Knight of Ren

I'm listening to Oppenheimer for the first time, 100% concept album, and I'm enjoying it. It's very much an acoustic mood score - lots of use of a small ensemble but also synths and piano, but I tend to like that sort of thing anyway. Yes, there's some ostinatoing too, but it doesn't take over the entire score.
 
Is it as skilful, orchestrally, as Williams? No. Is it more original and generally doing some things I don't hear much? Yep.
 
I guess my point is... in the highly likely event that this wins, it's obviously because of the film, but I find it a decent, engaging score so I don't think it would be undeserving, exactly.

Some thoughts on a couple of films I watched recently:
 
The Zone of Interest
One of the most disturbing films from last year, because of how sick it makes you feel, while not showing you nothing at all, That's where it shines the most, in the way it constructs the story and we get to see the ordinary lives of these people, making us almost connect and empathize with them. But the genius of the film lies in the way it uses sound to constantly remind us of the truth behind this beautiful and idyllic facade, and that makes it really scary and frightening. Great photography and great acting all around. I felt the film went on for a bit too long, and there are a couple of "abstract / dreamy" sequences that I don't really know if work well with the rest of the film, but overall, a very solid and thought provoking film.
 
Killers of the Flower Moon
The film is really long, but Scorsese's direction never lets you feel bored or disinterested, and it's constantly moving the narrative forward, supported by a brilliant cast. The story is complex and full of nuance, and offers a poignant reflection on the corruption and greed of these white men that led to the murder of many people who were just trying to live in peace in their own land. DiCaprio is great, as is DeNiro, both portraying their characters' double-faced intentions with ease, but who impressed me the most was Lily Gladstone. She embodies all the suffering and pain of the Osage, and you can feel this just by looking at her eyes, full of sorrow and anger. She is subtle when she needs to be, but I also love the scenes she shares with DiCaprio, where she stands her ground with ease. She's definitely an actress to keep an eye on. I wish the film had focused a bit more on the Osage people, on Molly and her relationship with her sisters, but the way its told, it feels more authentic and frustrating, just like reality.
 
Asteroid City
If you like Wes Anderson, you'll like this one. If you hate Wes Anderson, you'll hate this one. I'm usually a fan of his style, and this movie sees him take another step forward into the distillation of his particular style. The visuals and set designs are top notch, the cast is full of recognizable faces that all offer great, profound and memorable performances, however short they might be, and the story is as quirky and melancholic as with any of his movies. Actually, I felt this movie had more emotional depth than for example, The French Dispatch, and while not all of it works, it pays off greatly in a third act that is both unexpected and emotionally captivating. Desplat's brief score works brilliantly within the film too!

Some thoughts on a couple of films I watched recently:
 
The Zone of Interest
One of the most disturbing films from last year, because of how sick it makes you feel, while not showing you nothing at all, That's where it shines the most, in the way it constructs the story and we get to see the ordinary lives of these people, making us almost connect and empathize with them. But the genius of the film lies in the way it uses sound to constantly remind us of the truth behind this beautiful and idyllic facade, and that makes it really scary and frightening. Great photography and great acting all around. I felt the film went on for a bit too long, and there are a couple of "abstract / dreamy" sequences that I don't really know if work well with the rest of the film, but overall, a very solid and thought provoking film.
 
Killers of the Flower Moon
The film is really long, but Scorsese's direction never lets you feel bored or disinterested, and it's constantly moving the narrative forward, supported by a brilliant cast. The story is complex and full of nuance, and offers a poignant reflection on the corruption and greed of these white men that led to the murder of many people who were just trying to live in peace in their own land. DiCaprio is great, as is DeNiro, both portraying their characters' double-faced intentions with ease, but who impressed me the most was Lily Gladstone. She embodies all the suffering and pain of the Osage, and you can feel this just by looking at her eyes, full of sorrow and anger. She is subtle when she needs to be, but I also love the scenes she shares with DiCaprio, where she stands her ground with ease. She's definitely an actress to keep an eye on. I wish the film had focused a bit more on the Osage people, on Molly and her relationship with her sisters, but the way its told, it feels more authentic and frustrating, just like reality.
 
Asteroid City
If you like Wes Anderson, you'll like this one. If you hate Wes Anderson, you'll hate this one. I'm usually a fan of his style, and this movie sees him take another step forward into the distillation of his particular style. The visuals and set designs are top notch, the cast is full of recognizable faces that all offer great, profound and memorable performances, however short they might be, and the story is as quirky and melancholic as with any of his movies. Actually, I felt this movie had more emotional depth than for example, The French Dispatch, and while not all of it works, it pays off greatly in a third act that is both unexpected and emotionally captivating. Desplat's brief score works brilliantly within the film too!

