Completed Category: Original Score

 This will probably be my last Category post besides Best Pic. 

And to be honest, I did what I did lots of years, which is really only love and pay attention to the score in one or two movies. I am known for forgetting to think about the Score until later except on rare occasions. And on those rare occasions, no one ever seems to love the Score that grabs me as much as I do.  Anyway...here we go. 

AMERICAN FICTION: I forgot to pay attention to the score very much in American Fiction. However, it was jazzy (duh, character named Thelonius Monk) without being annoyingly jazzy (I said what I said). And I will add one big plus: this movie has some wild tonal swings, but it pulls them off and you don't feel all over the place while careening from mockery to family tragedy to lampooning to frustration to family melodrama, and I think the score helped pull it all together! 

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY: Watched this a few days ago to complete this category. I knew I was completing this category and tried to pay a little attention to the score, but mostly I kept thinking about when the old familiar Indy theme kicked in and was obviously less struck by whatever original score stuff John Williams came up with for this. Side note, he's old! Will they give him another Oscar so he can be the oldest winner ever? Probably not, actually. 

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: Hey! I paid a little attention to the score in this one! In fact, I think it was so well done; I was absolutely entranced for the first hour or so as all the pieces are being laid out and there was this thrumming pulsing music underlying it all and drawing me in (making the time cruise by, I might add). Then there were also other emotions and time-period-evoking elements to the score as well. I would honestly think this has a chance and should have a chance. 

OPPENHEIMER: Oh but then there's this again! Recurring theme on the blog this year, eh?  Such-and-such is great, but Oppenheimer.  Well, it was fine work that I - surprise - didn't focus on as there was so much else going on in this flick. At any rate, there was certainly a lot to score! Well done, Gory. (Ludwig Goransson, can I call you Gory? What, no?) And I mean, including scoring scenes of actual atomic bombs and whatnot. This was a monumental task that not just anyone could accomplish. 

POOR THINGS: Didn't hate the Original Score, but sure did hate the movie! Let's just no thanks this. 

And so, order I want them to win: 
Killers of the Flower Moon
American Fiction or Oppenheimer
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
<big gap>
Poor Things

Order I think they will win: 

Oppenheimer
Poor Things UGH
American Fiction
Killers of the Flower Moon
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

I don't have a lot to say on this one, partly because I'm tired today/this week, so feel free to weigh in here with your Score thoughts if you have more words than I do.