Knight of Ren

I just watched Godzilla: Minus One. A great film. Sure, the beginning was a bit slow, but once the story gets going, it is by far the most meaningful of any Godzilla films that I saw. I can't help but compare this movie to Godzilla (2014), America's attempt at making a serious Godzilla film; Minus One just have so much better characters. Everyone feels intimate, real, with a genuine sense of tragedy and redemption. The two leads, Noriko and Kōichi, really played off each other, becoming each other's salvation. Now compare that with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Olsen's boring, mundane storyline, you can see that Minus One is a serious monster film done right.  
 
BTW, Naoki Satō's sore is brilliant in the film. I didn't get it on album, but now that I watched the film, I understand it better and it is one of the most effective scores of last year. 
 
 
I know everything comes down to just having an opinion, but some of the opinions in the film music community raise my eyebrows from time to time. Over the last couple years, I learned that Villeneuve is too pretentious, too artsy, and Dune: Part Two is not epic sci-fi because it isn't neo-romantic like Star Wars. I was told Lynch's Dune had better acting (not even remotely true) and was more "colorful." In another forum, people were drooling over Emmerich directing Dune II, and defending bottom barrel films like 10,000 BC. Then the James Bond crowd thinks the Craig films have too much character, too much personal storylines, and they want the franchise to be more trashy action films. A fanbase that consistently want their beloved franchise to have less dramatic depth. And now, I am hearing that Godzilla: Minus One is too talky, too boring, and the score is bad (literally the opposite is true for me). Instead, they want Michael Dougherty to come back, the guy that made the terrible King of the Monsters. Yes, the film has a great sense of scale, and some incredible shots, but Dougherty can't shoot people or action to save his life. Every time the monsters fight, the camera cuts away to the humans. Only the humans are as interesting as extras in the film. I mean, Minus One has more steady Godzilla footage with a $15 million budget.
 
That is not to say that I don't enjoy GvK and GxK from a pure entertainment value. I do. But honestly, those films are so far away from the essence of filmmaking, they are becoming closer and closer to a CGI cutscene in a PS5 game than a movie. 
 
 
Here is the thing about Bay. He is an incredible cinematographer. The Rock is one of the most beautifully shot action films I ever seen. The use of lighting and effective framing added much needed mystique to a simple plotted action film. Bay's problem, as you said, is that he never grew out of his commercial/music video roots. Yes, if you have 20 seconds to get someone's attention, you constantly need stylish shots, but not when you have a 2 hours to tell a story. Having a camera panning 360 degrees around the actors looks cool, but it completely destroys the structure of the scene. Did he care? Probably not. 
 
Emmerich on the other hand is just too casual as a filmmaking. He doesn't care about style, or much of anything. Bay overused explosions during the Pearl Harbor scene, but his execution of an air-to-sea battle is still leagues more realistic and visually interesting than what Emmerich did in Midway. Emmerich has no standout personality or style in his filmmaking. You called that "refreshing." I called it mediocre filmmaking.  

Well, I really like when a movie or show allows a composer to build such a rich thematic tapestry, and I think Djawadi's work is such a great example of this, and I love listening to it and finding all these little thematic connections. If anyone's interested in a bit of an in-depth analysis, here's my video analysis of the main musical themes that appear in the first season!
 
It's in spanish (my native language) but you can activate subtitles in english in case you need them. I don't know if anyone's really interested in this, but I just love doing this kind of things and being able to share them with people who might enjoy them as much!

Well, I really like when a movie or show allows a composer to build such a rich thematic tapestry, and I think Djawadi's work is such a great example of this, and I love listening to it and finding all these little thematic connections. If anyone's interested in a bit of an in-depth analysis, here's my video analysis of the main musical themes that appear in the first season!
 
It's in spanish (my native language) but you can activate subtitles in english in case you need them. I don't know if anyone's really interested in this, but I just love doing this kind of things and being able to share them with people who might enjoy them as much!

Haven't listened to it yet, but if Abels is involved in the song perhaps it features some references to the ritual music from episode 3?

Another great episode! It starts right away with the aftermath of King Viserys' death and the consequences of that, and I loved how the scheming, the intrigue and the conflict slowly escalates during the whole episode, until it culminates in that fantastic coronation sequence! Even if I'm not a big fan of Alicent, she was very interesting here, and I love her development as a character, from the very first episodes, where she was not being taken seriously, to the strong and imposing queen she has become, even if she still is being controled by the men around her. Her conversation with Rhaenys was great, and I think the two of them are some of my favorite characters in the show. Rhaenys' entrance at the end, right after Aegon's coronation was so bad-ass, and really cemented her love and allegiance for Rhaenyra and House Targaryen, and she made it clear to the Greens that they're messing with the wrong family!
 