I don't mind the sampled nature of Hollow Knight's score, it perfectly fits the game.  And its nicely elevated with the live cello and female singer
 
I highly, highly recommend these two videos that explore the themes of the score - REALLY opened my eyes (ears?) to how clever the score actually is:
 
 
 

Carl Weathers
 
 
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/carl-weathers-dead-rocky-predator-star-wars-1235895634/

That too. I'm interested in anything Djawadi comes up with for the Thrones universe.

@Jay @Knight of Ren love Hollow Knight too and it's my favorite metroidvania. I've never actually listened to the score on its own but I remember it being a huge contributor to the amazing atmosphere of the game. You guys made me want to go listen to it now! Might be time for a second playthrough sometime soon as well!

Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games, and has one of my favorite videogame scores ever! I've been waiting for Silksong for so long, but I don't know if it will come out this year or what. It's been almost 5 years since they announced it!
 
Oh yes! Forgot about House of the Dragon. I'm looking forward to all of Djawadi's projects this year, but I have a special interest in this. Season 1 was such a great score!

Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games, and has one of my favorite videogame scores ever! I've been waiting for Silksong for so long, but I don't know if it will come out this year or what. It's been almost 5 years since they announced it!
 
Oh yes! Forgot about House of the Dragon. I'm looking forward to all of Djawadi's projects this year, but I have a special interest in this. Season 1 was such a great score!

Brother!

My most anticipated scores would be:
House of the Dragon S2 3 Body Problem S1 Fallout S1 Dune Part 2 Eden Kung Fu Panda 4 The Fall Guy Gladiator 2 Inside Out 2

Just finished the last episode of the season of Percy Jackson and I really enjoyed it! As a huge fan of the books, they made a satisfying adaptation, changing some bits here and there, but retaining the same spirit and magic.
 
Here's a little breakdown of which cue corresponds to which episode. The album is a bit of a mess, honestly, and almost all of the tracks are made out of many different pieces from across the episode, which are longer and contain some thematic material that is sadly missing from the release. Also, I noticed that the end titles track is a bit different in each episode, having some musical hints of the characters that appear in the "next episode" teaser:
 
I think there are at least 6 or 7 themes with a clear meaning, but I think there are some hints of possible future themes during some scenes, knowing how the story will go. Apart from a theme for each of the three main characters, there is a theme for Camp Half-Blood, a theme for Hades, another for Ares, and I think Hephaestus has a theme that plays several times during the episode he appears.
 
I hope they announce the renewal for Season 2 as I would like them to do all five books, which in my opinion get progressively better!

The scores I'm looking forward the most this year are:
-Zimmer's Dune Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4
-Bear McCreary's score for RoP Season 2, and hopefully the release of Outlander S7
-Christopher Larkin's score to Silksong if the game is finally released this year (at this point, I'm keeping my hopes lowered though)
-Holkenborg's Furiosa, as I feel his Mad Max score was great!
-Whatever either James Newton Howard or John Powell do this year
-HGW has been hit or miss these last couple of years, but I think he has a chance to shine again with Gladiator 2
-There's always a couple of anime soundtracks that come out of nowhere and really surprise me each year. I'm already looking forward to Frieren's full release, and Go Shiina's score for the new season of Demon Slayer, but I'm sure more will come up during the year!
 
Also, I already listened to a score this year that caught my ear!
Alberto Iglesias' score is elegant, melodic and vibrant, with the particular highlight being the intricate writing for piano, strings and woodwinds that he showcases in some tracks. The album is a bit too long and some tracks tend to fall a bit more under the atmospheric style, but whenever the main theme and the exquisite orchestrations are giving space to shine, it's where the score works best!

Yeah, the 2 Zimmer scores are high up.on my list as well.
And I'm also hoping for Outlander S7 full release.
 
And Holkenborg's Sonic 3 should also be fun.
 
And Brian Tyler's Abigail score could be really strong. His scores for the directors' previous films were great!

