waltz of the Flowers” from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. But the real gem is the deliberately vacuous song “Everything is Awesome!!!” written by Shawn Patterson and produced by Mothersbaugh.

22. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Hans Zimmer)

I wasn’t the biggest fan of James Horner’s score the first “Amazing” Spider-Man, yet I was baffled and disappointed to learn that Hans Zimmer would be handling the sequel. Yet despite the score’s six co-composers and five co-co-composers, it still features some reasonably entertaining music. Electro’s emo-poetry theme comes across as self-indulgent, and Spidey’s theme itself doesn’t rise beyond its Aaron Copland influence. Yet Zimmer and Company’s varied instrumentation (from woodwinds to high brass to light dubstep) provides a mélange of musical interest, while the action cues (“Still Crazy,” “I’m Goblin,“ and “Cold War”—that’s right, those are pretty much the only action cues on the album) eschew the tedious low string ostinatos Zimmer’s been so fond of for the last decade. Most of the “down-time” music is rather dull, and overall, this is the least of the Spider-Man movie scores. However, it is still by far the best superhero score Zimmer has done to date (though that’s not saying much).

21. The Expendables 3 (Brian Tyler)

I’m sure differences exist among Brain Tyler’s scores for the three Expendables films, but they all kind of just run together. (If I’m remembering correctly, only the first uses a choir). The main theme for these films consists of several simple, catchy cells that Tyler sprinkles throughout the scores, embellishing them with complicated writing for brass and strings. There’s a whole lot of action, but fortunately, Tyler writes some of the most thrilling action music today. “Valet Parking Done Right” and the explosive “Armored Freaking Transport” exhibit Tyler’s considerable skill at creating complex yet clear music. Ultimately, there’s not much more to say about this score—it’s big, loud, and exciting, but not quite distinctive enough to count as one of Tyler’s best.

Overview of 2013 Scores Part 2 of 3

20. After Earth (James Newton Howard)

Howard can usually be counted on to write superb scores for the films of M. Night Shyamalan, but for the first time, we have to settle with a merely OK one. The middle of the score is undoubtedly the weakest, filled with mostly uninteresting atmospheres. But the beginning and especially the last three cues (“Ghosting,” “I Wanna Work With Mom,” and “After Earth”) hint at the kind of music that made me fall in love with JNH’s scores 14 years ago. No one can do mystic grandeur quite like Howard can, but there are only traces of that beauty in this score.

19. Rush (Hans Zimmer)

After writing an underwhelming score for Man of Steel, Zimmer partially redeemed himself with his score for Ron Howard’s Rush. The score harks back to his “glory decade” of 1988-1998, with effective, memorable themes, propulsive action music, and moments of haunting simplicity. It starts out with entertaining, rock-based cues before moving on to the more serious action and intense emotion of cues such as “Nürburgring,” “Lost But Won,” and “My Best Enemy.” Though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Zimmer’s best, it’s still his best score since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

18. Monsters University (Randy Newman)

Newman’s score for Pixar’s first prequel is almost completely different from his score for Monsters, Inc. Eschewing the jazz angle he employed for the first film, Newman writes a noble tune for the university, new themes for Mike and Sulley, and marching band music, complete with drum corps. I happen to love the sound of marching band drums, and the upbeat cue “Rise and Shine” uses them to brilliant, rip-roaring effect (despite the end of the melody resembling John Williams’s theme for 1941). The score lacks the emotion of the original (namely Boo’s theme) and the action music is a little haphazard, but it definitely has its highlights.

17. Frozen (Christophe Beck, songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)

This was my first time hearing a feature score from Christophe Beck (I had only heard Paperman previously), and his score for this remarkable Disney film is solid, yet I can’t say there are any particular highlights. What brings it up are the songs—especially “For the First Time in Forever” and “Let It Go” (the Idina Menzel version), with “Love is An Open Door” and the melody for “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” not far behind. Though not on par with the best of Alan Menken, they are still surprisingly potent. My favorite track, though, is “Vuelie,” a choral track using the melody by Forde Fjellheim; its use under the film’s opening logos and title seems to herald a magical event.

16. Jack the Giant Slayer (John Ottman)

Ottman has never been one of my favorite composers, but this score proves he’s come a long way from the bland noodlings of X2. Ottman writes a commendably adventurous theme, though it still suffers a bit from his characteristic nebulosity. His action music is fine and frenzied, though somewhat diminished by references to other composers’ music. “Logo Mania,” underscoring what I presume is the logos, is my favorite cue of the score (much like the logo music for Frozen, Charlotte’s Web, A Beautiful Mind, and Kick-Ass 2).

