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November/December 2025
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12/30/25
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The Quick and the Dead (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for a flamboyant parody of Ennio Morricone's Western flavor at its prime, with no holds barred by Alan Silvestri as he pilfers that spaghetti
Western sound with zeal.
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| Avoid it... |
if tact is your aim, and you can't help but roll your eyes at how distractingly present this music can be in the redundant scenes of gunfighting
during the film.
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12/28/25
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Parkland (James Newton Howard)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for only five to eight minutes of respectfully accessible highlights of minimal patriotism, the tone of this score instead seeking
to dwell in the nightmarish horrors of the tragic day in American history.
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| Avoid it... |
if James Newton Howard's brooding atmospheric mode for suspense and drama has never appealed to you, because that sound dominates
the disheartening personality of this work.
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12/26/25
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Exit to Eden (Patrick Doyle)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
only if you can forgive Patrick Doyle for an early strategic misfire in his career, the comedy of this score ineffective and light
drama not long enough to maintain interest.
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| Avoid it... |
if you love a good parody score, because this one fails to achieve the needed cheeky extravagance in attitude that this film's plot
really needed.
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12/24/25
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Father of the Bride Part II (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for a direct extension of the songs and score you heard in the previous film, the equation almost identical for this equally pleasant sequel.
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| Avoid it... |
for all the same reasons, for Alan Silvestri's romantic comedy mode of this caliber is perfectly serviceable but not really remarkable at any
given moment.
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12/22/25
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Pawn Sacrifice (James Newton Howard)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for only the opening and closing ten minutes of minimally rendered but accessibly pleasant orchestral drama.
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| Avoid it... |
if you have no interest in hearing a dull musical representation of the paranoid delusions experienced by the film's main character.
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12/20/25
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Carlito's Way (Patrick Doyle)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for a surprisingly thoughtful and dramatic orchestral expression of somber defeat, one of the most elegiac entries in the organized crime genre.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect any of the Caribbean personality of the movie's songs to influence the score, though Patrick Doyle does counter with an impressive
action motif of rhythmic force for the climactic chase scene.
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12/18/25
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Father of the Bride (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
if your appreciation of the soundtrack in the film includes the many references to traditional tunes commonly associated with weddings and can
adopt Alan Silvestri's fluffy original score by association.
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| Avoid it... |
if you need more substance to your romantic comedy music, Silvestri providing exactly what this film needs but doing so without adding much
memorable distinction.
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12/16/25
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Nightcrawler (James Newton Howard)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
only if you are familiar with the morbidly sick personality of the film itself, because James Newton Howard's score reflects the mental
instability of the lead character in ways that otherwise won't make sense.
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| Avoid it... |
in its full album form unless you can tolerate a healthy portion of gloomy synthetic atmospheres, the moderately sized and tonal orchestral
passages appealing but lost in the surrounding fog of misery.
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12/14/25
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Nathan Johnson)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for its very snazzy highlights, Nathan Johnson improving his game in this franchise with devious orchestral lines of action and complex thematic
interplay.
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| Avoid it... |
because its narrative loses its glitzy shine after the first third, the thematic statements thereafter convoluted as necessary and not as easily
accessible.
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12/12/25
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Needful Things (Patrick Doyle)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
to wallow in Patrick Doyle's fiendishly devious and extroverted exploration of horror that is undeniably melodramatic in his unique ways.
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| Avoid it... |
if you prefer your horror scores to foreshadow their evil intent with increasing anticipation, Doyle unleashing hell right away for this story
and hitting you with its stereotypical malice at every opportunity.
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12/10/25
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The Odd Couple II (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for a successful blend of Neal Hefti's memorable theme for the 1968 movie and Alan Silvestri's contemporary romantic comedy mode in its more
effective form.
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| Avoid it... |
if your parents tortured you with that original film and television theme as a child, because it's still the catchiest identity you'll hear in
this score and anywhere else.
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12/8/25
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Concussion (James Newton Howard)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for seventeen minutes of compelling dramatic summaries of the score's three themes at its start and end, James Newton Howard in his wheelhouse
with these stoic but rewarding identities.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect the lengthy midsection of the album to sustain the same attraction in melodic development, the suspense portions sometimes
synthetically unlistenable.
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12/6/25
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Into the West (Patrick Doyle)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for the fleetingly beautiful lyricism in the vocalized performances of its main lullaby, a tender and dramatically lovely representation of
Patrick Doyle at his best.
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| Avoid it... |
if you've never been very satisfied with the sparse orchestral renderings typical to some of Doyle's early scores, this one badly underpowered
in its action and fantasy portions.
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12/4/25
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The Parent Trap (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for occasionally lovely dramatic redemption from piano and woodwind solos over wholesome ensemble romance.
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| Avoid it... |
if you want to hear Alan Silvestri at the top of his thematic game, his identities for this score not particularly memorable despite serving
their purpose.
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12/2/25
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Roman J. Israel, Esq. (James Newton Howard)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for ten minutes of compelling drama from James Newton Howard, the closing cue highlighting the themes of the score well.
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| Avoid it... |
if you have difficulty digesting the composer's gloomy, urban drama and suspense modes despite being laced with choral fantasy at times here.
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11/30/25
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Dead Again (Patrick Doyle)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
on the expanded 2014 album for a more satisfying representation of all three of the score's primary themes, collectors of Patrick Doyle's music
well-served by the greater range of tact conveyed in the score's midsection.
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| Avoid it... |
if you have no tolerance for film music that smacks you across the face with its overwrought emotional force too often, Doyle not yet adept at
knowing how to modulate his tone at this point in his career.
