Here we go. Part 2.
LJ's being annoying again, so I have to divide this entry into multiple parts. Sorry for this inconvenience.
RETURN TO PART 1.
I managed to download a bunch of soundtracks, and I'm considering buying some of them (assuming I'll get enough money to do so xD).
300 soundtrack is, to say it bluntly, the ultimate guilty pleasure stuff. Most of the time the music it has is pretty much everything I hate about those Media Ventures scores: blunt rhythms, odd mixing of orchestra and synths, overbearing masculinity, hard rock elements, and yet I can't help but like it. It's the stuff kickass masculine scores are made of with big choral use (thankfully this is the real deal and not synth choir), some awesome battle tracks and luckily some nice tender moments as well. At the same time it has a bunch of negative points and yet I can't help but ignore those in favour of the whole "kickass" stuff the score is made of. In a sense the feeling I get is kind of similar to the score of Pan's Labyrinth in that it's perverse and molests you and you can't help but like it (except that Pan's Labyrinth did so in a subtle, mystical way whereas 300 has a pounding in-your-face attitude which you can't help but love xD).
Some of my favourite moments in the score are "To Victory" with its sheer aggressive sound, "Returns a King" with its epic choral sound which is like a mix of Gabriel Yared's rejected Troy score and Vangelis's Alexander score, "Goodbye My Love" with its heartbreaking melody (let's hope this scene will be as touching visually as it is musically), "Come and Get Them" with its massive choral and clanging sound, "Fever Dream" with its hard rock and rebel attitude, "A God King Bleeds" with its dark heroism, and "Remember Us" which is a fitting and melancholic conclusion to the album.
If the score and the kickass trailers are any indication, 300 the movie will be the ultimate guilty pleasure of all movies. It looks like it'll be both a visual and aural experience that will transcend itself to a psychotic level. I guess the Spartans would be proud of it, but we'll see. The movie might still surprise me, though but I hope it won't be a disappointment after all the hype and hyperactive stuff it has put me through. And as I later on found out, the movie turned out to be pretty much what I'd expected it to be. =P
A word of advice for those well versed with soundtracks and stuff, though. Tyler Bates's 300 score is very reminiscent of Elliot Goldenthal's Titus in many ways. I didn't even realize this at first but after a couple of listenings I realized that tracks like "Returns a King" and "Remember Us" are almost note-to-note copies of certain Titus tracks. Apparently the director wanted Bates to copy that kind of style, and it's a shame it happened, but luckily this rip-off stuff doesn't detract from the score that much, because overall the score works really well even though it lifts stuff from other scores. So yeah, give it a listen if you're into this kind of music.
Beyond Good & Evil's soundtrack is quite nice, although it has only a few standout tracks. The ones I liked the most are the sad "Redemption" and that ultimate kickass battle track "Dancing with DomZ" which utilizes synths (and maybe even real orchestra, I'm not quite sure because the mix is a bit muffled) as well as male and female choir and some really wicked and delicious alien grunting and chanting and that pulsating bass rhythm beneath it all. This makes sense, because the protagonist in the game is a female (and thus the female choir represents her whereas the male choir works as a counterpoint by representing the aliens who stand in the protagonist's way). I also dig the techno type of rhythm this has and how it still manages to keep an epic orchestral and choral sound. It's easily one of the best game battle tracks I've heard in a while.
Aaron Zigman's Bridge to Terabithia Promo was a positive surprise, because I honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it turned out to be. His writing mixes in guitar, orchestra and choir in a very touching and yet adventurous way. I guess one could say the style is very John Debney -like, which is not a bad thing. The main theme that reappears throughout the score in key points (usually with choir and guitar, although there are other variations) and is quite beautiful and memorable. The battle tracks are aggressive and some of them contain some epic choral passages. The sad, contemplative cues are very touching, and the magical moments are highlighted by choir, usually accompanied by the main theme (a good example being the lengthy "Entering the Forest" cue). The end credits music is particularly effective with a magnificent rendition of the main theme, and the cues representing the era in our world are quite nice too although the magical cues really steal the show. The score's playful, tearjerking, dark, dramatic and magical depending on what's going on, and I like that kind of versatility in a score.
I've never heard of Zigman prior to hearing this score, but this left me so impressed that I wonder if he has other scores and if they are as magical and beautiful as this score. The mix of orchestra, choir and guitars (have to mention those separately, because guitars play an important role) is mixed well, and the mix is quite rich. I just love this kind of orchestral and choral writing which doesn't have any synth elements (as far as I can hear, anyway), and even the loudest cues never become as obnoxious as some orchestral action cues can become (like the ones of Don Davis, for example). If Zigman keeps this kind of quality writing up, he might just rise to the level of the current elite composers, and according to this score he's really getting there. I hope he'll get to compose more epic stuff to truly prove his skill to the industry, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm also considering rearranging the tracks to proper chronological order (thanks to a link I got which explained that the tracks aren't in correct order in the promo release), but I'd prefer seeing the film first before jumping into conclusions. =P
So, the score for God of War 2 is kind of a mixed bag for me. I do enjoy the fact that this score utilizes orchestra and choir more than the previous GoW score which was basically synth all the way through. There are some great kickass themes in the score, particularly when you get to the epic orchestral and choral battle cues. There are some great cues representing beauty as well, particularly the dark and haunting "Exploring the Isle" with its rich choral writing. However, there are some cues which are simply obnoxious, particularly the latter cues like the bog battles, Typhon Mountain and whatnot. So, there are only a handful of cues I really liked while the rest of the cues are either obnoxious or simply insignificant (as in, they're just ambient stuff). That stupid rock song in the end was awful as well, and the bonus tracks weren't that impressive. Still, I'd say GoW 2 has some nice moments, particularly in the beginning, and cues like "Death of Kratos" are just magnificent. I suppose there'll be a third GoW, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of score that one will have.
Godzilla Promo by David Arnold is quite nice. It has quite a bit of action cues, some great choral moments and of course some terrific orchestration that Arnold seems to use in all his scores. There are quite a few themes, for instance Godzilla's threatening theme, the love theme and the action theme, and the final track ("The End?") sums these main themes up well. There are some scary moments, but Arnold never forgets to put some tenderness and patriotic material in as well, and I guess that's one of the reasons why the score sounds quite a bit like Stargate and Independence Day. The score's easily one of Arnold's best efforts, and I hope that one day there'll be a complete score release.
I had heard of the score composed for the game Headhunter and that it had won numerous awards, but I had never managed to hear it in its entirety until recently. And you can guess that I was simply awed by how excellent the score is with its epic battle themes which sound surprisingly much like a mix of James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer but this time with orchestra and choir (although there are some synth elements in the mix as well). Sure, not all of the tracks are masterpieces, but the action themes are the ones that really stick to your mind.
My personal favourites in the soundtrack are the adventurous and heroic "Jack's Theme", "Ready for Action", with its pulsating motif, "Greywolf" with its militaristic theme, the dark "Assault on the Mall", the beautiful "Ramirez at Bay" with its wonderful HGW-esque orchestration and theme, the relentless "Aquadome", the dramatic and epic "Final Conflict" with its choral work (which is one of the best final battle themes I've heard in a while), and of course the sweeping "Credits". I'm glad that I manage to find these hidden gems by accident, and this gives me further proof that there's still some hope left in western game music (as in they can write good, epic choral/orchestral stuff with fantastic themes as long as they're given a big enough budget and if they're motivated and/or skilled enough). xD
I managed to get a hold of the Hook 4 CD OST bootleg, and I've enjoyed pretty much every minute of it. The film itself was quite good, and the music John Williams composed for the battle between good and evil is quite good. I really enjoy the contemplative cues which portray Peter Pan's memories (the highlight being the heartbreaking "Remembering Childhood" and magnificent "The Face of Pan" cues), the pompous march for Captain Hook (e.g. in "Presenting the Hook" cue), the soaring flight music (such as in "The Arrival of Tink/Flight to Neverland"), and of course there's the long and epic final battle which is divided into three long cues (all a part of "The Ultimate War") and showcases many of the themes in a rapid succession that somehow remind me of Williams's handling of themes in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. The finale and end credits cues are magnificent as well, and the very first track, "Prologue" is some of the best music Williams has ever composed. All in all I really enjoyed this presentation of Williams's touching, epic and adventurous take on the tale of Hook and Pan, and I recommend it to any Williams fan.
After I listened to the score of King of Kings, it's becoming clearer and clearer that Miklós Rósza is one of the greatest film composers ever. The guy composed a bunch of scores, and the ones I've heard haven't disappointed me yet. I particularly like this epic sound these old scores have, and King of Kings certainly has many similarities to the score of Ben-Hur except that King of Kings uses even more choir. But then again, the story itself is even more magical than Ben-Hur's as it deals with the life of Jesus instead of that Jewish prince. The theme (or maybe themes, because there seem to be more than one theme although they seem to represent different aspects of Jesus) representing the Christ is surprisingly touching and memorable, and I particularly enjoy the choral versions of it that pop up every once in a while in the score.
Some of my favourite parts of the score are "Prelude", "Miracles", "Casting Out the Demon" "The Lord's Prayer", "Via Dolorosa/Christ Bearing His Cross", "Last Words of Christ/Golgotha/The Pieta/The Sepulcher/Resurrection" and "Epilogue" which have some great themes and excellent performances which are both thrilling and touching, not to mention the epic choir singing the main themes. After I listened to this epic score, I got interested in the movie itself and found out that quite a few people think that this movie's portrayal of Jesus is among the best. I'd like to check this movie out someday and see if it's really true, but in any case the movie itself looks interesting. If it's even half as good as Ben-Hur, then I'll be in for a treat. =)
Lady in the Water's soundtrack surprised me. It's got a lot of good reviews, and I decided to give the score a try. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks interesting, and I have to admit that the score is just as good as everyone's saying it is. No wonder many people fell in love with it, because the music is easily some of James Newton-Howard's best work ever. After listening through the album a couple of times I think it's not necessarily a five star effort as many people say it is, but it certainly does come quite close. I'm not surprised at all that "The Great Eatlon" cue was chosen to be the best score cue of the year 2006, because it has some awesome orchestral and choral power and yet is subtle at times and represents quite a few themes of the score in a magnificent way. My favourite bits of that cue are 01:50 - 02:46 and 03:25 - 04:03 (particularly the latter with its awesome mix of orchestra, choir and that delicate piano which take the main theme to great heights).
