At the Movies Category

The horror film Cabin in the Woods opens in theaters today. The film is about a group of young people who set out on a road trip and end up being chased by zombies and mad scientists. The soundtrack is scheduled to be released on CD on May 1, 2012.

The artwork for the CD is a square version of the movie poster. It features an illustration of a cabin that is part Rubik's Cube (or perhaps it a Rubik's Cube that is part cabin). It is an interesting graphic that reminds me of the work of M.C. Escher.

The war action film Act of Valor opened in theaters today. The film It stars Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sánchez, Nestor Serrano, Emilio Rivera, and active duty U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen.

There were two albums released for the film. One is a collection of country music songs featured in the film and the other is the film score by composer Nathan Furst. The album featuring Keith Urban, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins and other artists is available on CD and as digital download. The score is currently only available for download.

Both the soundtrack album and the score use the same image that was used for the movie poster (right). The image has been cropped to fit a square format. I believe the black space around the door with the blue sky outside has much more impact in the poster. 

Man on a Ledge, the thriller starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris and directed by Asger Leth, opened in theaters today. The film is about a man who goes out on a ledge in New York City in order to get justice for being wrongly convicted.

The soundtrack by Henry Jackman is currently available as a digital download. A CD version is scheduled for release on February 7, 2012. The cover art for the album is a square version of the movie poster. It features a fish-eye lens view of the main character standing on the ledge. I think the image is actually more effective in the square format.

For many people, watching the TBS marathon of the 1983 Christmas classic A Christmas Story has become a tradition. The marathon starts at 8:00 p.m. EST on Christmas Eve with the last showing at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Day. Some people even watch every showing.

In 2009, the original soundtrack for the film was released on CD by Rhino Records. It includes the original score by Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza and a version of Silent Night by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The cover art features the star of the film, Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker.

The musical comedy The Muppets opened in U.S. theaters this week. It is scheduled for release in the U.K. on February 17, 2012. The film features six new musical numbers. It also includes performances of three classic Muppet songs, The Muppet Show Theme, Rainbow Connection and Mah Nà Mah Nà.

The soundtrack is available as a digital download and on CD. It features 30 tracks, which includes clips of dialogue and the film's musical numbers. There are two different album covers for the soundtrack. The U.S. version features The Muppets and human stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams (below left). The U.K. version does not include Segel and Adams (below right).

Disney has created a preview video for the soundtrack. It is over seven minutes long and includes previews of all of the songs from the album. Both the film and the soundtrack are getting great reviews. This will probably be the most popular soundtrack of 2011.

The 3D fantasy adventure Immortals opened in theaters today. The film was directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, and Mickey Rourke. The cast also includes Stephen Dorff, Luke Evans, John Hurt, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz, Joseph Morgan, and Alan Van Sprang.

The score for the film was composed by Trevor Morris (The Borgias, The Tudors) and is available as a digital download that includes a digital booklet and on CD. The artwork for the album is a cropped and edited version of the movie poster, featuring an illustration of Cavill swinging a sword in battle.

The rock music comedy Killing Bono opens in limited engagements in the U.S. today. The film is about two Irish brothers who struggle in the shadow of U2 to make a name for themselves in the music scene of the 1980s. Based on a true story, the film was directed by Nick Hamm and stars Ben Barnes as Neil McCormick, Robert Sheehan as Ivan McCormick, and Martin McCann as Bono.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster and features the stars of the film, including the Bono look-alike. The soundtrack has 19 tracks, most of which are performed by Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan with Joe Echo. There is one U2 track, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

Puss in Boots, the latest computer-animated film from DreamWorks, opened in theaters today. The film was directed by Chris Miller and features the voices of Antonio Banderas, Billy Bob Thornton and Salma Hayek. It has been released in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.

The soundtrack was composed by Henry Jackman and features tracks by Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. The Lady Gaga track used to promote the film is not on the album. The album is currently available as a digital download. The CD version is scheduled for release on November 15, 2011.

The cover art for the album features a dramatic close up image of the film's main character. It is an excellent design for the soundtrack. The texture effects used for the hat are very impressive.

