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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:43 pm
by Sonic Youth
I promised myself I'd hold my tongue on this category.
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:48 pm
by Okri
The Original BJ wrote:In my world, A.R. Rahman wins the song prize and Newman gets the score award, splitting the music categories. But ultimately, I think Slumdog enthusiasm will carry over to this category, and Newman keeps waiting. (And to be fair, aren't the most memorable music moments in WALL-E from Hello, Dolly?)
That's what I'm hoping for - I don't think a music cue this year moved me as much as "The Axiom" did.
Edited By Okri on 1234234202
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:42 pm
by flipp525
The non-nominated Changeling score would be my pick for the win. A haunting, wistful creation that perfectly complements the mood of the film.
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:35 pm
by OscarGuy
A.R. Rahman is this year's Vangelis.
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:32 pm
by Big Magilla
It seems as though the no one outside of India has seen a Bollywood film. Slumdog strikes as something completely new - it will sail to a win on the crest of its "novelty".
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:10 pm
by The Original BJ
As a musician, this is usually one of my favorite categories. It's not so this year. This is not to say the composers' branch picked a bad slate -- most of these are worthy nominees. It's just that pickings were so slim this year, IMO, that even the best of the bunch feels lackluster.
Take both Milk and Benjamin Button, for instance. Milk's score is quite lovely, with a sense of fun that perfectly matches Harvey Milk's sense of humor. Still, Elfman's done far more notable work in the past, and, though a solid nominee, Milk's score isn't one of its most notable aspects. (Like a couple of the nominees in this category, the song selection, especially "Over the Rainbow," is even more memorable than the underscore.)
Benjamin Button's score is totally entrancing and haunting...though isn't it a bit like a rehash of Alexandre Desplat's best work? (Funny how all of his best scores -- Birth, The Painted Veil, Lust, Caution -- can't get nominated, but he gets in with less singular work in Best Picture nominees.) I wouldn't begrudge this talent a win (the same would go for Elfman, actually), but think it's unlikely.
Defiance is by far the weakest of the bunch. Defiance isn't really a movie -- it's more a series of scene-setting milieu moments with no story directed by a director who can't direct scene-setting milieu moments. The score does a lot of work to patch this all together, but it's wholly unmemorable Holocaust violin solos and I can't fathom how it managed to place over Howard's hardly revelatory but much more memorable Dark Knight score (or even a double dip for Newman with Revolutionary Road, Zimmer for Frost/Nixon, etc.).
Like most, I think the race boils down to Slumdog Millionaire vs. WALL-E. Personally, I'd root for WALL-E. Newman's BEYOND overdue, and his foreboding yet playful music is the perfect fit for the Pixar toon's tone. Which is not to say Slumdog would be an undeserving winner -- that pulsating score is one of the crucial elements in creating that film's energy. Plus, as I said when I reviewed the film, it's the type of modern score which doesn't often get recognized, so I'm perfectly happy to see it recognized.
In my world, A.R. Rahman wins the song prize and Newman gets the score award, splitting the music categories. But ultimately, I think Slumdog enthusiasm will carry over to this category, and Newman keeps waiting. (And to be fair, aren't the most memorable music moments in WALL-E from Hello, Dolly?)