Other notable cues are "Prologue" (gotta love that piano bit at 01:30 - 01:52 that mimics the way water moves as well as the hint at the main theme at 02:15 - 02:45), "Charades" (the way it slowly builds up with that watery movement of the orchestra), and "End Titles", although the rest of the cues work wonderfully as well. The main theme is simply gorgeous in execution and thematic quality, and I really enjoy the use of piano and choir in the soundtrack. As far as I'm concerned, Newton-Howard is definitely getting better and better as time goes on. =D
I managed to download the rare Lilo & Stitch Promo. I knew it existed, but I never thought I'd actually get one myself, and now I'm glad I found it, because this "missing" music is just marvellous. Silvestri sure knows his stuff, and the tracks really build up the emotional core better than just the handful of score tracks in the commercial soundtrack. There's really nothing I need to say about this, because the missing stuff is essentially the expanded stuff of the glimpses we got in the commercial album. I do enjoy that some of the motifs get more development in this promo, though, and it's sad that Disney didn't release all the score in the commercial album. Oh well, at least I have the music now.
I have to say I'm quite disappointed with Meet the Robinsons score by Danny Elfman. I knew it wasn't getting that many good reviews, but I still wanted to give it a chance. Apart from some of the dark choral passages and Lewis's theme this score just didn't give me the "Whoa!" feel I had with previous scores, even with Chicken Little. I don't know if MtR has a bad mix or something, but the ensemble sounds smaller than it is. Also, the jolly tunes the choir sings get quite sick if you listen to them for a while, and the worst part of all is that apart from Lewis's theme the score isn't really that coherent. The songs didn't sound that good either. Still, maybe the score works better in the film, but I've yet to see it so I don't know how it'll end up. This soundtrack is one I'm likely not to buy, and it's a shame because pretty much every soundtrack of a Disney Animated Classic has been enjoyable (well, I'm not yet sure about The Black Cauldron because what I've heard of it was quite odd, but still). Oh well, a loss, I suppose.
Nomad by Carlo Siliotto was a surprising find. I hadn't even heard of this score before I noticed that quite a few soundtrack fans were recommending it. I decided to give it a try and downloaded the soundtrack, and the soundtrack turned out to be quite good. It utilizes choir in three different ways: it can be traditional, throat singing, or wailing choir depending on track (and sometimes the choirs can differ during a single track as well). The score has quite a few themes and motifs and is quite complex in using themes, reminding me of Howard Shore's LotR scores.
Many tracks in Nomad are quite short, but there are a few longer tracks which offers some awesome highlights as far as thematic development goes. The biggest and boldest piece is the epic "Kazakh Victory" which lasts almost seven minutes and reprises many of the themes heard previously in the score and develops them to their fullest form (and that how it should be done, because the tracks accompanies the final battle). Other notable tracks are "Jungar Attack", "Save Your Son!", "The Duel, "Jungar Trials", "Gaukhar Rescues Mansur", and "Nomad Reprise", but every track is solid and none of the tracks is true filler material because they introduce and develop themes and motifs pretty much all the time.
Siliotto utilizes both a traditional orchestra and exotic Kazakh instruments to give some flavour, and I really like the way how throat singers seem to serve as the music accompanying the villains, Jungars. There are some folk songs mixed in as well, and the action is quite slow at times, but it's still quite beautiful. The score does seem reminiscent of Klaus Badelt's The Promise which utilized as many ethnic instruments and harmonic melodies, but there are two things in which these two scores seem to differ: a) Badelt's score is more simplistic than Siliotto's, and b) Badelt's themes are more memorable than Siliotto's. So yes, both are lovable scores, but it takes several listenings before one finally grasps the complex themes Siliotto uses, so in that regard Badelt's score is more approachable. However, Siliotto's Nomad score is a hidden gem, and it gives that ethnic beauty that many scores are in need of, and the use of multiple themes is never a bad thing. =)
Primal, a soundtrack for a game with a similar name, surprised me, particularly because it seems most, if not all, of the music in the OST is actually from the cutscenes of the game. Particularly tracks like "Jen Meets Arella" and "A Kingdom Restored" really show what this score is all about: lush orchestral writing with a very big choir (and the mix is fabulous). There are quite a few themes, both haunting and beautiful, and yet there's enough darkness creeping about so that the score gets depth. I was impressed by the quality of the score, and it's a wonderful listen. The battle tracks sound cool, but the magical moments are the most memorable ones in the score, and the choir gets a fair time in the score, at times with simply stunning performances. This score is definitely magical and worth a listen if you enjoy game music and/or orchestral and choral writing with good and beautiful themes and passages.
Secret Weapons Over Normandy is a mixed bag for me. On one hand it's a surprisingly good game score by Michael Giacchino and is very reminiscent of his Medal of Honor scores and even has some great choral writing in it too. Still, for some reason, I don't think it quite reaches the level of MOH series, although it's certainly a good and exciting effort. Tracks like "Fjords of Norway" just shine with beautiful themes and orchestral/choral writing which is really stunning at times, and the main themes are catchy enough (although I still prefer the MOH themes). The score's adventurous and a perfect match for an epic war game such as this. All in all it's worth a listen to Giacchino fans. ;)
I finally managed to get Shrek 2 score by Harry Gregson-Williams. As expected, the OST has the most memorable score tracks from the film (such as the choral magic in "Prince Charming" and "All is Revealed"), and I really like the way HGW uses choir and orchestra and the occasional synth stuff to make the fairy tale feel, keeping the music mature enough while antics take place on screen. I remember how surprised I was when I first realized how much Shrek 2's score had improved on the original Shrek. I hope the score for Shrek 3 will be as much of a positive surprise as S2 was, but only time will tell.
Tarzan Promo by Mark Mancina was a surprising find, considering its scarcity. The promo score is ~40 minutes long with quite a bit score material missing from the commercial release. Too bad the tracks are in the wrong order, but one day I'll figure out the proper chronological order and rearrange them (like I'll do with Bridge to Terabithia's promo). It's also a shame that most of the tracks are quite short (whereas the medley tracks in the original release were at least lengthy and well-edited), but apart from that there are some nice moments in the score (extra bits of choir and all). "Baboon Chase" is a nice new action track as are the bits dealing with Sabor, and the score playing in the scenes with Kerchak and Tarzan is quite touching. The promo shows Mancina's talent for these jungle rhythms, and now I'm eager to get my hands on the Brother Bear promo that seems to be lengthier than this promo. We'll see how things go.
The Black Cauldron Complete Score is quite an interesting find. I found it by accident, and although at first the music kind of freaked me out, I learned to like it. The ondes martenot instrument is quite creepy (you'll know it when you hear that ominous sound for the first time) and really is the defining element of the score. There are some nice themes, but unfortunately most of them aren't that memorable except for one: the pounding theme for the Horned King which has quite a bit of religious power (particularly in the stunning "The Army of the Dead" cue). All in all the score's quite long and creepy but has its nice points; too bad the tracks are in the wrong order, so I guess I'll have to reorganize them at some point when I'm motivated enough to do so. The soundtrack is quite nice although quite depressing at some points, and it's surprising how sound quality changes so much from track to track, but I guess that's to be expected from a recording like this. The soundtrack is an interesting anomaly in Disney scores but still a tolerable one with its big symphonic sound and thematic development.
The Lion King 3 (or 1½) Promo by Don Harper was another positive surprise. The score itself didn't make its presence known that much in the film, but the promo score on its own turned out to be an enjoyable listen. Although it isn't as memorable as the original TLK, it's still on par with, and maybe even superior to the score of TLK2 because it uses orchestra and choir rather than synths. There are some nice moments like "Timon and Pumbaa Meet" and "Timon's Traveling Theme" among others, and there's comedy, danger and genuine emotional tracks mixed within the score, which is a nice touch and gives diversity to the score. It's worth a listen to every TLK fan, and I enjoyed the pure orchestral sound it brought to the TLK franchise, so yay.
The Music Behind the Magic was a real treat. This multi-CD collection is some kind of a rarity nowadays, but someone made it available for download for a limited time, and I managed to download most of the tracks. Basically TMBTM is about the Menken/Ashman's scores and songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. As well as the score tracks and final songs heard in the commercial OSTS, this set also has worktape editions, demos, unused songs (both demo and final versions) as well as some previously unavailable score cues (like "Wolf Attack" from BatB) for the three Disney films.
The demos and unused songs are a treat to listen to, and some of the current songs also had radically different lyrics to what ended up in the films. It's nice to trace the development of the songs and hear Menken and Ashman sing and play the songs themselves, and I like the various alternate versions. The only thing I miss is some of the unused songs that were left out of this release as well as the complete score of all the films (although TMBTM offers many score cues, there are still a bunch of them missing). But, all in all, the set is a wonderful thing, and I hope we'll get a proper revised edition which includes all this content as well as the additional songs and score cues as well to make them the ultimate collector's edition. I wouldn't mind getting some great liner notes as well. But yeah, I've had a good time listening to this set.
And now that we're talking about Menken, I must mention two musicals of his which I listened to recently: King David and Christmas Carol. Although I was glad to hear these types of musical ventures Menken had tackled, they left me unimpressed. Although many of the compositions were grand choral and orchestral writing, they just didn't reach the heights of Menken's Disney musicals and weren't as memorable as his previous songs. King David's religious overtones were kind of a mix of Aida, The Prince of Egypt and The Hunchback of Notre Dame whereas Christmas Carol was more like something from the more tender moments of Aladdin and Hercules. So, to conclude, both King David and Christmas Carol were fun to listen to once, but they weren't the type of soundtracks I'd listen to again (so in that regard they were quite similar to my experiences with Meet the Robinsons score.
