Best movie scores of 2010

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I just realised a glaring omission from my Best & Worst of 2010 film awards posted last week - and that's the best score and/or soundtrack from a movie released during the last year. I'm something of a score/OST junkie (it's my favourite music to work to) so it's definitely a category that should have received a mention.

For the record, Awards Daily - which tracks all the award season love from the various critics' societies and film bodies - has the following listed as their big 2010 contenders.

Original Score:
At least 3 of those films haven't screened yet in South Africa so I have no comment on them, but my picks of the year - based on what I have seen - are as follows:

Original Score:



Compilation Soundtrack:

  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - (Music was a vital to the movie and the soundtrack doesn't disappoint. Sing along to Sex Bob-Omb's Garbage Truck, Metric's Black Sheep and even Crash and the Boys' I'm So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad. Listen here)
  • Kick-Ass - Interspersed with choice dialogue from the film, what's not to love about this compilation which leaps across musical genre and eras? (Listen here)


Comments

Brandon said…
This seems to be the breakout year for big commercial artists not traditionally associated with film scoring meanstream movies, not just contributing original songs. Both Reznor and Daft Punk scored big blockbusters and neither have ever scored a film (Interstella doesn't count - it's a new film set to an existing album). I'm sure there are some earlier examples of this in recent history but the only one that comes to mind is Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) scoring There Will Be Blood, which is hardly the same category of blockbuster. There are plenty of examples like Nick Urata (DeVotchKa) scoring Little Miss Sunshine, but that's an "indie" band scoring an "indie" film, not really the same thing.
2:33 AM
Pfangirl said…
Hey Brandon, I think you're spot on. It has been a notable year for commercial artists attempting high profile film scores, to great success. It would be very cool if the trend continued, and introduced more people to the awesomeness that is instrumental film scores.
2:43 PM
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