The film music of 2010.

Another year of wonderful music come and gone. Well, here goes...

My favorite scores of 2010:


(Danny Elfman - Disney)
Elfman provided a beautiful main theme and exciting music for Tim Burton's watchable-if-confused fantasy.


(Rolfe Kent - Varese)
Kent provided a sweet score for the not-bad romantic drama.


(Christopher Gordon - Lionsgate)
Gordon's full-bodied music made for a promising note on which to start the year.


(Theodore Shapiro - Lakeshore)
Shapiro's off-kilter marching-to-its-own-drummer music is one of the year's great surprises.


(Alexandre Desplat - Varese)
Nothing got under my skin this year as much as Desplat's well-tuned suspense score.


(John Powell - Varese)
Powell's lively, Celtic-flavored score is one of the film's strongest elements.


(Hans Zimmer - Reprise/WaterTower)
A truly impressive score for a Christopher Nolan movie? It was bound to happen.


(Rolfe Kent - Lionsgate)
The underrated romcom benefitted from Kent's fine score, including a buoyant main theme.


(John Powell - Varese)
Powell's return to Mr. and Mrs. Smith territory may well be even better. (P.S. "Going to Cape Horn? Take a Jacket" is my favorite track title of the year.)


(James Newton Howard - Lakeshore)
This adaptation may carry around a negative reputation, but one can't fault Howard's powerful music.


(James Newton Howard - Madison Gate)
Once again this summer, Howard made musical sense of an unfortunate misfire.


(Danny Elfman - Varese)
Can you believe that there was once a time when Elfman's lush, exciting score wasn't going to be in this movie? Me neither.

Other good scores:

Cats and Dogs: the Revenge of Kitty Galore (Christopher Lennertz), Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Theodore Shapiro), The Expendables (Brian Tyler), The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat), Prince of Parkour...Persia: the Sands of Time (Harry Gregson-Williams), RED (Christophe Beck), Tangled (Alan Menken), The Tourist (James Newton Howard), Toy Story 3 (Randy Newman) and True Grit (Carter Burwell)

Some nice unreleased scores:

Despicable Me - Heitor Pereira & Pharrell Williams
Devil - Fernando Velazquez
Jonah Hex - Marco Beltrami & Mastodon
Morning Glory - David Arnold
The Warrior's Way - Javier Navarrete

My favorite new CDs of 2010:

Batman (Danny Elfman - La La Land): One of Elfman's finest (and most famous) scores receives overdue deluxe treatment.

Black Sunday (John Williams - FSM): A creepy suspense score from Williams, with a pair of terrific themes at its core.

Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris - Prometheus/Tadlow): A welcome (and affordable) re-recording of one of Poledouris's finest scores.

Curse of the Pink Panther (Henry Mancini - Quartet): Mancini's delightful theme for the film's Clouseau surrogate, Clifton Sleigh, is but one enjoyable aspect of this score.

The Flash (Shirley Walker - La La Land) - Walker's exciting music (making copious use of Elfman's delightful theme) makes for a nice companion piece (and prelude) to her career-making "Batman: TAS" scores.

The Goonies (Dave Grusin - Varese): A bouncy main theme leading to exciting adventure music; one of Grusin's best-known scores finally sees a release.

Home Movies (Pino Donaggio - Varese): One of the rare Donaggio comedy scores. Honestly, I don't think I need to say more than that.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Maurice Jarre - Tadlow): Jarre's sweeping score runs the gamut from Lawrence of Arabia-style grandeur to funky, pounding heroics.

Prophecy (Leonard Rosenman - FSM): Rosenman's exciting score goes a long way in making the goofy horror film seem more serious than it is.

RoboCop (Basil Poledouris - Intrada): I traded up from the Varese CD for the extensive liner notes, but Poledouris's music is just as forceful and catchy as ever.

The Runestone (David Newman - Perseverance): After years of waiting, Newman's last horror score (to date) can be cherished; an exciting work that energized the uneven but entertaining film.

Yellowbeard (John Morris - Quartet): Another release from Quartet (or, as I like to call them, 'I Can't Believe it's Not Kritzerland!') spotlights this appropriately swashbuckling score.

And now for something not terribly different, it's...

My favorite new CDs of 2010...that I don't have a nagging desire to obtain this very minute

Note: These are titles that, for whatever reason (an abundance of copies allowing me to bide my time, an insane sticker price) I may get, but not right away.

Batman Returns (Danny Elfman - La La Land)
Clash of the Titans (Laurence Rosenthal - Intrada)
The Danny Elfman-Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box (Warner Bros.)
Family Plot (John Williams - Varese Club)
First Blood (Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada)
North Dallas Forty (John Scott - FSM)
Red Sonja (Ennio Morricone - Perseverance)
Star Trek V (Jerry Goldsmith - La La Land)
White Dog (Ennio Morricone - FSM)

My favorite pieces of film music:

"Alice Decides" - Alice in Wonderland (Danny Elfman)
"Black Mamba" - Megamind (Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe)
"Dream is Collapsing" - Inception (Hans Zimmer)
"Flying a Tank" - The A-Team (Alan Silvestri)
"The Harvest" - Nanny McPhee Returns (James Newton Howard)
"Last Chance" - Hot Tub Time Machine (Christophe Beck)
"Let's Get Off This Planet" - Predators (John Debney)
"Mistmobile" - Kick-Ass (Henry Jackman)
"Natalie Intro" - Iron Man 2 (John Debney)
"Ostrich Race" - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Harry Gregson-Williams)
"Realization and Escape" - Tangled (Alan Menken)
"A Room of Her Own" - Black Swan (Clint Mansell)
"The Truth About Ruth" - The Ghost Writer (Alexandre Desplat)

Unlike last year, I won't be posting a wish list. With all the film music riches that 2010 has seen, I just know that this year will be sure to top it.

I will, however, say this: if a film music CD is to run 75 minutes, it better contain the best goddamn score ever written. As far as I'm concerned, John Debney's Iron Man 2 and Randy Edelman's Leap Year, in spite of some good moments, fall somewhat short.