The Thief of Bagdad by Miklós Rósza surprised me. I don't know if this OST is a rerecording or actually the original, but in either case the sound quality is surprisingly good, and the orchestra, the choir and the solo singers have a crystal clear sound. The score has some nice moments and even some themes, and it really gets to shine whenever all the three aspects (singers, choir, and orchestra) play together. The very first track "Main Title" gives us an epic and powerful opening with orchestra and choir and eventually a male singer joins in and sings his solo bit with orchestra and choir backing him up. It's a truly stirring piece of music.
The other tracks are quite good, too, although the guy singing "Abu's Song" seems to deliberately sing on the wrong note, which is rather annoying (but I think it might have something to do with the narrative of the movie). "Love Song" is a touching piece for orchestra, female choir and a female singer, although at times it gets a bit too operatic for my taste (it's still a beautiful song, though). Quite a few of the tracks are actually playful, reminiscent of the older Disney movies, but there are also big action pieces for the orchestra, particularly in "The Skeleton Room/Duel with the Spider" and "The Blue Rose/Fight and Capture of Achmad". The sense of wonder and heroism is accentuated by a big choir, and this shows in epic tracks such as "The Djinn", "The Return" , and "The Golden Tent".
The score's has some nice bits which Rósza would later use for his scores for Ben-Hur and King of Kings, but here he experiments with some of them and still never forgets the high adventure of the story. In some ways it reminds me of his El Cid score. There's some exotic stuff mixed in to remind the listeners that the story's taking place in Bagdad, and all in all the score's a solid effort by Rósza and proves his versatility as a composer.
I managed to get The Two Towers Complete Recordings, and I've had a great time listening to the songs in a better quality than the rip I downloaded earlier. Particularly the DVD has some amazing sound quality; too bad my home theatre equipment isn't really as massive as the mix requires, but I still managed to get fun out of it. There are lots of choral themes, lots of themes that never made it into the film itself (not even the Extended Edition), and there are a bunch of themes I never knew even existed until now. The packaging and discs are pretty much the same as in The Fellowship of the Rings Complete Recordings, so nothing new there.
However, the liner notes in this TTT set reveal more themes and also point out variations, instruments and previous themes. The notes have been a great read, and if I've counted right, there are more than 60 different leitmotifs in LotR series already. I can't wait to hear what Return of the King Complete Recordings will bring forth, not to mention that special book about LotR scores that will apparently have an extra audio disc (CD or DVD) which will have even more unused music in it (and probably some bits or even the complete LotR symphony suite!). This is awesome stuff, and all LotR fans (and especially fans of Howard Shore's scores for the films) should get these Complete Recordings sets immediately. They're expensive, but they're definitely worth it. =D
Titan A.E. score by Graeme Revell is quite a nice find. Revell mixes electronics, orchestra and choir to create an interesting soundscape for the deep space adventure. It's unfortunate that many of the cues are so short and hardly have time to give some thematic ideas, although there are fortunately a few which have some nice mix of piano and chorus (e.g. "Remembering Father"). Some cues even offer some orchestral and/or choral majesty like "Sesharrim", "Ice Ring", "Titan Found" and "Planet Bob" which as the finale track offers some epic stuff. Some of the tracks even use some exotic instruments to great effect, such as in the tracks "The Gauol" and "New Bangkok".
Revell's score shines in the music accompanying the various action scenes in the movie. There are two tracks of almost seven minutes of length each, titled "Prologue/Drej Attack" and "Drej Mothership Arrives" which are quite epic action pieces which also utilize some choir as well as some synths to announce the presense of the villainous Drej race, and both also feature the heroic action theme quite prominently. There are some other notable action tracks as well, such as "Drej Chase", "Drej Attack Sesharrim", "Hydrogen Tree Chase", and "The Betrayal". These usually have electronic rhythms and even some nice drum beats to accentuate the danger the heroes face.
The choir seems to be mixed rather low and only gets to truly shine in the epic final track, but at least the orchestra and synths can be heard without any distortion in all the tracks. The synths get pronounced quite a bit in a couple of tracks, but for the most part the orchestra and choir dominate the score. It's rather unfortunate that there are so few recognizable themes in the score, but at least it's a solid listen and gives some majestic cues which are among the best of Revell's career. All in all the score's a solid effort although not among the best animated film scores.
When the time for the Academy Awards was at hand, I decided to pull an all-nighter and actually watch the show all the way through. It was quite bland compared to previous AA ceremonies, particularly because that Ellen just isn't funny. Still, there were quite a few surprises in store for me as I watched the show. The sound effects choir (people mimicking various sound effects) was actually quite funny, and I enjoyed the shadow puppet show they had later on in the show.
Jennifer Hudson's win was rather surprising. Americans didn't vote for her in American Idols, and yet she managed to win her Academy Award for best supporting actress, so that was a nice surprise (and I guess the people at American Idol were kicking themselves for that xD). Al Gore had a surprisingly big presence in the show and actually joked about the presidential elections he had been in. He said something like that the Americans voted for him and yet... well... someone else won. That was quite a funny speech. I was also glad that his documentary about the greenhouse effect etc. won the Oscar for best documentary (too bad I didn't see it although I could've, because I had other lectures going on and couldn't see the showing at our university).
I was extremely disappointed that the Danish Poet won the award for best animated short and not Disney's The Little Matchgirl even though the latter was superior to all the other nominees. I guess the board just doesn't like Disney shorts anymore and even give these awards to some not-so-good animated shorts. Oh well, I hope Disney wins the award for a short some other time then. There was also a speech about the death of hand-drawn animation as one of the people speaking explained the history of animation and how hand-drawn animation is pointless. Not only did she state false years for the production and release of Snow White (seriously, these people should at least get their facts straight!) and to add insult to injury she even didn't like hand-drawn animation. Crazy woman. Anyway, the Oscar for best animated film went to Happy Feet, and I guess it deserved it, because the other nominees weren't as good.
It was nice that the award for best visual effects went to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, because it certainly deserved that award. It was also nice to hear a big orchestral version (no synths, yay!) of "He's a Pirate", and that sounded so much better than the synth version we hear in the movies. Melissa Etheridge (composer of Brother Bear 2 among other things) won an Academy Award for best song, which was rather interesting, because there were better candidates. Still, I'm glad she won. And speaking of music, I was very glad to see that Ennio Morricone finally got his long-due Academy Award, even though it was a lifetime award and not for an actual score. Still, I greatly appreciated it, and Morricone's speech (translated by no other than Clint Eastwood himself) was very touching, as he dedicated the award to his wife. That was the best part of the whole Academy Awards gala.
However, after that beautiful, dream-like moment came a horrible nightmarish moment when it was revealed that Gustavo Santaolalla won the award for best motion picture score. That was seriously insulting, because every other nominee was about a thousand times better than Santaolalla's simplistic and trashy music. I can't understand how such a bad composer can win the award two times a row (the last time this happened was when Alan Menken won the award for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). Santaolalla's music for Babel is just stupid, and the only good piece in that is the one which is not even composed by him. I truly wonder why the academy board decides to act in such a retarded way, particularly because the award should've gone to Javier Navarrete's Pan's Labyrinth instead (everyone actually thought it would win the award because the main theme was featured prominently in the gala!). If Santaolalla wins next year's Academy Awards, the board needs to be hanged, and I'm dead serious about that: there are so many better composers out there who deserve an Academy Award rather than Santaolalla. Blarg.
The award for best screenplay went to William Monahan who had written the screenplay for The Departed. It was about time, because his screenplay for Kingdom of Heaven was good, so I was glad he finally got the recognition that he deserved even if he just adapted the screenplay from an existing Asian one (I've yet to see The Departed, though). The Departed in general won other awards, such as the ones for best editing, best picture, and most importantly best director. It was about time that Martin Scorsese got that award for best director, because he certainly should've had it a long time ago.
All in all the awards ceremony went fine, and although there were some bad choices for winners, at least some of my favourites got what they deserved, so I'm happy about that.
I recently started watching Death Note after a couple of my friends recommended it. I decided to pull an all-nighter last weekend and watched all the current episodes back to back. It was a difficult task, but I survived, and in the process I realized that this series might turn out to be one of my favourite anime series. Basically the story is about a Japanese high school student who finds an ominous black notebook dropped by a shinigami (a death god, or I guess Grim Reaper or angel of death would be more suitable, although the shinigami in the series look quite gruesome). This student, named Light, soon realizes that he can kill anyone he wants if he just knows the person's name and has the person's face in mind when writing the name down to the Death Note. He starts killing off criminals in order to create a perfect world and to become a new god of the world. This kind of megalomania is soon noticed by Interpol which decides to send the famous and yet mysterious detective named L to track down whoever is killing the criminals. Thus begins the contest of wills between Light and L when both try to find each other and prove their intellectual superiority, and things get even more complex when other parties get involved and when new people using other Death Notes appear.
What I like about this series are the complex characters who actually get quite a bit character development (particularly Light and L), the intellectual contest of wills when both parties try to outwit each other (both L and Light's complex plans remind me of some of the Agatha Christie books and the machinations of the villains and detectives in them) as well as the twists that sometimes drastically alter the course of the storyline. The Japanese voice actors do a good job, and the music in the series is quite good too, mixing orchestra, big choir singing in Latin, and guitar and other band instruments into the mix. Basically the soundtracks are divided into the religious-sounding pieces with orchestra and choir (the choral track "Low of Solipsism" is a great example of dramatic music in that vein which perfectly showcases the mood of the series) and the more contemplative character and suspension themes (good examples of this being L's themes), and this counterpoint really serves the series well, although for the most part I like the dramatic orchestral/choral themes more than the guitar/piano/etc themes.
