Every day until the Oscars ceremony we’ll be highlighting a different category or movie here on the LAMB! Here’s a link to all the posts written so far: https://largeassmovieblogs.com/2018/01/the-lamb-devours-the-oscars-2018-roster.html
Today, The Vern from That Moment In is here to look at the nominees for Best Original Score.
When discussing the five composers who were nominated for Best Original Score. I feel that there was only three of the nominees who had any originality with their music. Not to dismiss too harshly on the other two composers because their music is beautiful and it fits perfectly with the visuals that they’re for. But when I listened to a few tracks by myself, I feel like I could have used them for other films they composed for and it would still work. Let me explain further with the five nominees.
**Note I am not a music expert nor have I studied music appreciation. I also have not viewed every movie nominated. Those who have been prepared to be sacked, have already done so.***
Dunkirk – Composer Hans Zimmer
While listening to a few tracks from the latest Christopher Nolan film, I feel like you could switch many tracks and use them in his other pictures. Maybe it’s just me but you could take any track and put them with Interstellar or any of The Dark Knight Trilogy and it would work just fine.
Star Wars : The Last Jedi – Composer John WIlliams
John Williams has composed the music to every single Star Wars movie since 1977 and he does an amazing job at all 8 movies (that may be a misprint, I don’t care). It must be frustrating to compose a score for a movie series that is as iconic as Star Wars. You want to expand and take the music in new places, but yet you still have to appease fans who love the original. While listening to a few tracks of The Last Jedi, I feel like Williams for the most part did a good job at balancing iconic motifs with updated music. The problem is that the score for me did not feel as unique as other ones in this franchise. I could put any track with any Star Wars movie (minus the original trilogy) and it would work just fine. I think it’s a good soundtrack but there wasn’t anything new or original about it.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – Composer Carter Burwell
This soundtrack feels like the lost record of a really good guitar artist that was long forgotten about. I have not seen this, but from just looking at a few stills this music matches perfectly with it. I love how it goes from guitars to this orchestra and it all feels genuine. More soundtracks should utilize the guitar more than they do.
Phantom Thread – Composer Jonny Greenwood
In previous collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, Jonny Greenwood’s scores always felt slightly disjointed but yet bold, very much like the main characters in those features. Phantom Thread is different because it’s way softer than those other movies. It doesn’t have the same brashness of other PTA movies and yet it’s still as strong too. It has this classic style of film composing that goes back to when movies had overtures and intermissions. I would have loved it if this did start with five minutes of just the score playing before the actual movie
The Shape of Water – Composer Alexandre Desplat
I will say it right here and now that this is my favorite score of 2017. Am I a bit biased because I love the movie so much, absolutely. But I still think that even if I never saw this movie this would still be my favorite of the year. It sounds unlike other movies released in 2017. I love the use of the accordion and other uncommon instruments on many tracks. Mr. Desplat’s score works for just this movie and no others. The same thing can be said for any of Guillermo Del Toro’s other features. It would only work just for this.
Well there you go, my look at the best movies scores for movies that came out in 2017. Thanks to Jay Cluitt for having me write up this post for The LAMB.
What do you think is going to win ?
Tags: That Moment In