Desplat13

One of the more sensible suggestions you will find on this board. But then, what would the forum be for? Anyway, I have to say that I saw Temple of Doom for the first time a little while ago, and that whole inflatable raft falling from an airplane (sure it's been done. That doesn't make it believable), then falling over a cliff into water, then falling down a waterfall (I think) and who knows what else really made me laugh. Perhaps that was the intended effect, but it came across as hilariously cheesy to me. Add on top of that the jump from track to track in the chase scene at the end, and I would say that though Indiana Jones movies are made of the ridiculous, Temple of Doom took it too far. Now, of course, if you are going to say that it was the magic of the rock, than fine, consider it as believable as you want. That is kind of like throwing the force in there and saying that there is no reason for reason any longer. Anything goes (pun intended). You might as well say that the . An exaggeration, but you get my point. Mutt swinging from vines seems too much for someone who hasn't done it before, but, like I said, Indiana Jones is built on the ridiculous, and this (in itself) did not amount to nearly the 'improbability' (if you would rather use that word) of all the scenes I already mentioned from Temple of Doom. You can argue the merits of the movie-making, story-telling and story-line from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as much as you want, but saying that Temple of Doom is more believable seems to be really grasping for threads of reason. Bending over backwords might be a good way to put it... But then, I didn't really care for Temple of Doom, so why listen to anything I say about it?

You contend that that time period was when John Williams was doing his best work, and I believe that to be a valid viewpoint (whether I agree or not). But I think that everyone here should actually think about the wisdom in Josh's words (something that is very hard for many people here, because it is in style to look down on that type of unbridled enthusiasm). Franz Liszt spent the years from about 12 or so to 30 as a concert pianist, and is considered to be the first real virtuoso. He dazzled people with his playing technique, and amazed the world so much so that many people seem to have felt ashamed in later days about the way that they acted at that time. At the age of 30, he gave up public playing altogether, only playing after that very rarely, and mostly at private gatherings. He then devoted himself to studying composition. So at that point we had a composer/pianist, who could write amazing pieces either for piano, for orchestra, or for piano and orchestra. Sometime around this time I believe he wrote pieces like Totentanz, an amazing combination of orchestral power and pianistic virtuosity. But, as he continued to get older, his works displayed less and less obvious beauty or power. Instead, they became much more reserved. At that time, many many people longed for Liszt to return to the stage as a pianist, but he would not, because he valued his art above what people thought of him. Looking back on this time, many scholars believe Liszt's most forwarded reaching and insightful music was written during this time, but many people missed it because they wanted the old style so much. Because they were longing for the old style of Liszt, they missed what is now considered to be his very best and most amazing music. I do not know if we are living in a time like that for Williams or not. We can only know that after the fact. But I think people should consider Josh's words, and be thankful. I think I would go crazy if it were in any way possible for me to shake Liszt's hand, or get an autograph. Yet that is possible with Williams. Not only that, but he made an honost effort to go back to his old style in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for the sake of his fans, something Liszt fans (Lisztians. Yes, that would be me) never really got from their composer. Take my advice and be thankful.