Although I enjoy Light's machinations in the show, I really like many of the other characters, and even Misa who is sometimes really annoying serves the story well. L, however, is my favourite character because of his weird eating habits (which crack me up - you have to see his mannerisms for yourself) and because he has quite many sides which are gradually revealed as the series progresses. I was kind of surprised by the foot massage/washing scene in one the latest episodes which served as a pretty much direct allegory to Jesus and his disciples, and it's a curious move considering the fact that this scene wasn't in the manga as far as I know. Still, I enjoy the Christian allegories and symbols which bring multiple complex layers to the actual storyline and hint at things to come. All in all the series has been interesting so far, and I hope the final episodes keep up the drama and pace of the narrative. I also like the competition between Mello and Near, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of things the anime version will add as opposed to the manga version. We'll see.
Recently Bleach has been freaking me out. The animation style has changed a bit from the animation in the Bount arc, and sometimes it looks as if it was really rushed (e.g. Urahara and Yoruichi looked quite awful in one of the episodes where they fought Yammy). I hope the quality of animation will get better (although I admit the Arrancar do look badass enough, so no complaints there; I particularly like the voice work as well as the Spanish-type musical theme they have). Things are moving on just fine, although I'm annoyed how everyone's still saying how much the Bount arc sucked (even though it didn't suck and was certainly better than any other fillers I've seen), and I'm surprised how much people still hate those three modsouls who appear every now and then in this Arrancar arc. Yes, they weren't in the manga, but you can't deny that Noba (the quiet "biker" guy) is badass in a good way, so I can't understand why people hate him (heck, I can understand if people hate Ririn and to some extent Kuroud, but how can they hate Noba?).
I'm glad Bleach is finally treading into the drama territory in a heavy way as evidenced in one of the episodes where Orihime is finally getting some proper character development (can't wait to see that certain heartbreaking scene in future episodes). However, I'm kind of worried how much fanservice and other weird stuff these later episodes have. First you have Yoruichi eating for like a minute (it felt like it took forever for them to finish that scene), and it sounds like she's sucking dick or something, and she's almost naked in that scene. Then you have MatsumotoxOrihime action which almost ruined that sad scene (I know it was intentional, but sometimes I wish the Bleach stuff would just stop with that weirdness and have some heavy drama and tragedy without constant comic stuff to balance it). I have nothing against comedy per se (Kon can be quite funny at times), but it really bogs down the drama if you enter comedy in every freaking spot without giving enough time for the tragedy and darkness to get developed. There have been too many times when something sad has happened and a few seconds later things turn into a comedy, and that kind of swapping ruins the tender and dark moments. Oh well.
Also, I'm rather surprised that we're getting recaps at the beginning of every episode. We didn't have them before, so why now? Does this mean that Bleach has become so popular and that so many new people have started watching it during Bount saga or during this Arrancar arc that it's now necessary to explain every freaking detail at least three times in every episode and so on? Frankly, I don't understand this. If they wanted to have recaps, why didn't they do so straight in the beginning? It's also interesting how some bloody stuff is being censored, and occasionally blood is changed into saliva (a good example being Ichigo vs. Yammy). I do hope they don't start censoring more and more stuff, because that'd be a shame. The new Bleach opening is quite nice, though, and it's almost on par with that Rukia rescue opening. The song in this Inoue tragedy opening isn't as strong as in the Rukia one, though, and it's a shame, because otherwise the new opening is kickass.
I'm also rather amused that Aaroniero Arleri (or whatever), that Arrancar guy who's connected to another interesting character, looks a lot like Refan in manga form (or I guess I could say one of his forms). I know, it's crazy, as if they'd read my mind or something. But of course Aaroniero's "disguise" looks like someone else too, so it's not just Refan I'm talking about. Crazy stuff. Also, the way Aaroniero was dealt with in the manga left me quite shocked, because I didn't see that kind of finality coming (especially because people like Yammy survived). It'll be interesting to see what happens next (although the scene with Ichigo and Ulquiorra was quite nice, particularly when Ulqu's rank was revealed and how shocked Ichigo was when he realized he's fighting a futile battle).
I've noticed that there seems to be some connection to the Espada (Aizen's top Arrancar) and the remaining captains of Soul Society. I tried comparing them, and to my amazement I noticed that basically the Espada are twisted versions of the 10 good captains of Soul Society. This is of course pure speculation. So, let me explain:
Yamamoto's equivalent seems to be that elder Espada. Both have that grumpy face and yet it seems the Elder has a kind of a twisted sense of honour, going further in that territory than Yamamoto. He keeps saying how young people just aren't as good as he is, and this could be seen as the darker side of Yamamoto manifested into the Espada.
Halibel (the sole female Espada) carries her zanpakuto in a similar way to Soifon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that she's the twisted version of Soifon, because she doesn't seem as rash as Soifon and is more contemplative and seems to have a grim aura around her.
For some reason that black Espada with a spiky mohawk reminds me of Unohana. Why, you ask? Well, if you've read the manga, you'll notice he's seen meditating a lot and seems like a quiet type, and that in turn makes me think of Unohana who also meditates a lot and doesn't speak that much. Of course it's hard to say that much because we haven't seen the black guy a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was some kind of a mocking version of Unohana.
Ulquiorra is very reminiscent of Byakuya. Both have a similar type of hairstyle, and both are quite serious and yet mock Ichigo. In some ways the recent happenings in the manga suggest some kind of analogous connection between Byakuya and Ulquiorra, although that might just be a coincidence. Still, both of them have some sense of honour, although Ulquiorra's is like a twisted version of Byakuya's.
Yammy reminds me of Komamura. Both are strong and big fighters who are quite rash and don't always think things through. However, Yammy's stupidity and stubborn attitude almost seems like a twisted version of Komamura's stubborn sense of honour, and I wouldn't be surprised if Aizen wanted to mock Komamura with Yammy.
Stark, the lazy Espada, is very, very much like Kyoraku. First of all, both like to nap, but whereas Kyoraku is a ladies' man, Stark seems to get molested by his female underling and is bored most of the time. It's almost as if Stark is meant to represent the twisted side of Kyoraku's supposedly lazy attitude.
Hitsugaya's equivalent seems to be Grimmjow. This would seem plausible, because Grimmjow looks like a twisted, adult version of our Shiro-chan. In a way his rash attitude and evil ways go even more extreme than what Hitsugaya would do. It wouldn't be that surprising if Aizen had created him to serve as a mockup of Hitsugaya, the way Aizen sees that captain whom he considers a brat.
Noitora, the Espada with the eyepatch, reminds me of Zaraki. Both have an eyepatch and both claim to be strong. However, Noitora seems almost too cocky for his own good and loves battle, in a similar way to Zaraki, although at least the latter seems more intelligent. In some ways that crazy attitude is like a mocking version of Zaraki's tougher side, and it'd be ironic if Noitora turned out to be one of the lesser Espada despite his claims to be one of the strongest.
Zaera-Polo, the Espada with glasses, is like Mayuri. Both are scientists and like to twist people to do what they want, not to mention they want to study their "prey". Whereas Mayuri hates getting hurt, Zaera-Polo seems to enjoy pain or is at least amused by it. Both are willing to sacrifice people and don't care for people close to them, be it their assistant or brother (Nemu for Mayuri and Ilfort for Zaera-Polo).
It's also interesting that even Aaroniero seems to have an equivalent in Soul Society: Ukitake. First of all Aaroniero's ability to deceive people and use the form of Ukitake's deceased lieutenant Kaien Shiba seems like an insult to Ukitake, not to mention Aaroniero just happens to fight against Rukia who serves under Ukitake. Aaroniero is like a twisted form of Ukitake's sickness and avoids light (in some ways analogous to Ukitake's tuberculosis which makes him look pale).
I don't know if this is pure coincidence, but knowing Tite Kubo this might actually be something that he intended (to show Aizen's sick way of creating twisted images of the captains to serve on his side as his own, evil Gotei 13). But maybe I'm just stretching things a bit too far. Still, this kind of comparison is rather interesting and shows how all the Espada are like twisted forms of the remaining captains. So, what are your thoughts on the matter?
The recent Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End trailer kind of shocked me, because it openly borrowed a lot of stuff from other pirate movies such as the animated Sinbad, Cutthroat Island, Captain Blood and the Sea Hawk among others. I don't know if that's just tribute or if the screenwriters were lazy, but it still looks like a ripoff. Not that I really mind, though, as long as the scenes are done properly. After all, the third movie has a lot of things in the plot department which it needs to solve, so I hope we don't just get a lot of action and no story. But, time will tell how things go.
The news about Rapunzel, Enchanted and The Frog Princess have been rather interesting. There were some pics of Rapunzel, and those looked stunning. Glen Keane has had some troubles with the second and third act of the story, though, so I hope he'll be able to solve them. However, Lasseter himself said that the first act is the best opening ever in any Disney animated movie, and that statement got my hopes up. I really want Rapunzel to succeed, because it has so much potential. Let's hope things go well.
As for Enchanted, the leaked concept art posters were rather interesting. Particularly the ones influenced by Snow White were very good, and I hope some of those will end up being the final posters. According to rumours one song by Alan Menken has been dropped and five songs remain, and if this is true, I hope we'll get the deleted song as an extra on the DVD someday. Frog Princess, however, might have a new title (some suggest The Princess and the Frog) and the name of the main character, Maddy, might be changed. I do hope the production doesn't turn too troublesome even though there are a lot of edgy issues (including white prince and black servant girl romance), and I'm worried about Randy Newman's score, but I hope that movie will succeed as well and usher in a new wave of traditional animation.
I managed to download the workshop score (the notes) of the coming The Little Mermaid Broadway, and the notes have been rather interesting, particularly because they reveal some of the new songs which might get into the final show. These new songs include among other things "That World Above" (Ariel's version), "That Oughta Show Her" (Sebastian & Triton), "She's in Love" (Flounder & Mermaids), and "Ursula's Incantation" (Ursula & Ariel) as well as certain new reprises. It'll be interesting to see whether all the songs end up in the show or if some of them will be tweaked further. Time will tell, I guess.
Bleh, I wish I had enough time to post LJ entries every day, but sadly things didn't turn that way. Oh well. I hope I'll be able to post new stuff and not wait a month or two or three or [insert number here] before I do so again. =P
Yours,
Mikko
RETURN TO PART 1.
