Matt C

Crimes of the Future It's definitely stomach churning and almost vintage Cronenberg, if you can say that. The story explores themes he probed with Crash, only instead of being sexually aroused by car crashes, surgery is the new sex. Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydeux are excellent (Viggo's expressions as Seydeux's character operates on him as a public show is especially disturbing), while Kristen Stewart is rather underused. Howard Shore's score is fitting with the tone of the movie, you wouldn't know he scored it -- very abrasive and Neo-noirish electronic.

The Spiderwick Chronicles - James Horner It was nice seeing Horner revisit the family fantasy genre he made popular with Casper and Something Wicked This Way Comes. And it is a perfectly enjoyable, but it's marred due to temp tracking or Horner just unconsciously ripping off himself. Still, he could hit emotional beats better than a lot of the new composers on the scene in 2008.

Willow - James Horner It's as enjoyable as I remember it being (as seen in the movie), but is it Krull? Nope. The shakuhachi, which became one of Horner's tropes, is used quite effectively here, like "Elora Danan". The choir and woodwinds, a Horner fantasy staple, is utilized in a much lighter fashion. Hopefully JNH uses Horner's themes and plays around with them in the Disney+ sequel series.

His music was indelible and helped make Blade Runner the sci-fi classic it was. Of course he composed for other films and on his own, but BR is my favorite thing he did. RIP.

The Fantastic Four - David & Eric Wurst Oh my God, having this score separate from the movie really allows me to appreciate the music written here. The brothers took inspiration from Elfman, Walker, Goldsmith and Horner but there's not much temp tracking. It's cheesy and campy, but it's so entertaining. The quality of the writing and enthusiastic musicians make up for the smaller orchestra used. How is it that this score ends up better overall than John Ottman and Marco Beltrami's work?

Fantastic Four (1994) No one is going to mistake this quickie Corman film for an unseen gem but it is rather charming in its ultra low-budget way. Acting is suspect at times (especially Joseph Culp, who makes Julian McMahon look subtle) but it's rather faithful to the comics story-wise. And the score by Eric & David Wurst is wonderful, would like to see an official CD release.

Rabid I've seen quite a few of Cronenberg's films (not my cup of tea), but this has an understated but palpable dread as the story progresses. The late Marilyn Chambers acquits herself nicely in the leading role and while the movie has its share of gore (especially some Romero-inspired scenes), it doesn't go overboard. Cronenberg straddles the line between a vampire and a zombie flick and it's one of the underrated films in his resume. It's something you can't easily shake.

It wouldn't surprise me if Intrada gets the green light for a CD release, since they've collaborated with Elfman, Marvel and Disney before.

Is the Illuminati bit where Elfman quotes the 1993 X-Men animated series in the soundtrack release?

Pride & Prejudice (2005) Seeing it on the big screen for the first time, you really appreciate the fine lensing by Roman Osin (who makes Keira Knightley look SO radiant), as well as the top-notch production and costume design. Joe Wright takes liberties with Jane Austen's book but he puts his own stamp on it without losing the spirit. The movie's setting feels more palpable, lived-in and the Bennet sisters actually look closer to the age in the book. With the attention given to her other roles, Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet is my favorite role she's done. There's a lot of nuance and subtlety in her gazes with the sisters and Darcy, but her emotional outbursts and moments of joy are infectious. She commands the screen but yields to co-stars when the scenes call for it. Is it perfect? No. Does it complement the 1995 BBC series? Yes.

It’s an unexpected but wonderful pick. Holt is very talented. I am confused about the scoring for the series. Variety said that the episodes would be recorded in London (prior to announcing Holt’s involvement) and yet Holt said they’ve recorded in LA using JW’s principal session musicians.

The Last Matinee It's a slasher-meets-giallo homage, but it's not a good movie overall. There's some striking imagery, some grisly kills and a few moments of suspense -- but it's rather blah for the most part. Ricardo Islas is more comical than scary as the Eye-Eating Killer and the kid protagonists aren't that memorable.

