It’s been a great year for film music. I say that as someone who had to endure the laughably dated qualities of Alberto Iglesias’ Exodus: Gods and Kings and had to swallow the pill that is Howard Shore‘s latter days Middle-earth music. But it has been a great year. Clint Mansell gave us haunting, complex soundscapes in Noah, the …
The Boxtrolls is a delightful animated gem that has enough frenetic action to entertain the kids and plenty of subversive humor to keep the adults chuckling. It’s the perfect way to spend a day with your rambunctious little brother, and probably far less destructive. The stop-motion design is gorgeous, with loads of tiny details for the curious eye. If Big Hero 6 is a bit too saccharine for your palate, this makes a suitably-twisted alternative.
Dario Marianelli, an Italian composer, has been slowly making his way into the popular film score scene since the early 1990s. His style tends to combine traditional classical and programmatic music sensibilities found in composers like Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin. Although there have only been trailers up until this point, his upcoming work for The …