Ok so I will say every movie here was good! I enjoyed every one to a certain degree and its iconic.
That being said, this is the last round of the season with 2 winners and 2 high placements. There is no low this round either only a bottom 2 <3
With that said, the following 3 people are SAFE:
Demgirl6 - Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005) (Composer: Danny Elfman) - No but straight up I fucking love this movie. It was one of my favs ever growing up and I find it so much better than the original by far in literally EVERY aspect. Tim Burton's burtonisms are so effective, the performances are top notch (from Freddie Highmore to Johnny Depp to Anna SophiaRobb), the worldbuilding with this factory is amazing and I absolutely love the score. The songs are hella catchy (Veruca Salt is on my phone) and the score like the main titles are so good and that fucking doll entrance scene...a masterpiece. Honestly, probably my favourite Burton film and one of my all time favs.
CarolinaSteele - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) (Composer: Howard Shore) - You singlehandedly got me to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And I watched the extended editions cause thats what I had. You also got me to watch the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy as well lmao. I notice that like Peter Jackson has these interesting isms with his cinematography (something Sam Raimi has too) with fast zoom ins and certain things like that. Its always fun to see. Also, Miranda Otto going "I am not a man" and just fucking slaying the witch king was everything I needed and more. Like yes! The one thing I absolutely appreciate about this trilogy is how important alot of the characters are. Like I only really knew of Frodo and Gandalf (among others) having importance but naw fam all 4 hobbits have so much to do as does Aragorn (probably my fav character) and Legolas/Gimli's friendly rivalry is fun. Even Miranda Otto's character who was like introduced as the other possible love interest is just like "no im a badass" and I love it. The score is lovely as always. I like how each film has its own through line with the score (the first being playful, the second being dark and gritty and the 3rd being triumphant and epic). The ending score after the ring is dropped is so beautiful oh my god. its a great arc that completes this trilogy well and while it might not be my favourite score (or film) of the trilogy I do find it very impressive, entertaining as hell and investing and thats all I need for a movie.
turkeylover - Assassination Nation (2018) (Composer: Ian Holtquist) - I remember you very much wanted this movie submitted in the original round but I couldnt find it but here we are now! Interesting to find its a Sam Levinson movie. But then I saw the style and I was like oh ok this makes alot of sense. He loves to play with colours and im ok with it. I like vibrant things. This cast is really good! I love Colman Domingo he has such a subtle but commanding prescence. Hate Bill Skarsgard's character but love him to werk. And Odessa Young is iconic. This is a really solid movie! It's got a very flashy and fast paced style and a really interesting premise. I like this look at mob brutality and cancel culture. And wow I love this score and I really didnt think I would oh my god. I was doing research and seeing that it was going for a subtle Ennio Morricone sound and I think that is accomplished and it plays on the beats really well. That home invasion scene was insane and the score was just amazing. Very on brand for you and I would love to watch this again.
Congrats on safety!!! Now to our TOP 4:
JayElVeeIsBack - Halloween (1978) (Composer: John Carpenter) - I'm surprised it took this long for Halloween to be submitted! Damn. Growing up (from like 5-21), this was considered my favourite horror movie of all time. Even now it is second but its just so high up there cause to me its quintesential entertainment and absolute simplicity at its finest. This movie has been analyzed to death and talked to death (especially in the wake of the reboot trilogy) so I won't go too much into it but yes the score is iconic and plays on repeat in my mind like all the time. Its the use of the chords and its just so dark and creepy. Laurie's theme as well as the end chase sequence also are so amazing with their score. So ominous and lurking. I do have to say though I actually like Halloween II's score better cause the synth's are somehow creepier. But never the less this movie and its score is a fucking masterpiece and I adore this movie.
