There are a lot of things that go into making a good movie: a script, a director, a cast, and effects that will please both critics and audiences. There is one thing, however, that can get people excited and/or feel emotion and that is a score to a movie. Some scores will live on as some of the best parts of a bad movie, or they will be remembered for there iconic themes of a movie. Here are some of my personal favorites.
1. " Star Wars Franchise" by John Williams. Yes, "Star Wars" is my favorite movie, but each score of the seven films released so far have been stellar. Wide range of emotions from joy to sadness. Perfect combanation to the best franchise in the entire galaxy.
2. "Mad Max: Fury Road" by Junkie XL. This is fairly recent. But the lack of dialouge in this amaizng films grips you during the 120 minute long car chase throughout the desert.
3. "Star Trek Reboot Series (2009)" by Michael Giacchino. While not the biggest fan of "Star Trek", I can say this is probably one of the best scores in years. Giacchino proves he could be the next John Williams with this score.
4. "Inception" by Hans Zimmer. What Hans Zimmer has done with this brilliant Christopher Nolan film couldn't be done by any other compsorer today. This helps you get into an already mind bending film.
5. "Sleepy Hollow" by Danny Elfman. One of the best scores to a horror movie since "Halloween (1978)". This is the best combination of Elfman and Tim Burton ever. It's dark and haunting, but still a little fun.
6. "Man of Steel" by Hans Zimmer. Yeah, I like this movie so what. One thing I think Zimmer did better than John Williams (gasp) is make a more hopeful Superman theme. Outside of maybe two songs from the original movies, there is nothing of merrit in the original "Superman" movie's score.
7. "Gone Girl" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. While I like the soundtrack to both "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Social Network", this captures the tone of the movie more. Dark, haunting, and beautiful, this score elevates a good movie to a great movie.
8."The Incredibles" by Micahel Giacchino. Simply put, this is the best score to a Pixar movie. The only ones that come close are "Inside Out" and "Up".
9. "The Dark Knight" by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. I could put the entire "Dark Knight Trilogy" on this list, but "The Dark Knight" is simply the better of the three. Captures the feeling of the movie well. And The Joker's theme is haunting.
10. "Southpaw" by James Horner. This is the best score to a boxing movie. Besides the main theme, all people remember about the "Rocky" franchise is songs like "Eye of the Tiger". The emotions of a boxer who has lost everything run throughout the late James Horner's score.
11. "Schinlder's List" by John Williams. This is the best soundtrack to a biography. The fillm could be a silent movie and it would still be one of the best films of all time just with this score alone.
Some honorable mentions include; "Birdman (Or the Unxepected Virtue of Ignorance)" by Antonio Sanchez, "Back to the Future" by Alan Silvestri, "Army of Darkness" by Joseph Loduca, and "Jurrasic Park" by John Williams.