No Masters Of The Universe tomorrow😡
 
Let's hope they just need time for the album to be ready and that they're not ignoring it. Would be weird for McCreary to do

The scores I'm looking forward the most this year are:
-Zimmer's Dune Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4
-Bear McCreary's score for RoP Season 2, and hopefully the release of Outlander S7
-Christopher Larkin's score to Silksong if the game is finally released this year (at this point, I'm keeping my hopes lowered though)
-Holkenborg's Furiosa, as I feel his Mad Max score was great!
-Whatever either James Newton Howard or John Powell do this year
-HGW has been hit or miss these last couple of years, but I think he has a chance to shine again with Gladiator 2
-There's always a couple of anime soundtracks that come out of nowhere and really surprise me each year. I'm already looking forward to Frieren's full release, and Go Shiina's score for the new season of Demon Slayer, but I'm sure more will come up during the year!
 
Also, I already listened to a score this year that caught my ear!
Alberto Iglesias' score is elegant, melodic and vibrant, with the particular highlight being the intricate writing for piano, strings and woodwinds that he showcases in some tracks. The album is a bit too long and some tracks tend to fall a bit more under the atmospheric style, but whenever the main theme and the exquisite orchestrations are giving space to shine, it's where the score works best!

Just finished the last episode of the season of Percy Jackson and I really enjoyed it! As a huge fan of the books, they made a satisfying adaptation, changing some bits here and there, but retaining the same spirit and magic.
 
Here's a little breakdown of which cue corresponds to which episode. The album is a bit of a mess, honestly, and almost all of the tracks are made out of many different pieces from across the episode, which are longer and contain some thematic material that is sadly missing from the release. Also, I noticed that the end titles track is a bit different in each episode, having some musical hints of the characters that appear in the "next episode" teaser:
 
I think there are at least 6 or 7 themes with a clear meaning, but I think there are some hints of possible future themes during some scenes, knowing how the story will go. Apart from a theme for each of the three main characters, there is a theme for Camp Half-Blood, a theme for Hades, another for Ares, and I think Hephaestus has a theme that plays several times during the episode he appears.
 
I hope they announce the renewal for Season 2 as I would like them to do all five books, which in my opinion get progressively better!

Just finished the last episode of the season of Percy Jackson and I really enjoyed it! As a huge fan of the books, they made a satisfying adaptation, changing some bits here and there, but retaining the same spirit and magic.
 
Here's a little breakdown of which cue corresponds to which episode. The album is a bit of a mess, honestly, and almost all of the tracks are made out of many different pieces from across the episode, which are longer and contain some thematic material that is sadly missing from the release. Also, I noticed that the end titles track is a bit different in each episode, having some musical hints of the characters that appear in the "next episode" teaser:
 
I think there are at least 6 or 7 themes with a clear meaning, but I think there are some hints of possible future themes during some scenes, knowing how the story will go. Apart from a theme for each of the three main characters, there is a theme for Camp Half-Blood, a theme for Hades, another for Ares, and I think Hephaestus has a theme that plays several times during the episode he appears.
 
I hope they announce the renewal for Season 2 as I would like them to do all five books, which in my opinion get progressively better!

Just finished the last episode of the season of Percy Jackson and I really enjoyed it! As a huge fan of the books, they made a satisfying adaptation, changing some bits here and there, but retaining the same spirit and magic.
 
Here's a little breakdown of which cue corresponds to which episode. The album is a bit of a mess, honestly, and almost all of the tracks are made out of many different pieces from across the episode, which are longer and contain some thematic material that is sadly missing from the release. Also, I noticed that the end titles track is a bit different in each episode, having some musical hints of the characters that appear in the "next episode" teaser:
 
I think there are at least 6 or 7 themes with a clear meaning, but I think there are some hints of possible future themes during some scenes, knowing how the story will go. Apart from a theme for each of the three main characters, there is a theme for Camp Half-Blood, a theme for Hades, another for Ares, and I think Hephaestus has a theme that plays several times during the episode he appears.
 
I hope they announce the renewal for Season 2 as I would like them to do all five books, which in my opinion get progressively better!

Best Picture nominees ranked:

The greats: 
1. Anatomy of a Fall: fantastic performance and script that keeps you guessing until the end. Courtroom drama done well.
2. Poor Things: creative and full of memorable moments. Could have ended 20 minutes sooner, but the highs are very high, specially the main trio.
3. Holdovers: missed this kind of film. Shed a tear or two.
4. Oppenheimer: also lost steam for me in the last act (which was the last hour). Everything in the movie regarding the actual bomb is the bomb! But every time that Downey Jr character was on the screen, the movie lost me (not because of his performance, which is great, but that plotline was done much better in Amadeus. The movie would have benefited with the whole thing droped and a bigger focus on the bomb and the guilt that followed).
5. American Fiction: I looove Jeffrey Wright in this film! The satire thinks its smarter than it actually is, and you can kind of see that the director still has room to grow, but the familiar drama is great. 
6. Zone of Interest: I still want to give a rewatch as I watched during TIFF, along with many others, so didn't cause the impact that I see from other people, even tho some scenes stuck with me. Also, it marks the one instance where a Mica Levi actually works in the film! 


