Music from new movies

Beyoncé sings for Epic. Truth to tell, the always lovely “Mrs. Parker” does not only sing in the new animated feature from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios. Take note, those are the same people who also created such computer-generated goodies as Ice Age and Rio, so Epic should be good. Beyoncé wrote and performed the song Rise Up with Sia in the film’s soundtrack and she also provides the voice for Tara, the strong and beautiful queen of the Leafmen in the picture.

As with most animated flicks, Epic is about the eternal battle between good and evil. It is about a young girl who finds herself in a mysterious forest where she joins forces with warriors and funny, larger-than-life creatures to save the earth. She gets help from the benevolent Queen Tara, who is the life force of the forest and which she rules with respect, compassion and humor.

Epic boasts of a star-studded voice cast. Aside from Queen B, there’s also Amanda Seyfried, the Cosset of Les Miserables, as the girl, plus Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Jason Sudeikis, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansai, Pitbull and rock icon Steven Tyler. Danny Elfman, who also did the fanciful music from Batman and Edward Scissorhands, did the motion picture score.

And big surprise. There are also other songs in the movie, which were written and performed by new rock idol Snow Patrol. You read that right, Snow Patrol, one of the most exciting and talented young bands around, is also in the flick with its music. Expect to hear The Lightning Storm, It’s The End, Crack The Shutters, Chasing Cars, Light and Day, Signal Fire and Hands Open when you watch Epic.

Back to Beyoncé. She is also featured in the soundtrack of another major motion picture, The Great Gatsby, which is directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. She does a cover of the late Amy Winehouse hit, Back To Black, with Andre 3000. Now you ask, what are R&B and hip-hop artists like Beyoncé and Andre 3000 doing in a movie based on a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald from 1926?

 Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, is the executive producer of the soundtrack of Gatsby. In a move quite typical of Luhrman and Jay-Z, they have decided that hip-hop today is what jazz was to the 1920s. So instead of simply using the usual oldies for the score, Jay-Z put together a soundtrack that captures the spirit of the Jazz Age and of the story. Pretty daring, I must say but also pretty interesting.

Jay-Z put together quite a line-up of big names and lots of possible hit singles for his soundtrack. Public reaction to the CD is very positive and talks are already going around about how Gatsby will bring back the non-musical film soundtrack to the hit charts. I remember lots of such releases in the old days like Dr. Zhivago and Love Story, instrumental albums that we listened to, to relive the film or just to enjoy the beautiful music.

Aside from Beyoncé, The Great Gatsby also has 100$ Bill and Love Is The Drug by Brian Ferry; Bang Bang by will.i.am; A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by Fergie + Q Tip + Goon Rock; Young and Beautiful by Lana del Rey; Over The Love by Florence & the Machine; Where The Wind Blows by Coco Q of Quadron; Crazy In Love by Emeli Sandé; Together by the XX; Hearts A Mess by Gotye; Love Is Blindness by Jack White; Into The Past by Nero; and Kill and Run by Sia.

Rock music, hard and new, is what the Iron Man 3 Heroes Fall soundtrack has to offer. This is not really the soundtrack of the blockbuster Robert Downey Jr. movie. If you want that one, you have to get the album with the score by Brian Tyler. Heroes Fall is the kind of collection, they dub “music from and inspired by the movie.” Still, this is one brilliant rock showcase that is a keeper. I am sure you will also agree that it really captures the mood and spirit of Iron Man 3. Great cover art, too.

The lead cut is Ready Aim Fire by one of the hottest bands of the moment, Imagine Dragons. There are also Some Kind of Joke by AWOLNATION; Some Kind of Monster by the Neon Trees; American Blood by Passion Pit; No Time by Rogue Wave; One Minute More by Capital Cities; Redemption by Red Light King; Back To The Start by Mr. Little Jeans; Keep Moving by Andrew Stockdale; Redemption by Red Light King; Big, Bad Wolves by Walk The Moon; Bad Guy by 3OH13; and Let’s Go All The Way by The Wondergirls featuring Ashley Hamilton who is in Iron Man 3 and Robbie Williams. And no, this Wondergirls is not the Korean Nobody group.