BLUMENKOHL

Theft is the highest form of art, engineering, science, math, and every other human endeavor. Theft is how nature itself operates. Our very existence is thanks to DNA plagiarized from two parents.
There is no such thing as creativity in the fluffy sense of creating something completely new. That's just accidental discovery and it happens very rarely. And usually that's just unexpected theft. Most of the greatest works of mankind are wonderful ideas absorbed by one person from another and imbued with their individual style and flavor as it is assimilated.
It is the exact same process within the mind of a single artist. I never understood what the big deal was, and I hate the "that's theft, but that's style" pick and choosing nonsense. It's all part of the same artistic process.
The best thieves and artists are the ultimate curators. They steal the best from the best and hopefully make it better.

Theft is the highest form of art, engineering, science, math, and every other human endeavor. Theft is how nature itself operates. Our very existence is thanks to DNA plagiarized from two parents.
There is no such thing as creativity in the fluffy sense of creating something completely new. That's just accidental discovery and it happens very rarely. And usually that's just unexpected theft. Most of the greatest works of mankind are wonderful ideas absorbed by one person from another and imbued with their individual style and flavor as it is assimilated.
It is the exact same process within the mind of a single artist. I never understood what the big deal was, and I hate the "that's theft, but that's style" pick and choosing nonsense. It's all part of the same artistic process.
The best thieves and artists are the ultimate curators. They steal the best from the best and hopefully make it better.

I've listened to it several times now. The album for me is much better representation of the score to that of the previous score on its corresponding 44-minute album. That's not so much because these are the only highlights (there is some good material left out), but rather thanks to a strong representation of three major themes: Kirk's, Harrison's, and Spock's. Especially that last one is developed a great deal. Klingon theme appears only in The Kronos Wartet and there are a more variations on it in the films itself. It's a definite improvement over the ST2009 and feels like it belongs to the series, but not something I'd call a score of the year or Giacchino's hall of fame entry. It doesn't have that emotional pull that other Trek scores seem to have, nor is it really intelligent as it should have been (that applies to the film as well). Giacchino knows what he's doing and pays homages where necessary, he's one of the few composers in Hollywood who can get away with writing this type of music. But that's not greatness yet (John Carter was a step in the right direction, however).
Oh and I still get the Inception vibe from John Harrison's theme.
Karol

My first listen of this score was a positive surprise, the music infused with striking character and emotional pull I found a bit lacking in the first score. The resounding recording by Mr. Iwataki also might have had something to do with it. The album is full of great moments but as you say Blume I am not sure if the dramatic arc is entirely satisfying, the racuous action music taking bulk of the album's running time. Still a fine score that is to my ears an improvement on the first one.

I don't have one for John Carter, but I might do a quick one next time I give it a serious listen.