The good:
7. Barbie: fun while in Barbieland, and bad when in the real world. Would have worked had stayed in Barbieland, with the only "real world" moment be with the Barbie maker in the end (kind like Lego the Movie). Speaking of which, that was a much better toy commercial that didn't even get a best animated nomination! How did this one get so much love? The dance scenes are so poorly directed (the opening of Ted 2 gives it a run for its money), and c'mon! Who though that Will Ferrel had any business being in here? Still, that production design!
8. Maestro: the conducting scenes are great, but the main plot was a little muddled and boring actually. Also, what went over Cooper's head to film the main conflict between the couple in a very distant shot where you can barely see the actor's face and expressions? Love Carey Mulligan in it tho!

The "didn't work for me"
9. Past Lives: barely registered for me when I watched back in the summer. I remember liking the husband character.
10. Killers of the Flower Moon: now THIS really didn't work for me. The original idea was that the film was going to focus on the FBI, and that sounds much better than what we got. Focusing on the greed of men (that we saw plenty of time, and Scorsese did better in the past) may be the baffling choice. DiCaprio overacts and rightfully was snubbed, DeNiro plays DeNiro, and Gladstone is great with what she is given. It's funny that the movie seems to skip scenes where the interesting stuff is about to happen (like Mollie's journey to get investigators).

What should have been nominated instead of these last 4: 
1. Dungeon & Dragons: really, best adventure film IN YEARS! This movie is going to be LOVED in a few years!
2. Air: made me feel inspired to go back to work! Sad to see ignored in the Oscar, probably for being released in the begging of the year.
3. Godzilla Minus One: masterpiece where the drama scenes are even better than the Godzilla ones.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy 3: the best Bradley Cooper performance of the year. And the proper end chapter of MCU for me.


 

Frieren's great, both the music and the anime! Charming, heartwarming, epic and memorable. The main theme is beautiful, and Zooltrak is a banger!
 
The full album comes out when the season is over, sometime in April according to this.
 
Evan Call is such a great composer, and his work is usually beautiful and emotional, but also epic and exciting when it needs to. I hold a special place in my heart for his Violet Evergarden score, as that was the one I first heard from him!
 
I recently watched the first two eps of Solo Leveling and Sawano's doing the music. So far, quite similar to his AoT scores, but there's a cue on the second episode which was quite chilling in context, and I feel he will deliver some great tracks for the show, which so far seems to be really interesting.

I really like he shows how passionate he is about the music he writes via his blogs because when I was discovering his music in shows like Outlander or the God of War games, reading his process and the way he comes up with the themes and instrumentations really help you appreciate all the work that is behind the art of composing music.
 
And he makes it seem all so accesible for everybody, which is no small feat I think.

I really like he shows how passionate he is about the music he writes via his blogs because when I was discovering his music in shows like Outlander or the God of War games, reading his process and the way he comes up with the themes and instrumentations really help you appreciate all the work that is behind the art of composing music.
 
And he makes it seem all so accesible for everybody, which is no small feat I think.

I really like he shows how passionate he is about the music he writes via his blogs because when I was discovering his music in shows like Outlander or the God of War games, reading his process and the way he comes up with the themes and instrumentations really help you appreciate all the work that is behind the art of composing music.
 
And he makes it seem all so accesible for everybody, which is no small feat I think.

I feel McCreary has always been very open about projects where he has help from assistants at Sparks&Shadows, and he either mentions them in his blog posts or in a tweet when they announce the project, plus they are credited on the actual credits of the movie or show. Many composers have additional help, specially if they're as busy as McCreary, so as long as they're credited and the music remains of the same quality, I don't really mind.
 
For example, I thought the music in Season 2 of Foundation was even better than the first season, and that was mostly handled by his team, and something similar is happening with S2 of Masters of the Universe, which so far sounds really great! I hope they release an album soon.
 
As for Percy Jackson, I feel the album doesn't really do justice to the score, and feels too short and missing some important thematic pieces, and I feel I appreciate the music a lot more while watching the show than listening to the album on its own. I mean, I wouldn't have realized that Grover and Annabeth have themes because they're almost completely missing from the album!