The 2011 remake of the 1984 dance film Footloose was released in theaters today. It was directed by Craig Brewer (Black Snake Moan and Hustle & Flow) and stars Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie MacDowell.

The soundtrack is currently available as a CD and digital download. It includes eight new songs and four cover versions of songs from the original film. The songs are performed by various artists such as Blake Shelton, Zac Brown, Big & Rich, Cee Lo Green and Victoria Justice and Hunter Hayes. The download version includes three bonus tracks that were not included in the film.

The artwork for the soundtrack is a square version of one of the teaser posters for the film. It features a photograph of the film's stars from a line dancing scene.

The horror film Dream House opened in theaters today. The film stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts and was directed by Jim Sheridan. The plot is fairly standard. A New York City family moves into a creepy house in New England and learn that it was the location of a brutal murder.

The soundtrack is scheduled to be released on October 11, 2011. The music for the film was composed by John Debney (Predators, Evan Almighty, Iron Man 2). The cover art for the album is a square version of the movie poster. It features two little girls blending into wallpaper. It is obviously intended to be similar to the image of the creepy sisters from the horror classic The Shining (above right).

Cameron Crowe's rockumentary about Pearl Jam was released in theaters this week. The film marks the 20th anniversary of the band and includes interviews with the members and tour footage.

The soundtrack for the film is available as both a digital download and a two CD set. It includes 29 live tracks and demos recorded between 1990 and 2010.

The mixed martial arts film Warrior was released in theaters today. The film stars Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Justin Berg, Jennifer Morrison, and professional wrestler Kurt Angle. It was directed by Gavin O'Connor and produced by his twin brother Greg O'Connor.

The soundtrack album was released in digital format on August 30, 2011. The CD version is scheduled for release on September 13. It includes the score by composer Mark Isham (Point Break, The Mechanic, Crossing Over) and the song About Today by The National.

The cover art for the album is derived from two the teaser posters for the film that each feature half of the the face of either Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton (above right). When displayed side-by-side, the image that appears on the album cover is created. It is a neat concept and it makes a great album cover. It is yet another nice design choice from Lakeshore Records.

Our Idiot Brother, the comedy film starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer, opened in theaters today. Directed by Jesse Peretz, the film centers on a naive stoner who ruins the lives of his three sisters.

The soundtrack album for the movie was released this week in both CD and digital formats. The album cover is a square version of the promotional poster, featuring a photograph of Rudd daydreaming in a field of flowers. The soundtrack includes tracks by various artists, including Eric D. Johnson, Willie Nelson, and Carole King. Yeah, that will be hip with the kids.

The romantic film One Day opened in U.S. theaters yesterday. The film was adapted by David Nicholls from his 2009 novel of the same name and stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess as as star-crossed would-be lovers, whose lives are presented in 20 one-day glimpses spanning 20 years.

There are two versions of the cover art for the soundtrack. One is for the U.K. CD being distributed by Universal Island Records (below top). The other is for the digital download version from  UMG's HIP-O Records (below bottom). Both appear to feature the same 17 tracks. The album includes four tracks from the score by composer Rachel Portman and songs by Elvis Costello, Tears For Fears, and other various artists.

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie was released in U.S. theaters today and will play in theaters for only two weeks. The film will be released in the U.K. on August 19, also for a limited time.

The soundtrack was released on August 9. It includes 23 tracks recorded live during the Glee 2010 North American concert tour. The album cover is a square version of the movie poster.

The SciFi Western Cowboys & Aliens opened in U.S. theaters today. The film stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde and was directed by Jon Favreau. It is based on a 2006 graphic novel of the same name by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.

The score for the film was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. The soundtrack album features 17 original tracks and is scheduled for release on August 9, 2011. The cover art for the soundtrack features a dramatic image of Craig and Ford, omitting Wilde. Wilde is included on the official box office poster for the film. I guess she doesn't qualify as a cowboy for the soundtrack.

The Marvel superhero movie Captain America: The First Avenger was released to theaters today. The film was directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci.

The soundtrack album includes the original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as the original song Star Spangled Man with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel. The album was released on July 19 and is available as a digital download and on CD. The cover art for the album is a square version of the box office teaser poster, featuring a portrait of the film's title character.

