By Brett Blake 2016 has proven to be a rather remarkable year for film scores, surpassing even 2015’s level of quality (which I thought was quite high in itself). I’ve long been of the belief that a movie’s score is second only to the actors in terms of the ability to either elevate or absolutely destroy the material. Luckily, 2016 brought us much more of the former than the latter! As I’ve done in past years, I’m splitting up this examination of the year’s best scores into two distinct parts. The first, which you’re reading now, will showcase individual outstanding tracks from from good scores that couldn’t quite break into the list of my favorites of the year. The second part, coming very soon, will count down my top 15 favorite scores of 2016. Now that we’ve got that settled, sit back and enjoy some of the year’s best film music! NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (Brian Tyler) - “Now You See Me 2 Fanfare” While Tyler’s score as a whole leans heavily on material from the first film, this cue is just great, great stuff! Grand and mysterious, but tinged with optimism. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (James Horner & Simon Franglen) - “The Darkest Hour” The late James Horner was able to posthumously bring us one final film score with an assist from Simon Franglen, and the result often feels (wonderfully) like vintage Horner, particularly this climactic cue. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Henry Jackman) - “Cap’s Promise” Jackman’s score overall is mostly just functional, but this end credits piece sends us out of the theater in a legitimately thrilling way with rousing renditions of the main theme. THE NEON DEMON (Cliff Martinez) - “Neon Demon” This cue shows off Martinez’s mastery of electronic textures in order to create propulsive and eerie synthetic soundscapes. MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (Mike Higham & Matthew Margeson) - “Go To Her” A beautiful, delicate finale track that presents the score’s most memorable melodic material in excellent fashion. THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (Alexandre Desplat) - “Meet the Pets” Desplat channels classic swing and jazz for his score to this animated hit. A little goes a long way on the full album, but this centerpiece track is awfully delightful! THE FINEST HOURS (Carter Burwell) - “Safe Harbor” For one of the year’s more under-appreciated movies, Carter Burwell provides a heartfelt and mature score, capped by this incredibly effective finale track. WARCRAFT (Ramin Djawadi) - “Warcraft” The bulk of Djawadi’s score is pretty standard contemporary action scoring, but this main theme - with its undulating repetition and vaguely sinister edge - is undeniably infectious. THE INVITATION (Theodore Shapiro) - "I Hope We" Shapiro’s music contains some truly unsettling passages, and this cue is perhaps a perfect encapsulation of the odd (but also beautiful) atmospheres the score creates. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (John Ottman) - “Apocalypse” A suitably otherworldly and grand suite of material for the film’s villain, complete with striking choral elements. ZOOTOPIA (Michael Giacchino) - “Suite from Zootopia” Though it's easily the least exciting of Michael Giacchino’s four 2016 scores, ZOOTOPIA’s end credits piece is an absolute pleasure from start to finish, showcasing variations of all of the movie’s (quite catchy) themes. BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL) - “Is She With You?” I’m not fully sure if this pounding, over-the-top action track is “so bad, it’s good,” or actually really good. All I know is that I’ve listened to it a lot, and it’s the clear highlight of an otherwise disappointing score. THE NICE GUYS (John Ottman & David Buckley) - “Theme from ‘The Nice Guys’” Sounding like the most badass 1970s cop show theme song ever, this arrangement of the movie’s main theme is a blast, and a perfect musical distillation of the movie’s vibe. BONUS - GAME OF THRONES: SEASON 6 (Ramin Djawadi) - “Light of the Seven” Yes, this is music from a television show, not a movie, but this cue is too outstanding to go unrecognized. This is masterful scoring that any film would kill to have, to say nothing of an episode of television.
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