I managed to download a bunch of soundtracks, and I'm considering buying some of them (assuming I'll get enough money to do so xD).
300 soundtrack is, to say it bluntly, the ultimate guilty pleasure stuff. Most of the time the music it has is pretty much everything I hate about those Media Ventures scores: blunt rhythms, odd mixing of orchestra and synths, overbearing masculinity, hard rock elements, and yet I can't help but like it. It's the stuff kickass masculine scores are made of with big choral use (thankfully this is the real deal and not synth choir), some awesome battle tracks and luckily some nice tender moments as well. At the same time it has a bunch of negative points and yet I can't help but ignore those in favour of the whole "kickass" stuff the score is made of. In a sense the feeling I get is kind of similar to the score of Pan's Labyrinth in that it's perverse and molests you and you can't help but like it (except that Pan's Labyrinth did so in a subtle, mystical way whereas 300 has a pounding in-your-face attitude which you can't help but love xD).
Some of my favourite moments in the score are "To Victory" with its sheer aggressive sound, "Returns a King" with its epic choral sound which is like a mix of Gabriel Yared's rejected Troy score and Vangelis's Alexander score, "Goodbye My Love" with its heartbreaking melody (let's hope this scene will be as touching visually as it is musically), "Come and Get Them" with its massive choral and clanging sound, "Fever Dream" with its hard rock and rebel attitude, "A God King Bleeds" with its dark heroism, and "Remember Us" which is a fitting and melancholic conclusion to the album.
If the score and the kickass trailers are any indication, 300 the movie will be the ultimate guilty pleasure of all movies. It looks like it'll be both a visual and aural experience that will transcend itself to a psychotic level. I guess the Spartans would be proud of it, but we'll see. The movie might still surprise me, though but I hope it won't be a disappointment after all the hype and hyperactive stuff it has put me through. And as I later on found out, the movie turned out to be pretty much what I'd expected it to be. =P
A word of advice for those well versed with soundtracks and stuff, though. Tyler Bates's 300 score is very reminiscent of Elliot Goldenthal's Titus in many ways. I didn't even realize this at first but after a couple of listenings I realized that tracks like "Returns a King" and "Remember Us" are almost note-to-note copies of certain Titus tracks. Apparently the director wanted Bates to copy that kind of style, and it's a shame it happened, but luckily this rip-off stuff doesn't detract from the score that much, because overall the score works really well even though it lifts stuff from other scores. So yeah, give it a listen if you're into this kind of music.
Beyond Good & Evil's soundtrack is quite nice, although it has only a few standout tracks. The ones I liked the most are the sad "Redemption" and that ultimate kickass battle track "Dancing with DomZ" which utilizes synths (and maybe even real orchestra, I'm not quite sure because the mix is a bit muffled) as well as male and female choir and some really wicked and delicious alien grunting and chanting and that pulsating bass rhythm beneath it all. This makes sense, because the protagonist in the game is a female (and thus the female choir represents her whereas the male choir works as a counterpoint by representing the aliens who stand in the protagonist's way). I also dig the techno type of rhythm this has and how it still manages to keep an epic orchestral and choral sound. It's easily one of the best game battle tracks I've heard in a while.
Aaron Zigman's Bridge to Terabithia Promo was a positive surprise, because I honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it turned out to be. His writing mixes in guitar, orchestra and choir in a very touching and yet adventurous way. I guess one could say the style is very John Debney -like, which is not a bad thing. The main theme that reappears throughout the score in key points (usually with choir and guitar, although there are other variations) and is quite beautiful and memorable. The battle tracks are aggressive and some of them contain some epic choral passages. The sad, contemplative cues are very touching, and the magical moments are highlighted by choir, usually accompanied by the main theme (a good example being the lengthy "Entering the Forest" cue). The end credits music is particularly effective with a magnificent rendition of the main theme, and the cues representing the era in our world are quite nice too although the magical cues really steal the show. The score's playful, tearjerking, dark, dramatic and magical depending on what's going on, and I like that kind of versatility in a score.
I've never heard of Zigman prior to hearing this score, but this left me so impressed that I wonder if he has other scores and if they are as magical and beautiful as this score. The mix of orchestra, choir and guitars (have to mention those separately, because guitars play an important role) is mixed well, and the mix is quite rich. I just love this kind of orchestral and choral writing which doesn't have any synth elements (as far as I can hear, anyway), and even the loudest cues never become as obnoxious as some orchestral action cues can become (like the ones of Don Davis, for example). If Zigman keeps this kind of quality writing up, he might just rise to the level of the current elite composers, and according to this score he's really getting there. I hope he'll get to compose more epic stuff to truly prove his skill to the industry, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm also considering rearranging the tracks to proper chronological order (thanks to a link I got which explained that the tracks aren't in correct order in the promo release), but I'd prefer seeing the film first before jumping into conclusions. =P
So, the score for God of War 2 is kind of a mixed bag for me. I do enjoy the fact that this score utilizes orchestra and choir more than the previous GoW score which was basically synth all the way through. There are some great kickass themes in the score, particularly when you get to the epic orchestral and choral battle cues. There are some great cues representing beauty as well, particularly the dark and haunting "Exploring the Isle" with its rich choral writing. However, there are some cues which are simply obnoxious, particularly the latter cues like the bog battles, Typhon Mountain and whatnot. So, there are only a handful of cues I really liked while the rest of the cues are either obnoxious or simply insignificant (as in, they're just ambient stuff). That stupid rock song in the end was awful as well, and the bonus tracks weren't that impressive. Still, I'd say GoW 2 has some nice moments, particularly in the beginning, and cues like "Death of Kratos" are just magnificent. I suppose there'll be a third GoW, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of score that one will have.
Godzilla Promo by David Arnold is quite nice. It has quite a bit of action cues, some great choral moments and of course some terrific orchestration that Arnold seems to use in all his scores. There are quite a few themes, for instance Godzilla's threatening theme, the love theme and the action theme, and the final track ("The End?") sums these main themes up well. There are some scary moments, but Arnold never forgets to put some tenderness and patriotic material in as well, and I guess that's one of the reasons why the score sounds quite a bit like Stargate and Independence Day. The score's easily one of Arnold's best efforts, and I hope that one day there'll be a complete score release.
I had heard of the score composed for the game Headhunter and that it had won numerous awards, but I had never managed to hear it in its entirety until recently. And you can guess that I was simply awed by how excellent the score is with its epic battle themes which sound surprisingly much like a mix of James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer but this time with orchestra and choir (although there are some synth elements in the mix as well). Sure, not all of the tracks are masterpieces, but the action themes are the ones that really stick to your mind.
My personal favourites in the soundtrack are the adventurous and heroic "Jack's Theme", "Ready for Action", with its pulsating motif, "Greywolf" with its militaristic theme, the dark "Assault on the Mall", the beautiful "Ramirez at Bay" with its wonderful HGW-esque orchestration and theme, the relentless "Aquadome", the dramatic and epic "Final Conflict" with its choral work (which is one of the best final battle themes I've heard in a while), and of course the sweeping "Credits". I'm glad that I manage to find these hidden gems by accident, and this gives me further proof that there's still some hope left in western game music (as in they can write good, epic choral/orchestral stuff with fantastic themes as long as they're given a big enough budget and if they're motivated and/or skilled enough). xD
I managed to get a hold of the Hook 4 CD OST bootleg, and I've enjoyed pretty much every minute of it. The film itself was quite good, and the music John Williams composed for the battle between good and evil is quite good. I really enjoy the contemplative cues which portray Peter Pan's memories (the highlight being the heartbreaking "Remembering Childhood" and magnificent "The Face of Pan" cues), the pompous march for Captain Hook (e.g. in "Presenting the Hook" cue), the soaring flight music (such as in "The Arrival of Tink/Flight to Neverland"), and of course there's the long and epic final battle which is divided into three long cues (all a part of "The Ultimate War") and showcases many of the themes in a rapid succession that somehow remind me of Williams's handling of themes in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. The finale and end credits cues are magnificent as well, and the very first track, "Prologue" is some of the best music Williams has ever composed. All in all I really enjoyed this presentation of Williams's touching, epic and adventurous take on the tale of Hook and Pan, and I recommend it to any Williams fan.
After I listened to the score of King of Kings, it's becoming clearer and clearer that Miklós Rósza is one of the greatest film composers ever. The guy composed a bunch of scores, and the ones I've heard haven't disappointed me yet. I particularly like this epic sound these old scores have, and King of Kings certainly has many similarities to the score of Ben-Hur except that King of Kings uses even more choir. But then again, the story itself is even more magical than Ben-Hur's as it deals with the life of Jesus instead of that Jewish prince. The theme (or maybe themes, because there seem to be more than one theme although they seem to represent different aspects of Jesus) representing the Christ is surprisingly touching and memorable, and I particularly enjoy the choral versions of it that pop up every once in a while in the score.
Some of my favourite parts of the score are "Prelude", "Miracles", "Casting Out the Demon" "The Lord's Prayer", "Via Dolorosa/Christ Bearing His Cross", "Last Words of Christ/Golgotha/The Pieta/The Sepulcher/Resurrection" and "Epilogue" which have some great themes and excellent performances which are both thrilling and touching, not to mention the epic choir singing the main themes. After I listened to this epic score, I got interested in the movie itself and found out that quite a few people think that this movie's portrayal of Jesus is among the best. I'd like to check this movie out someday and see if it's really true, but in any case the movie itself looks interesting. If it's even half as good as Ben-Hur, then I'll be in for a treat. =)
Lady in the Water's soundtrack surprised me. It's got a lot of good reviews, and I decided to give the score a try. I haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks interesting, and I have to admit that the score is just as good as everyone's saying it is. No wonder many people fell in love with it, because the music is easily some of James Newton-Howard's best work ever. After listening through the album a couple of times I think it's not necessarily a five star effort as many people say it is, but it certainly does come quite close. I'm not surprised at all that "The Great Eatlon" cue was chosen to be the best score cue of the year 2006, because it has some awesome orchestral and choral power and yet is subtle at times and represents quite a few themes of the score in a magnificent way. My favourite bits of that cue are 01:50 - 02:46 and 03:25 - 04:03 (particularly the latter with its awesome mix of orchestra, choir and that delicate piano which take the main theme to great heights).