Let's get to it, shall we? Does this top John Carter (my favorite Giacchino score)? Not by a long shot. That score remains in another league of sci-fi scores, rubbing elbows with some of the greats. Does this top Star Trek (2009)? Yes, because it takes the best of that ultimately good but not knock your socks off score and evolves them into something more mature and musically a little more interesting. On top of that the quality increase over 2009 is aided by a much more full bodied mix courtesy of Joel Iwataki. For the first time in a long time, Michael's army of percussion instruments actually sound alive.
Two evil villains work in tandem against the Into Darkness soundtrack, keeping it from reaching the realm of greater sci-fi scores. One is its ridiculously short presentation, the other the break-neck pace of the film, together forming a nightmare dynamic duo that destroys any hope of musical cohesion. And by that I mean hold on to your hats and nuts, this is the Michael Giacchino Star Trek Variety 3/4 Hour. There is no beginning, middle, or end. And that's my biggest disappointment with the music. There is no clear musical narrative. That may be a problem with the short presentation, but the fast action pace of the film also means even with a longer presentation we are unlikely to see a proper beginning-middle-end musical narrative. So if you're looking for a slow-build up and setting the musical scene (which even the original film had), you will be sorely disappointed.
Instead what you do get is a mature, darker, and more challenging score with lovely ideas splattered across tracks that [in their disjointedness] span a rather curious array of sounds and styles. Furthermore, you can tell Michael Giacchino heard a great deal of complaining about the lack of "Star Trek" sound in the previous score. Consequently, Into Darkness sounds distinctly more Star Trek than 2009, but in the heat of the action it still largely retains the "excited action squirrel" sound (it's the best visual way of describing it to me) Michael has developed for himself by assigning his choppingly tremolo strings to the higher instruments as usual. The excited action squirrel sound is getting slightly tiresome as it robs some of the action of much needed gravitas.
Additionally, a couple of major new themes are included. Harrison's Theme is strong, memorable, although a little flat. Giacchino is still a weak composer when it comes to tension and release. Even in the concert version of the theme (not included on album), he struggles to build and release musical tension. So it works to the detriment of the theme. But the theme's overall presentation with interesting synthetic textures and instruments combats some of the flatness, if not all. The London Calling Theme is lovely and conveys a nice combination of sadness, pain, and anger. Wish we'd hear more of it weaved through the album.
The old (and some new) themes get taken into some fresh, exciting, and better territories. "Sub Prime Directive" is a perfect example of how noble and powerful Giacchino's Star Trek theme can sound. "Kronos Wartet" has an interesting start, but it ultimately descends into lifeless atmosphere before turning into a asthmatic version of Harrison's action motif. "San Fran Hustle" is a fantastic track taking a plethora of themes and motifs into some really exciting and fun territory. From the Star Trek theme to Spock's Theme (wow!) to the most propulsive take on Harrison's Theme to the "Matter I Barely Know Her" string motif to the Amok Time fight music. "The San Fran Hustle" is arguably the best action track Giacchino has written so far. It doesn't have too much "excited action squirrel" and it has some proper tension and release. Another neat little track is "Kirk Enterprises". This is the most quintessentially Star Trek track on this album. Listen closely around 2:09 to be transported in time to Jerry Goldsmith's Motion Picture.
All in all, it's a very good score. It's more mature, more challenging, and more Star Trek. While it isn't as good as Giacchino's best, to be fair he is back from a long hiatus, the album is abysmally short, and he is writing to a very fast film. Hearing Into Darkness and his maturation I'm excited to hear what he has coming up in this "post-hiatus" chapter of his career.
Blume's Temporary Score (until seeing the movie/Deluxe Album): 83%
Other Soundtracks Mentioned:
ST09 Score: 70%
John Carter Score: 93%
And finally, my Blume-Experience-Scientific track by track ratings:

Let's get to it, shall we? Does this top John Carter (my favorite Giacchino score)? Not by a long shot. That score remains in another league of sci-fi scores, rubbing elbows with some of the greats. Does this top Star Trek (2009)? Yes, because it takes the best of that ultimately good but not knock your socks off score and evolves them into something more mature and musically a little more interesting. On top of that the quality increase over 2009 is aided by a much more full bodied mix courtesy of Joel Iwataki. For the first time in a long time, Michael's army of percussion instruments actually sound alive.
Two evil villains work in tandem against the Into Darkness soundtrack, keeping it from reaching the realm of greater sci-fi scores. One is its ridiculously short presentation, the other the break-neck pace of the film, together forming a nightmare dynamic duo that destroys any hope of musical cohesion. And by that I mean hold on to your hats and nuts, this is the Michael Giacchino Star Trek Variety 3/4 Hour. There is no beginning, middle, or end. And that's my biggest disappointment with the music. There is no clear musical narrative. That may be a problem with the short presentation, but the fast action pace of the film also means even with a longer presentation we are unlikely to see a proper beginning-middle-end musical narrative. So if you're looking for a slow-build up and setting the musical scene (which even the original film had), you will be sorely disappointed.
Instead what you do get is a mature, darker, and more challenging score with lovely ideas splattered across tracks that [in their disjointedness] span a rather curious array of sounds and styles. Furthermore, you can tell Michael Giacchino heard a great deal of complaining about the lack of "Star Trek" sound in the previous score. Consequently, Into Darkness sounds distinctly more Star Trek than 2009, but in the heat of the action it still largely retains the "excited action squirrel" sound (it's the best visual way of describing it to me) Michael has developed for himself by assigning his choppingly tremolo strings to the higher instruments as usual. The excited action squirrel sound is getting slightly tiresome as it robs some of the action of much needed gravitas.
Additionally, a couple of major new themes are included. Harrison's Theme is strong, memorable, although a little flat. Giacchino is still a weak composer when it comes to tension and release. Even in the concert version of the theme (not included on album), he struggles to build and release musical tension. So it works to the detriment of the theme. But the theme's overall presentation with interesting synthetic textures and instruments combats some of the flatness, if not all. The London Calling Theme is lovely and conveys a nice combination of sadness, pain, and anger. Wish we'd hear more of it weaved through the album.
The old (and some new) themes get taken into some fresh, exciting, and better territories. "Sub Prime Directive" is a perfect example of how noble and powerful Giacchino's Star Trek theme can sound. "Kronos Wartet" has an interesting start, but it ultimately descends into lifeless atmosphere before turning into a asthmatic version of Harrison's action motif. "San Fran Hustle" is a fantastic track taking a plethora of themes and motifs into some really exciting and fun territory. From the Star Trek theme to Spock's Theme (wow!) to the most propulsive take on Harrison's Theme to the "Matter I Barely Know Her" string motif to the Amok Time fight music. "The San Fran Hustle" is arguably the best action track Giacchino has written so far. It doesn't have too much "excited action squirrel" and it has some proper tension and release. Another neat little track is "Kirk Enterprises". This is the most quintessentially Star Trek track on this album. Listen closely around 2:09 to be transported in time to Jerry Goldsmith's Motion Picture.
All in all, it's a very good score. It's more mature, more challenging, and more Star Trek. While it isn't as good as Giacchino's best, to be fair he is back from a long hiatus, the album is abysmally short, and he is writing to a very fast film. Hearing Into Darkness and his maturation I'm excited to hear what he has coming up in this "post-hiatus" chapter of his career.
Blume's Temporary Score (until seeing the movie/Deluxe Album): 83%
Other Soundtracks Mentioned:
ST09 Score: 70%
John Carter Score: 93%
And finally, my Blume-Experience-Scientific track by track ratings:

