Man of Steel - Defender of Middle Earth

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, whether in front of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES or not, the Christopher Nolan produced, Zach Snyder directed, new, Superman-tale, THE MAN OF STEEL, has a teaser trailer. The visuals are compelling enough (I suppose), but, personally, I'm not looking forward to any shaky-cam-version of Superman. Aside from that, I don't yet find anything too offensive in the trail...oh wait.

 Does that music sound a bit familiar? Oh it most certainly should...but it was originally written for another earth...Middle Earth. That unforgettable solo soprano is none other than Howard Shore's "Lament for Gandalf" (THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING).

For most who view this trailer, it will be inconsequential, but some of you soundtrack-geniuses out there might find it a tad distracting.  Perhaps we can hold out hope for Princess Leia's theme in the full trailer down the road.

Does this seem like an odd pairing to you?  Does it distract or bother you?

The King of Fighters XIII Soundtrack Trailer

Get More: GameTrailers.com, King of Fighters XIII - Soundtrack Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

So if you are a fan of the KING OF FIGHTERS franchise, especially it's music, then I'm sure you are quite happy with this soundtrack trailer.

Why do more soundtracks get their own trailers???

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Trailer and Score by Rachel Portman

Every once in a while a movie completely blindsides me.  In a day where we get entirely too much information about upcoming movies (often subsequently devaluing the actual viewing experience), the new film SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN directed by Wayne Wang and based on the book by Lisa See, has managed to do just that. And I love it.

Not only does the stunningly beautiful trailer (above) give me chills and even tears, but the fact that Rachel Portman is providing the score just amps up my excitement to an entirely different level!  In fact, you can already pre-order the original soundtrack here.


Given the job she did on THE JOY LUCK club, I think we have good reason to anticipate this release with high expectations.  With all of the Super-hero-testosterone-laden-movies that dominate the summer, it's nice to be able to look forward to something with a little more depth and sensitivity.  I think SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is going to fit the bill.

So what do you think of this trailer and the possibilities for Portman's score?

X-Men: First Class Trailer with Music (by Henry Jackman?)

In case you were like me and missed the debut of the full trailer of the upcoming X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, well...there it is.  Admittedly, it looks and sounds promising.  It's been widely reported for some months that composer HENRY JACKMAN (Monsters Versus Aliens, Kick Ass, Henri 4) would be providing the score.

While it was a little disappointing to know that John Powell was not remaining with the franchise (it's not like he isn't staying busy), I look forward to Jackman bringing something fresh to the table.  If this trailer is any indication (given how deceptive trailers can be), then this prequel looks like it could really help redeem the franchise from the sins of X-Men: The Last Stand.

Additionally, it is being reported that the music heard in this trailer is by Henry Jackman - a track entitled "Empathy."  While we look to get this confirmed, go ahead and enjoy the trailer and the appropriateness of the music included...and dream a little longer that First Class could turn out to be just that.

Hanna Trailer - Are you intrigued?

Those of you wondering about the film, HANNA, which came up in episode #19 of The SoundCast, you can check out the trailer above.  As you will see at the end of the trailer, the composers attached to this film are already a big deal.

It definitely looks like a depature for director Joe Wright, but I have to admit to being moderately intrigued by this trailer.

What do you think of it...and what do you think about who will be composing the score?

New Star Trek Trailer Online

Want a less-than-perfect look at the new Star Trek Trailer? Better than no look at all, I say. If you're like me, and haven't had a chance to see Quantum of Solace yet, then wipe up your tears and get to clickin'. Some brave soul has posted the Star Trek trailer online. Won't be long before we get a much better version, but this one is not bad.

I'm certainly ping ponging on this one. At first I thought this was going to be great...then not so much...and now? Well, I just don't know. Yes...my heart rate went up a little bit while watching this trailer, but there is just some level of disconnect for me. Perhaps because it's a mix of the old school Trek look with contemporary CG or perhaps its just seeing different actors playing those iconic roles. I'm just not sure. Well, go ahead and form your own opinion....

May 2009 seems like a long time to wait...

Fantastic new trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Back in May of this year the teaser trailer for director David Fincher's next visual treat debuted with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The mesmerizing and tantalizing images were musically backed by the equally mesmermizing and tantalizing piece "The Aquarium" from Carnival of the Animals. It was nearly a perfect trailer and, to tell you the truth, I was more excited about the potential of this THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON than what the latest Indy film did for me.

