By Brett Blake Why eight? Honestly, it’s because - while 2018 was a fine year for movie music - I really think there were only eight scores from this year that were truly deserving of being on my “Best” list. There were other scores that had some good moments, sure, including Justin Hurwitz’s FIRST MAN and James Newton Howard’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS, for example, but there were only eight that truly felt like cohesive, complete works able to be enjoyed on their merits alone, divorced from the films they were composed to accompany. Could I have stretched this list to ten? Probably, but that would have felt a little disingenuous to me, therefore eight it is! So get comfortable, and let’s dive in! 8. THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX (Bear McCreary) Far and away the best thing to come out of an otherwise forgettable (some might say outright bad) movie, McCreary’s score is emotional, mysterious, and unafraid to go big. McCreary’s influences can definitely be heard at times, but never in a pure pastiche or rip-off sense. This is a worthy successor to his also-terrific 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE score. The two cues I’ve chosen to highlight here really showcase the best of what the score has to offer. 7. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (Michael Giacchino) After an only passable effort for the first JURASSIC WORLD, Giacchino answers detractors of that score with a rollicking second outing here which introduces a somewhat more self-aware and grandiose sense of excitement. While it primarily functions as a big monster movie score, there are a few effective nods in the direction of genuine emotion (“Volcano to Death”), but even in its darker passages (“Shock and Auction” / “Declaration of Indo-Pendence”), there is a playfulness at work in almost all of Giacchino’s writing here, and that gives this score a feeling of fun and adventure that his first score was (mostly) lacking. In addition to a new main theme that appears throughout, Giacchino also introduces a pair of really catchy, moustache-twirling themes for the story’s villains (heard in entertainingly massive fashion in both “Raiders of the Lost Isla Nublar” and “Jurassic Pillow Talk”). 6. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Alan Silvestri) Alan Silvestri returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and brings with him his best-yet effort for the MCU. This is an action extravaganza, no doubt, complete with some pretty rollicking setpieces (“Field Trip”), but Silvestri also goes the extra mile and brings in an element of near-operatic emotion to underline the dark and dire circumstance facing the Avengers in the film. “Even For You” is one of the single best cues of the entire year, for example, while “Get That Arm/I Feel You” shows how Silvestri is able to juggle both the action and emotional demands simultaneously. 5. READY PLAYER ONE (Alan Silvestri) With a main theme that is a delightful throwback to the unabashedly optimistic, positive melodies of the 1980s (“Ready Player One (Main Title)”), Alan Silvestri delivers a score that would have been right at home in the era which the movie unabashedly homages. While primarily filled with big and orchestral action (“Looking for a Truck” is one of the standout action cues of the year), Silvestri also employs electronics to give certain elements a mysterious or sinister feeling (“Sorrento Makes an Offer”). 4. HALLOWEEN (John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies) John Carpenter (along with his son and godson) returns to the HALLOWEEN franchise, and his work here really makes it apparent that the non-Carpenter-scored entries truly lacked that extra, intangible energy. Rather than simply rehashing his score for the original 1978 film, Carpenter takes this score into more contemporary directions while still adhering to the basic electronic/synthesizer/piano-driven philosophy. The iconic main theme is back in full force, of course, and Carpenter plays with it in some fresh ways (before really kicking it into overdrive in the concluding “Halloween Triumphant” track), but the most memorable material of this score consists of the new thematic ideas and motifs that he introduces. “The Shape Hunts Allyson” is an instantly memorable piece that somehow manages to sound both fully in-line with classic Carpenter and pretty modern. 3. INCREDIBLES 2 (Michael Giacchino) Giacchino returns to the world that inspired one of his greatest scores, and he’s back for the sequel in full force, still with the jazzy, “1960s Bond score from John Barry, but with superheroes” approach, but this time with a greater array of orchestral color and mood (“Searching for a Screenslaver” / “Ambassador Ambush”) and more ambitious action writing (“Train of Taut”). There are refreshingly few passages that are straight quotations of material from the first score, and Giacchino finds fun ways to expand on that sound in a way that feels fresh in its own right (“Consider Yourselves Undermined”). It’s a blast to listen to. 2. FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD (James Newton Howard) Unabashedly sweeping, lush, and with a grand fantasy soundscape, THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD is the type of score that isn’t afraid to be in-your-face with its themes and orchestration. James Newton Howard is one of the most reliably-great composers working today, and he has a particular knack for getting right to the heart of a story’s emotional undercurrents, while also giving the music the proper scale and excitement that a wannabe-blockbuster needs. This is a darker, more mournful score than the first FANTASTIC BEASTS (“Leta’s Confession”), but there is still some pseudo-swashbuckling adventure to heard (“Matagots”), and Howard introduces a pair of very solid new themes (“Dumbledore’s Theme” / “Leta’s Theme”). The album climaxes with a one-two punch (heard below) that concludes the musical narrative in pretty epic fashion. 1. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (John Powell, featuring John Williams) An extraordinarily entertaining score from John Powell, in collaboration with STAR WARS legend John Williams himself. Williams graciously contributed a pair of wonderful new themes for Han Solo (heard in concert suite form above) before passing the baton (almost literally) for Powell to take and run with. And run he does. In addition to the new themes from Williams, which Powell fully integrates into the score (“Meet Han”), and in addition to classic STAR WARS themes, Powell himself offers up several terrific ones of his own, including an absolutely gorgeous love theme reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood (“Lando’s Closet”) and a heaping handful of superb action setpieces (“Corellia Chase” / “Mine Mission”); the cue titled “Marauders Arrive” is a particular standout, being a wonderfully crazy piece of action writing where Powell blows the doors off with some memorably unhinged choral chanting and the most impressive, dazzling brass writing (and performance) of 2018. It’s a phenomenal score, and one that positions John Powell as the clear heir apparent when John Williams’ time with the series is done.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|