Film Music 2011 from Silva Screen America - Review

The Casual Annual
Review by Edmund Meinerts

Another year of film music passes, and as usual, Silva Screen Records have released their annual compilation album, FILM MUSIC 2011. Twelve cues have been selected from various well-known films, with five of them recorded by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the rest receiving a reimagining by London Music Works. As usual with a compilation album such as this, the target audience is not so much the devoted film score collector as it is the casual one, providing a brief overview of the year’s film scores in an easily digestible, 47-minute playlist.

The album opens with one of the year’s best cues, the glorious “Thor Kills the Destroyer” (1) from PATRICK DOYLE’s THOR. Though the rest of the score attracted some criticism for its employment of recent blockbuster stylistics that some felt didn’t sit well with DOYLE’s more lyrical style, this particular cue is a two-minute outburst of sheer, unbridled heroics – a necessity on any best-of-2011 playlist. The performance here is impressively close to the original and opens the album in style. “Lily’s Theme” (2) follows, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT’s major new identity for HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2. It’s a pretty cue, and its inclusion makes sense, though it is perhaps not the score’s most robust or memorable.

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The Darkest Hour (Soundtrack) by Tyler Bates - Reviewed

Time for the Dark Side
Review by Richard Buxton

It would seem that TYLER BATES can’t get a break. Be it his role of composer on many a critical failure such as SUCKER PUNCH or CONAN THE BARBARIAN, or his baffling decision to apparently lift entire tracks from other scores without permission, the long-time ZACK SNYDER companion is still making audiences wait for the moment he truly comes into his own as a composer. Those hoping THE DARKEST HOUR might provide such an opportunity are to be left disappointed once again however.

It would not be unfair to say that THE DARKEST HOUR and BATES were both doomed from the very beginning. Coming under heavy fire for its lifeless script and weak concept, THE DARKEST HOUR has made little-to-no impact on both audiences and has hardly lit up the box-office. A fundamental flaw in a film can come in many variations, and in this case it comes in the shape of a complete lack of attachment to both the protagonist’s and their struggle, and to the perplexingly impotent antagonists. As a result, THE DARKEST HOUR is both a story-telling and musical failure.

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SoundCast Ep. 39 - Oscars - I Think There's a Buzz!

Episode 39 - OSCARS: I THINK THERE’S A BUZZ.

In our annual Oscar prediction show, Michael Coleman (SoundWorksCollection.com) joins in. They also react to the Awards given out thus far and sidetrack on “What is an iconic score?”

Episode Highlights

00:00 — I think I hear a buzz.
01:27 — Welcome and Intro:  Michael Coleman (SoundworksCollection.com)
04:10 — WHYBLT? James Horner, Crysis 2
06:44 — WHYBLT? Joe Hisaishi
07:56 — WHYBLT? Oscar short-listers and Hanna's back
11:28 — WHYBLT? Tinker Tailor, The Artist, The Greatest Miracle
13:01 — WHYBLT? Haywire, Back to Gaya, Man to Man
15:28 — Sidetrack:  "What is an iconic score?"
28:09 — Awards Reactions
31:12 — Detour into Drive and Contagion
40:38 — Revisiting last year's predictions
41:41 — The Nominees Are...
44:01 — Reacting to the Entertainment Weekly article by Kyle Anderson (http://bit.ly/Aaat9r)
56:05 — Oscar Predictions!
66:18 — Conclusion

Select Music

00:00 — "Night Call" (Drive) by Kavinsky
00:00 — "A Real Hero" (Drive) by Cliff Martinez
04:30 — "A Return to the Caspian, and to the Iran of Old" (House of Sand and Fog) by James Horner
05:35 — "Chase" (Crysis 2) by Hans Zimmer, Borislav Slavov and Tillman Sillescu.
07:07 — "Opening" (Legend of the Four Gods Vol. 1) by Joe Hisaishi
08:37 — "Hanna's theme" (Hanna) by Hanna
11:58 — "George Smiley" (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) by Alberto Iglesias
13:05 — "Barcelona" (Haywire) by David Holmes
13:50 — "Main Title" (Back to Gaya) by Michael Kamen
15:33 — "The Game Has Changed" (Tron: Legacy) by Daft Punk
24:35 — "Dream is Collapsing" (Inception) by Hans Zimmer
26:21 — "Sorrow" (Gladiator) by Hans Zimmer
31:15 — "Tick of the Clock" (Drive) by Cliff Martinez
34:04 — "The Birds Are Doing That" (Contagion) by Cliff Martinez
42:09 — "The Adventures of Tintin" (The Adventures of Tin Tin) by John Williams
42:27 — "The Thief" (Hugo) by Howard Shore
42:45 — "George Valentin" (The Artist) by Ludovic Bource
43:07 — "George Smiley" (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) by Alberto Iglesias
43:31 — "The Reunion" (War Horse) by John Williams
46:27 — "Salander At Soder Hospital" (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) by Reznor/Ross
66:34 — "Peppy and George" (The Artist) by Ludovic Bource

