5) "Stillness of the Mind" by Abel Korzeniowski from A Single Man
The title emits an atmosphere this piece attempts to bring up so beautifully, so resonantly; it has a consistent calm that connects to your still mind but has the flowery flow so distinctive of the character of George in this film. It moves with a poetic grace with hints of scattered blips, hints of chaos, something simmering underneath that George tries to keep buried until the end.
4) "Jake's First Flight" by James Horner from Avatar
I'm none too enthusiastic of an "Avatard," and I'm not shy about that. But this was one of the very few scenes I could point out that made me let go of all inhibitions, all concerns and complaints of thematic content. This was the grand scene of Jake finding his...gigantic Pokémon-looking bird thing, and soaring through the sky. It's the equivalent of Titanic when Rose was brought to the bow of the ship for the first time to behold the majesty of the sea the ship roared through. This, I must give credit to Cameron for due to its swooping power and breathtaking immersion; but the main thing on my mind was this musical piece. It utilized Cameron's ludicrous new language and incorporated it into a theme of empowerment, discovery, acceptance, in the scene that finally recognized Jake as truly one of the Nav'i people. Spectacular.
3) "Clock Tick" by Abel Korzeniowski from A Single Man
Seems engineered for a thrilling trailer, but boy did it accomplish its goals. It gives a sense of urgency through only a few instruments rather simply overlapping into each other to the rhythm of a clock tick (hence the title).
2) "Concerto to Hell" by Christopher Young from Drag Me to Hell
In possibly the most overlooked film of the year, Sam Raimi's brilliant Drag Me to Hell was one of the most memorable theater going experiences of the year thanks to the shocks, thrills, and camp of traditional Raimi horror done right. Crucial to the atmosphere necessary to execute Raimi's vision, Christopher Young was demanded to come up with a score that could compete with the film in creepiness yet still maintain a sense of fun desired out of going to a horror movie. Concerto to Hell is a piece as reminiscent of the most ancient of curses and black magic dealt with in the film that pierces through the most modern of souls who encounter it. It's the threatening screech of the high string notes combined with the foreboding danger in the low chorus that helps it to play on the conventions of horror music and ruthlessly perfect it in an anthem as horrifying as it is exhilarating.
1) "Married Life" by Michael Giacchino from Up
The best collective score in any film this year comes from the reliable Michael Giacchino, whose ode to the emotional ups and downs of a committed relationship is pieced together beautifully in the musical summary of the entire film of Up — "Married Life." One of the most challenging demands of a film composer is to invoke a distinct sense of what makes the movie they're scoring unique and incorporate it into the music, and Giacchino's seamless musical transition from a light carnivalesque background music to a darker, heartbreaking pace of the same music to pull the precise opposite emotional response out of you at any second he pleases. As goes life, as went the life of Up's Carl who lived in unapologetic bliss with his wife Ellie through good times and bad — until the very end when, much like this music, there is an unsettling emptiness.
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