Here is my review as it appears in http://soundtracksreviewed.blogspot.com/ The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Harry Gregson-Williams Rating: 6.5 Number two of the Chronicles of Narnia series is, stylistically, more of the same. Director Andrew Adamson knows how to create a fantasy, eye candy atmosphere, and Prince Caspian has even more of that feel. The computer generated animation in this film is used in the same near half-and half ratio with the live action, and in such a clean, non-gritty way, that a definite fantasy feel is attained. Many people disliked this aspect of the first film, and the Lord of the Rings comparisons were frequent and irrelevant. The fact that these were completely different films, just as the books were completely different books, didn't seem to matter. Folks wanted another Lord of the Rings, and it is a mercy that those in charge of the Narnia production had a different vision. The original Narnia score received much the same useless comparisons with Lord of the Rings that the movie did. There can be no doubt that Howard Shore produced an impressively coherent score for The Lord of the Rings, but I am afraid that anyone who thinks that his scores would have fit the Narnia movies is, well, how can I say this? Wrong. Because of the comparisons, the first Narnia score did not receive especially high ratings, with many reviewers complaining about the odd mixture of orchestral and synthetic elements. For some, the soft pop-ish "Evacuating London" track was the problem, for others, the electric violin was like fingernails on a chalkboard, while still other turned their noses up at the epic, Media Ventures sounding "The Battle". For many it was a combination of all of these elements, adding up to a collective snobbery towards the soundtrack. Trying not to, of course, pat myself on the back too much, I would like to say that my original review, while in no way raving, did not look down on the score stylistically. My main complaint was the lack of interest and thematic development in many of the middle tracks. In fact I ended the review by saying "It is not because Gregson-Williams didn't know that syncopation and the use of the synth are modern techniques, but because he chose to use them anyway. I think it was a good choice.". It seems many other listeners and reviewers have come to this opinion, and the reviews this time around are much more favorable. Many themes find reprisals in this installment, and there is actually a general lack of new themes in the film. There is an excellent motif for Reepicheep (or the mice in generel, I am not sure which), which, very unfortunately, does not find its way into the album presentation at all until the last score track, "The Door in the Air", at 1:19 - 1:30, set against a end-of-the-story-ish backing. The non-inclusion of this theme really is a shame, as I think it might be the very best in the Narnia series to date, with its creative representation of mice. It gets it best presentation during the raid on the castle, but the track "Raid on the Castle" I believe, begins after this presentation. "Prince Caspian Flees" really sets the tone for the entire elbum, with racing strings, and somewhat Media Ventures-ish textures. The entire album, in fact, is closest to the track "The Battle" from the previus installment stylistically, and Gregson-Williams has really started to perfect the style. "Raid on the Castle", despite the disappointing lack of Reepicheep's theme, also showcases some excellent battle music. "Miraz Crowned" shows Gregson-Williams heretofore unused in this series talent for drawn out orchestral crescendos, and is actually quite impressive to listen to. The White Witch music, most obviously shown on the track "The Stone Table" in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, gets a reprise on the track "Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance", and it is as disturbing as ever. One of the better tracks is "The Duel", and it contains my favorite moment on the album. At 2:18 - 2:24 Gregson-Williams turns a theme which had previously been used as a type of Wonder of Narnia theme into a rhythm-oriented march piece, underscoring Peter's duel with king Miraz. It really is a great musical representation of a line from the movie, used in at least one of the previews, where the dwarf Trumpkin tells the four children from London, "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember". The track which ends the score, "The Door in the Air", is very similar to "Only the Beginning of the Adventure", which ended The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. While many loved that track, neither it nor this one especially impressed me. But if you liked the ending of first one, you are likely to enjoy this ending as well. The inclusion of the four pop songs which end the album and play through the credits was inevitable, but I really do not understand how starting "The Call" while the movie is still playing can be termed in any way acceptable. For me, this is doing a major disservice to Gregson-Williams, by taking away what could be some of the most musically important moments of the movie. Instead of getting a chance to do something subtle, hinting at some theme or memory from Narnia, or who knows what he might do, we instead get an obvious "Ok, this is the wrap, the movie is over (even though it isn't yet) and we are prematurely ripping you from the story and placing you back in your theater seats. Also, you might as well leave now, because there is no musical reason to sit through the credits. Just more of the same". I know I am harsh on pop songs in movies, but the placement here really upset me. Other than these major gripes, "The Call" is actually not a bad a song, if one can separate it from the way it was used in the movie. The rest are nothing special. As the series progresses, I must say that I am glad to see that both director Adamson and composer Gregson-Williams will not be returning for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, even though I have enjoyed their work for both Narnia films. It just seems that Prince Caspian was far to similar artistically to the first one, and, while it worked here, I think one more would be too much. Still, Prince Caspian is a very nice listen, and an improvement on the first score. Gregson-Williams, while using many of the same themes, seems to do much more with them this time, and they are more meaningful. There is less filler music, and most serves a purpose, working for the artistic whole. While it is good to have fresh writing on the way, Gregson-Williams really stepped up to the plate and delivered. -Colin Thomson Track list: Prince Caspian Flees The Kings and Queens of Narnia Journey to the How Arrival at Aslan's How Raid on the Castle Miraz Crowned Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance The Duel The Armies Assemble Battle at Aslan's How Return of the Lion The Door in the Air The Call A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree This is Home Lucy

Yes, that "War!" really did make me laugh.