For sometime it has been a toss up as to which film I was most looking forward to seeing this December: AUSTRALIA or BENJAMIN BUTTON.  Recently a second full length trailer was released and with that, "Old" BENJAMIN BUTTON is by far the front runner now.

While the first trailer emphasized the wonderous and mystical, this new trailer grounds the drama a bit more.  Included in that "grounding" is "new" musical accompaniment.  Now, I 'm not certain if these are excerpts of ALEXANDRE DESPLAT's new score for the film, but  I do not recognize it off-hand.  What we hear certainly could be...as the score was recorded some time ago (check out scoringsessions.com's coverage) and is certainly in Desplat's minimalist vein.

Regardless, this movie looks amazingly good.  With the under-appreciated Brad Pitt, the always fantastic Cate Blanchette at the heart of the film and with David Fincher as the mastercraftsman over the entire project, my hopes could be no higher.   I'm also betting that THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is going to be a far better showcase for Desplat's talents than the overly-gushed GOLDEN COMPASS was last year.  So what do you say?

Check out the new trailer here

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer Trailer

The official trailer for THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPORER is now available. Finally...an entry from THE MUMMY franchise that is somewhat intriguing. With Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh together (plus a Yeti!), how could you not be intrigued?

Direct Rob Cohen's site has a link to the high def version of the trailer here. Also, the director talks about composer Randy Edelman's score here.

It's been a while since RANDY EDELMAN has done a big-budget, action film. I'm more than a little intrigued about what he will produce here. Once again he teams up with Rob Cohen and his thematic prowess is legendary (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Dragonheart, Gettysburg) so we know he'll deliver in that department. But those 1990-synths will most likely not cut the hot-mustard, so I'm hoping for a full symphonic extravaganza. Oh...and I'm not entirely sure of the music used in the trailer, but it sounds like production-music and not anything from Mr. Edelman.

The Dark Knight Trailer #2 - More of the same

...more of the same music. That is. The second full length trailer for, what seems to be, the most anticipated film of the Summer, has just been posted. In a Summer full of potential super-blockbusters, THE DARK KNIGHT has the masses in the palm of their viral-marketing palms. Admittedly, this does look like it is going to soar above the rest of the Summer line-up as director Christopher Nolan is putting himself in a class by himself. Heath Ledger's performance looks as though it will be unforgettable. He'll be sorely missed.

Oh yes. In terms of the music, appears to be more of the same from BATMAN BEGINS. This begs the question as to just what Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard have in store for us this time out. The soundtrack from Warner Records is slated for release on July 1, 2008. If you just can't wait, the answer is simple...just pre-order the Batman.


You can view this trailer (and download it) in all its high definition glory here.

New IRON MAN Trailer!

Ok...IRON MAN is fast becoming the most anticipated movie of the year...at least for me. If the movie ends up living up to the quality of its trailers...we are in for a true, superhero-treat this May! Let's hope that composer RAMIN DJAWADI's can live up to all the expectations as well.

Check out the latest IRON MAN trailer below or visit the myspace site for high-def versions. You'll be glad you did.

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

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Mongol Trailer

With all the of the Cue Award hub-bub and reviews I've been trying to knock out...I've neglected to post a great trailers that were recently released. I'll start with the latest one for the Oscar Nominated "MONGOL."

I'm really looking forward to this one - what I've heard of composer Tuomas Kantelinen's score for the film is pretty doggone on good as well. The release date is in June 6, 2008.

Check out the MONGOL trailer here.

More trailer stuff on the way...

Best Trailer Music: 2006 Cue Award

Ah trailer music. The goal is to cram as much emotion into 30 seconds to a minute's worth of screen-time. This effort causes trailer producers to match up some truly evocative music cues to images of an upcoming film. When it's done right, the end result is more tickets sold.

2006 saw some inventive uses of previously released film score. Whether it was John Williams' "Krypton" from Superman: The Movie or Hans Zimmer's "Spectres in the Fog" from The Last Samurai, trailer producers musically tagged their trailers effectively, but what trailer/music combo worked best?

This year's nominees were:

World Trade Center trailer - The Life of David Gale
The Da Vinci Code trailer - Constantine
The Painted Veil – The Last Samurai
Superman Returns - “Krypton” from Superman
Miami Vice - “Numb Encore
”Meet the Robinsons – Main theme from Sky Captain


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER