The 16th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2023!

[Jay 37,369]

Without further ado, let's begin discussing the best of 2023

 

• Wikipedia ist of 2023 films
• JWFan's thread for discussing 2023 movies
• JWFan's thread for discussing 2023 scores

 

CATALOG FILM SCORE RELEASES OF 2023

 

Intrada Records

1. 2023-01-10 Silver Bullet Jay Chattaway
2. 2023-01-24 Funhouse John Beal
3. 2023-02-07 Shattered Alan Silvestri
4. 2023-02-28 The Faculty Marco Beltrami
5. 2023-03-21 80 For Brady John Debney
6. 2023-03-21 Peter Pan James Newton Howard
7. 2023-04-18 The Man Who Knew Too Much / On Dangerous Ground Bernard Herrmann
8. 2023-06-27 Deadly Blessing James Horner
9. 2023-07-18 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Denny Zeitlin
10. 2023-08-08 Windtalkers James Horner
11. 2023-08-21 Puppet Master Axis Trilogy Richard Band
12. 2023-09-19 Humanoids From The Deep James Horner
13. 2023-10-03 The Rock Hans Zimmer, Nick Glennie-Smith, Harry Gregson-Williams
14. 2023-10-31 Solo: The Deluxe Edition John Powell
15. 2023-11-14 Battle Beyond The Stars James Horner
16. 2023-12-12 MacArhur Jerry Goldsmith

La-La Land Records

1. 2023-01-13 Friday The 13th Part 2: Ultimate Cut
2. 2023-01-13 Chaplin
3. 2023-05-02 Sabrina
4. 2023-05-02 What's Eating Gilbert Grape
5. 2023-05-02 Rat Race
6. 2023-06-06 The Munsters / The Deputy / Wagon Train / The Virginian
7. 2023-06-06 Wuthering Heights
8. 2023-07-05 Hot Fuzz
9. 2023-07-05 Star Trek: The 1701 Collection Vol 1
10. 2023-07-25 Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
11. 2023-08-08 The Lost World
12. 2023-08-08 Gorky Park
13. 2023-09-05 Star Trek: The 1701 Collection Vol 2
14. 2023-09-05 The War of the Worlds / When Worlds Collide
15. 2023-10-03 Friday The 13th Part 3 Ultimate Cut
16. 2023-11-07 Star Trek: The 1701 Collection Vol 3
17. 2023-11-07 Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Suites & Themes)
18. 2023-11-24 Moment to Moment
19. 2023-11-24 Sneakers
20. 2023-11-24 The Mask of Zorro
21. 2023-11-24 Hook
22. 2023-11-24 Topaz
23. 2023-12-24 Live and Let Die
24. 2023-12-24 Octopussy
25. 2023-12-24 Silent Night

Quartet Records

1. 2023-01-10 Thief of Hearts (1984) - Harold Faltermeyer
2. 2023-05-26 Hannie Caulder (1971) - Ken Thorne
3. 2023-11-10 Theatre of Blood (1973) - Michael J. Lewis
4. 2023-11-10 Cliffhanger (1993) - Trevor Jones
5. 2023-12-08 Bloodline (1979) - Ennio Morricone
6. 2023-12-08 Dad (1989) - James Horner
7. 2023-12-08 Jane Eyre (1970) - John Williams
8. 2023-12-08 Venom (1981) - Michael Kamen
9. 2023-12-08 The Society of the Snow (2023) - Michael Giacchino

Varese Sarabande Records

1. 2023-02-24 The Time Machine (2002) - Klaus Badelt
2. 2023-06-23 Mouse Hunt (1997) - Alan Silvestri
3. 2023-06-23 City Hall (1996) - Jerry Goldsmith
4. 2023-08-04 April Fool's Day (1986) - Charles Bernstein
5. 2023-08-04 Blood Simple (1984) - Carter Burwell - Varese
6. 2023-12-01 Serenity (2005) - David Newman
7. 2023-12-01 Pleasantville (1998) - Randy Newman

Other labels

1. 2023-03-03 The Orville: Season 3 (New Horizons) - John Debney, Kevin Kaska, Joel McNeely, Kevin Cottee - Hollywood Records
2. 2023-03-31 Bride of Chucky (1998) - Graeme Revell - Enjoy The Ride
3. 2023-04-25 Summer School (1987) - Danny Elfman - Rusted Wave
4. 2023-04-25 Summer Rental (1985) - Alan Silvestri - Rusted Wave
5. 2023-06-01 Hammett (1982) - John Barry - Silva Screen
6. 2023-09-04 Boys On The Side (2003) - Bill Conti - Music Box
7. 2023-12-01 The Legend of John Williams - UMG France
8. 2023-12-01 The Sound Of Music (1965) - Rodgers & Hammerstein - Concord
9. 2023-12-08 The Naked Gun (1988) - Ira Newborn - Rusted Wave

 

As always, use these categories and/or create your own!