The music was on point, and those two released tracks are proof of it. I love how Djawadi uses the piano first with Viserys' Theme and then with Alicent's Theme, to represent the tragic loss that is the death of Viserys the Peaceful, and I love the little motif that pops up in both cues, which gets developed a lot during the episode. Also, the music during the coronation sequence was so great and I love that the Iron Throne Theme has been so prominent lately!
 
As always, I analyzed the score more in-depth in my blog, so feel free to check it out and leave your thoughts on it! Hope you enjoy!
Analysis of the Score of House of the Dragon - 1x09: The Green Council

Really interesting to learn more about the sisters' past so soon. I'm sure there's something else going on there, because such powerful witches wouldn't just be all killed by a random fire, but I don't think the Jedi did it either. Intriguing. I like that we got to see kind of a new side of The Force, with what they call the Thread. In a universe so big, it's fitting that there would be different names for the same concept, and as mentioned above, it kind of reminded me of the Dathomir witches, but with some different aspects to it.
 
I loved the ritual music during the Ascension, and it reminded me a bit of some of the Kiner's stuff for Dathomir. I think Abels' music shines the most in this episode, and I'm slowly noticing several recurring motifs, like for example a new idea that seems associated with the two sisters, and that plays literally everywhere in the episode. It plays right at the beginning of the end credits suite which I ripped in case anyone wants to hear it:
 

Yeah, 2 volumes would be awesome, but it will probably be a release similar to what we got for S1, which was two hours long, but even then we had some pretty great cues missing! Even so, the bigger the release, for me it will always be better!

Knights Of Ren? Who the fuck are you?

No idea about new themes, as I don't know much about the story and the new characters, but I hope we get to hear again some themes from GoT, like the House Stark theme, which I think is a given because of the appearance of Creagan Stark!
 
Also, great to hear it's been officially renewed!

No idea about new themes, as I don't know much about the story and the new characters, but I hope we get to hear again some themes from GoT, like the House Stark theme, which I think is a given because of the appearance of Creagan Stark!
 
Also, great to hear it's been officially renewed!

Great idea! No way to choose between the sides musically haha, love both! Can't wait to hear how the themes are used in Season 2!

Before Season 2 even premieres!! Hell yeah!!!!
 
 

What I love about what Datzman does with Giacchino's themes is that she evolves them and uses them in lot's of new and interesting ways. Not just straight reprises, but different arrangements etc. That's what I hoped she would do and I'm so glad she did.
 
Wish more sequel scores composed by another composer did it like that.

It's time to choose a side! Before the season premiere, I created this two suites representing each of the sides of the conflict, one for the Blacks containing mostly Rhaenyra's themes, and one for the Greens made out of the Alicent and House Hightower theme. Also planning on upload tomorrow a small video analysis of all the main themes from the first season, as a preparation for the new one coming up in just a couple of days!
 
Which one's your favorite?

It's time to choose a side! Before the season premiere, I created this two suites representing each of the sides of the conflict, one for the Blacks containing mostly Rhaenyra's themes, and one for the Greens made out of the Alicent and House Hightower theme. Also planning on upload tomorrow a small video analysis of all the main themes from the first season, as a preparation for the new one coming up in just a couple of days!
 
Which one's your favorite?

It's time to choose a side! Before the season premiere, I created this two suites representing each of the sides of the conflict, one for the Blacks containing mostly Rhaenyra's themes, and one for the Greens made out of the Alicent and House Hightower theme. Also planning on upload tomorrow a small video analysis of all the main themes from the first season, as a preparation for the new one coming up in just a couple of days!
 
Which one's your favorite?

Based on the samples, Giacchino's themes and style are very much present. 
Full album releases tomorrow
 
https://music.apple.com/nz/album/inside-out-2-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1751392500
 

Really interesting to learn more about the sisters' past so soon. I'm sure there's something else going on there, because such powerful witches wouldn't just be all killed by a random fire, but I don't think the Jedi did it either. Intriguing. I like that we got to see kind of a new side of The Force, with what they call the Thread. In a universe so big, it's fitting that there would be different names for the same concept, and as mentioned above, it kind of reminded me of the Dathomir witches, but with some different aspects to it.
 