The new Disney animated feature film Winnie the Pooh opened in U.S. theaters today. The film features six songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and a new version of the theme song Winnie the Pooh by actress and musician Zooey Deschanel. Together with the other half of her folk duo She & Him M. Ward, Deschanel also performs A Very Important Thing to Do and the end-credit song So Long. You can listen to a preview of Deschanel's songs in the video clip posted below.

The movie soundtrack includes 18 tracks, the six songs from the film and selections from the original Henry Jackman score. Released on July 12, it is available as an MP3 downlaod and audio CD. The cover art features an illustration of Pooh about to get Piglet in serious trouble with a bee hive. The illustration seems to conflict with the messages of innocent friendship conveyed by the songs, making it an odd choice for the album.

The superhero action movie Green Lantern opened in theaters today. The film is based on the DC Comics character and stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role. It also stars Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins and Geoffrey Rush.

The soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard and released by Watertower Music this week. The cover for the album features an illustration of Reynolds as the Green Lantern with three characters from the film and a futuristic cityscape in the background. It is similar to one of the film's teaser posters.

X-Men: First Class. the fifth in the X-Men film series, opened in U.S. theaters today. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film is based on the characters appearing in Marvel Comics and is a prequel to the original X-Men.

The album cover is a simple 3D typography concept. It does not feature the actors who star in the film.

Scream 4 (SCRE4M), the fourth installment in the popular Scream slasher film series, was released in theaters today. The film was directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote Scream and Scream 2. The cast includes the stars from the original films, David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox. Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Caulkin, Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin are among the other cast members.

Two albums have been produced for the film. The soundtrack, featuring tracks by various artists, was released was released on April 12, 2011 by Lakeshore Records. The score composed by Marco Beltrami will is scheduled to be released on April 19 by Varèse Sarabande. Lakeshore Records has uploaded a preview of the soundtrack to YouTube. You can listen to it using the player below.

The covers for the two albums are similar. However, they are different enough that consumers should be able to tell them apart. The one with Marco Beltrami listed is the score. There are two tracks by Beltrami on the soundtrack as well.

The remake of the 1981 comedy Arthur was released in theaters today. Directed by Jason Winer and written by Peter Baynham, it stars Russell Brand in the title role. The film also stars Jennifer Garner, Greta Gerwig, Helen Mirren, and Nick Nolte.

The soundtrack includes 10 tracks by Daniel Merriweather, Mark McAdam, Ben Gibbard and others. The cover for the album features a photograph of Brand and Mirren walking against traffic on a crowded sidewalk. The album is currently available on CD and as a digital download. As is common these days, the album does not include songs featured in the movie's trailers, such as Under Pressure by David Bowie and Queen.

The soundtrack includes the score by Christopher Lennertz and tracks by Blur, Green Day, The Go-Go's, Patti Smith and others. The album is scheduled for release on April 19, 2011, just in time to be placed in Easter baskets.

The action-fantasy Sucker Punch is opens in written both conventional and IMAX theatres today. The film was written by Steve Shibuya and Zack Snyder and directed by Snyder. It features an ensemble female cast that includes Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung.

Ads for the movie state that most of the songs used in it are "reworked classics that help explain what motivates each character's drive to survive." The soundtrack features three tracks performed by Emily Browning and six by Skunk Anansie, Bjork, Emiliana Torrini and other artists. One of the Browning tracks is a cover of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). I must admit that I am afraid to listen to it. It would be difficult to improve on the original.

The science fiction comedy film Paul opened in U.S. theaters today. Directed by Greg Mottola it stars and was written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The film opened in the U.K. in February and was number one at box office there in its first weekend. Actor Seth Rogan is the voice of the title character. I have heard the film described as "E.T. gets high."

The soundtrack features 22 tracks, including the score by David Arnold and songs by Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Todd Rundgren, Electric Light Orchestra, The B-52s and others. The album will not be released in the U.S. until April 5, 2011. It is also one of those soundtracks that force online consumers to buy the entire album.

The artwork for the U.S. and U.K. releases are very different. The film poster for the U.K. features Pegg and Frost and Rogan's animated alien character. A square version of the poster was used for the U.K. soundtrack (right).