Good post. And I would put Return of the Sith there too, with a little more than a little edge for me, because I can't help the fact that I love epic, overdone and overacted tragedies. All of those things gave Williams the chance to do something really special, and he did it. Now for the complete score release, so we can actually hear the special things that he did.

yes it is sped up - 30 seconds shorter then the version i have the by request album That is interesting. Maybe he likes faster tempos now-a-days. Kind of odd.

I haven't listened strait through my edits, but I put Irina's theme and Crystal Skull, then the entire album chronologically, and then Mutt's theme finnishing off with Raiders March. It seemed odd to have Irina and Crystal Skull showing up after what happens in the story.

I never liked the Jurassic Park theme at faster tempo the way he always plays it now. That is so interesting, because the tempo isn't sped up at all in the new Indiana Jones soundtrack recording of the Raiders March. Maybe he is just trying to get through the concert faster.

I am not too familiar with any of the older scores, so I didn't vote. But I will say that I absolutely love the four or so tracks I have heard from The Black Swan. Some really great material there.

I must say, every time Irina's theme is used in an action cue, I just love it. Mutt's theme is fun, but a little goes a long way. But every single moment where Irina's theme is turned into a march sort of piece it works wonderfully.

My review of the score is up at http://www.soundtracksreviewed.blogspot.com/ , but I will paste it here for anyone who doesn't want to go there. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull John Williams Rating: 9.2 It's The Phantom Menace all over again. It's every film music fan's dream (or nightmare) come true. It's anything but under-anticipated. It is, in fact, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hype seems like too tame a word for the recently released addition to the beloved Indiana Jones series. The themes which the general public can recognize and whistle 18 years after the fact (the most recent fact, that is) are few and far, far between. Of course, John Williams scores seem to be some of the only ones with that type of longevity (Jaws, E. T., Star Wars), and we have already seen old themes reprised in a new series, with great box office success, in the form of the prequel Star Wars movies. The similarities between The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Phantom Menace are obvious and comparisons have been going on for quite some time on the internet. For The Phantom Menace, Williams composed an amazingly epic, fun, adventurous, fascinating and meaningful score, which was subsequently ripped to shreds and pasted back in wherever Lucas felt it would be right. This is a very sore-spot for film music fans. The material quality vs. presentation quality difference has rarely been more pronounced, and Lucas' habit of jumping between battle scenes resulted in snippets of "Duel of the Fates" being stuck in with Gungan, semi-slapstick battle music. The result is a disaster that film music fans have worked extremely hard to unravel and turn into something similar to what Williams must have envisioned. It would have not been as bad had Lucas made all of the cuts before Williams composed the music. But, because of the order, the cuts mean very little musically. I think this might have been the downfall of Attack of the Clones as well. When Williams saw the type of musical artistic compromise that was Lucas' editing, he had a much harder time putting as much effort into the second installment. Of course, this is nothing but conjecture on my part, and I have yet to form a complete opinion on why, after this, Revenge of the Sith was such a complete musical triumph. But enough on Star Wars. Why is this relevant to an Indian Jones review? The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had a very similar anticipation level going in. Expectations were at fever pitch, just like they were for The Phantom Menace, and Williams had the almost impossible task of living up to those expectations. But he put everything he had into it, and, as opposed to The Phantom Menace, it paid off. This time 'round Spielberg was in the director's chair, and, as a result, the film is beautifully shot, the dialogue is impressive, and the music, thankfully, seems to be relatively intact. So, then, what of the music? First of all, of course, we are treated to the first really good quality recording of the "Raiders March". After 18 years and endless overplaying it has lost none of its effect, and remains one of the best adventure themes ever. Part way through the track it segues into Marion's theme, which, I always thought, far outdid the character and was far more than she deserved. Beautiful and soaring, it, to, remains one of the most effective love themes. Nothing of great interest is done with these two themes presentation, but they serve to create a "Here we go again" sense of excitement. Williams composed three new major themes for this installment, and each one is impressive and deserves a close look. First of all, the Crystal Skull theme gets a complete concert arrangement on the track "Call of the Crystal". The theme really is an interesting combination of theme and motif. There is a three note motif that is used as the Crystal Skull motif throughout, and is very effective inverted as well, but there is also a more drawn out melody that is usually played on top of the motif. The result is that there really are two different musical representations of the Crystal Skull, and while they work wonderfully together, they can both function excellently on their own. Next in the line-up of new themes is Mutt's treatment. Mutt, as Williams put it, is more of a Robin Hood character. He is flamboyant, he swings on vines and he sword fights. What more could you ask for in musical material? Williams, of course, does not disappoint, and while this is perhaps