> Wow, what a whirlwind the last two months have been for music!

> I don't friggin' know: How to Train Your Dragon

Duuude... same.

> August Attractions!!
> The Naked Gun (Lorne Balfe) - Already out!

Balfe (& Co.) doing Zimmer derivative parody action music super seriously... which basically just sounds like The Dark Knight smashed with Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning. It's fine.

> Maybe of interest to just me specifically
> Americana (David Fleming) - Crime thriller. Actually got a festival
> premiere way back in 2023 but only now getting a wide release. Interested
> to see which side of Fleming worked on this one. August 15

Fleming is very hit-or-miss for me, but I'll give it a whirl.

> Of general interest:
> Red Sonja (Sonya Belousova/Giona Ostinelli) - 'Who?' you may be
> asking. Well, they're the duo behind The Witcher and its very catchy theme
> song... which I've somehow never heard. But! Barbarian sword and sorcery
> film, how fun! August 15

The only problem with this is it's a 2020's barberian sword & sorcery flick and not one from the 80's (heck, even the 90's or early 2000's). Curious, but expectations very low.

> Witchboard (Sam Ewing) - 'Who?' you may be asking. Well, he's a
> longtime McCreary assistant and scored the delightful horror-comedy
> Slotherhouse a couple years ago, and now he's scoring this remake of a
> schlocky 80s horror flick. August 15

Huh, I'm assuming this is a resurrection of the uber sleazy witchy franchise from the late 80's? Jay of RedLetterMedia should be pleased.

> Caught Stealing (Idles/Rob Simonsen) - New Darren Aronofsky, but
> once again no Mansell. Darn. But hey, I liked Elio so I'm bullish on
> Simonsen right now! With a punk band in tow! August 29

Typical bonkers Aronofsky, but Simonsen can do good things, so... maybe?

> Additionally...
> Freakier Friday (Amie Doherty) - All I remember of the first film
> was the band competition? August 8 (But I think a soundtrack is already
> out?)

Soundtrack already out and actually has a nice little sampling of the score included! It's very typical comedy-contemporary music, but Doherty does well and it's not that bad. Have no clue if it carries any thematic material over from the 2000's flick, though some of the "iconic" songs are given remakes.

> Eden (Hans Zimmer) - How is Hans Zimmer way down here, you ask? And
> for a Ron Howard movie?? Well... it premiered at TIFF a full year ago, and
> had a theatrical release in Germany this past spring. And no one's
> mentioned it. Period piece survival thriller, so it could be promising.
> But also... if it was going to be a big deal I kind of assume someone
> would've talked about it by now. August 22

I'm really curious about this and its corresponding film. Looks like it might be a disaster, but possibly an entertaining. Also: Ana de Armas and Sydney Sweeney?!?? YES PLEASE!!

> Eenie Meanie (Bobby Krlic) - Heist thriller. August 22

Should be challenging, at least.

> Love, Brooklyn (Joel P. West) - Oh yeah, the Shang Chi guy! Small
> scale drama film. August 29

Might be fun.

> September Standouts:
> A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Joe Hisaishi) - Look who's making his
> American debut! And on a romantic fantasy film, no less! September 19

I'm in on this. Kinda shocking it's taken Hisaishi this long to work on a Hollywood production.

> The Lost Bus (James Newton Howard) - About time! I feel like JNH
> has been weirdly quiet since his flurry of late 2023 releases. He's back
> now, for... okay it's a Paul Greengrass joint. And a survival thriller
> movie. So expect a certain aesthetic. People were split on News of the
> World but I thought it was pretty good. More importantly, it's new JNH!
> September 19

Howard in thriller mode is always a gamble for me, but it's Howard so I'll definitely give it a shot.

> One Battle After Another (Jonny Greenwood) - New Paul Thomas
> Anderson film, looks more action-packed than his usual work. Hopefully
> this brings out another side to Greenwood. September 26

Another bonkers looking flick, but also intriguing. Usually like Greenwood's efforts, so another I'll be looking forward to.

> Names of Note:
> The Conjuring: Last Rites (Benjamin Wallfisch) - Wow, they've done
> nine of these movies? Dang. We'll see what Wallfisch cooks up this time.
> How many horror scores has he done this year now? Are we counting the
> Predator ones? September 5

Counting the Predator ones (I'm assuming he's scoring Badlands), that's... five. So all of his 2025 output has/will be horror titles except for Mortal Kombat II, which for some might still be a horror.

> Twinless (Jung Jaeil) - Dark comedy. Which... yeah that seems to be
> Jung's specialty now. September 5

Cool.

> Preparation for the Next Life (Emile Mosseri) - Drama film. I feel
> like Mosseri did like three moderately successful scores five years ago
> and then we never heard from him again. Guess he's back though? September
> 5

This is a name I'm not immediately familiar with...

> Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (???) - Okay I mean it has to be
> John Lunn, right? I'm just not seeing a name on wikipedia. But I'm
> absolutely certain that it's either John Lunn or Lorne Balfe. September 12

Haha! A Balfe Downton Abbey score!! ... oh no, that's going to be the case now, isn't it. o.o

> Perhaps?
> Him (Bobby Krlic) - Football movie, but make it Cronenberg-esque
> body horror. I'm excited for the movie, we'll see about the music.
> September 19

Apparently a demonic body horror at that. Should be interesting. Score could be disturbingly cool or outright unlistenable. Hoping for the former.

> Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie (Stephanie Economou) - Musical fantasy
> comedy? Hm, okay. September 26

Uhh... sure. Whatever.

> Spinal Tap II - I haven't actually seen the first film/heard the
> music from it. But hey, could get some good and funny music out of this.
> September 12

You need to see the first film whenever you can. Some great deadpan humor and lovingly poking fun at the Rock star life of the 70's and 80's.