The U.S. version uses a school bus-yellow background and the Paul character alone. Perhaps they felt that Pegg and Frost are not recognizable enough to American audiences. The U.S. version also has a different type treatment for the title.

The computer-animated comedy Mars Needs Moms was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 3D, 2D and IMAX today. Directed by Simon Wells and based on a book of the same title by Berkeley Breathed the film stars both Seth Green and Seth Dusky as the main character Milo. Green did the physical perfomance captured by animation technology Dusky did the voiceover. The animation was created by Robert Zemeckis' studio ImageMovers Digital.

The score was composed by John Powell. The soundtrack album has been released as a digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes. The album cover is a square version of the movie poster. Sadly, it does not show the amazing quality of the computer animation in the film. It is a parody of the famous abdution scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (above right).

The thriller The Adjustment Bureau opens in theaters today. The film was written and directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The soundtrack was released on earlier this week. It includes the score by Thomas Newman, two songs by Richard Ashcroft, and an extended remix of Sarah Vaughan's Fever by Adam Freeland.

This is one of those soundtrack that is sold with tracks that are only available through purchase of the entire album. Richard Ashcroft's Are You Ready and the Sarah Vaughan track are not available for individual download. However, the Sarah Vaughan track is available separately on the 2005 album Verve Remixed. The Richard Ashcroft song is available as a single.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a cropped version of the movie poster (right). The image loses much of its dramatic impact by having the larger shadowy figure removed.

A shaded "puddle" has also been added to the image, promoting the new song by Ashcroft that appears on the album. It is a very odd placement and it distracts from the figures of the film's stars. It would have been much better to have simply placed the copy in the bottom right corner.

I suppose the odd mix of music on the album could be compared to the disturbing age difference between Damon and Blunt. Why are aging leading men always paired up with actresses who are a generation or two younger? At least it is a bit better than Liam Neeson and January Jones.

Take Me Home Tonight is a comedy film set in the 1980s and starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Michelle Trachtenberg, Dan Fogler, and Demetri Martin. The plot centers around a wild Labor Day party in 1988. The film is scheduled to be released on March 4, 2011 after being shelved for several years.

Apparently, the soundtrack does not include the 1986 Eddie Money hit that the film was named after. However, it does have 19 tracks of '80s retro such as Hungry Like The Wolf, Safety Dance, Come On Eileen, and Don't You Want Me. A promotional video featuring alternative rock band Atomic Tom performing Don't You Want Me is being used to promote the film.

The soundtrack will be released digitally on February 27th. The physical CD will be available on March 29. It looks like an eclectic collection of oldies that would be worth buying. The artwork for the album features the young stars, with the guys looking like douchebags and the girls looking slutty. There's definitely nothing special about that.

Posted by: zeefritz

Beastly is a film based on a popular novel by Alex Flinn that is scheduled to open in theaters on March 4, 2011. It is the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale set in the world of wealthy white kids. It stars Vanessa Hudgens as the "Beauty" character and Alex Pettyfer as what is supposed to be a "Beast" — but looks more like a typical guy with tattoos and body modifications to me. We've all seen beautiful women with guys who look just like this.

The soundtrack for the film is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 1st. The cover art for the soundtrack is square version of the movie poster. It features the young stars of the film in a romantic pose. The tracks are listed below.

Tracklist:

1. On The Radio - Regina Spektor
2. Vanity - Hanover Swain
3. Garden of Exile - Toby Martin
4. Get Free - The Vines
5. Boys And Girls - Raney Shockne feat. Jessie Mann
6. Crashing - Gersey
7. Transatlanticism - Wenzel Templeton & Robert Pegg
8. Today Is The Day - Tim Myers
9. The Long Goodbye - Army Navy
10. Breathe in, Breathe Out - Mat Kearney
11. Heaven - Fire Theft
12. Broken Arrow - Raney Shockne feat. Jessie Mann
13. Be Mine - Kristina & the Dolls

Gnomeo & Juliet, a computer-animated film based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, opens in theaters today. The film is about two garden gnomes from warring fueding gnome families who fall in love. The title characters are voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt.