the weakest in a very strong line-up of new themes, it is still a fun ride. The scherzo-type piece is both fast-paced and thematic, a combination that some consider to be sadly lacking in much of Williams new music. The music is used effectively throughout the soundtrack, and gets a very good concert treatment on the track "The Adventures of Mutt". Irina's theme is my personal favorite of the new themes. While the Crystal Skull theme fits its material perfectly and Mutt's theme is a blast to listen to, Irina's theme is an amazing combination of the two. Though the concert arrangement on the track "Irina's Theme" is short and a little disappointing for the obvious potential of the theme, it is used on many other tracks very effectively. Seductive and dangerous, Williams chromatic melody outlines a musical identity of a level of completeness rarely found in the modern film score scene. Though the most commonly used role for the theme is a seductive one, some of the greatest moments in the score are the march treatments. The versatility of the theme is a tribute to the genius of Williams. Following the first four tracks of concert arrangements, all the new themes begin to turn into something meaningful. Williams uses the Raiders March theme to great effect once again as part of action cues, such as the beginning of "The Journey to Akator". "A Whirl Through Academe" shows intelligent use of two theme-based actions music, with both the Raiders March and Mutt's theme laying the groundwork for a fast paced piece of music. "The Spell of the Skull" and "Return" are dark, brooding cues based on the Crystal Skull theme, and "Return" builds the theme through an orchestral crescendo impressively before suddenly returning to low, menacing music. Outside of the concert arrangement, "The Jungle Chase" is the first of the tracks to showcase Irina's theme. But that is not all this gem of a track contains. Williams further complicates things by turning this action cue into a three theme based piece of music, with Raider's March, Mutt's theme and Irina's theme all getting chances at center stage. The march renditions of Irina's theme are presented on this track are some of the best moments in the entire soundtrack. From this point on in the album presentation the music takes on a darker tone. The Crystal Skull theme begins to be the more dominant theme, and its brooding harmonies control a large portion of the remaining soundscape. "Orellana's Cradle" uses the Crystal Skull theme, and never builds to much of anything, wandering instead among the Skull's dark tones, before doing an interesting attempt at the the Raiders March, which drops down and fades away quickly. "Grave Robbers" is a percussion driven piece, which treads an interesting line between brooding and action. Ethnic drums and swirling string pizzicato combine to create very foreign textures. The Crystal Skull melodic theme is used in the tense "Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold". Building to a crescendo that ends in the middle of the track, the music then turns into an impressive display of continually tense action music. Instead of Williams normal fast paced and wild action music, he uses repeating string motifs to keep tension high, while signaling danger throughout the brass section. After wondering through more brooding music based on the Crystal Skull theme, we get to Williams musical representation of ants on the track "Ants!". Though perhaps not the most original of orchestrations, the swirling string section is effective to say the least, and, living in Florida, I can tell you just how well the music represents the creepy-crawlies. "Temple Ruins and the Secret Revealed" takes the tension up a notch, and holds it there for the duration of the track, before finally being released with the Raiders March theme in "The Departure", after which Williams builds to an appropriate finale, which ends on a curiously subsided note. "Finale" is 9:20 minutes of pure Indiana Jones musical enjoyment. Beginning with a rendition of Marion's theme, it quickly goes back to the Raiders March, in all of its full-blown glory. This track, being used as the music for the credits is really nothing but a tour-de-force of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull themes, and next in line is Irina, followed closely by Mutt's spunky musical identity. Marion's theme gets reprised once again, before we get one more full blown blast of the Raiders March, which turns into a fascinating show of Williams skill in counterpoint, before taking a surprising and fascinating build-up into the last orchestral hit. Not only is this the first Indiana Jones score in 18 years, it is the first Williams score in two years, the longest break between scores in Williams' film scoring history. But once again Williams shows he has not lost his touch, and, though it might take a little longer at his present age, his end-product is far above any competition in the modern film scoring scene. I would say what the Crystal Skull theme represents, and how it blows away all competition, but that would give away too much of the story. Once you know what Williams is representing with this theme, it is obvious that he can represent it far better than any one else today. Mutt's theme is fun, and a worthy addition to the impressive array of Indiana Jones themes. Irina's theme, as I have already said, is my favorite of the new themes, and is a perfect character representation. All in all, I don't think it is too early to start talking Academy Awards. Finally, we have another Williams score, and believe me, it has been worth the wait. -Colin Thomson Track Listing: Raiders March Call of the Crystal The Adventures of Mutt Irina's Theme The Snake Pit The Spell of the Skull The Journey to Akator A Whirl Through Academe "Return" The Jungle Chase Orellana's Cradle Grave Robbers Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold Secret Doors and Scorpions Oxley's Dilemma Ants! Temple Ruins and the Secret Revealed The Departure Finale