 

 

BEST SCORES OF 2023

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

 

BEST CATALOG TITLES OF 2023

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2022

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

 

 

 

Prior threads:

Spoiler

1. Spoiler

2002: The Best of 2002

2003: Best Films + Scores of 2003

2004: The Best of 2004

2005: The Best of 2005 / The best of 2005 (the non-JW awards) / Proposal for JWFAN Net Music Awards

2006: Composer of the Year (2006) / Grade The Year 2006 by Various Composers / The most underrated and overlooked gem of 2006

2007: Best of 2007

2008: Looking back on 2008 / Favorite Score of 2008 / 1st Annual JWFan Award / 1st Annual JWFan Award / 1st Annual JWFan Award / JWFan award minus the JW Bias

2009: JWFan 2009 Awards

2010: The 3rd (?) Annual JWFan Awards

2011: The 4th Annual JWFan Awards

2012: THE BEST OF 2012

2013: The 6th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2013!

2014: The 7th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2014!

2015: The 8th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2015!

2016: The 9th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2016!

2017: The 10th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2017!

2018: The 11th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2018!

2019: The 12th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2019!

2020: The 13th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2020!

2021: The 14th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2021!

2022: The 15th Annual JWFan Awards - The Best Scores and Films of 2022!

 

[mstrox 6,651]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

 

Here is a list of the titles released by the specialty labels this year:

 

Intrada Records

1.  

 

La-La Land Records

1.  

 

Quartet Records

1.  
2.  

Varese Sarabande Records

1.  

 

 

 

 

Jesus - pretty grim year.

[Jay 37,369]

Working on it

[Bellosh 3,419]

40 minutes ago, Jay said:

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

BEST SCORES OF 2023

DoD

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

Half the DoD OST

 

BEST CATALOG TITLES OF 2023

Disney Records' Indy box

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

Disney Records

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

DoD

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

Star Wars

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

DoD (film and score)

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

Disillusioned Indy fans

[JTN 2,030]

LEAST WEAK SCORE OF 2023

Disneyana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

 

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

-

 

BEST CATALOG TITLE OF 2023

Hook: The Ultimate Edition

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

La-La Land Records

 

BEST FILM OF 2023

-

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

-

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

All the JW soundtracks

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

Delusional Indy fans 

[Groovygoth666 670]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

BEST SCORES OF 2023

DoD

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

Half the DoD OST

 

BEST CATALOG TITLES OF 2023

Disney Records' Indy box

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

Disney Records

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

DoD

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

Star Wars Visions

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

DoD (film and score)

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

Disillusioned Indy fans

 

1 hour ago, JTW said:

LEAST WEAK SCORE OF 2023

Disneyana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

 

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

-

 

BEST CATALOG TITLE OF 2023

Hook: The Ultimate Edition

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

La-La Land Records

 

BEST FILM OF 2023

-

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

-

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

All the JW soundtracks

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

Delusional Indy fans 

[Bespin 8,483]

Already recapping 2023? I know it's not a celebrity death pool, but there are still 2 days remaining!

 

As they say, it's not over until it's over!

[Under-Terrestrial 51]

BEST [PRIMARILY ORIGINAL] SCORES OF 2023

 

Winners:

• AMERICAN FICTION - Laura Karpman (biased because she co-taught a poetry+music class during my last semester of undergrad)
• ASTEROID CITY - Alexandre Desplat
• THE BOY AND THE HERON - Joe Hisaishi (***my fave of the group***)
• THE CREATOR - Hans Zimmer
• DREAM SCENARIO - Owen Pallett (no one talks about this one!!)
• ELEMENTAL - Thomas Newman
• THE INVENTOR - Alex Mandel (no one talks about this one either!!)
• OPPENHEIMER - Ludwig Goransson
• PETER PAN AND WENDY - Daniel Hart
• POOR THINGS - Jerskin Fendrix

Pending Viewing:

• ORIGIN - Kris Bowers
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST - Mica Levi
• THE PEASANTS - Lukasz Rostkowski