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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Soundtrack) by Alberto Iglesias - Review

Old Men Drinking in the Dark
Review by Helen San

Classically trained Spanish composer ALBERTO IGLESIAS has an ethereal, perspicacious style that Hollywood has really taken a liking to. Like actor Antonio Banderas, IGLESIAS has been propelled him into the international spotlight by his close working relationship with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. Recent years has seen him scoring more and more Hollywood and European artfare, the kind that gets Academy Award nominations. Twice nominated for the Academy Awards before (THE CONSTANT GARDENER and THE KITE RUNNER), IGLESIAS has just been nominated a third time for TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY). He has already won the Hollywood Film Composer Award this year for both TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY and Almodóvar’s THE SKIN I LIVE IN.

IGLESIAS’ style is reminiscent of other classical composers like JOHN CORIGLIANO and ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL. He writes abstract, discordant, thorny compositions that pique and provoke, often contrasted against an amorphous, atonal background. When it hits the spot, his music is sheer brilliance. “Los Vestidos Desgarrados” (Track 1) in THE SKIN I LIVE IN, for example, is one of the most mesmerizing and ingenious string cues I’ve ever heard. The problem was, these flashes of genius were few and far between. In both previous Oscar-nominated scores , THE CONSTANT GARDENER and THE KITE RUNNER, IGLESIAS maintained his luminosity and intelligence at a relatively steady pace throughout the albums. This year, in both THE SKIN I LIVE IN and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, Iglesias’ music has been very uneven.

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Interview with Cliff Martinez from Sundance 2012

One of the most exciting assignments I received was a chance to sit down with the incredible composer, Cliff Martinez. We met at the Sundance Film Festival Headquarters in the Park City Marriott Hotel. I was initially concerned because I knew this was the hub of the festival and finding a quiet place to chat would be close to impossible. We decided on speaking in this tranquil swimming pool area that had glassed ceilings giving us the warmth of indoor heating along with the beautiful sunlight from above. Cliff had just come back from an early morning screening and mentioned he was running on a few hours of sleep as his duties as a Jury Member of Sundance were starting to take its toll on Day 6 of the festival, however Cliff was pleased to sit down with me for this interview. We discussed his work on DRIVE, CONTAGION, his working relationships with his directors and his experience as a Jury member at Sundance 2012.

CHECK OUT OUR SUNDANCE COVERAGE

Underworld: Awakening (Original Score) by Paul Haslinger - Review

Underworld: Do Not Disturb
Review by Edmund Meinerts

Attracting something of a cult following and consistently performing well at the box office despite scathing critical reviews across the board, the UNDERWORLD series proves that all you really need to earn money in Hollywood these days is Kate Beckinsale in a tight leather outfit. Throw in a few battles between supernatural creatures – vampires, werewolves, the usual types – and the result is a series of films where style is clearly prioritized over substance. Fortunately, films such as this would seem to offer ripe ground for a composer to let rip with some equally stylish horror music – unfortunately, that’s rarely the case with this series, and the fourth entry is hardly an exception to that rule.

To take a hybrid approach to the UNDERWORLD film scores would seem to be a logical move, considering the similarly hybrid creatures battling it out on the screen. Therefore, PAUL HASLINGER was approached to score the first film. HASLINGER, a former member of the electronic music group TANGERINE DREAM, has been dabbling with film scoring ever since that group’s own forays into the genre in the 80s, before lending his electronic programming services to GRAEME REVELL’S scores in the late 90s and early 00s. UNDERWORLD represented HASLINGER’S first exposure to the mainstream, and he responded with a primarily industrial score that offered both the necessary grungy drive for the fight scenes, and a handful of compelling softer ideas. It was never the most refined of scores, but the modern approach worked for the franchise.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

Sundance 2012: The Raid by Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese (In-Film Score Review)

THE RAID
Directed by Gareth Evans
Music by Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese
Review by: Bradley Winston

One of the most anticipated films at Sundance, The Raid, is a flurry of flying fists, feet and sweat all to the rhythmic score provided by Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese. Praised as “relentlessly exciting*” and “an action masterpiece**,” the film has left audiences out of breath and clutching their still-beating hearts thanks to the non-stop adrenaline rush that director Gareth Evans provides.