Maybe, just maybe, folks should approach these the way they approach the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones. There is no doubt in my mind that those films are incredibly cheap, and many parts are laugh-out-loud where it wasn't meant. But I love Star Wars, in a large part because of its cheapness. You can just tell that the whole production was not afraid of being very epic, exciting, adventurous, and all that jazz. Cheap. And wonderful. All the 'serious' movies today are so worried about being 'insightful' that they become tedious. I love a movie that is more concerned about what it is telling than what people will think of it. The movies, in a way, follow the books in story-telling style. Remeber, these are children's stories, and no, Harry Potter is not the standard. Oh, and by the way King Mark, I had semi-similar opinion of the score when I watched the movie in theaters, but having bought the soundtrack, it is quite a bit better than I thought. There is really some interesting development of themes. In fact, the "Wonder of Narnia" theme (or whatever you want to call it) gets a nice military treatment in the track "The Duel", I believe, that is very impressive. You might give it a second chance.

That is, um, interesting. I only have the first two CR's, and was planning on getting the third once I am rich enough to afford it. Hopefully it won't be too hard to find at that point (if that point ever arrives).

Absolutely. That was the only point where I felt the music was well done. I got the soundtrack today, and, unfortunately, while we have a track called "Raid on the Castle", it sounds to me like it begins after the sneaking, and most of the album presentation of this track is just the normal MV battle scene fare. Rally unfortunate, because that was the one place where it seemed to me that the music was pretty good.

Good question. Wouldn't that be nice? In the book the bears were a sort of comic relief, because they (I can't remember if there was mroe than one) were alwasy sucking their paws, and it was embarrassing for them. Then, at the Miraz/Peter fight, it was tradition for the bears to preside or something like that over these fights, and they had to have a talk with the bear about keeping his paws out of his mouth. Of course, it didn't work. Now this probably would have been to funny to fit the movie, but there were moments that I really laughed reading the book, like during some meetings they had in which the bear(s) took part.

There were giants fighting in the book Prince Caspian. It is kind of a shame that they didn't put them in. And some comedic momemts with some slow-in-the-brain bears. I kind of wish those had been put in as well, because I remember chuckling at them in the book. And no, I don't remember the giants or gorillas doing any fighting in the first movie.

I won't be able to make it. So very sad. Oh well...Sometime else, I guess.

Interesting. I always thought the battle in the first one was really lacking something. I liked the battle scenes in the second one quite a bit more. And I thought Harry Gregson-Williams got some nice sneaky music together for where they attack Miraz' castle. A little bit more interesting than he had done previously witht he series, though, of course, I have only heard it once. We'll see how it holds up under more listening. By the way, does anyone know if it is on the soundtrack?

All right everyone, you heard Bryant. Go see Prince Caspian.