PennyTrationStan - Grave of the Fireflies (1988) (Composer: Michio Mamiya) - God this movie is so fucking depressing jesus. Wow. Im literally just in awe. I knew this movie was rough but god that was so sad. To see these young kids just waste away to nothing is heartbreaking and oh my god the ending made me bawl. I thought I could get through it without crying but when they showed the montage (im really trying hard not to spoil it if anyone else reads it), I just started crying it was so sad. It is a phenomenal movie and honestly a true masterpiece not only in animation but storytelling. It got me good and I was just so invested in the story. And the score oh my god its so hauntingly beautiful. It describes the movie really well and just wow. My heart broke for this movie and its gonna need some recovering.
austino15fffan - 28 Weeks Later (2007) (Composer: John Murphy) - I fucking love you for submitting this. I have been obsessed with this movie ever since it came out (and my brother decided to watch it in the middle of the night which ended up scaring me alot lol). I have shown this movie to anyone and everyone I absolutely adore it. This is a movie that like leaves people with a sick feeling in their stomach I have noticed because its so fast paced and constantly throwing things left and right at you and I love it. That or maybe the cinematography caused motion sickness but i'll ignore that cause I have actually been inspired by this movie oddly enough. I used to do a film class in high school and when I would shoot videos my style was always handheld. Not like outrageously insane like this movie but yeah. And I havent even talked about the score omg. Im actually happy you submitted this one over 28 Days Later because I find the score in this film to be much better (even if Days is objectively the better movie lol)! Its like in my top 3 scores of all time because its just so beautiful. The guitar just shredding the fuck out of the main theme or "Go, Go, Go", the somber notes for "Firebombing London" or "Walk to Regents Park", it just works. John Murphy is such an underrated composer and im glad to see him working again (with James Gunn non the less). I love this movie, I always have and always will (honestly in my top 3 as well) and that opening scene is one of the best openings in a horror movie ever. <3
nateclove - Annihilation (2018) (Composer: Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow) - I just wanna say that I absolutely love Alex Garland. As I said in austinos movie, 28 Days Later is a phenomenal movie (one of my fav horrors) and I love his novel The Beach and I love Sunshine and I also really enjoyed the weirdness of Men! I still need to see Ex-Machina. The first time I watched this movie though idk if it was hype or just me being dumb but I didnt get it. I just thought it was too slow and while the concept was cool, I wasn't invested. How did it fair on this rewatch though? So much better! I dont know what the fuck I was on watching this the first time cause this is amazing. The movie looks fucking gorgeous that cinematography omg. The bear scene fucking traumatized me. The score oh my god. Im not a fan of acoustics in score, it doesn't vibe with me well but every other piece is amazing and atmospheric. It captures the Shimmer so well and god I think I love this movie. Im so happy about it yay!
stuartlittle16 - Hercules (1997) (Alan Menken) - Disney put out some bangers in the 90's. I adore the renaissance era alot (aside from like 2 movies but yanno). Hercules is an interesting spot in its category at least for me cause I tend to find it the most mediocre of the era. Do not get me wrong, it is entertaining and James Woods as Hades is a legendary performance (one of the best villains honestly). That oedipus joke is also wtf but hilarious. I just kind of find the music and the overall story a little samey. Its a formula that definitely works but as an objective film, if im looking for a disney movie (and of its era) i'd go with something else especially music wise. I like me some gospel but it didnt vibe with me here sadly. Again, I like the movie (and it sounds like im harshing on it) but in a stacked game its a little meh :(
Symmetry888 - Paprika (2006) (Composer: Susumu Hirasawa) - To say I was excited when this popped up is an understatement. Perfect Blue fucked me up and I absolutely loved it so much and I was so excited to see what Satoshi Kon would do with this. I've also started to become a huge anime fan because of this game and a large part is you <3 the one thing I love about Satoshi's work is his ability to seamlessly bend reality. Its always gonna be a trip and this has a really good concept! It makes me wonder if Christopher Nolan took inspiration from it for Inception (probably). The visuals are beautiful and the score is so cool. I love that like upbeat-ish positive song that you probably said in the comments. Its a bop! That being said, I did find the tone a little all over the place. There were some scenes that were like wtf and some that were adventure like and some and some that were action. While it can work and for the most part it does, I was just like oh ok. But let me stress that this movie is really good and probably better on a rewatch when I can like fully digest it.
You both are sadly the bottom 2 of this round. I adore you both but this round was just STACKED!
So for the elimination round, i'm gonna give you two absolutely legendary film composers and you need me to send a movie from them.
You can either send a:
Hans Zimmer
or
Jerry Goldsmith
Score. But it cant be one submitted before. Good luck <3 and dont forget to MAIL me!!!
btw I recommend the book Annihilation too! It captures the weirdness way better than the book, the way things are described I can guarantee you no one has the same mental image of them! Really a phenomenal book.