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11/28/25
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Stuart Little (Alan Silvestri)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for a completely competent and often charming foray by Alan Silvestri into the lightly dramatic children's genre.
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| Avoid it... |
if the composer's comedic forays towards parody purposes interferes with your appreciation of his tender themes.
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11/26/25
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The Chairman (Jerry Goldsmith)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
only for eight to ten minutes of melodic highlights featuring impressive ethnic accompaniment to the orchestra, the main march for the Chinese a
resounding embodiment of oppressive power.
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| Avoid it... |
on all albums except an outstanding 2025 re-recording of the whole score if you demand satisfactory sound quality, the original recording's
archival distortion nearly disqualifying.
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11/24/25
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Bandolero! (Jerry Goldsmith)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for Jerry Goldsmith's charmingly upbeat main theme of contemporary and traditional Western blend, a snazzy earworm representing the composer's
best lyricism.
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| Avoid it... |
unless you are prepared for the increasingly grim posture of the remainder of the score, Goldsmith's secondary themes decent but underwhelming.
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11/22/25
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The Illustrated Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
only if you are truly prepared for episodic nature of this challenging score, its whole length unnervingly functional but its individual parts
reflecting Jerry Goldsmith's experimentation without guardrails.
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| Avoid it... |
if you anticipate the witchcraft and mystery elements to guide a convincing lyrical side to this score, that component intentionally muddied to
produce a frightening, edgy atmosphere from start to finish.
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11/20/25
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Justine (Jerry Goldsmith)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
for Jerry Goldsmith's muted but still attractive exotic romanticism for this somber Middle Eastern tale, moments of lush allure sparing but
appreciable.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect the score to yield satisfying development for any of its ideas, the main theme an intentional tease and the others never offered
enough air time to really thrive.
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11/18/25
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Fedora (Miklós Rózsa)
Updated Review, Separated From Dual Review
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| Buy it... |
without hesitation if you still appreciate Miklós Rózsa's trademark, nostalgic 1940's
style and wish to enjoy it in superior sound quality from the final years of his career.
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| Avoid it... |
if the whole demeanor of Rózsa's Golden Age romanticism for a badly misplaced, late-1970's film
doesn't compute with your digital era ears, or if your interest in the score is too casual to justify
the price of the collectible albums.
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11/16/25
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Last Embrace (Miklós Rózsa)
Updated Review, Separated From Dual Review
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| Buy it... |
if you are a Miklós Rózsa completist and are curious about his continued merit in the
suspense genre despite surprisingly limited sound quality for the era.
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| Avoid it... |
if Rózsa's lush Golden Age romanticism doesn't impress you despite its understandable application
to films of the 1970's and 1980's that were attempting to resurrect the best of the noir thriller
generation.
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11/14/25
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Falling Down (James Newton Howard)
All New Review, Separated From Dual Review
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| Buy it... |
to study James Newton Howard's intelligent exploration of self-destruction and societal commentary even
if it is generally unsatisfying in all its facets.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect any of Howard's compelling modes of self-destruction to last long enough in performance to
merit the acquisition of the score's rare albums.
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11/12/25
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Flatliners (James Newton Howard)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
only if you are prepared to suffer through James Newton Howard's mass of generic, synthetically
dominated suspense and horror cues to appreciate the score's absolutely lovely redemption theme.
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| Avoid it... |
if a mere ten minutes of tonal salvation of immense stature cannot alone save this whole listening
experience, even on the long overdue official 2025 album that replaced years of substandard bootlegs.
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11/10/25
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Alien: Romulus (Benjamin Wallfisch)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you continue to appreciate Benjamin Wallfisch's tendency to approach franchise scores with
intelligence, this entry adapting old and new ideas into one of the concept's more compelling film
scores.
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| Avoid it... |
if you cannot accept any dose of the composer's highly grating electronic manipulation for horror
applications, the chasing and confrontation moments in this work completely unlistenable.
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11/8/25
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Crimson Tide (Hans Zimmer)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you seek the superior power anthem and brilliantly-paced suspense that inspired the revolution of the
synthetic blockbuster score concept in the late 1990's.
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| Avoid it... |
if you're part of the mutiny among score fans that has rejected Hans Zimmer's revolution on a matter of
principle, regardless of the strengths of his initially successful redefinition of the genre.
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11/6/25
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Jaws (John Williams)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
on the impressive 2025 3-CD set if you seek to conduct a definitive study of one of the most effective
film scores of all time, or on the immense 2000 re-recording if you want to hear that classic music
translated decently into contemporary sound quality.
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| Avoid it... |
on all the albums if you recognize, like many John Williams collectors do, that this remains a great
score only truly appreciable in the context of the film, a challenging listening experience on album for
merely casual entertainment.
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11/4/25
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Thelma & Louise (Hans Zimmer)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
on any of the various score-only album releases if you desire the defiantly beautiful, gospel-laced finale cue to go with the more commonly
available presentation of the famous "Thunderbird" suite from the score.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect to hear more than eight to ten minutes of truly meaningful material in this work, because outside of the stylish guitar
performances and that finale, there isn't much to impress on any full presentation of the short score.
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11/2/25
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The Secret of N.I.M.H. (Jerry Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
on especially the 2025 Intrada Records product for an impressively complete survey of a compelling score that previewed Jerry Goldsmith's future
wealth of strong, consistent music for children's fantasy and animated films.
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| Avoid it... |
on any of the prior products if a more outwardly dynamic and powerful spirit uninhibited by archival sound quality is what you seek in your
Goldsmith material of lyrical romanticism and grand fantasy scope.
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