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

• "Sail Away" - BEAU IS AFRAID - Bobby Krlic
• "The Last Smile" - THE BOY AND THE HERON - Joe Hisaishi
• "Presentation Music" - CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET - Harry Gregson-Williams
• "A Place In The Sky" - THE CREATOR - Hans Zimmer
• "I Wish This Was Real" - DREAM SCENARIO - Owen Pallett
• "You Were The Dream" - ELEMENTAL - Thomas Newman
• "Pipes" - A HAUNTING IN VENICE - Hildur Guonadottir
• "Tuk Tuk Chase" (***unreleased second half***) - INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY - John Williams
• "The Women Ascend" - THE INVENTOR - Alex Mandel
• "Can You Hear The Music?" - OPPENHEIMER - Ludwig Goransson (sorry, I know this piece is ubiquitous at this point)
• "Neverland" - PETER PAN AND WENDY - Daniel Hart
• "Paris" - POOR THINGS - Jerskin Fendrix
• "Sacrifice And Departure" - KNOCK AT THE CABIN - Herdis Stefansdottir

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

 

Winners:

• AIR
• POOR THINGS
• OPPENHEIMER
• ROBOT DREAMS
• THE HOLDOVERS
• MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE

Runners-Up:

• NIMONA
• SUZUME
• NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU
• THE BOY AND THE HERON
• KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

BEST SCORES OF 2023

1. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by John Williams
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Daniel Pemberton
3. Migration by John Powell
4. Oppenheimer by Ludwig Göransson
5. The Creator by Hans Zimmer
6. The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Brian Tyler
7. Loki: Season 2 by Nathalie Holt
8. The Mandalorian: Season 3 by Joseph Shirley
9. Only Murders in the Building by Siddhartha Khosla
10. Still: A Michael J. Fox Story by John Powell

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023 (with Williams)

1. Helena's Theme by John Williams
2. The Airport by John Williams
3. To Athens by John Williams
4. Auction at Hotel L'Atlantique by John Williams
5. Prologue to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by John Williams
6. Battle of Syracuse by John Williams
7. Tuk Tuk in Tangiers by John Williams
8. Across the Spider-Verse (Intro) by Daniel Pemberton
9. Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) by Daniel Pemberton
10. To Morocco by John Williams

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023 (without Williams)

1. Across the Spider-Verse (Intro) by Daniel Pemberton
2. Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) by Daniel Pemberton
3. Migration End Titles by John Powell
4. Duck Heaven by John Powell
5. Nueva York Train Chase by Daniel Pemberton
6. Across the Spider-Verse (Start A Band) by Daniel Pemberton
7. Trinity by Ludwig Göransson
8. Super Mario Bros. Opus by Brian Tyler
9. Run it Suite (Vocal Version) by Joseph Shirley
10. Standby by Hans Zimmer

 

 

BEST CATALOG TITLES OF 2023

 

1. Hook (The Ultimate Edition) by LLL
2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park by LLL
3. Solo a Star Wars Story by Intrada
4. The Orville: New Horizons by Hollywood Records
5. Sabrina by LLL
6. Heidi / Jane Eyre by Quartet
7. The Rock by Intrada
8. The Mask of Zorro by LLL
9. Sneakers by LLL
10. Windtalkers by Intrada

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

 

LLL

 

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

1. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
3. Oppenheimer
4. The Creator
5. Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. III
6. Elemental
7. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
8. Asteroid City
9. Barbie
10. Creed III

Honourable mention to The Boy and the Heron. I didn't really like the story but it was so beautiful.

 

 

BEST TV SHOW OF 2023

1. Ted Lasso: Season 3
2. Only Murders in the Building: Season 3

 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

 

HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK! HOOK!

All the Horner's releases

The release of The Orville: New Horizons

The animated films of 2023 were lots of fun

 

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

 

Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, part. One (a couple of great stunt but too much poor writing and character developement)

Napoleon (everything was just meh or awful)

Too many interesting movies that didn't get a proper theatrical release or too few screenings (I'm still pissed I missed Killers of the Flower Moon and Dumb Money)

The quality of CGI, I think except The Creator, Oppenheimer which were perfect all the way through the others had decent to awful CGI.

