HunterTech

Here's something interesting I noticed: when I ripped off the shipping label before disposing the packaging, I saw that they had scribbled "1 Dracula" underneath it. Do they often have these already in the envelope when they receive an order? I'd be curious to know, since I'm not sure what it'd be for otherwise besides necessary labeling on busier days.

From what I remember, Williams was actually asked to return, but alas was too busy to do so. While I do love Return's music, being more acquainted with the original score these days certainly has had me curious about what a proper 2nd entry from him would've been like.

It finally arrived after shipping on Friday post a 1 week wait.

I can pretend its underscoring something else

Superman is the only form of Williams I know particularly well, so I'll fill that void. I picked II as my least favorite because it literally is just the first score, but cheaper. Not to say its bad, since Thorne did a fine job adapting the music for the film. But there's little here to make it its own distinct entry outside of using some of the alts from the original to make it feel a bit newer. In contrast, his work on III (for as disliked as it apparently is) does much more to stand itself apart and has a few really good cues, even if some moments are fairly weak. Courage's IV manages to be a good merging both previous entries strong points. I picked Returns as my favorite because it's the most successful entry in my eyes in expanding upon the first one. There can be arguments made about whether it really meshes well with Williams original themes, but the new thematic material works to really elevate the character of Superman in a way the previous sequels couldn't manage, likely as a result of the campier direction those took. The film itself may have diminished in quality overtime, and it's not always the easiest thing to listen to, but it remains one of those scores that have a special place in my heart.

Fine. Our turf. Either way, Living Daylights is probably one of my favorite Bond songs that I've heard thus far, and I don't just say that because I'm a fan of the band (though it's certainly part of it).

Hey now, no one will disrespect a-ha on my turf!

^^^^^^ There's a reason I was fine with Zimmer getting the Bond gig, since I knew he wouldn't rehash so blatantly like Lorne recently has. People are allowed to like it, but it really pisses me off that out of everything recently, that is what apparently resonated with people the most. Really doesn't leave me with a good impression for the future of Hollywood scoring.

Hybrid from http://www.hans-zimmer.com/ on the matter: So yeah, Desplat has seemingly been off it for quite a bit now. I wonder if it was even a mistake that his name ended up on the advertising. Then again, "for a bit" could just mean he took the entirety of last month to do it, knowing how quick he is.

Additional composers? I'm aware both Elfman and Tyler each had their own teams on the film, but I don't recall hearing anyone else working on the film outside of the tracked stuff. Tyler's unaltered AoU score was actually his best MCU effort, so it's disappointing it was treated poorly. Elfman's score is one of his weaker efforts from what I can recall currently, but it definitely had its moments. There's nothing great in either, but there was stuff to enjoy at the end of the day.

The big issue I have with the idea that Balfe is only here as a result of COVID-19 affecting recording schedules is this post from the start of March, which would've been made before Hollywood made any of the big choices they did: I suppose it's possible they were doing early preparations before making any proper announcements, but this feels like it had already been set in stone prior. Who knows for sure. I dig Balfe's full, mostly unused score to Ad Astra (not the selection on the OST), but that's really about it. Fallout is okayish, but I've more been disappointed by him than anything else. I'm more concerned about the fact Disney possibly might've kicked Desplat out of Hollywood, considering that's now two huge profile films he's been removed from. He'll probably still get some gigs sure, but it just sets a likely precedent, I feel. EDIT: Oh right, there was a poster released after Balfe's FB post that still had Desplat's name on it. While it could've been a contractual thing, I guess it's likely Marvel enlisted Lorne to make a few demos while trying to decide the fate of the score for the film. And now that we are in pandemic mode, they could use that as the official excuse if ever prompted about it. Is this the first time the MCU has had a score be replaced? There's probably one or two films that had different composers lined up originally, but I can't really think of any off the top of my head.

Probably the best find was in my last year of high school in 2018, when I saw Francesco Rosi's Cronaca di una morte annunciata in Latino film class. The music by Piero Piccioni is truly a delightful exercise in drama, tragedy and romance. A bit of a shame a good chunk of the music wasn't in the film, given its over-reliance on a few key tracks. Also in just how obscure it is, since I can only find one LQ video on YouTube. Perhaps I should upload the full thing there. Last year also had the rather overlooked The Kid Who Would Be King by Electric Wave Bureau. It's exactly how I think retro throwback soundtracks should be handled, and is a lot of fun. My last listen of it wasn't the best, but there was still quite a bit I did enjoy.

Mostly droning? It's one of his least, I find. Likely thanks to the much livelier style compared to other Zimmer capeshit scores. Plus the fact I do like a lot of the themes, even if some are a bit much or derivative of his other works as per usual. Horner and Giacchino are probably the better scores, but there's something about TASM2's bonkers "not giving a damn if its silly" energy that I find infectious. Zimmer's DCEU works are frustrating to me. I like a lot of the ideas, but the actual underscore feels so drab. I don't know if he just wasn't inspired enough or if he was restricted, but whatever I get out of the suites just isn't in the proper music much. Elfman's JL is weirdly the opposite for me, where I find it very listenable in spite of it being super standard for him. The only thing I've outright disliked was RGW's WW, which was so agonizingly dull. I'm told the album works better for that, so I might hear it one day.

I like the choice of image, but the font feels a bit cheap. Not sure what else I'd choose though.