Other notable cues are "Prologue" (gotta love that piano bit at 01:30 - 01:52 that mimics the way water moves as well as the hint at the main theme at 02:15 - 02:45), "Charades" (the way it slowly builds up with that watery movement of the orchestra), and "End Titles", although the rest of the cues work wonderfully as well. The main theme is simply gorgeous in execution and thematic quality, and I really enjoy the use of piano and choir in the soundtrack. As far as I'm concerned, Newton-Howard is definitely getting better and better as time goes on. =D
I managed to download the rare Lilo & Stitch Promo. I knew it existed, but I never thought I'd actually get one myself, and now I'm glad I found it, because this "missing" music is just marvellous. Silvestri sure knows his stuff, and the tracks really build up the emotional core better than just the handful of score tracks in the commercial soundtrack. There's really nothing I need to say about this, because the missing stuff is essentially the expanded stuff of the glimpses we got in the commercial album. I do enjoy that some of the motifs get more development in this promo, though, and it's sad that Disney didn't release all the score in the commercial album. Oh well, at least I have the music now.
I have to say I'm quite disappointed with Meet the Robinsons score by Danny Elfman. I knew it wasn't getting that many good reviews, but I still wanted to give it a chance. Apart from some of the dark choral passages and Lewis's theme this score just didn't give me the "Whoa!" feel I had with previous scores, even with Chicken Little. I don't know if MtR has a bad mix or something, but the ensemble sounds smaller than it is. Also, the jolly tunes the choir sings get quite sick if you listen to them for a while, and the worst part of all is that apart from Lewis's theme the score isn't really that coherent. The songs didn't sound that good either. Still, maybe the score works better in the film, but I've yet to see it so I don't know how it'll end up. This soundtrack is one I'm likely not to buy, and it's a shame because pretty much every soundtrack of a Disney Animated Classic has been enjoyable (well, I'm not yet sure about The Black Cauldron because what I've heard of it was quite odd, but still). Oh well, a loss, I suppose.
Nomad by Carlo Siliotto was a surprising find. I hadn't even heard of this score before I noticed that quite a few soundtrack fans were recommending it. I decided to give it a try and downloaded the soundtrack, and the soundtrack turned out to be quite good. It utilizes choir in three different ways: it can be traditional, throat singing, or wailing choir depending on track (and sometimes the choirs can differ during a single track as well). The score has quite a few themes and motifs and is quite complex in using themes, reminding me of Howard Shore's LotR scores.
Many tracks in Nomad are quite short, but there are a few longer tracks which offers some awesome highlights as far as thematic development goes. The biggest and boldest piece is the epic "Kazakh Victory" which lasts almost seven minutes and reprises many of the themes heard previously in the score and develops them to their fullest form (and that how it should be done, because the tracks accompanies the final battle). Other notable tracks are "Jungar Attack", "Save Your Son!", "The Duel, "Jungar Trials", "Gaukhar Rescues Mansur", and "Nomad Reprise", but every track is solid and none of the tracks is true filler material because they introduce and develop themes and motifs pretty much all the time.
Siliotto utilizes both a traditional orchestra and exotic Kazakh instruments to give some flavour, and I really like the way how throat singers seem to serve as the music accompanying the villains, Jungars. There are some folk songs mixed in as well, and the action is quite slow at times, but it's still quite beautiful. The score does seem reminiscent of Klaus Badelt's The Promise which utilized as many ethnic instruments and harmonic melodies, but there are two things in which these two scores seem to differ: a) Badelt's score is more simplistic than Siliotto's, and b) Badelt's themes are more memorable than Siliotto's. So yes, both are lovable scores, but it takes several listenings before one finally grasps the complex themes Siliotto uses, so in that regard Badelt's score is more approachable. However, Siliotto's Nomad score is a hidden gem, and it gives that ethnic beauty that many scores are in need of, and the use of multiple themes is never a bad thing. =)
Primal, a soundtrack for a game with a similar name, surprised me, particularly because it seems most, if not all, of the music in the OST is actually from the cutscenes of the game. Particularly tracks like "Jen Meets Arella" and "A Kingdom Restored" really show what this score is all about: lush orchestral writing with a very big choir (and the mix is fabulous). There are quite a few themes, both haunting and beautiful, and yet there's enough darkness creeping about so that the score gets depth. I was impressed by the quality of the score, and it's a wonderful listen. The battle tracks sound cool, but the magical moments are the most memorable ones in the score, and the choir gets a fair time in the score, at times with simply stunning performances. This score is definitely magical and worth a listen if you enjoy game music and/or orchestral and choral writing with good and beautiful themes and passages.
Secret Weapons Over Normandy is a mixed bag for me. On one hand it's a surprisingly good game score by Michael Giacchino and is very reminiscent of his Medal of Honor scores and even has some great choral writing in it too. Still, for some reason, I don't think it quite reaches the level of MOH series, although it's certainly a good and exciting effort. Tracks like "Fjords of Norway" just shine with beautiful themes and orchestral/choral writing which is really stunning at times, and the main themes are catchy enough (although I still prefer the MOH themes). The score's adventurous and a perfect match for an epic war game such as this. All in all it's worth a listen to Giacchino fans. ;)
I finally managed to get Shrek 2 score by Harry Gregson-Williams. As expected, the OST has the most memorable score tracks from the film (such as the choral magic in "Prince Charming" and "All is Revealed"), and I really like the way HGW uses choir and orchestra and the occasional synth stuff to make the fairy tale feel, keeping the music mature enough while antics take place on screen. I remember how surprised I was when I first realized how much Shrek 2's score had improved on the original Shrek. I hope the score for Shrek 3 will be as much of a positive surprise as S2 was, but only time will tell.
Tarzan Promo by Mark Mancina was a surprising find, considering its scarcity. The promo score is ~40 minutes long with quite a bit score material missing from the commercial release. Too bad the tracks are in the wrong order, but one day I'll figure out the proper chronological order and rearrange them (like I'll do with Bridge to Terabithia's promo). It's also a shame that most of the tracks are quite short (whereas the medley tracks in the original release were at least lengthy and well-edited), but apart from that there are some nice moments in the score (extra bits of choir and all). "Baboon Chase" is a nice new action track as are the bits dealing with Sabor, and the score playing in the scenes with Kerchak and Tarzan is quite touching. The promo shows Mancina's talent for these jungle rhythms, and now I'm eager to get my hands on the Brother Bear promo that seems to be lengthier than this promo. We'll see how things go.
The Black Cauldron Complete Score is quite an interesting find. I found it by accident, and although at first the music kind of freaked me out, I learned to like it. The ondes martenot instrument is quite creepy (you'll know it when you hear that ominous sound for the first time) and really is the defining element of the score. There are some nice themes, but unfortunately most of them aren't that memorable except for one: the pounding theme for the Horned King which has quite a bit of religious power (particularly in the stunning "The Army of the Dead" cue). All in all the score's quite long and creepy but has its nice points; too bad the tracks are in the wrong order, so I guess I'll have to reorganize them at some point when I'm motivated enough to do so. The soundtrack is quite nice although quite depressing at some points, and it's surprising how sound quality changes so much from track to track, but I guess that's to be expected from a recording like this. The soundtrack is an interesting anomaly in Disney scores but still a tolerable one with its big symphonic sound and thematic development.
The Lion King 3 (or 1½) Promo by Don Harper was another positive surprise. The score itself didn't make its presence known that much in the film, but the promo score on its own turned out to be an enjoyable listen. Although it isn't as memorable as the original TLK, it's still on par with, and maybe even superior to the score of TLK2 because it uses orchestra and choir rather than synths. There are some nice moments like "Timon and Pumbaa Meet" and "Timon's Traveling Theme" among others, and there's comedy, danger and genuine emotional tracks mixed within the score, which is a nice touch and gives diversity to the score. It's worth a listen to every TLK fan, and I enjoyed the pure orchestral sound it brought to the TLK franchise, so yay.
The Music Behind the Magic was a real treat. This multi-CD collection is some kind of a rarity nowadays, but someone made it available for download for a limited time, and I managed to download most of the tracks. Basically TMBTM is about the Menken/Ashman's scores and songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. As well as the score tracks and final songs heard in the commercial OSTS, this set also has worktape editions, demos, unused songs (both demo and final versions) as well as some previously unavailable score cues (like "Wolf Attack" from BatB) for the three Disney films.
The demos and unused songs are a treat to listen to, and some of the current songs also had radically different lyrics to what ended up in the films. It's nice to trace the development of the songs and hear Menken and Ashman sing and play the songs themselves, and I like the various alternate versions. The only thing I miss is some of the unused songs that were left out of this release as well as the complete score of all the films (although TMBTM offers many score cues, there are still a bunch of them missing). But, all in all, the set is a wonderful thing, and I hope we'll get a proper revised edition which includes all this content as well as the additional songs and score cues as well to make them the ultimate collector's edition. I wouldn't mind getting some great liner notes as well. But yeah, I've had a good time listening to this set.
And now that we're talking about Menken, I must mention two musicals of his which I listened to recently: King David and Christmas Carol. Although I was glad to hear these types of musical ventures Menken had tackled, they left me unimpressed. Although many of the compositions were grand choral and orchestral writing, they just didn't reach the heights of Menken's Disney musicals and weren't as memorable as his previous songs. King David's religious overtones were kind of a mix of Aida, The Prince of Egypt and The Hunchback of Notre Dame whereas Christmas Carol was more like something from the more tender moments of Aladdin and Hercules. So, to conclude, both King David and Christmas Carol were fun to listen to once, but they weren't the type of soundtracks I'd listen to again (so in that regard they were quite similar to my experiences with Meet the Robinsons score.