Super-heroes movies: We had the best one this year (Across the Spider-Verse), a good one (GotG, vol.3) and a lot of shitty projects

[Bellosh 3,419]

Score:

Dial of Destiny

 

Best Track:

To Athens

 

Best Catalog Title:

Hook

 

Best Film:

The Holdovers

 

Best Label:

LLL

 

 

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Scores: (not much competition here - one of the worst years for new scores in a long time in my view)

 

Migration

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

DoD

Wild Isles

 

Catalog Titles:

 

Hook

The Rock

 

Disappointments:

 

Napoleon - wasn't sure what to expect but the album does absolutely nothing for me.

Dead Reckoning - completely uninteresting and anonymous score compared to the first.

Chicken Run: Rise of the Nugget - disappointly generic in album form.

No sign of JP/// despite Williams' scores being released twice.

[Andy 4,138]

BEST SCORES OF 2023

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

The Flash ( I didn’t buy it, but it stood out in a good way)

Special Mention: Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Subspace Rhapsody
 

BEST CATALOG TITLES OF 2023

Legend of John Williams Box Set
Battle Beyond the Stars 

Hook

 

This is Horner’s year.  All of the fantastic Horner releases have inspired me to pick up more in 2024.  But if I’m being honest, none of them will likely match the exuberance of Battle Beyond the Stars. I just love that thing. 

 

 

FILM SCORE LABEL OF THE YEAR

Tough call. LLL has quite a list and the Bond bombshell has me re-evaluating my score budget for what it implies.  But I love that Intrada is home to so many great early Horner scores.  I also like how Intrada teased the names of composers coming in the new year.  Quartet keeps reminding everyone that they are not to be underestimated. I bought a LOT of scores from them this year. 
 

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Sometimes you have to just relax and enjoy a movie.  I’m glad they made this. 
 

Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Gunn proves that there is still potential for Superhero movies with charm and heart.   I’m looking forward to his DC films. 
 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

Strange New Worlds S2.  Some ups and downs, but overall, it is reminding us that Star Trek is a fun show with character you care about. 
 

 

SPECIFIC DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2023

Ahsoka. And I watched Rebels. But this felt painfully incompetent.  I’ve never lost interest in Star Wars until this year. 
 

SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023

 

Indiana Jones!!!! Good to see Dr Jones in the public consciousness one more time.  The botched soundtrack release was frustrating for many, but will be the stuff of legend. 
 

Tanglewood! My first visit. Unforgettable evening and great to meet some JWFans. 
 

 

Star Trek Original Series Set Tour - Ticonderoga NY

This was the day after Tanglewood.  Heaven. 

 

 

 

And speaking of Star Trek, who knew I could love a modern musical?  Subspace Rhapsody was bloody brilliant.  I teared up. This was the episode that tied everything together character wise, and gave you character emotions and thoughts that couldn’t be shared with traditional storytelling.  One of the pieces of entertainment that brought me the most joy this year.  I would buy a vinyl release just for that awesome album art.  

 

 

 

Hey I met Henry Thomas this year!  Seems like one of the Good Guys. 

 

 

 

 

I’d like to see more of this kind of thing.  With unreleased concert and media works. But what a lovely thing to come out of this year. 
 

 

 

I discovered Matcha this year.  It’s a calming ritual both preparing and drinking it.  Reminds me of something Spock would drink. 
 
 

I love toys. Especially 70s/80s toys. This GI Joe Omnibus brought back a part of my childhood that I stupidly sold off 20 years ago.

I think I bought fewer movies this year.  But this presentation of Barbarella stands out as one of my favorites from 2023. 
 

 

 

And that’s my personal look back! Overall I’ve had a few devastating family challenges this year, but I’ve managed to stay strong and be grateful for all that I have.  I’ve enjoyed the forums and the hobby a lot this year.   It’s been fun getting to know many of you more this year, and looking forward to more shenanigans in 2024. 

[Thor 7,508]

Much too early! I'll return in January with lists.

[Glóin the Dark 1,222]

4 hours ago, Thor said:

Much too early!

 

Indeed! I'll return in January 2026 with mine...

 

As usual, I've yet to see the films that hold the most promise for me: this time the top ones would be About Dry Grasses, The Zone of Interest, Poor Things, Showing Up, All of Us Strangers and La Chimera. Other notable omissions include Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, Totem, American Fiction and Ferrari.

 

Here's my (very) provisional choice of the ten films of the year: The Blue Caftan, Bottoms, Enys Men, Fremont, The Killer, Killers of the Flower Moon, May December, Oppenheimer, Passages and The Royal Hotel.

 

If I had to pick the one I most admire from those it would be Killers of the Flower Moon, while the one I most like is Bottoms.