At his age, he would insist on recording in L.A. and I don't think he would supervise remote sessions in London.

I would LOVE to hear Desplat's work for Rogue One. His action writing for Deathly Hallows channeled Williams in the best way. I'm not sure if he would've utilized Williams' themes as often as Lucasfilm wanted, but I bet his theme for Jyn Erso would've been beautiful.

I thought Williams would be approached to write the main theme for "Obi-Wan", be it a feature or streaming series. Much less work than writing a score for a 2 hour movie, especially at his age. You'd figure they would announce the composer for the episodes, so it must be a high profile name.

I would LOVE it if Powell scored "Obi-Wan", since he did such a great job on "Solo." I don't want to get my hopes up too much. Whoever scores the six part series has their work cut out for them with Williams' new theme. Maybe it's William Ross?

He definitely is unkempt. That pic of him and Bartek supervising the remote sessions -- he looks like he just got of bed and went to the studio. Hopefully he cleans up for the premiere.

Danny needs a haircut.

Scream - Brian Tyler Sound-wise, Tyler sticks to the template Marco Beltrami established in the previous four movies (especially in "Ghostface"), even references Beltrami's Sidney theme if I remember correctly. Not much acoustic guitar though. I don't know how the score plays in the film (won't see it until after this weekend), but apart from some Tyler-esque flourishes, Beltrami could've written this.

It's kinda amazing that the movie works so well as fan service and payoff some threads left dangling in previous Raimi/Webb movies. As a narrative though, it's rather sloppy (especially the first hour) and the plot doesn't make much sense when you really think about it. Obviously, Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Eric Summers focused on getting to the MUCH BETTER second half of the film (which is ultimately what makes it SO worth it). I was really surprised at how good Andrew Garfield was in this movie, compared to the two poorly written solo films he did (he and Emma Stone were done dirty in those). He seemed to more enthused about playing Spider-Man than Tom Holland or even Tobey Maguire. I did dig Maguire's return and he seemed to be more focused and looser than he was in SM-3. And I really enjoyed the dynamic he, Garfield and Holland had. All those small touches in the film regarding characters and actions (especially Garfield saving Zendaya's MJ) really make the difference. And watching it in a packed audience really seals the "must see it in theaters" just for the communal experience. The moment when Garfield unmasks himself and when Tobey steps through the portal my showing erupted in cheers, clapping and hooting.

NWH started filming last year and wrapped this spring. With vaccines being available, in addition to pandemic protocols and such -- I think smaller ensembles were allowed to perform together. I'm sure at least some striping was done, but if it was extensively done, it's well concealed.

It probably wasn't. If it was, they did a better job mixing it than they did on Desplat's Midnight Sky (where it was blatantly obvious each section was recorded separately).

I'm pretty sure it's a mix of both. In track #19, the way he introduces Horner's theme and it segue smoothly to Elfman's responsibility/main theme is quite beautiful. It's less clunkier than his SW references in Rogue One. I honestly can't wait to see the movie and see how much is left off. I'm positive we will hear more Horner/Elfman motifs than just that single OST track.

It's called a gag order. Only bits of Giacchino's score I found on YT were two clips playing the Tobey and Andrew motifs. I found the OST leak. There's some needless filler (which could've been ditched for a better listening experience), but Giacchino skillfully incorporates the Elfman and Horner material better than I thought he would. Especially in track #19 (which I will admit brought tears to my eyes). It should be interesting to see how much music was left off the OST.

I thought it was a little too reverential and played it a bit too safe to avoid angering the diehard Ghostbusters fans that had their knives out for the 2016 film. But enjoyable. Jason Reitman put his heart into it and it feels like a natural progression from his father's two films. And it doesn't feel cynical or ham-fisted in its comedy (thank God Rick Moranis didn't show up). Rob Simonsen's score is also equally reverential. Not only does he use Elmer Bernstein's material but channels Williams, Silvestri and Horner in the grand 1980s tradition. Simonsen even managed to get Cynthia Millar back for the ondes martenot solos.