The Thief of Bagdad by Miklós Rósza surprised me. I don't know if this OST is a rerecording or actually the original, but in either case the sound quality is surprisingly good, and the orchestra, the choir and the solo singers have a crystal clear sound. The score has some nice moments and even some themes, and it really gets to shine whenever all the three aspects (singers, choir, and orchestra) play together. The very first track "Main Title" gives us an epic and powerful opening with orchestra and choir and eventually a male singer joins in and sings his solo bit with orchestra and choir backing him up. It's a truly stirring piece of music.
The other tracks are quite good, too, although the guy singing "Abu's Song" seems to deliberately sing on the wrong note, which is rather annoying (but I think it might have something to do with the narrative of the movie). "Love Song" is a touching piece for orchestra, female choir and a female singer, although at times it gets a bit too operatic for my taste (it's still a beautiful song, though). Quite a few of the tracks are actually playful, reminiscent of the older Disney movies, but there are also big action pieces for the orchestra, particularly in "The Skeleton Room/Duel with the Spider" and "The Blue Rose/Fight and Capture of Achmad". The sense of wonder and heroism is accentuated by a big choir, and this shows in epic tracks such as "The Djinn", "The Return" , and "The Golden Tent".
The score's has some nice bits which Rósza would later use for his scores for Ben-Hur and King of Kings, but here he experiments with some of them and still never forgets the high adventure of the story. In some ways it reminds me of his El Cid score. There's some exotic stuff mixed in to remind the listeners that the story's taking place in Bagdad, and all in all the score's a solid effort by Rósza and proves his versatility as a composer.
I managed to get The Two Towers Complete Recordings, and I've had a great time listening to the songs in a better quality than the rip I downloaded earlier. Particularly the DVD has some amazing sound quality; too bad my home theatre equipment isn't really as massive as the mix requires, but I still managed to get fun out of it. There are lots of choral themes, lots of themes that never made it into the film itself (not even the Extended Edition), and there are a bunch of themes I never knew even existed until now. The packaging and discs are pretty much the same as in The Fellowship of the Rings Complete Recordings, so nothing new there.
However, the liner notes in this TTT set reveal more themes and also point out variations, instruments and previous themes. The notes have been a great read, and if I've counted right, there are more than 60 different leitmotifs in LotR series already. I can't wait to hear what Return of the King Complete Recordings will bring forth, not to mention that special book about LotR scores that will apparently have an extra audio disc (CD or DVD) which will have even more unused music in it (and probably some bits or even the complete LotR symphony suite!). This is awesome stuff, and all LotR fans (and especially fans of Howard Shore's scores for the films) should get these Complete Recordings sets immediately. They're expensive, but they're definitely worth it. =D
Titan A.E. score by Graeme Revell is quite a nice find. Revell mixes electronics, orchestra and choir to create an interesting soundscape for the deep space adventure. It's unfortunate that many of the cues are so short and hardly have time to give some thematic ideas, although there are fortunately a few which have some nice mix of piano and chorus (e.g. "Remembering Father"). Some cues even offer some orchestral and/or choral majesty like "Sesharrim", "Ice Ring", "Titan Found" and "Planet Bob" which as the finale track offers some epic stuff. Some of the tracks even use some exotic instruments to great effect, such as in the tracks "The Gauol" and "New Bangkok".
Revell's score shines in the music accompanying the various action scenes in the movie. There are two tracks of almost seven minutes of length each, titled "Prologue/Drej Attack" and "Drej Mothership Arrives" which are quite epic action pieces which also utilize some choir as well as some synths to announce the presense of the villainous Drej race, and both also feature the heroic action theme quite prominently. There are some other notable action tracks as well, such as "Drej Chase", "Drej Attack Sesharrim", "Hydrogen Tree Chase", and "The Betrayal". These usually have electronic rhythms and even some nice drum beats to accentuate the danger the heroes face.
The choir seems to be mixed rather low and only gets to truly shine in the epic final track, but at least the orchestra and synths can be heard without any distortion in all the tracks. The synths get pronounced quite a bit in a couple of tracks, but for the most part the orchestra and choir dominate the score. It's rather unfortunate that there are so few recognizable themes in the score, but at least it's a solid listen and gives some majestic cues which are among the best of Revell's career. All in all the score's a solid effort although not among the best animated film scores.
When the time for the Academy Awards was at hand, I decided to pull an all-nighter and actually watch the show all the way through. It was quite bland compared to previous AA ceremonies, particularly because that Ellen just isn't funny. Still, there were quite a few surprises in store for me as I watched the show. The sound effects choir (people mimicking various sound effects) was actually quite funny, and I enjoyed the shadow puppet show they had later on in the show.
Jennifer Hudson's win was rather surprising. Americans didn't vote for her in American Idols, and yet she managed to win her Academy Award for best supporting actress, so that was a nice surprise (and I guess the people at American Idol were kicking themselves for that xD). Al Gore had a surprisingly big presence in the show and actually joked about the presidential elections he had been in. He said something like that the Americans voted for him and yet... well... someone else won. That was quite a funny speech. I was also glad that his documentary about the greenhouse effect etc. won the Oscar for best documentary (too bad I didn't see it although I could've, because I had other lectures going on and couldn't see the showing at our university).
I was extremely disappointed that the Danish Poet won the award for best animated short and not Disney's The Little Matchgirl even though the latter was superior to all the other nominees. I guess the board just doesn't like Disney shorts anymore and even give these awards to some not-so-good animated shorts. Oh well, I hope Disney wins the award for a short some other time then. There was also a speech about the death of hand-drawn animation as one of the people speaking explained the history of animation and how hand-drawn animation is pointless. Not only did she state false years for the production and release of Snow White (seriously, these people should at least get their facts straight!) and to add insult to injury she even didn't like hand-drawn animation. Crazy woman. Anyway, the Oscar for best animated film went to Happy Feet, and I guess it deserved it, because the other nominees weren't as good.
It was nice that the award for best visual effects went to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, because it certainly deserved that award. It was also nice to hear a big orchestral version (no synths, yay!) of "He's a Pirate", and that sounded so much better than the synth version we hear in the movies. Melissa Etheridge (composer of Brother Bear 2 among other things) won an Academy Award for best song, which was rather interesting, because there were better candidates. Still, I'm glad she won. And speaking of music, I was very glad to see that Ennio Morricone finally got his long-due Academy Award, even though it was a lifetime award and not for an actual score. Still, I greatly appreciated it, and Morricone's speech (translated by no other than Clint Eastwood himself) was very touching, as he dedicated the award to his wife. That was the best part of the whole Academy Awards gala.
However, after that beautiful, dream-like moment came a horrible nightmarish moment when it was revealed that Gustavo Santaolalla won the award for best motion picture score. That was seriously insulting, because every other nominee was about a thousand times better than Santaolalla's simplistic and trashy music. I can't understand how such a bad composer can win the award two times a row (the last time this happened was when Alan Menken won the award for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). Santaolalla's music for Babel is just stupid, and the only good piece in that is the one which is not even composed by him. I truly wonder why the academy board decides to act in such a retarded way, particularly because the award should've gone to Javier Navarrete's Pan's Labyrinth instead (everyone actually thought it would win the award because the main theme was featured prominently in the gala!). If Santaolalla wins next year's Academy Awards, the board needs to be hanged, and I'm dead serious about that: there are so many better composers out there who deserve an Academy Award rather than Santaolalla. Blarg.
The award for best screenplay went to William Monahan who had written the screenplay for The Departed. It was about time, because his screenplay for Kingdom of Heaven was good, so I was glad he finally got the recognition that he deserved even if he just adapted the screenplay from an existing Asian one (I've yet to see The Departed, though). The Departed in general won other awards, such as the ones for best editing, best picture, and most importantly best director. It was about time that Martin Scorsese got that award for best director, because he certainly should've had it a long time ago.
All in all the awards ceremony went fine, and although there were some bad choices for winners, at least some of my favourites got what they deserved, so I'm happy about that.
I recently started watching Death Note after a couple of my friends recommended it. I decided to pull an all-nighter last weekend and watched all the current episodes back to back. It was a difficult task, but I survived, and in the process I realized that this series might turn out to be one of my favourite anime series. Basically the story is about a Japanese high school student who finds an ominous black notebook dropped by a shinigami (a death god, or I guess Grim Reaper or angel of death would be more suitable, although the shinigami in the series look quite gruesome). This student, named Light, soon realizes that he can kill anyone he wants if he just knows the person's name and has the person's face in mind when writing the name down to the Death Note. He starts killing off criminals in order to create a perfect world and to become a new god of the world. This kind of megalomania is soon noticed by Interpol which decides to send the famous and yet mysterious detective named L to track down whoever is killing the criminals. Thus begins the contest of wills between Light and L when both try to find each other and prove their intellectual superiority, and things get even more complex when other parties get involved and when new people using other Death Notes appear.
What I like about this series are the complex characters who actually get quite a bit character development (particularly Light and L), the intellectual contest of wills when both parties try to outwit each other (both L and Light's complex plans remind me of some of the Agatha Christie books and the machinations of the villains and detectives in them) as well as the twists that sometimes drastically alter the course of the storyline. The Japanese voice actors do a good job, and the music in the series is quite good too, mixing orchestra, big choir singing in Latin, and guitar and other band instruments into the mix. Basically the soundtracks are divided into the religious-sounding pieces with orchestra and choir (the choral track "Low of Solipsism" is a great example of dramatic music in that vein which perfectly showcases the mood of the series) and the more contemplative character and suspension themes (good examples of this being L's themes), and this counterpoint really serves the series well, although for the most part I like the dramatic orchestral/choral themes more than the guitar/piano/etc themes.
