The Best Film Scores of December 2021
December takes us to the end of the year, bringing not just the last of the awards season hopefuls but also a number of my favorite scores of 2021, like La Panthere des Neiges and The Novice. As a result, […]
2022 Academy Award Nominations – Best Original Score
The upcoming Academy Awards mark the end of the year’s award season. But before we dig into the nominations, let’s address the elephant in the room. The Academy, under threats from ABC, has demoted eight awards categories, including best original […]
2022 EE BAFTA Nominations – Best Original Score Overview
The 2022 awards season draws to a close with the EE BAFTAs, the second-to-last major ceremony of the year, airing later tonight. This year’s best original score nominees are largely familiar faces at this point in the season, with Hans […]
Best Film Scores of 2019
After listening to nearly 700 scores released in 2019, I present the definitive list of the best film scores of the year.
The King – Nicholas Britell (2019)
Despite the ever-present strife and squalor in The King, Nicholas Britell’s score brings a sense of majesty to Hal’s transition from prince into King Henry V. The clearest example of this is during Prince Hal’s coronation. As grandiose images of […]
Best Film Scores of November 2019
Too often film music takes things a bit too seriously, making Nathan Johnson’s score to Knives Out all the more refreshing. Johnson manages to have some fun without it becoming completely irreverent. The clearest example is “The Thrombey Family Theme,” […]
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell (2018)
Nicholas Britell’s score for If Beale Street Could Talk conjures up a parallel world, where memories, hopes, and fears meld together, floating like some great overwhelming cloud. Much of the film lives in the memories of its main character, Tish. […]
2019 Academy Award Nominations – Best Music/Original Score
2019’s Golden Globe and BAFTA winners for Best Music/Original Score failed to make the final cut for the 91st Academy Awards, giving five unproven scores the chance at glory. While I may not be an awards-season aficionado, the least I […]
2019 BAFTA Nominations – Best Original Music
BlacKkKlansman by Terence Blanchard If Beale Street Could Talk by Nicholas Britell Isle of Dogs by Alexandre Desplat Mary Poppins Returns by Marc Shaiman A Star is Born by Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Lukas Nelson ANALYSIS This year’s BAFTA […]
Best Film Scores of 2018
In 2018 I listened to around 80 film scores and ranked my favorites (as well as a few honorable mentions that straddled the top-10 but didn’t quite make the cut). Many of these have appeared on other year-end lists, but […]