15. Turbo (Henry Jackman)

Creating a score that merges full-bodied orchestral optimism with techno and dubstep beats may seem like a disaster from the pen of any film composer not named Elliot Goldenthal. Yet the versatile Henry Jackman manages to create a highly entertaining score that doesn’t skimp on either the orchestra or the electronics. The sheer delight and enthusiasm of the orchestral themes in cues like “And It Looks Like the Winner Is” combine with the high-octane beats of tracks such as “Indy 500” and “Supersnail.” “Turbo,” the final track, features a confluence of the two qualities in a score that is brought down only by its slight themes. It’s no Wreck-It Ralph, but it’s still impressive. Turbo-tastic!

14. The Croods (Alan Silvestri)

Alan Silvestri has three great themes in this colorful score: the Croods family theme, the cave painting theme, and a theme based on the film’s song “Shine Your Way” (though the attribution of these themes in the film itself is somewhat arbitrary). The song features a bridge that matches the structure and shape of the cave painting theme; both are laden with the poignancy that Silvestri habitually delivers in scores such as Forrest Gump, Contact, Stuart Little, and The Abyss. The family theme is more malleable, often molded into a more lighthearted guise and featuring an opening horn statement drawn right out of Back to the Future III. The major weakness of the score is that, until the third act, Silvestri barely uses any of these themes, opting for the cartoony, stop-and-go type of music that Randy Newman, the old scoundrel, is so inveterately fond of.

13. Star Trek Into Darkness (Michael Giacchino)

Giacchino’s score reflects the wall-to-wall action in the film and, to be truthful, the composer has written better action music. But he has set such a high standard for himself that one can forgive him for writing something less than sublime. His anthemic main theme is fully established now, and he pushes Spock’s yearning theme into darker corners. The Klingons are treated to vigorous choral blasts in “The Kronos Wartet” while John Harrison (one need only read the back of the Blu-ray or DVD to find out his true identity) gets a slithering, percolating winner of a theme.  Unfortunately, the complete “Ode to Harrison” track is not available on the CD. Instead, we get a hideous track called “The Growl” (thankfully not composed by Giacchino) that is a disgrace to electronic music. “Warp Core Values” and “Buying the Space Farm” provide ample doses of pathos, and the frantic “San Fran Hustle” includes the rather infamous fight music from the original TV series composed by Gerald Fried. There are no chances in the film for wonder and awe, which is a shame as I know Giacchino could write grand cues for such moments. But as it is, he delivers a great action score.

12. Now You See Me (Brian Tyler)

Let’s get this score’s weakness out of the way: it’s incredibly repetitive. Yet the prolific Tyler composes an invigorating, stylish main theme that’s more magical than the rather flat movie it accompanies. Churning low strings, a catchy ostinato in higher strings, economic use of electric guitar, a mystically yearning melody, and top-notch drum-kit work performed by Tyler himself combine to create an irresistible theme. Some of the action tracks, like “Battle of the Cards” and “Bridge Pursuit,” do feature more varied work, highlighting more of the composer’s impressive percussion writing and performance. If you don’t like the main theme, you won’t like the score. But I did. (Sorry, no pithy comment).

11. Epic (Danny Elfman)

The opening track, “Leafmen,” recalls some of Elfman’s more sprightly work on Charlotte’s Web and Black Beauty. An acoustic guitar backs a patented Elfman jig before introducing the main theme. The strengths of this score are the beautiful, ethereal moments found in cues like “Tara’s Chamber,” “Tara’s Gift,” and “False Start” as well as the thrilling action of “Pursuit,” “Escape,” and “Epic Final Confrontation.” Elfman uses choir better than probably any other Hollywood film composer alive, and choral passages are liberally strewn throughout the score. There’s nothing as striking as Alice in Wonderland or Edward Scissorhands, but there’s still much to feast on. As expected, Elfman puts his theme through the wringer, playing it in various settings to reflect different moods and developments in the story (I assume; I haven’t seen the film and don’t plan to). My appreciation for Elfman continues to grow after every score of his I hear; even if a score isn’t a divine masterpiece, it always has moments of quality.

Overview of 2013 Scores Part 1 of 3

I’m probably listening to the wrong scores, but in 2013, I can’t claim to have heard any scores that I classify as desert-island scores. If you look at my ranking of my top scores of 2012, you’ll notice that I listed five scores with asterisks (almost the best) and one score with two asterisks (the cream of the crop). This year, sadly, only one score I listened to merited one asterisk and none deserved two asterisks, though there were plenty (14 to be exact) that almost made it there. (Though looking back at the 2012 list, I would probably take away the asterisk from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and move Wreck-It Ralph ahead of Rise of the Guardians and maybe even Frankenweenie). Come to think of it, this year’s crop of films wasn’t so hot either, though again, I’m probably seeing the wrong films.