Although I enjoy Light's machinations in the show, I really like many of the other characters, and even Misa who is sometimes really annoying serves the story well. L, however, is my favourite character because of his weird eating habits (which crack me up - you have to see his mannerisms for yourself) and because he has quite many sides which are gradually revealed as the series progresses. I was kind of surprised by the foot massage/washing scene in one the latest episodes which served as a pretty much direct allegory to Jesus and his disciples, and it's a curious move considering the fact that this scene wasn't in the manga as far as I know. Still, I enjoy the Christian allegories and symbols which bring multiple complex layers to the actual storyline and hint at things to come. All in all the series has been interesting so far, and I hope the final episodes keep up the drama and pace of the narrative. I also like the competition between Mello and Near, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of things the anime version will add as opposed to the manga version. We'll see.
Recently Bleach has been freaking me out. The animation style has changed a bit from the animation in the Bount arc, and sometimes it looks as if it was really rushed (e.g. Urahara and Yoruichi looked quite awful in one of the episodes where they fought Yammy). I hope the quality of animation will get better (although I admit the Arrancar do look badass enough, so no complaints there; I particularly like the voice work as well as the Spanish-type musical theme they have). Things are moving on just fine, although I'm annoyed how everyone's still saying how much the Bount arc sucked (even though it didn't suck and was certainly better than any other fillers I've seen), and I'm surprised how much people still hate those three modsouls who appear every now and then in this Arrancar arc. Yes, they weren't in the manga, but you can't deny that Noba (the quiet "biker" guy) is badass in a good way, so I can't understand why people hate him (heck, I can understand if people hate Ririn and to some extent Kuroud, but how can they hate Noba?).
I'm glad Bleach is finally treading into the drama territory in a heavy way as evidenced in one of the episodes where Orihime is finally getting some proper character development (can't wait to see that certain heartbreaking scene in future episodes). However, I'm kind of worried how much fanservice and other weird stuff these later episodes have. First you have Yoruichi eating for like a minute (it felt like it took forever for them to finish that scene), and it sounds like she's sucking dick or something, and she's almost naked in that scene. Then you have MatsumotoxOrihime action which almost ruined that sad scene (I know it was intentional, but sometimes I wish the Bleach stuff would just stop with that weirdness and have some heavy drama and tragedy without constant comic stuff to balance it). I have nothing against comedy per se (Kon can be quite funny at times), but it really bogs down the drama if you enter comedy in every freaking spot without giving enough time for the tragedy and darkness to get developed. There have been too many times when something sad has happened and a few seconds later things turn into a comedy, and that kind of swapping ruins the tender and dark moments. Oh well.
Also, I'm rather surprised that we're getting recaps at the beginning of every episode. We didn't have them before, so why now? Does this mean that Bleach has become so popular and that so many new people have started watching it during Bount saga or during this Arrancar arc that it's now necessary to explain every freaking detail at least three times in every episode and so on? Frankly, I don't understand this. If they wanted to have recaps, why didn't they do so straight in the beginning? It's also interesting how some bloody stuff is being censored, and occasionally blood is changed into saliva (a good example being Ichigo vs. Yammy). I do hope they don't start censoring more and more stuff, because that'd be a shame. The new Bleach opening is quite nice, though, and it's almost on par with that Rukia rescue opening. The song in this Inoue tragedy opening isn't as strong as in the Rukia one, though, and it's a shame, because otherwise the new opening is kickass.
I'm also rather amused that Aaroniero Arleri (or whatever), that Arrancar guy who's connected to another interesting character, looks a lot like Refan in manga form (or I guess I could say one of his forms). I know, it's crazy, as if they'd read my mind or something. But of course Aaroniero's "disguise" looks like someone else too, so it's not just Refan I'm talking about. Crazy stuff. Also, the way Aaroniero was dealt with in the manga left me quite shocked, because I didn't see that kind of finality coming (especially because people like Yammy survived). It'll be interesting to see what happens next (although the scene with Ichigo and Ulquiorra was quite nice, particularly when Ulqu's rank was revealed and how shocked Ichigo was when he realized he's fighting a futile battle).
I've noticed that there seems to be some connection to the Espada (Aizen's top Arrancar) and the remaining captains of Soul Society. I tried comparing them, and to my amazement I noticed that basically the Espada are twisted versions of the 10 good captains of Soul Society. This is of course pure speculation. So, let me explain:
Yamamoto's equivalent seems to be that elder Espada. Both have that grumpy face and yet it seems the Elder has a kind of a twisted sense of honour, going further in that territory than Yamamoto. He keeps saying how young people just aren't as good as he is, and this could be seen as the darker side of Yamamoto manifested into the Espada.
Halibel (the sole female Espada) carries her zanpakuto in a similar way to Soifon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that she's the twisted version of Soifon, because she doesn't seem as rash as Soifon and is more contemplative and seems to have a grim aura around her.
For some reason that black Espada with a spiky mohawk reminds me of Unohana. Why, you ask? Well, if you've read the manga, you'll notice he's seen meditating a lot and seems like a quiet type, and that in turn makes me think of Unohana who also meditates a lot and doesn't speak that much. Of course it's hard to say that much because we haven't seen the black guy a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was some kind of a mocking version of Unohana.
Ulquiorra is very reminiscent of Byakuya. Both have a similar type of hairstyle, and both are quite serious and yet mock Ichigo. In some ways the recent happenings in the manga suggest some kind of analogous connection between Byakuya and Ulquiorra, although that might just be a coincidence. Still, both of them have some sense of honour, although Ulquiorra's is like a twisted version of Byakuya's.
Yammy reminds me of Komamura. Both are strong and big fighters who are quite rash and don't always think things through. However, Yammy's stupidity and stubborn attitude almost seems like a twisted version of Komamura's stubborn sense of honour, and I wouldn't be surprised if Aizen wanted to mock Komamura with Yammy.
Stark, the lazy Espada, is very, very much like Kyoraku. First of all, both like to nap, but whereas Kyoraku is a ladies' man, Stark seems to get molested by his female underling and is bored most of the time. It's almost as if Stark is meant to represent the twisted side of Kyoraku's supposedly lazy attitude.
Hitsugaya's equivalent seems to be Grimmjow. This would seem plausible, because Grimmjow looks like a twisted, adult version of our Shiro-chan. In a way his rash attitude and evil ways go even more extreme than what Hitsugaya would do. It wouldn't be that surprising if Aizen had created him to serve as a mockup of Hitsugaya, the way Aizen sees that captain whom he considers a brat.
Noitora, the Espada with the eyepatch, reminds me of Zaraki. Both have an eyepatch and both claim to be strong. However, Noitora seems almost too cocky for his own good and loves battle, in a similar way to Zaraki, although at least the latter seems more intelligent. In some ways that crazy attitude is like a mocking version of Zaraki's tougher side, and it'd be ironic if Noitora turned out to be one of the lesser Espada despite his claims to be one of the strongest.
Zaera-Polo, the Espada with glasses, is like Mayuri. Both are scientists and like to twist people to do what they want, not to mention they want to study their "prey". Whereas Mayuri hates getting hurt, Zaera-Polo seems to enjoy pain or is at least amused by it. Both are willing to sacrifice people and don't care for people close to them, be it their assistant or brother (Nemu for Mayuri and Ilfort for Zaera-Polo).
It's also interesting that even Aaroniero seems to have an equivalent in Soul Society: Ukitake. First of all Aaroniero's ability to deceive people and use the form of Ukitake's deceased lieutenant Kaien Shiba seems like an insult to Ukitake, not to mention Aaroniero just happens to fight against Rukia who serves under Ukitake. Aaroniero is like a twisted form of Ukitake's sickness and avoids light (in some ways analogous to Ukitake's tuberculosis which makes him look pale).
I don't know if this is pure coincidence, but knowing Tite Kubo this might actually be something that he intended (to show Aizen's sick way of creating twisted images of the captains to serve on his side as his own, evil Gotei 13). But maybe I'm just stretching things a bit too far. Still, this kind of comparison is rather interesting and shows how all the Espada are like twisted forms of the remaining captains. So, what are your thoughts on the matter?
The recent Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End trailer kind of shocked me, because it openly borrowed a lot of stuff from other pirate movies such as the animated Sinbad, Cutthroat Island, Captain Blood and the Sea Hawk among others. I don't know if that's just tribute or if the screenwriters were lazy, but it still looks like a ripoff. Not that I really mind, though, as long as the scenes are done properly. After all, the third movie has a lot of things in the plot department which it needs to solve, so I hope we don't just get a lot of action and no story. But, time will tell how things go.
The news about Rapunzel, Enchanted and The Frog Princess have been rather interesting. There were some pics of Rapunzel, and those looked stunning. Glen Keane has had some troubles with the second and third act of the story, though, so I hope he'll be able to solve them. However, Lasseter himself said that the first act is the best opening ever in any Disney animated movie, and that statement got my hopes up. I really want Rapunzel to succeed, because it has so much potential. Let's hope things go well.
As for Enchanted, the leaked concept art posters were rather interesting. Particularly the ones influenced by Snow White were very good, and I hope some of those will end up being the final posters. According to rumours one song by Alan Menken has been dropped and five songs remain, and if this is true, I hope we'll get the deleted song as an extra on the DVD someday. Frog Princess, however, might have a new title (some suggest The Princess and the Frog) and the name of the main character, Maddy, might be changed. I do hope the production doesn't turn too troublesome even though there are a lot of edgy issues (including white prince and black servant girl romance), and I'm worried about Randy Newman's score, but I hope that movie will succeed as well and usher in a new wave of traditional animation.
I managed to download the workshop score (the notes) of the coming The Little Mermaid Broadway, and the notes have been rather interesting, particularly because they reveal some of the new songs which might get into the final show. These new songs include among other things "That World Above" (Ariel's version), "That Oughta Show Her" (Sebastian & Triton), "She's in Love" (Flounder & Mermaids), and "Ursula's Incantation" (Ursula & Ariel) as well as certain new reprises. It'll be interesting to see whether all the songs end up in the show or if some of them will be tweaked further. Time will tell, I guess.
Bleh, I wish I had enough time to post LJ entries every day, but sadly things didn't turn that way. Oh well. I hope I'll be able to post new stuff and not wait a month or two or three or [insert number here] before I do so again. =P
Yours,
Mikko