Andy

The Holiday Season has an established sound. Carols, commercials, and media have conditioned us to know it when we hear it. Which feature film score nails that gingerbread feeling? Perhaps not your favorite, but which film score is the most Christmassy sounding? I eliminated Christmas horror and action, as well as movies that happen to take place at Christmas, but you can feel free to argue why Kamen's Complete Die Hard conjures up warm feelings of holiday cheer if you want. I also eliminated television specials and short films like the Snowman or Charlie Brown. This is for feature length film scores only.

What a perfect way to describe the appeal! YES! I used to watch this on HBO all the time, and saw it before the original. So growing up, was more familiar with Destroyer than Barbarian. Can't wait to get this!

Bob McGrath passed last week. Like Fred Rogers, he seemed like the real deal. I really miss children's entertainment that is gentle, genuine, and without snark.

This looks super cool. I would love this. So many releases that have to be put off until next year.

One of my soundtrack goals is to discover more Barry. But I've spent way too much lately, so anything like this will have to wait.

I absolutely love that box set. I like to randomly pick a disc and re-re-re discover things that make me smile.

I don't care for him as a person, but I respect James Cameron for sticking to his guns and also staying (mostly) to the genre of fantasy/sci-fi. He could easily try to become the history professor like Spielberg, but he's clearly a showman. Don't really love Avatar, but I enjoyed it, and while the narrative is not new, it's at least not a reboot or adaptation. And it's fine as entertainment. Plus, I want 3D to come back. #TeamCameron

Perfection.

Violent Night was lots of fun. I especially liked the bit about Beverly D’Angelo is having a lot of fun here too. I enjoyed the director’s previous efforts Dead Snow and Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters. This is the same kind of thing. Over the top, not to be taken seriously. Not mean spirited, just fun. On a whim, I watched 2020’s Fatman with Mel Gibson, which shares some similarities with Violent Night. They pair well together, with Violent Night being the more “popcorn” of the two.

When the title of ToD comes up with Willie blocking it (cause you already know the title, dummy) and the horns swell up in that eastern exotic way, I get chills every single time.

I believe so. Matthew Robbins was good friends with George Lucas, so I’d bet that’s how ILM got the job.

Dragonslayer is fantastic, and a bit of a paradox. Marketed to kids in the wake of Star Wars, but it eschews the swashbuckling expectations for a somewhat somber affair with imperfect protagonists living at the end of an epoch. It’s got something rather profound to say about Christianity replacing magic and sorcery. A score that is as off kilter as the film, and visual effects better than they should’ve been. Astonishing that in the age of Hi Def physical media, Dragonslayer and Yound Sherlock Holmes are both so late, considering they’re both damn good, and always mentioned in ILM docs. Probably my last big holdout for Blu Ray.

Dial of Destiny? DoD? Would it have killed them to name it Pinwheel Of Ages?

Me too