[Thor 7,508]

Indeed, Gloin. Many of those are on my "to watch" list too, based on recommendations from my colleagues at various festivals. I always rely on you for being the sole -- and I mean SOLE - voice on JWFAN to highlight non-mainstream films, other than myself.

[KK 3,307]

There are still films to see, but at the moment, these are the ones that would likely be on my list:

Poor Things

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Zone of Interest

Oppenheimer

Anatomy of a Fall

All of Us Strangers

The Delinquents

Past Lives

 

I do think ultimately, Poor Things made for the most riveting cinema, just in everything it tries to do with its tools, even if some of the other films try to reach for bolder places.

 

Films that I haven't gotten to yet that I anticipate will crack my top 10:

La Chimera

Perfect Days

The Taste of Things

Fallen Leaves

 

Scores that I've enjoyed or have made an impression:

Poor Things by Jerskin Fendrix

The Zone of Interest by Mica Levi

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse by Daniel Pemberton

American Fiction by Laura Karpman

Oppenheimer by Ludwig Gorannsson

 

Poor Things is without a doubt, the most thrilling film score of the year in my opinion.

[Knight of Ren 789]

Happy New Year to all! As some have mentioned, I'm still missing some important films that I feel perhaps would enter a top 10, like The Holdovers, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest and some others, but here's where my list stands now!

 

BEST SCORES OF 2023

-One Piece - Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli

-The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Brian Tyler

-Across the Spider-Verse - Daniel Pemberton

-The Mageseeker - Gareth Coker

-Kimetsu no Yaiba: Swordsmith Village Arc - Go Shiina & Yuki Kajiura

-The Boy and the Heron - Joe Hisaishi

-Creed III / Mando S3 - Joseph Shirley

-Godzilla Minus One - Naoki Sato

-Blue Eye Samurai - Amie Doherty

-The Last Kingdom: Destiny is All - John Lunn, Eivør, Danny Saul

 

Honorable Mentions:

Planet of Lana, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Libres, The Antares Paradox, Frieren, Creation of the Gods I, Dungeons & Dragons, Oppenheimer

 

TOP 10 BEST TRACKS OF 2023

-Fighting Tooth and Veil - The Super Mario Bros. Movie

-Training Montage - Creed III

-Sylas and Wisteria III - Gareth Coker

-I'm Gonna Be King of the Pirates - One Piece

-Prologue to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

-Can You Hear the Music - Oppenheimer

-Guggenheim Assemble / Start a Band - Across the Spider-Verse

-Forever Forged in my Heart - Mando S3

-Found - Society of Snow

-Return to West Qi - Creation of the Gods I

 

BEST FILMS OF 2023

-The Boy and the Heron

-Godzilla Minus One

-Oppenheimer

-Bottoms

-Monster

-The Girls Are Alright

-The Teacher Who Promised the Sea

-A Strange Path

-Asedio

-Bastarden

 

Also, movies like Suzume, Aftersun, Babylon, RRR or Irati are from 2022, but I only got to see them in my country in 2023, so I wanted to mention them as well!

 

BEST TV SEASONS OF 2023

-La Mesías

-Blue Eye Samurai

-Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

-The Mandalorian S3

-Copenhagen Cowboy

-The Fall of the House of Usher

-One Piece S1

-The Last of Us S1

[Jay 37,369]

Added a bunch more catalog titles to the main post.  What else am I forgetting that came out in 2023?

[Edmilson 7,466]

Best Scores

• IJ & Dial of Destiny (especially in its complete form, the second half is great);
• Migration (doesn't reach HTTYD levels but it's a supremely entertaining animated score that will delight Powell fans who crave that kind of score from him);
• All the Light We Cannot See (the album is a bit too long, but the emotional parts are everything I wish from JNH these days, and even the dark suspense thriller parts work better once I saw the minisseries);
• Oppenheimer (it may not be easiest thing to listen to on album, but it works great in the movie, LG will win an Oscar for the Trinity sequence alone);
• Bonuses: The Creator, The Marvels, The Flash.

Best tracks

• Everything from To the Airport through Centuries Join Hands on the ISO Dial of Destiny, but if I had to pick one, I'd pick Through the Portal.
• The trio composed of Model City/To the Museum/A Day at the Museum, plus A Promise, Model Building, Not Today, The Most Important Light and Liberation from All the Light.
• Collapsing East Wing/Baby Shower from The Flash.
• Trinity from Oppenheimer.
• And pretty much every cue featuring the Snow/Lucy theme from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Best movies

 

I dunno, I didn't watch many of the most important movies of the year, more due to my own disinterest and disillusionment with the industry as a whole than anything, but from those I did see, Oppenheimer was the best one. Across the Spider-Verse was pretty good, though I still have few issues with it. John Wick 4 was awesome, a pure celebration of action cinema. Still, it's the best thing Marvel or DC put on a screen big or small this year.

