The album opens with a disservice to Danny Elfman's score to Mission: Impossible by only including Lalo Schifrin's memorable theme, though you can't really fault Varèse for being unable to find a good compilation piece from Elfman's work. The following suite of themes from Twister is a worthy inclusion on the album, but its performance lacks the spirited movement of the original. Both Carter Burwell's Fargo and Elliot Goldenthal's A Time to Kill are awkward deviations, with the Burwell score's quirky rhythms and fiddle solos meshing poorly with Goldenthal strikingly complex movements. Producer Robert Townson couldn't resist throwing John Williams' 1995 theme for Sabrina onto the album, despite its once again out-of-place position. After Thomas Newman's Phenomenon passes shortly without any point of interest, Joel McNeely's own fluffy and ultra-happy Flipper is a tad annoying in its bright outlook. Tamed to even more restrained levels is Rachel Portman's eventual Oscar-winning score for Emma. From this point on, the album finally gets truly interesting, with the rousing brass finale piece from William Ross' Tin Cup standing well alongside other triumphant sports finales. The hymnal theme from James Horner's Courage Under Fire is solemn and restrained as necessary, in stark contrast to Bernard Herrmann's lush and seemingly misplaced "Scene D'Amour" from Vertigo. The classic Alfred Hitchcock film was restored and released in pristine form in 1996, and as part of the hype surrounding that restoration, Joel McNeely would actually collaborate with the RSNO to re-record the entire score for a separate album. The one cue here would have been better appreciated if placed at the end, though it's a beautiful cue no matter where it is heard. The two monumental successes of the album are saved until last, with the impressive and lengthy "Sanctuary" cue from Alan Menken's The Hunchback of Notre Dame featuring a 150-member chorus. Whipping up a storm is the RSNO's performance of the final action pieces (and notably not the usual concert suite) from David Arnold's necessary Independence Day, the highlight of the summer blockbuster season. The performance here is sadly lacking in choir, but the orchestral ensemble's brass section does a great and valiant job of capturing the robust size of the original. Overall, "Hollywood '96" is not as strong as "Hollywood '95" due to its awkward progression in selections, but it's superior to "Hollywood '94."  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download