I am desperately hoping all seven get made. I would love to see Magician's Nephew, and, of course, The Last Battle. That book packs such an emotional punch, but some of that would be lost were not all the others done before it. I think they really need to do all of them, and I really hope they don't decide to just do a few of the more widely loved ones. I was just recently wondering who should compose the music for The Last Battle. If things continue as they have begun, we will get two movies per director/composer. Michael Apted/David Arnold would get The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair, which would be perfect (if they do a good job), because these are semi-similar stories (at least in style of story-telling). The next director/composer would get The Horse and His Boy and The Magician's Nephew. I am not sure who I would like to do these films. I was thinking perhaps Brad Bird/Michael Giacchino. I am sure Giacchino would do a good job, as he seems to be able to adapt to any and all styles he needs to. I don't know if Bird could pull it off. He doesn't seem to have a whole lot of directing experience, but what he has done seems very good. I don't know. What do you think? That leaves The Last Battle. If they do one director/composer per two movies, that leaves some combination with only the last in the series. I think this is a good situation, because they would be going into it completely fresh, and, while building on what everyone else has made, they would hopefully be able to put everything they have unreservedly into the movie, which would be the only way to do it justice. It would have to be darker. I think they should make every installment up until this one PG, but then crank it up to PG13 for this, because the story really calls for it. It is just plain dark for quite a bit, and it is very sad. It needs someone who is not afraid of making a very sad movie. I loved the ending, and I really don't know who should direct/compose for it. I was thinking perhaps James Newton Howard might be the right composer. He seems to have such a repect for his subject matter, and I think he would treat it rightly. To tell you the truth, I don't think John Williams would be right, and I know Howard Shore and James Horner and Hans Zimmer would be wrong. Maybe John Debney. But I think James Newton Howard might be the best option. On the director, I have absolutely no idea. What do you think?

Nothing one way or the other. She really has a pretty small role in the movie.

I watched the film on Friday night/Saturday morning, and thought, despit most reviews that I have heard, that it was really not that bad. If you didn't like the first one, than there is absolutely no hope for you on this one. But, as a semi-fan of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (at least I enjoyed it a couple times), Prince Caspian worked fine as a sequel. Ben Barnes did a fine job as Prince Caspian, Peter Dinklage was quite good as Trumpkin, but Skander Keynes really stole the show as Edmund Pevensie. I really hope they give him a larger role in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (as is almost certain to be the case). As for the rest, they were fine, and there was really no bad acting to take away from the film. There is not as much character to this film, and sometimes it seems like all you have is one battle after another. But the CGI driven battles are much better than the first installment, and, if you don't mind the light eye-candy fantasy CGI style employed in the first one, you should have no problem with these effects. The problem is that the story-line is just plain duller. There is not as many twists, and it ends up seeming more like a war movie with two armies trying to defeat each other, and less personal side-stories than were in the first one. This movie is drastically changed from the book, as opposed to the first, which followed quite closely. The story in the book, however, does not lend itself easily to a movie adaptation, and I thought that it worked fine with the changes they made. The Christian allegories are still strong, which, of course, I love. While The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe pretty much spelled out the Gospel, this is more about how to live a life following Aslan (Jesus). I know many will role their eyes, but thus it ever was. Please don't be offended by the line I put in about that aspect of the movie in this review. I must say that I am very glad to hear that Andrew Adamson is leaving. Though he is done a good job so far, I felt like the directing was a little worn out, and that a third Adamson film would be far too much (and I feel the same way about Harry Gregson-Williams). Amazing Grace is the only Michael Apted film I have watched, so I have no idea how he will do, but hopefully the producers knew what they were doing when they chose him. A fine installment, but I have a feeling, that, if all seven books are made into films, this one will probably be viewed as the worst. It was always my second least favorite book (after The Horse and His Boy), and that, coupled with the somewhat tired Adamson directing, combine to make me think that we have much brighter things in the future of this series. Still, all in all, a fine adaptation, and an enjoyable movie experience.

Are you saying that the music is tracked from the first movie, or just very similar? Colin Thomson

The Prince Caspian soundtrack comes out today. Are you going to buy it? I was going to make a poll, but those seem to have fallen out of favor recently. While much of the first one lacked thematic, compositional or orchestrational interest, there certainly were good moments in it. I enjoyed "Evacuating London" (a little), "A Narnai Lullaby" (obvious, but effective), "The Stone Table" (nice percussion), and "The Battle" (very MV, but MV at its overblown, overhyped, obvious, rhythmically dependant, best). The rest of the score was mostly forgettable for me. Having listened to the Amazon samples, I think I will buy the soundtrack, maybe today if I get a chance. It sounds like, instead of only creating atmospheric ambience, there seem to be many themes coming back from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I am interested to see if Harry Gregson-Williams will make something interesting out of them. How 'bout you? Colin Thomson

Are you trying to say that I don't?