 

Best TV shows

 

Again, I haven't seen much, streaming doesn't interest me that much those days, but Succession S4 was great.

 

Best expansions

 

Oh boy, if for newer stuff the year wasn't great, for those of us who'd rather spend most of your time with old stuff (particularly scores), then 2023 was fire!

 

Hook finally got a definitive edition, Sabrina delighted JW fans with a wonderful expansion, I got to know a bunch of great Goldsmith stuff I haven't heard before (like City Hall and MacArthur), The Rock made me finally understand why people like that score so much and for James Horner diehards like myself, 2023 was our year! As great as it is to have Hook get its definitive version, for my favorite expansion I choose The Mask of Zorro, one of my biggest holy grails of all time.

 

Plus, we got more Barrys, Pleasantville was a pleasant surprise (), JNH's Peter Pan was perhaps my most listened album on the first semester... And, although it's not exactly my kind of score (or movie), it's great to see a classic like The Sound of Music getting such a lavish edition, especially since it was such a passion project for MM. Great year!

 

Disappointments

 

2023 was full of disappointments and frustrations, how much time do you have? 

 

Oh, do you mean movies and TV shows and stuff? In that case, so...

 

I guess not exactly a specific movie but rather the general state of the creative industry as a whole. Across the board, movies, television, comic books, games, they are all facing a huge crisis due to years of poor decisions, bad management, betting on stuff that would never work on the level they want while ditching what did work for decades.

 

If they don't find a way to deal with those challenges, we may get to a point where newer generations won't discover the joys of watching an era-defining movie on the big screen or following a wonderfully told serialized story on TV or a comic book. Instead, they'll be too busy watching TikTok crap while the older ones are relegated to the nostalgia from when things were actually good. Or everyone will just be fed AI-produced crap anyway.

[Edmilson 7,466]

Also, I'll add another category (feel free to post your nominees or just ignore it entirely): the worst score of the year.

 

Usually, the obvious answer for 2023 would be Dead Reckoning Part 1, but at least that score supports what is happening in the movie and doesn't harm it. Unlike my actual choice for worst score of the year: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

 

Such an awfully generic score that sounds like could've been written by pretty much anyone with some very rudimentary musical knowledge. It's like it was written by ChatGPT after being trained with every superhero score of the past decade.

 

So, taking an inspiration from Broxton's (IMHO unfair) criticism of Blue Beetle, I guess we can call this category the AI-written score of the year?

 

The Guardians 3 score sounds so thin and pitiful, I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was all synth, even though it probably was performed by like 90+ musicians.

 

It was just so sad to see the movie trying really hard to be epic, dramatic, emotional, making audiences cry etc., and those efforts being sabotaged by the utterly generic score.

 

Can't believe this movie actually made me miss Tyler Bates. His score for GOTG Vol. 2 was wonderful, and I think he would've done an even better job on Vol. 3 hadn't Gunn replaced him for some bullshit reason.

[Glóin the Dark 1,222]

On 01/01/2024 at 12:58 AM, KK said:

The Delinquents

 

Interesting to see this mentioned, I read a five-star review in The Guardian early last year, followed by a few less good reviews in other places, and then didn't hear of it again. I'd forgotten its existence until it showed up in your list...

 

 

On 01/01/2024 at 12:58 AM, KK said:

All of Us Strangers

 

It's good to seen an Andrew Haigh film making it into the spotlight. They're always far more interesting than they look on paper, and usually go largely unnoticed.

 

 

On 01/01/2024 at 11:47 AM, Knight of Ren said:

-Bottoms

 

Glad someone else likes Bottoms. (The film.)

[Jay 37,369]

I wanted to liked Bottoms but was underwhelmed by it

[Glóin the Dark 1,222]

It's a style of comedy which doesn't usually appeal to me, and I'm not sure why it works so well...

[mstrox 6,651]

We liked Bottoms a lot!

 

As always, I won’t really be able to field a 2023 Fannies list - I might be able to fill a decent 2020 or 2021 list at this point.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

I'm doing a catch up of stuff I haven't seen before I make my list and watched Bottoms yesterday.

 

Even though the end is slightly overkill (pun intended) I loved it!

[Knight of Ren 789]

Yeah, I watched Bottoms without knowing too much about i and it caught me by surprise! The critique/satire is so well implemented within the comedy and everything feels so natural and organic, probably thanks to the comedic chops of both Rachel Sennot and Ayo Edebiri. Looking forward to see what else Emma Seligman does in the future beacuse her two feature films have been great IMO!

[Glóin the Dark 1,222]

I wonder whether Christopher Nolan has seen Bottoms because, if he has, I bet he’s kicking himself that he didn’t use “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for the Trinity Test scene.

[Jay 37,369]

Maybe my problem was that Bottoms was sooooooo hyped up for me before I saw it that I couldn't help but be let down that it wasn't a new masterpiece like I was expecting.  Very talented leads, though!

[Glóin the Dark 1,222]

It just occurred to me that I was complaining earlier about a bunch of films I felt were let down by their endings while, for some reason, giving Bottoms a free pass for its subpar final act…bloody hypocrite!

[Richard Penna 3,694]

On 02/01/2024 at 3:46 AM, Edmilson said:

Also, I'll add another category (feel free to post your nominees or just ignore it entirely): the worst score of the year.

 

Usually, the obvious answer for 2023 would be Dead Reckoning Part 1, but at least that score supports what is happening in the movie and doesn't harm it. Unlike my actual choice for worst score of the year: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

 

The JWFan razzies! I like it  

 

I'd probably agree with you - I like large parts of Fallout. DR was just dull and plodding and multiple attempts to listen just tailed off into nothing.

 

A general disappointment from me is that the labels' slates this year have been a near dud for me, but for a specific reason: my grail list has been annihilated. I got my #1 in 2021, a few others I really wanted at the same time and that leave just two (JP/// and Gladiator), which is a narrow window for them to hit. Once those two are gone, god knows what I'm going to get truly excited about. Obviously there are others I would enthusiastically purchase but not on the grail level. Hence, the stunning array of releases from the last 3 years or so has been so effective that I've got almost nothing left to ask for. Next stop after my last two? RotS and LC.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

With all these interesting releases lately, there's a good oportunity to widen one's horizon.

[mstrox 6,651]

19 hours ago, mstrox said:

 

As always, I won’t really be able to field a 2023 Fannies list - I might be able to fill a decent 2020 or 2021 list at this point.

As I suspected, I watched almost all kids movies this year.  Quality was variable.  We’ll catch up on the “adult” movies over the next few years. Here’s all I’ve seen from best to worst. I don’t expect these top places to hold up in a few years’ time, haha.  

 

1. Barbie

2. Wonka

3. Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves

4.  Bottoms

5.  Nimona

6. TMNT Mutant Mayhem

7. Renfield

8. Wish

9. Peter Pan and Wendy

10. Hunger Games snakes etc

11. Elemental

12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

13. The Little Mermaid

14.  Haunted Mansion

15.  Ant-man 3

16. The Slumber Party

17.  Monster High 2

18.  Ladybug and Cat Noir: The Movie

19. Summoning Sylvia

20. Urkel Saves Christmas: The Movie

21. The Super Mario Bros Movie

22.  Snow White’s Christmas Adventure

 

As for scores - I think I’ve only listened to Indiana Jones, Barbie, Ant Man, and Mario - the Indiana Jones album rules and the others are unexceptional.  Kind of a disappointment for Ant Man after the first two actually held up as music pretty well, but with the tonal change of the movie came…

 

Many of the Barbie songs are toe-tappers. I liked Neil Hannon’s Wonka songs, but I’d prefer to hear his original sung demos someday.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

With all these interesting releases lately, there's a good oportunity to widen one's horizon.

 

Were we talking about regular releases, yes, and I'd listened to a ton of stuff this year on Spotify in an exploratory fashion. That's harder to do with speciality releases where we can't easily try before buying.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 hour ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Were we talking about regular releases, yes, and I'd listened to a ton of stuff this year on Spotify in an exploratory fashion. That's harder to do with speciality releases where we can't easily try before buying.

 

If you don't like the score, you can usually get your money back by selling on eBay or Discogs.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

a) I'm not going to just buy every speciality release in the hopes that I might like it - that's rose tintedness to the extreme. b) the insane cost of shipping kills any idea of even contemplating that anyway

[Thor 7,508]

Currently in the process of sampling my way through thousands of scores. At number 1246 now, only 6 have made it to my short list out of those. Thankfully, I've listened regularly throughout the year, so can skip some. Before I delved into the document of titles, I already had some 50 titles on another short list. Phew!