As a rookie member of an elite special-forces team, Rama (Iko Uwais) is instructed to hang back during a covert mission involving the extraction of a brutal crime lord from a rundown fifteen-story apartment block. But when a spotter blows their cover, boss Tama (Ray Sahetaphy) offers lifelong sanctuary to every killer, rapist and thief in the building in exchange for their heads. Now Rama must stand in for the team’s fallen leader Jaka (Joe Taslim) and use every bit of his fighting strength – winding through every floor and room to complete the mission and escape with his life.

The score is relentless as the action. Paired with the action, the music takes you on a thrill ride that you never want to end. Primarily an electronic score of drum machine beats and unique sounds, the music could easily be trapped in a techno pit like the Chemical Brother’s score to Hanna, but the heart-warming strings and soft piano touches in the human-element moments of the film draw you back to reality to realize you care about these human-punching bags and want the lead actor, Iko Uwais (“Rama”), to defeat his enemies and get home.

The main theme introduced early on in the film, continually teases the audience with a feeling of unfinished melody as the characters fight their way up a 15-story building. We don’t actually hear the entire theme played out until the final credits when the score blends into an original song produced by Shinoda sparks to life and eases us back to reality. The cord tension pulls at your subconscious so much that when you finally hear the full melody and the action is finally over you can actually relax and let the experience of the ride wash over you.

The Raid marks Mike Shinoda’s first score as a film composer. His career is primarily known as being a member of Linkin Park and contributing many influential songs to movie soundtracks over the years. Joseph Trapanese collaborated with Daft Punk on the riveting score to TRON: Legacy and recently contributed to five tracks on M83’s latest double-album release, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” as well as scoring projects like The Bannen Way and the upcoming animated series TRON: Uprising.

The Raid will release in theaters on March 23rd nationwide. There are no plans to release a score soundtrack at this time.

Interview: Composer Robert Duncan - Having Fun Scoring the Castle

Interview by Richard Buxton

As the ABC dramedy CASTLE continues through its fourth season on air, versatile composer ROBERT DUNCAN explores his work on the show and his previous experiences of scoring hits such as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, THE UNIT and THE CHICAGO CODE, and offers an insight into the differences between TV and Film scoring.


TS- How exactly did you land the role of Castle's composer?

RD - I heard about the show in the pilot stage and had a meeting with one of the executives at ABC. She then took my demo CD and gave it to Castle producers Andrew Marlowe and Laurie Zaks. They got a few submissions, but kept coming back to me and eventually I was chosen. I was very lucky.


TS- Looking back over the previous three seasons of Castle, how would you say your music has evolved, and have such changes been a result of major storyline shifts or you establishing a greater understanding of the characters and the world they inhabit?

RD - The music has evolved with the characters. During the pilot, the main characters, Castle and detective Beckett were just meeting each other and there was an almost primal, slightly animalistic element to their flirting. Now their relationship is a lot deeper and the music has become more introspective.


TS- Being a comedy/drama, how has your approach to scoring Castle differed to say, a straight drama? Is the act of balancing the two genres a hindrance, or does it allow you greater freedom to experiment musically?

RD - Each show I work on has its own unique personality and vibe that I try to tap into. Even the way comedy is handled in a show can widely vary. My first lesson in scoring comedy was working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The producers took what I think was a clever approach to the comedy: don't play it. With just a few exceptions, music always played the 'straight man', and sidestepped the humor. 'Clear for the joke' I would hear in meetings, meaning a bar ringout and rest, or sustain before continuing. Occasionally the music had some tongue-in-cheek or winking but not much. With Castle, the music plays more literally. The producers want the music to contour with almost every beat. Balancing comedy with drama isn't an awkward feat; in my mind it’s a palette and sensibility choice. One painting may be entirely made from varying shades of blue. Another may have blues, reds and greens.


READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

BAFTA 2011 Film Award Nominees for Best Original Score

In case you've missed it, below are the this year's BAFTA Nominees for Original Score.  No big surprises here.  We'll go way out on a limb and predict that Ludovic Bource will be bringing home another award here. What say you?

THE ARTIST - Ludovic Bource


THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross


HUGO Howard - Shore


TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Alberto Iglesias


WAR HORSE - John Williams


SEE THE REST OF THE 2011 BAFTA NOMINEES HERE