Overview of 2014 Scores Part 2 of 3

Link to Part 1

20. Unbroken (Alexandre Desplat)

For this film adaptation of the incredible account of Louis Zamperini, Alexandre Desplat penned a score that, for the most part, favors restraint over bold heroism (at director Angelina Jolie’s request). Desplat’s adroit musicianship still yields choice moments, including the choral beauty of “We Are Here,” the surging strings of “Coming Home,” the driving latter half of “Dead Comrades,” the melancholy, exotic flute in “The Bird’s Farewell,” and the full orchestra’s grandeur in the final cues “”The War is Over” and “Unbroken.” It’s not as distinctive as the best of Desplat’s work, but there’s still much to admire. What’s even more impressive is that this is my least favorite of the five Desplat scores I heard this year.

19. Big Eyes (Danny Elfman)

The most subdued Elfman score for a Tim Burton film, Big Eyes makes use of piano and orchestra in a style somewhat reminiscent of the score to Big Fish. Pleasant, harmonically pleasing tunes abound, though Elfman inevitably introduces moments of dissonance from time to time (most notably in the prickly cue “Walter”) to spice things up. “Margaret” is almost Thomas Newman-esque with its sequence-based phrases for piano and strings. However, Elfman definitely makes the score his own with use of marimba, from the rapidly cascading figures of “Opening” to the more languid pulsations of “End Credits.” There’s no lilting choir or grand themes; the music resembles Elfman’s score to Gus Van Sant’s Restless, sans guitar. But Elfman, even in subdued mode, squeezes in skillful tunes and emotionally effective figures that impress more than the more splashy pyrotechnics of certain other composers’ scores.

18. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (James Newton Howard)

The score to this film (I’m too lazy to spell the whole thing out again) is my favorite of the Hunger Games scores. Right off the bat, “The Mockingjay” introduces the magnificent, swelling strings of the JNH we all know and love (or should, at least). “Incoming Bombers” starts out with a thrusting electronic pulse before choir and a dizzying string figure enter. “Air Raid Drill” boasts spectacular interplay between strings, brass, and choir, repeated figures intensifying and building to an exquisite statement of anguish; a Signs-esque figure (never a bad thing in Howard’s hands) for flute and then full orchestra closes out the cue. And then there’s “The Hanging Tree;” sure, the melody’s great and all, and Jennifer Lawrence’s performance ain’t bad either. But Howard’s stirring orchestral/choral arrangement and embellishment at the end of the cue elevate it to near-sublimity. JNH’s scores for the Hunger Games films keep getting better and better; with any luck, his score to The Hunger Games Part 3 Part 2 will be a real gem.

17. 22 Jump Street (Mark Mothersbaugh)

Mothersbaugh’s catchy, simple, purposely overblown, and just plain awesome theme for the Jump Street movies would feel right at home in a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie. The composer lays on the electronics a little thick in the action scenes (especially in “Girl Fight/Beach Fight”), but not as overbearingly as he did in The Lego Movie. He breaks the theme down to its (very) basic chords as a pop groove in “Schmidt’s Walk of Shame,” and heroic snippets pepper “Infiltrating the Frat House” alongside a deliberately over-serious string ostinato. The rousing “Olympic Hazing Games” could very well play under a real Olympic event, while “Reunited/Spring Break” hypes the theme up into a form suitable for a dance floor (or rave, maybe, but I can’t speak to that as I’ve never been to one). Finally, the “End Credits” treats us to several settings of the theme, starting tenderly before bursting into dubstep and closing with another dance mix variation. The score isn’t very complex, but the theme is utterly irresistible. Play it at a rave and see what happens!

16. Cosmos (Alan Silvestri)

Silvestri treated soundtrack fans to four albums of his material for this miniseries based on Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking book. Few composers can do “big” as well as Silvestri, and the composer fortunately got the chance to write themes of splendor for the aptly named cues “Revelation of Immensity” and “The Staggering Immensity of Time.” The main title and end credits explore the questing main theme while cues such as “The Cosmos Is Yours” and “Once There Was a World” provide further music of an adventurous nature. But it’s not all just grandiose moments from beginning to end (which could be cool, but exhausting). “The Way We Live Now” and “The Pale Blue Dot” are almost melancholy in their beauty. Electronic pulses propel cues such as “4.5 Billion Years Old” and “The Speed of Light,” the former incorporating choir in the final seconds and the latter almost GI Joe-esque with its rock-influenced beats. Apparently, many don’t like Silvestri’s use of electronics, but I find his writing for synths quite entertaining.  The melodies aren’t as rousing as those from Back to the Future or The Mummy Returns, but I for one find a lot to like in these 2.7 hours of music.

15. Penny Dreadful (Abel Korzeniowski)

Korzeniowski’s star continues to rise, and his score to this lurid miniseries proves that last year’s Romeo and Juliet was no fluke. “Demimonde (Main Title)” kicks off the score with churning strings playing an angular theme. However, most of the score (at least on CD) exudes elegant melancholy outside this main title, though cues such as “Asylum” and “Mother of Monsters” provide plenty of dark, brutal moments. The latter half of the main title introduces a gorgeous theme that’s later unleashed in all its glory in the cue “Closer Than Sisters.” The character of Mina gets her own doleful little motif as well, and cues such as “Transgression,” and “Never Say No” exhibit Korzeniowski’s inimitable brand of romantic tragedy. “Transgression” and “Mother of Evil” see the composer delving into sinister writing for dark choir, a style we haven’t really heard from him before. Though Penny Dreadful certainly allows Korzeniowski to branch out beyond the romantic genre at which he excels, he still infuses each and every cue with his own nonpareil style.

14. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Michael Giacchino)

While Giacchino’s score contains plenty of complex writing, the themes themselves are actually rather simple (though effective). “Level Plaguing Field” introduces the tragic theme for the human race, blossoming from piano to chorus. “Look Who’s Stalking” kicks off the complex side of the score, incorporating odd, Goldsmith-esque percussion and aleatoric voices before the frantic action takes over. “The Great Ape Processional” presents Caesar’s theme, a slow-moving, steadily rising melody that works equally well in delicate and triumphant modes. Finally, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” brings in the most pervasive element of the score: a circular, menacing motif for the warlike side of the apes. In “Enough Monkeying Around,” this ape/war motif receives a massive rendition, while “Primates for Life” sees the Caesar theme reach its glorious apex. “Planet of the End Credits” presents a final, satisfying suite of all the thematic material. The score drags a bit when there’s no action and none of the themes are playing, but Giacchino crafts the elements together with consummate skill, aided by his firm sense of musical drama.

13. The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)

To portray the genius, conflict, and inner emotion of Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), Desplat lays a gorgeous melody for strings over billowing pianos. A more lighthearted, almost playful bridge for flutes (heard in the title track) is quite lovely, though it doesn’t recur too often in the rest of the score. An ethereal ostinato played on a bell-like instrument (or synthesizer) lends an otherworldly quality to cues such as  “Alan” and “Alone with Numbers.” I like the latter half of “Joan,” a subtly churning piece that evokes a sense of quiet yet determined progress. “The Machine Christopher” creates a sound of busy, frenzied activity befitting its track title, while “Farewell to Christopher” strips the piano and strings down to their bare essences. “End of War” features a mournful, seesawing motif that keeps moving relentlessly forward, as if heralding the end of an era (and that just about fills up our “Pretentious Writing” quota for the day). Impressively, Desplat infuses the score with enough variety and development to keep it interesting the whole way through while never losing sight of the human story his music so intelligently supports.

12. Anonymous Rejected Filmscore (John Murphy)

Murphy took musical ideas from a rejected score and fashioned them into a standalone album. It’s very Murphy—that is, the music features lots of thrashing electric guitars, electronics, distorted instruments, and raw emotion built from compositionally straightforward building blocks. The opening track alone,“3:59 AM,” brings all these musical elements together, plus a child’s whisperings. But it’s not all just thrashing; “8mm Dream” has piano, strings, and some distorted instrument playing a lovely melody, while “Dead Ballerina” has hardly an electronic instrument in sight (or within hearing range). “1-2-3-4” contains monumental guitar builds that reminds me of his superb work on the 28 Days/28 Weeks Later films and his contributions to Kick-Ass. “How to Leave Your Body” touches the celestial heights of emotional glory that the composer previously reached in his score to Sunshine (and specifically the “Adagio in D Minor,” used splendidly in one of the most poignant scenes in Kick-Ass). To listen to this music is to hear Murphy unleashed, taking his established style and pushing it to heights unfettered.

11. Planes: Fire and Rescue (Mark Mancina)

I thought that Mancina’s theme for Planes was one of the best film themes of 2014, and he gets to play with it even more in this slightly superior sequel score. The main title track adds a driving string ostinato and bolder percussion, though the theme itself is played in a slightly more staccato manner. The action music is lengthier, better developed, and more exciting than in the previous installment; any cue with “Fire” in its name will suffice as an example of the invigorating music Mancina can cook up.  Heroic brass writing, swirling string runs, woodwind motifs, and judicious use of percussion permeate the action music throughout. “Training Dusty” has a wonderful feel, evoking the majesty of nature and introducing a power anthem that reaches its zenith in the climactic cues “Fire Heroes” and “Rescue Harvey & Winnie,” the latter adding choir to the mix. One of my favorite action moments occurs about a minute into “Lightning Storm Fire,” when a massive, sensational fanfare erupts out of the orchestra. The one downside of this score is its temp-track influences; there’s a bit of Elfman’s Batman in “Fire!” and more than a bit of Chicken Run in a theme introduced in “An All New Mayday” (the melody is different, but the tuba and snare drum backing is almost identical.) Nevertheless, this thrilling score proves that Mancina is still one of the best composers to emerge from Hans Zimmer’s studio.

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.

Mark Mothersbaugh

Like Danny Elfman, Mothersbaugh started his musical career as the lead singer of an offbeat band. Mothersbaugh, Jerry Casale, and Bob Lewis founded Devo in the 1970s; the New Wave rock band/performance art group hit it big with "Whip It" and earned a mention in the groundbreaking graphic novel Watchmen. As a composer, Motherbaugh was written scores for the Rugrats TV series and films such as Thirteen, Ramona and Beezus, Safe, and Hotel Transylvania. He wrote the scores for director Wes Anderson's earlier films, including Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. (Anderson has since used Alexandre Desplat for his scores for Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, though Mothersbaugh did write a percussion march for Moonrise Kingdom.) In 2011, Mothersbaugh scored Pixar's short film Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation and some of the studio's Mater's Tall Tales shorts. He has also scored the films of comedic genius writer/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie, and 22 Jump Street. From the opening logos of 21 Jump Street, Mothersbaugh assaults the audience with a deliberately overblown, blood-pumping, macho power anthem; the action scenes in this brilliantly, almost painfully hilarious film use this Remote Control-inspired theme with its extremely basic chord progression to excellent effect. His score for The LEGO Movie riffs on other well-worn musical tropes, from heavenly choirs to Morricone Western vocalizations, before resolving in a tender, emotionally serious finale. Mothersbaugh's music may not have the distinction or originality of Elfman's (an admittedly high bar), but it can still be quite entertaining.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Lego Movie
The Lego Ninjago Movie
Thor: Ragnarok
21 Jump Street
22 Jump Street