[mstrox 6,651]

That’s too many

[GerateWohl 4,370]

5 minutes ago, Thor said:

Currently in the process of sampling my way through thousands of scores. At number 1246 now, only 6 have made it to my short list out of those. Thankfully, I've listened regularly throughout the year, so can skip some. Before I delved into the document of titles, I already had some 50 titles on another short list. Phew!

You have my sympathy.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

16 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

I'm not going to just buy every speciality release in the hopes that I might like it - that's rose tintedness to the extreme.

 

You're twisting my words.

 

[Jay 37,369]

Nobody has yet mentioned my favorite cue of the year

 

 

 

What do you guys think of this piece?

[Edmilson 7,466]

16 minutes ago, mstrox said:

That’s too many

Way too many for 2023.

[Thor 7,508]

19 minutes ago, mstrox said:

That’s too many

 

Certainly. But I'm always afraid to miss that one obscure gem!

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

12 minutes ago, Jay said:

Nobody has yet mentioned my favorite cue of the year

 

 

 

What do you guys think of this piece?

I've set in the score thread that I think the whole score is fantastic and this cue is probably the best on the album.

 

Album is on my list to listen to again somewhere this week to see where it ends on my final list of 2023. Cue is probably among favorites as well

[mstrox 6,651]

Never heard of the movie or the score, but I do like this piece, Jay!

[Jay 37,369]

Yea, it's a great composition.  The way it builds and builds, and then reaches that glorious climax.  It's like everything that can be great about sports scores all in one piece

[GerateWohl 4,370]

When I hear this piece in front of my inner eye I don't really see a conductor conducting and orchestra but rather a DJ at a mixing desk mixing over and over several different layers on the beat.

Which is probably ok for a contemporary score for a sports movie, but not my favourite kind of film music.

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

5 hours ago, mstrox said:

As I suspected, I watched almost all kids movies this year.  Quality was variable.  We’ll catch up on the “adult” movies over the next few years. Here’s all I’ve seen from best to worst. I don’t expect these top places to hold up in a few years’ time, haha.  

 

1. Barbie

2. Wonka

3. Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves

4.  Bottoms

5.  Nimona

6. TMNT Mutant Mayhem

7. Renfield

8. Wish

9. Peter Pan and Wendy

10. Hunger Games snakes etc

11. Elemental

12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

13. The Little Mermaid

14.  Haunted Mansion

15.  Ant-man 3

16. The Slumber Party

17.  Monster High 2

18.  Ladybug and Cat Noir: The Movie

19. Summoning Sylvia

20. Urkel Saves Christmas: The Movie

21. The Super Mario Bros Movie

22.  Snow White’s Christmas Adventure

 

As for scores - I think I’ve only listened to Indiana Jones, Barbie, Ant Man, and Mario - the Indiana Jones album rules and the others are unexceptional.  Kind of a disappointment for Ant Man after the first two actually held up as music pretty well, but with the tonal change of the movie came…

 

Many of the Barbie songs are toe-tappers. I liked Neil Hannon’s Wonka songs, but I’d prefer to hear his original sung demos someday.

The Wonka songs have massively grown on me (I’m a huge Divine Comedy fan…) but I was slightly disappointed by the lack of an end credits song sung by Neil, either an extra or a pop version of one of the main ones. An overture arrangement of the song melodies by Joby Talbot like was done for the Beauty and the Beast remake or Mary Poppins Returns would have been a great addition too. Still a great score.  

4 hours ago, Jay said:

Nobody has yet mentioned my favorite cue of the year

 

 

 

What do you guys think of this piece?

What is it?! Not available in my country as ever!

[Jay 37,369]

1 minute ago, Tom Guernsey said:

What is it?! Not available in my country as ever!

 

"We Were Never Eight" by Alexandre Desplat

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

The Wonka songs have massively grown on me (I’m a huge Divine Comedy fan…) but I was slightly disappointed by the lack of an end credits song sung by Neil, either an extra or a pop version of one of the main ones. An overture arrangement of the song melodies by Joby Talbot like was done for the Beauty and the Beast remake or Mary Poppins Returns would have been a great addition too. Still a great score.  

 

Agree about the Overture, that would've been great. Even if it was just for the album.

 

I get that there is no end credits song because the "main" part of tge credits is at the start of the film. And the rest of the credits is the Oompa Loompa song and A World Of Your Own