Recently Watched: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

[ellyssian]

Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Widescreen Edition)

I really liked the score of this. I enjoyed a number of the themes, particularly the more tempestuous ones. Some good use of percussion and piano. Nice touch that the organ part was not BWV 565, as seen in every other movie with an organ scene. Staying until the last credit rolled was not an issue - I was playing air organ and conducting by tapping out the rhythms and was quite happy to stay until the last little scene played out.

Okay, so a review of the score doesn't quite qualify as a review of the musicmovie itself. Just can't help myself. Anyway, I went with my eldest son, and both of us enjoyed the movie. We were expecting the CGI to be very awkward, and, although heavily used, it didn't distract from the story itself, and that stuff - when done poorly - bugs me more than most. A classic example is the first movie - the much-lauded skeleton CGI nearly made me twitch, and, in that case, if the rest of the movie hadn't been so excellent, it would have led to me never watching it again. I didn't get anywhere near that annoyed with this one, and I was really trying to because it was expected.

I'm looking forward to seeing where they're going with the third movie.

Comments

[mythweaver.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I loved the score for the second movie. I think I like it better than the first. Mostly because the first movie's score seemed to contain a lot of synth. I can't STAND when orchestrated scores are interlaced with obvious synth. I didn't see Klaus Badelt on this project, and I think that's why there was a lack of it....

Hans Zimmer certainly has a knack for percussion use and driving rhythm. The organ theme was fantastic, a perfect bad-guy theme. I think I may just buy this soundtrack even though I already own the first.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

I haven't particularly noticed Hans Zimmer before - heard the name and all, but nothing stood out - but I may listen more for him now.

I usually favor scores by John Williams and Danny Elfman. The second Indiana Jones film had some great percussion - although I'm a bit biased because my first live performance was with the guy who was consulted with and performed on that score.

Danny Elfman has done some pretty neat stuff, most of it very obviously his, but I thought his work on Planet of the Apes had that same sort of percussion prowess.

[mythweaver.livejournal.com]

Danny Elfman does have some fantastic material. I love the Batman theme he did (although I did march to it five years ago in band...hmm)

John Williams is also very good. The Indiana Jones soundtrack...haha, well, let's just say it rocks my socks. My only issue with Williams is that his themes are constantly recycled, same with James Horner. Although I was impressed with his work (Williams') on Memoirs of a Geisha mostly because I did NOT recognize it was him.

John Powell is another composer who puts percussion in his scores. His use of live percussion in the Italian Job soundtrack is FANTASTIC. Also by him the Bourne Supremacy and Shrek I believe. Plus he's very kind to the brass section and some of his brass lines make me shudder ^_^

Zimmer's also done Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, King Arthur, Lion King...the list goes on.