There were some scores this year with spectacular, moving cues, but only one of them as a whole reached the apex of sublimity. After having a stellar 2012, Michael Giacchino and Danny Elfman decreased their output, and James Newton Howard wrote his first score for M. Night Shyamalan that was not absolutely magnificent. More positively, Mark Mancina made a glorious return to film scoring, Abel Korzeniowski penned two exquisitely wondrous scores, and Brian Tyler is starting to score films that actually don’t suck.

A few brief notes on scores I heard in the film only: Oblivion (Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese) was mostly nondescript, sounding like an inferior cousin to Daft Punk and Trapanese’s Tron Legacy. The Wolverine (Marco Beltrami) was one of the lesser scores for the X-Men franchise, consisting of haphazard action music and dull, meandering underscore. Beltrami’s Carrie was better, with a surprisingly touching theme for the title character and some unsettling electronic effects. Elysium (Ryan Amon) was indistinguishable from lesser Remote Control scores, apart from a neat, ascending string effect.  The World’s End (Steven Price) was mostly overwhelmed by the song selections; the most memorable music moments are the uses of the choir passage from the Sisters of Mercy song “The Corrosion.” David Arnold’s score to Hot Fuzz remains the best score for a Cornetto Trilogy film by far. Pacific Rim (Ramin Djawadi) was barely passable, with an earworm of a main theme. But the action music is loud without being interesting, and the theme for Mako sounds almost exactly like the theme for the kaiju. It’s better than Djawadi’s abominable scores for Iron Man and the Clash of the Titans, but that doesn’t make it good, or even average.

This year may have been a mixed bag, but there are still some good moments to be found. Here are some thoughts on the 27 scores I listened to this year (Part 1 will cover 27-21, Part 2 will have 20-11, and Part 3 will comprise 10-1):

27. Man of Steel (Hans Zimmer)

Even without making any comparisons to John Williams’s score to the 1978 film, this score lacks depth, appeal, and dramatic complexity. While the score in the film is not quite as obtrusive as Inception’s score, it still does not do the loud, simplistic film it serves any favors. The action music is deplorably cacophonous; the quieter, piano-based music fares better, but is still extremely repetitive with little variation.

26. Captain Phillips (Henry Jackman)

Director Paul Greengrass apparently created a nightmare for the whole scoring team for this film. He rejected cues left and right, tracked in music from other films, and had a serious case of temp track love. Hans Zimmer was brought in to write a few cues, and it’s difficult to say how much of Jackman’s score remains in the film or album. The final score sadly doesn’t rise above average, though the pulsating action music is not actively obnoxious. It is definitely a lesser entry in Jackman’s otherwise impressive career, but that may not be his fault.

25. GI Joe: Retaliation (Henry Jackman)

Jackman didn’t use any material from Alan Silvestri’s guilty-pleasure score for the original, choosing instead to go heavily electronic. The sounds he uses do create a sense of macho-ness, and the simple main theme is admittedly quite catchy. His music for the ninja sequence in the mountains is more orchestral and fluid, and is my personal favorite part of the soundtrack. Jackman’s experience in the underground electronica world serves him well here, even if the final product is not as good as Silvestri’s score for The Rise of Cobra.

24. Gravity (Steven Price)

Most of this score is necessarily unpleasant and grating—someone on the Internet (I forgot who) characterized it as the THX logo music blaring for an hour. While it is admirable how Price was able to create and manipulate the acoustic and synthetic sounds, it’s still far from an easy listen. The final three cues, however, use an “epic” yet simplistic power anthem to close out director Alfonso Curaon’s remarkable cinematic journey.

23. Toy Story of Terror (Michael Giacchino)

For this half-hour special, GIacchino took over scoring duties from Randy Newman, who scored the three Toy Story features (Mark Mothersbaugh and Henry Jackman scored the shorts). Giacchino’s score matches the pleasant yet anonymous music Newman wrote for the features, but without using any of the themes. It is not until the track “Iguana Be Kidding Me” that Giacchino introduces a stirring, martial theme of his own. Overall, though, it is not one of the talented composer’s better works.

22. Red 2 (Alan Silvestri)

Perhaps to reflect the geriatric nature of the film’s heroes, Silvestri uses dated-sounding synthesizers alongside the orchestra (though it’s certainly not as dated-sounding as his score for Flight of the Navigator). There aren’t any strong or memorable themes, but Silvestri keeps the energy and momentum up for the most part. The best track is probably “Paris Chase,” where one can hear unmistakable Silvestri-isms that make his action writing so relentlessly exhilarating.

21. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (James Newton Howard)

JNH improves a bit upon his score for The Hunger Games, this time creating a melancholy vocal melody for Katniss and some truly propulsive action cues with “The Fog” and “Monkey Mutts.” There’s nothing that matches the outright pathos of “Rue’s Farewell” from the first score, though “The Tour” and “The Arena Crumbles” come close. Although I have come to appreciate the scores for these films, I still think Howard could take them even further; his exemplary track record proves that he can.