Everybody Comes To Hollywood

Unless you've been living in a remote part of the Sudanese desert, aka literally living under a rock, you'll have noticed some little independent film that's been released called Inception. It's director Christopher Nolan's much anticipated follow-up to the critical and commercial success, The Dark Knight. Reviews have been more than positive and I'm uber-excited to see it at some stage this week (that and Toy Story 3 baby!!!!).

Some of the film's praise has been directed at Hans Zimmer's score and after listening to a couple of the tracks I am all for said praise. Even if orchestral music isn't your 'thing,' you've got to appreciate how awesome a movie score like this is. As many writers in the "blogosphere" have pointed out, even better than Zimmer's score for the movie is Zack Hemsey's theme for the trailer, 'Mind Heist.' Now that's a song that will get you excited about a movie! It could almost fit in perfectly with the music to The Dark Knight, which just so happened to be co-scored by Hans Zimmer.

After listening to the soundtrack for Inception I took a trip down memory lane and revisited some of my favourite scores from other movies. On a Saturday night. Because I'm just that cool. Anyway, for your entertainment, here's some of the bestest of the bunch of my all-time favourite film scores. Enjoy!

Requiem for a Dream

score composed by Clint Mansell

Powerful use of strings, percussion and vocal instrumentation. 'Lux Aeterna,' the most notable theme, has been used and abused by so many other films and media outlets but it manages to still be as compelling as it was the first time I heard it. If we had been playing music like this in school I might have actually practiced my violin.... but probably not.

Casino Royale (2006)

score composed by David Arnold

This would be Arnold's fourth contribution to the James Bond franchise and, in my mind, remains his best. He's able to provide music worthy of the extreme action sequences before toning it down to more simple melodies for the quiet emotional scenes. 'Vesper,' the theme for Eva Green's beautifully portrayed Vesper Lynd is the scores highlight.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

score composed by Brad Fiedel

Yeah, yeah... it's not the greatest achievement in music's history but it is what it is... and that's AWESOME! "Hello Doctor Silberman. How's the knee?" I love Sarah Connor!

King Kong (2005)

score composed by James Newton Howard

It's a score that can stir many thoughts and emotions. You feel like you're going on the grand adventure to Skull Island and you feel Kong's rage in New York City. But, like with Casino Royale, it's the quieter moments where the score shines brightest, like the scene with Ann and Kong playing in Central Park.

Edward Scissorhands

score composed by Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman is one cool dude. You may know him best as the guy who composed The Simpsons theme song. He's also synonymous with scoring films directed by good friend, Tim Burton. If I had to pick just one that was my favourite, it would be his score to Edward Scissorhands. It's haunting and beautiful... so I guess that makes it hauntingly beautiful. Or beautifully haunting. Whatever.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

score composed by Hans Zimmer

This is amazing music right here kids. Epic. Amazing. Outstanding. If I was doing this as a countdown, this would be a strong contender for number one. Zimmer somehow managed to top the awesome soundtrack to Dead Man's Chest with this one. The central characters get some brilliant themes, notably Davy Jones' locket charm and Will and Elizabeth's love song. The music for the action scenes is equal to that of anything in The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Schindler's List

score composed by John Williams

This music made the movie. Sure, it's horrible and sad and all that jazz... but without the music they wouldn't have gotten half the emotional impact they were going for. Itzakh Perlman's violin solos are enough to bring you to tears... if you have a heart of course. Luckily, I'm a cyborg, or according to some - I don't even exist.

Halloween

score composed by John Carpenter

One of, if not THE best horror themes... ever.

V for Vendetta

score composed by Dario Marianelli

He may have won the Best Original Score Academy Award for Atonement, but I'd still put his amazing work in V For Vendetta above that any day. It perfectly captures the tone of the film and adds to how powerful it really is.

Gladiator

score composed by Hans Zimmer with Lisa Gerrard

Come on, you must love this one, right? Another worthy score of the epic tag. Maybe it's a Hans Zimmer thing, but the guy composes the best music for a blockbuster film. If you're guessing that there's more Zimmer still to come here... you're right! Gold stars for you!

The Dark Knight

score composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

So, Hans Zimmer is officially my favourite film score composer. Combine his talents with the also amazing Howard and you get the awesomeness that is the score to The Dark Knight. The Joker's themes are so simple, but combined with the film it creates a huge feeling of unease and the tension builds until it just goes nuts.