I have come to the conclusion that trying to cram an entire years worth of "catching up" in a very short amount of time is something 33 year old Ben is less able to do than 20-something Ben, so... I did not undertake too deep of a dive into '07 (or probably any of the years to come). That said, I did revisit a handful of titles I either vaguely remembered liking or gave speed-run refreshers for those I was fairly certain would make the Top 10. In the case of one title in particular, I'm very glad I did.
Alright, without further delay, here is my Top 10 of 2007 (as of now) followed by Honorable Mentions. Brief statements of each (or some) included.
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Top 10
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Hans Zimmer & Friends)
For what began as a slapdash last second replacement job by Zimmer & Co. to end up with... this... is wonderful. Rich, multi-thematic and a zenith of all the bits and pieces from the prior two entries. It's one of the best "third part of a trilogy" scores around.
2. There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood)
Not to everyones sensibilities, but the troubled and driving soundscape perfectly mirrors Paul Thomas Anderson's epic, bleak character study. It's a case where I can't imagine the film without Greenwood's music.
3. Atonement (Dario Marianelli)
Another case of a score being intimately entangled to perfection with its film. Creative, romantic and oh so tragic... this is probably the best of the Wright/Marienelli collabs thus far.
4. Lair (John Debney/Kevin Kaska)
Alright, I'm going for a painfully normie pick for my sole video game entry. But it's... soooo... gooood. The temp tracking is a bit too obvious in parts, but Debney and Kaska are able tor use above that and make this fantasy epic their own. Good stuff.
5. Spider-Man 3 (Christopher Young)
I'm admittedly basing this off of the music heard in-film, which I know had several "extra composers" mixed in, but even in its less-than-ideal state... man, Young can cook when given the chance. Give Young more chances to cook, you cowards!!!
*shakes fist in air*
6. Trick r' Treat (Douglas Pipes)
For all the horror flicks that came out in '07, not very many had scores worthy of year-end consideration. But this... this is fantastic. Everything to love about a well executed, intelligently written scary score that is also highly accessible to those less inclined to the genre. Wish Pipes could do more genre work.
7. The Golden Compass (Alexandre Desplat)
So this is the title that I'm glad I revisited the most before finalizing my list. Easily the second fantasy score of the year and one of Desplat's more memorable/accessible offerings that I'm ashamed to say I rarely revisit. Really need to pick this album up soon...
8. Eastern Promises (Howard Shore)
Shore, Cronenberg and gut wrenchingly melancholic Eastern European drama-thriller music. Also Viggo Mortensen but naked fighting in a sauna.
9. Zodiac (David Shire)
While Fincher's needle-drop tunes of the period are admittedly the prime musical takeaway from the film, Shire's brief yet haunting score still leaves an impression. Exquisite use of a brief score for maximum emotional impact.
10. Transformers (Steve Jablonsky)
It's a rehash of a bunch of RCP/MV works that Bay no doubt temptracked the living heck out of the film with... but man, I still love what Jablonsky did here. It's so blunt with all of its emotions yet still has a sense of life and fun to it all. Too bad most of the Bay sequels ended up drawning in Grim!Dark RCP stylings instead....
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Honorable Mentions (no particular order):
Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (Shiro Sagisu)
Was in the Top 10 until I remembered it's the equivalent of Lion King (2019) or HTTYD (2025) and decided to keep with precedent and not include it. You should still check it out, though!
Heroic Age (Naoki Sato)
Was in the Top 10 until Golden Compass. You're welcome, Vik.
Enchanted(Alan Menken)
Delightful self-parody by Menken. Most of the songs are still great in a very tongue-in-cheek way all these years later.
Ghost Rider (Christopher Young)
Better within the film than as a standalone listening experience. That said the romantic tracks are wonderful The Shipping News-lite highlights.
The Bourne Ultimatum (John Powell)
It's kinda shocking just how influential these three scores by Powell were on the entire thriller-action-spy genre.
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Nick Cave/Warren Ellis)
This one's for you, Riley.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Nicholas Hooper)
The best of the two Hooper penned Potter scores.
The Orphanage (Fernando Velazquez)
Really good more "normal" horror score that leans into melodrama more than musical carnage. Just barely missed the Top 10 when Trick r' Treat exists.
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Compsoer of the Year:
Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider, Lucky You)
'07 is a bit of a tough one to pick a CotY, honestly, but with one score in my Top 5 and another in the Honorable Mentions... yeah, Chris Young seems right.
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Thanks for putting this together JB11! Looking forward to the results... and how off-base my Top 10 is with the community.
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