Jared Miller

Not that I noticed. If they're there, they are likely covered up by walls of blaring brass/synth. Granted I was studying as I listened to this, so I can't give too much analysis, but the fact I was able to actually focus on studying while this was on speaks for itself. Generally I can't study while listening to anything! I really wanted to like this score, but it was just downright boring. I had the same issue with his Dark Knight scores, but this one actually seemed worse. I hope it at least works within the context of the film. +1 for using piano in some of the final tracks though!

It actually is fairly developed compared to Enterprising Young Men. At least, it is considerably "bigger" and more fleshed out. I agree though, I was definitely hoping for some more development of the theme. Listened to the Man of Steel score today... where's the music? =/ The last two tracks are good, but I seriously can't recall anything from the first 15 besides having to turn the volume down occasionally because of blaring dissonance. I was hoping for so much more here... I seriously wish Zimmer would tone down the "sound" and ramp up the actual music.

This kind of irritates me too, but I wondered if the filmmakers did this so the audience knew who was who. As far as I recall, they never mention in the films that their voices stayed the same (nor for that matter that they were different). I didn't mind Neville or Ginny, or really even Lavender. And to me, nearly everything with Hermione was brilliant =) Some things I hated: the scene where they laugh at how old Dumbledore is bothered me, as well as the awkward laughter after they talk about Harry kissing Cho. Also, the part with Harry and Cho at the top of the stairs when he asks her to the ball. Really, just about everything with Cho... Also, in Order of the Phoenix when they're in the Department of Mysteries and the kids are fighting death eaters, they do awkward shots of the battle. Like zooming up on Luna's face, showing a Death Eater still on the ground... but they hardly show any of the action actually happening. Which is bizarre to me, because they show a good deal of the ensuing Death Eater/Order battle, as well as the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Only cringeworthy thing I can think of in DH2 is when they are changing clothes after jumping off the dragon. I don't care about the partial nudity or whatever, but it just felt really weird and unnecessary (as did the shot of Hermione's cleavage when they fall from the cart in Gringott's)

I think Star Trek Into Darkness will ultimately take it, though both Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University have a great shot at it. It seems like animated films are often reviewed well, especially Pixar. Still, the first Despicable Me movie earned only an 81%, so I have a hard time believing a sequel would do much better. Monsters, Inc on the other hand had a 96%, so Monsters University could certainly end up around that level as well.

Lord of the Rings in the Top 3, as it should be! Though I personally think it should be above Star Wars (which is arguably more iconic, but Lord of the Rings is surely a better film score). Why the heck is Zimmer's PotC score on there at all, much less at #25? Seriously, if they are going to put a Zimmer score on there that high, it should be The Lion King... Yay for "The Hours" by Philip Glass! One of my favorite scores.

Nice! That's better than ST09's 4th Monday (1.33 vs 1.27). Maybe it'll gain a bit of ground this week before MoS releases (hope so!)

Catching Fire - 9.5/10 Hunger Games - 9/10 Mockingjay - 8/10

I rather liked the STID trailer #1. The music, Greenwood's voice "There's greatness in you..." while showing clips of Kirk and the crew, then Benedict's sinister voice leads into the dissonant music over the clips of destruction... Then that last line "Is there anything you would not do for your family?" I was SO sold on this film once I saw this trailer, and thankfully it didn't disappoint! (For me) I also really liked this Prometheus trailer, though the film itself was pretty rotten. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmJOO6D5RvA Other awesome trailers: The Deathly Hallows (trailer for both parts), the final Man of Steel trailer, all Lord of the Rings trailers, Inception, and Spiderman 2

I'll agree there's a few moments where it is a bit much, but overall it didn't bother me. The only place I remember the score being too over the top was the end of the scene with the family in the hospital, when it zooms up on Harrison's face. Reminded me too much of Kill Bill... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOy6hqzfsAs Otherwise there were lots of grand moments in the score, particularly when they swim to the Enterprise underwater, when the USS Vengeance comes out of warp right in front of the Enterprise, the Warp Core sequence, Spock's mind-meld with Pike... love this score =)

Agree =/ I've done my part, I've watched it four times in theaters... hoping it holds on fairly well for the next few weeks. Thankfully it is doing very well overseas for a ST film

They aren't all as bad as they might sound! I love all the SW movies (just think Trek is a step above, the acting is worlds better). I was entertained by BB and TDK (though I didn't like TDKR at all), but don't see why everyone thinks they're so amazing. They have no emotional punch (seriously IM3 was more heartfelt...)I mostly like Avatar, but I like Fern Gully more =) Andrew Garfield > Toby's emo/crying face, Stone >>> DunstAnd Zimmer is so blah these days...

Batman Begins is the best of the Dark Knight TrilogyThe Dark Knight Trilogy really isn't that goodHans Zimmer is a boring/lazy composerThe Star Trek reboots are better than any of the Star Wars filmsPrisoner of Azkaban is the worst Potter filmThe Amazing Spiderman is better than Raimi's filmsTitanic sucksFern Gully is more entertaining than AvatarCharacter moments and cast chemistry trump plotThe soundtrack is equally important as the scriptOld movies we love aren't as good/infallible as we think they are - we can't see past the nostalgiaSome of the best acting is found in big blockbusters and critics generally refuse to seriously acknowledge it

Absolutely The Return of the King. Gets me every single time ("you bow to no one")Also Toy Story 3, Deathly Hallows 2, Return of the Jedi... RotK takes the cake for me though! Very emotionally satisfying ending.