It tries too hard to be a science fiction movie.

Steven Soderbergh's State of Cinema
Haven't seen this posted on here. It's a long long read. But really worth it. Addresses a lot of topics we recurrently discuss here.
http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/steven-soderbergh-state-of-cinema-address/#utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Now this is a poster. Officially released in the Star Trek app.

Now this is a poster. Officially released in the Star Trek app.

Now this is a poster. Officially released in the Star Trek app.

I kept it pretty well contained until, "I have been, and always shall be, your friend *cough*" At that point I completely lost it.
That was, I think, the best use of two actors and a bevy of inside jokes I've ever seen used for an advertisement. Whoever dreamed this up and crafted it should win an award.
- Uni

that's because nobody ever listens to it.

No Dan Wallin.
Mother of god. Full bodies orchestra?!
Excellent work Mr. Iwatake!

The last decade of film:


Oh man, I almost forgot. Inside a government/corporate/jail/industrial building?

BLUE GREEN AMBIANCE!
So artistic.

The last decade of film:


Oh man, I almost forgot. Inside a government/corporate/jail/industrial building?

BLUE GREEN AMBIANCE!
So artistic.

The last decade of film:


Oh man, I almost forgot. Inside a government/corporate/jail/industrial building?

BLUE GREEN AMBIANCE!
So artistic.

The last decade of film:


Oh man, I almost forgot. Inside a government/corporate/jail/industrial building?

BLUE GREEN AMBIANCE!
So artistic.

Alexcremers,
I don't think anyone wants hyper-saturated and hyper-vibrant Alice in Wonderland colors. It's just the bronze, washed out, over-processed look is just getting tired. As fast as blue-orange is getting tiring. As fast as instagram is getting annoying.

I watched Tintin just to say I did, but it won't get a second viewing. In the past 20 years, I have seen only six other Spielberg-directed movies: Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me if You Can, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones 4. He stopped being a must-see director for me...a while ago.

I fell asleep watching Tintin.

I hope not. I remember I liked Super 8 so much I bought it on iTunes while waiting for my CD to ship.
But I rationalized it as...it was a musical drought so I was supporting good music.

Do Star Trek titles describe the movie?
X Star Trek The Motion Picture
More like Star Trek The Motionless Picture
√ Star Trek The Wrath of Khan
Khan is indeed Wrathful.
√ Star Trek The Search for Spock
The gang does indeed search for Spock
√ Star Trek The Voyage Home
[EDIT] Joey reminded me they actually voyage home.
X Star Trek The Final Frontier
What the ever-loving fuck?
DRAW Star Trek The Undiscovered Country
There is indeed Shakespeare quoted in the movie. But it's a bit of a stretch for the content of the film...though I guess the Klingon-Federation alliance could be an undiscovered country. But really it isn't undiscovered, because we have been exploring it in TNG.
√ Star Trek Generations
There are indeed generations of people in this movie...though I would personally go with "Star Trek Stopping the Madman Who Wants to Destroy a Planet"
√ Star Trek First Contact
First Contact with the Vulcans is an important plot point of this movie
X Star Trek Insurrection
More like Star Trek Forever Young and Light Insubordination
X Star Trek Nemesis
Nemesis "the inescapable agent of someone's downfall." Picard does not fall down.
√ Star Trek
There is some Trekking between stars.