I loved the ritual music during the Ascension, and it reminded me a bit of some of the Kiner's stuff for Dathomir. I think Abels' music shines the most in this episode, and I'm slowly noticing several recurring motifs, like for example a new idea that seems associated with the two sisters, and that plays literally everywhere in the episode. It plays right at the beginning of the end credits suite which I ripped in case anyone wants to hear it:
 

Really interesting to learn more about the sisters' past so soon. I'm sure there's something else going on there, because such powerful witches wouldn't just be all killed by a random fire, but I don't think the Jedi did it either. Intriguing. I like that we got to see kind of a new side of The Force, with what they call the Thread. In a universe so big, it's fitting that there would be different names for the same concept, and as mentioned above, it kind of reminded me of the Dathomir witches, but with some different aspects to it.
 
I loved the ritual music during the Ascension, and it reminded me a bit of some of the Kiner's stuff for Dathomir. I think Abels' music shines the most in this episode, and I'm slowly noticing several recurring motifs, like for example a new idea that seems associated with the two sisters, and that plays literally everywhere in the episode. It plays right at the beginning of the end credits suite which I ripped in case anyone wants to hear it:
 

Really interesting to learn more about the sisters' past so soon. I'm sure there's something else going on there, because such powerful witches wouldn't just be all killed by a random fire, but I don't think the Jedi did it either. Intriguing. I like that we got to see kind of a new side of The Force, with what they call the Thread. In a universe so big, it's fitting that there would be different names for the same concept, and as mentioned above, it kind of reminded me of the Dathomir witches, but with some different aspects to it.
 
I loved the ritual music during the Ascension, and it reminded me a bit of some of the Kiner's stuff for Dathomir. I think Abels' music shines the most in this episode, and I'm slowly noticing several recurring motifs, like for example a new idea that seems associated with the two sisters, and that plays literally everywhere in the episode. It plays right at the beginning of the end credits suite which I ripped in case anyone wants to hear it:
 

Really interesting to learn more about the sisters' past so soon. I'm sure there's something else going on there, because such powerful witches wouldn't just be all killed by a random fire, but I don't think the Jedi did it either. Intriguing. I like that we got to see kind of a new side of The Force, with what they call the Thread. In a universe so big, it's fitting that there would be different names for the same concept, and as mentioned above, it kind of reminded me of the Dathomir witches, but with some different aspects to it.
 
I loved the ritual music during the Ascension, and it reminded me a bit of some of the Kiner's stuff for Dathomir. I think Abels' music shines the most in this episode, and I'm slowly noticing several recurring motifs, like for example a new idea that seems associated with the two sisters, and that plays literally everywhere in the episode. It plays right at the beginning of the end credits suite which I ripped in case anyone wants to hear it:
 

So what exactly was canon-breaking and universe-shattering in this episode? Witches? That look at the Force in a different way (a more proactive one)? Yeah, that's nothing new, in fact I think it's redundant since the Witches of Dathomir are basically the same thing, but this new group is different enough to make it interesting.
 
Or was it the immaculate conception? The ability to manipulate the midichlorians to create... life? Some say it is unnatural, there's obviously something sinister in the way they were created, and since everyone died, there's no reason this would be canon-breaking.
 
As for the episode itself, it remained interesting, and seeing only Osha's point of view of the massacre kept me interested in the mystery of how it all went down (it for sure wasn't Mae all by herself), fortunately, we got a bit of Kelnacca, I was expecting a couple more episodes in the present before a flashback, but I'm pleasantly surprised, though still not 100% invested.

I feel Toy Story should have ended with the third entry, but the fourth one was quite solid, surprisingly, and Andrew Stanton is a brilliant director in the realm of animation, so I'm quite interested in this. As for the music, I think the logic choice would be Randy, as he has given the saga a very unique voice, that would be a shame to be thrown away in the fifth entry.

This is McCreary's best work, IMO (I assume from his name he has Scottish roots, so it makes sense). And I only ever need this first volume -- for once beautifully curated. I could theoretically squeeze all the other volumes together in a "Volume 2" via some brutal playlisting, but I don't really need it. I think he says most of what he has to say, OUTLANDER-wise, in this album alone. If I need a dose of OUTLANDER music, this does the trick.

Godzilla Minus One - the only Godzilla film I ever gave a single low-flying shit about. It's a lizard. Magnified by radiation. Walking. Confused. Poor thing.
 
This one was good, actually interesting characters. The Sato score is beautiful. I guess it could have done more before the last 30 minutes, but when it kicks in, it makes an impact. Not sure about the Ifakube material. Some of it was fantastic, some a bit pointless. Yeah, came out of it with the weight of the Sato score - massive and impressive, and just a well-made film.