1. The Avengers2. The Amazing Spiderman3. X-Men First Class4. Iron Man5. Batman Begins6. The Dark Knight7. Spiderman 28. X29. Thor10. Captain America11. Spiderman12. X313. Iron Man 314. The Incredible Hulk15. Spiderman 316. X-Men17. The Dark Knight Rises18. Iron Man 219. X-Men Origins

I really hope they're able to really capitalize on the 50th anniversary and increase attendance. These movies are fantastic and I feel like they're a cut above most typical summer action films. I wish more people were seeing it =/ I know JJ might not be able to direct, but if they could capitalize on a really strong Star Wars performance to make him more of a household name, perhaps the next ST could really take off. I also hope they can cut back the budget a bit to make the next film more profitable (though not at the expense of quality, of course!). And maybe be more clear about the film's plot in the marketing? I wonder how much that hurt STID (though I personally loved the "mystery" even though I was 90% sure of the twist).

Agreed! I'm not sure how some think it underwhelms; it is the best I've heard yet this year, and one of my favorites overall! And while "Ode to Harrison" is a great track, I think there's two or three better ones on the soundtrack. For the rest of the year, my #1 is Shore's next Hobbit score, followed by Zimmer's Man of Steel (which I really hope does NOT sound like his Batman scores). Also hoping JNH's score for Catching Fire is way better than the Hunger Games score, which was very underwhelming. Other than that, not much jumps out at me as a must-have, but I'll be sure to check out more of them as the year progresses to see which are must-have scores.

Books: Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince Prisoner of Azkaban Sorcerer's Stone Deathly Hallows Goblet of Fire Chamber of Secrets Films: Deathly Hallows Part 2 Half-Blood Prince Sorcerer's Stone Order of the Phoenix Deathly Hallows Part 1 Goblet of Fire Chamber of Secrets Prisoner of Azkaban I think the films got immeasurably better overall once they took a darker tone in Goblet of Fire. However, I have to put Sorcerer's Stone up there for nostalgia. It was a perfect start to the series and brings back great memories to this day for me. The books are harder to rank, as I love them all. Chamber of Secrets was a thrilling read when I first read it, but for some reason now I'm less drawn to that than the others. Something about the Order of the Phoenix is fantastic to me, maybe because it is the longest one so there's more there =)

Yes, unless it is Toy Story!

Agree! Watched it the Saturday after it opened, then two more times since then and I still can't wait to go back yet again for another viewing. The actors and their chemistry in this film (and the first) blow me away and cover up plot inconsistencies for me (not to mention it is fantasy/sci-fi, so plotholes will abound). All things considered, I haven't been this stoked about a film since Return of the King, and I'd be hard-pressed to find a major flaw with the film. I do think Cumberbatch could have been better used (i.e, more). Also, I'd have liked more scenes with Alice Eve; she was somewhat pointless in this film, clearly placed to serve as a love interest in the next installment. Despite that, I thought she did well and I enjoyed the few scenes she was a part of. I wouldn't have revived Kirk so quickly, because it sort of took away from the moments following his passing. Pine and Quinto are fantastic. I love Spock, but I thought Pine's Kirk was really well done here. His expressions and body language are spot on for every emotion and thought he is trying to convey. Same with Quinto, but I thought Pine really upped the ante here. I appreciated bigger roles for Saldana and Urban, and Yelchin/Cho/Pegg were just as entertaining as in the first film. I wanted more Admiral Pike, but I thought his final scene was poignant (if a bit unceremonious) and a great vehicle for Spock's developing understanding of Kirk. Also, I really thought most of the ending was great. I don't really understand why some people are miffed about the death scene; I don't see why it has to take away from what happened in WoK. Can't we enjoy both? To me it neither takes away from that film nor seems like a blatant ripoff. I thought it was really well done, particularly Quinto's expressions as well as the delivery of lines that on paper are pretty cheesy but I thought worked really well in the moment - "I do not know. Right now, I am feeling". Could've done without the "KHAAAAAN", but it was worlds away from Vader's "NOOOOOOO" in SWIII and definitely didn't make me cringe. I could really feel Spock's pain and anger, not just in that scene but throughout the entire next scene as well. Him beating the tar out of Khan was great action, but man I really felt how pissed off he was. Perhaps I'm just an extraordinarily empathetic person =). And while it did feel sorta cheap that Kirk was so easily revived, I am glad they set that up earlier in the film so it wasn't some crazy deus ex machina scene at the end. And I also don't think Khan's blood is as bad a plot device as some make it out to be. Both the characters it healed were ill; it wasn't as if they were shot or killed in an explosion. And besides, it clearly had to be administered quickly after death. Spock's revival in the old films was just as cheap as this one was. Overall, I had sky-high expectations for this film, and it managed to exceed them. Shoutout to Giacchino for a fantastic score that is an improvement on the first one. "London Calling", "Meld-Merized", "Warp Core Values" and "Buying the Space Farm" really gave me chills in the film.