The soundtrack features 14 studio tracks consisting of three new songs by Elton John, including a duet of Crocodile Rock with Nelly Furtado, six Elton John classics and four orchestral tracks by composer James Newton Howard which are inspired by the melodies of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Also included on the soundtrack is the theme song from the enchanted Tiki Tiki Room by Thurl Ravenscroft. Not included on the soundtrack is a duet between Elton John and Lady Gaga titled Hello, Hello, which will only appear in film. The soundtrack was also released today.

The cover for the soundtrack features the animated characters from the film. It also credits Elton John and Bernie Taupin. James Newton Howard is not named on the cover.

Posted by: zeefritz

The 3D action thriller Sanctum was released in theaters today. The film was inspired by co-writer Andrew Wight's near-death experience in a system of underwater caves. James Cameron is the executive producer.

The artwork for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster. There really isn't anything special about it. It is what one would expect for a dark, underwater adventure film. The score is by composer David Hirschfelder, who has composed the music for films such as Legend of the Guardians The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Shine, and Elizabeth.

The romantic comedy No Strings Attached opens in theaters today. Directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Natalie Portman and Aston Kutcher, the film is about a couple who make a pact to have casual sex without developing a romantic relationship. A film with an identical called Friends with Benefits and starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is scheduled to be released later this year.

The soundtrack for No Strings Attached will not be released until February 15. It includes tracks by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., Color Me Badd, Elvis, and several other popular recording artists. None of the songs are particularly unique or interesting.

The artwork for the album is a square version of the movie poster. There is something odd about it that I just can't put my finger on. It seems a bit contrived. It looks as if Kutcher could be making that Scooby Doo sound, "HUHHHHHH!?" 

The comedy The Dilemma starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James was released by Universal Pictures today. The film was directed by Ron Howard and has caused some controversy because it uses the word "gay" as a slur. It looks like a real stinker of a film and if The Green Hornet had a soundtrack, I wouldn't even bother writing about this film.

The Dilemma does have a soundtrack. It was released as a digital album on Tuesday. It is one of those soundtracks that only has a couple of songs available for download. In order to get any of the others, the consumer has to purchase the entire album. Unfortunately, there are probably only a couple of tracks worth buying.

The cover art is a square version of the movie poster. It features what could be a photograph of Vaughn and James. It is difficult to tell because the image has been Photoshopped to the point where they both look like wax dolls. The cover makes the photo on Whitney Houston's last album look natural. I'm really not sure what's up with Vaughn's "come hither" pose either. The entire cover projects a "creepy old dude trying to look sexy" vibe.

The film Country Strong was released to theaters nationwide today. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow as fictional country singer Kelly Canter. According to the movie's writer and director Shana Feste Paltrow's character is based on Britney Spears.

The film also stars op singer Leighton Meester and country star Tim McGraw. Paltrow, Meester and McGraw are featured on the soundtrack, which was released on October 25, 2010. There are also tracks by Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams, Jr., Faith Hill and several other notable country artists.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster. It features a black and white photograph of the film's stars that can best be described as unflattering.

The latest comedy starring Jack Black is Gulliver's Travels. Based on the classic 18th-century novel by Jonathan Swift, the film takes place in the modern era and features Black in the title role. Catherine Tate stars as Queen of Lilliput. It is scheduled to be released on Christmas Day 2010.

The soundtrack album will be released on December 21. Henry Jackman, who worked on Black's 2008 animated feature Kung Fu Panda, is credited as the composer. The trailer features music by KISS. However, the soundtrack appears to be a score with no additional tracks by artists featured in the movie.

A couple of people have contacted me to let me know that the cover art for the new Narnia soundtrack album was changed and that the image in the gallery should be updated. After doing a little online research, I discovered that there is a cover for a deluxe edition (right) floating around the Internet. However, I have not been able to verify the authenicity of this cover through official sources.

A fan website reported that the official cover had been changed. I am fairly confident that is not the case. The cover being distributed by Sony Music is the one shown below.

The soundtrack was released on December 7, 2010. The film opens in U.S. theaters today. The score was composed by David Arnold.

There are several versions of the soundtrack being released internationally, with singles performed by different artists. The U.S. iTunes store is selling the song There's a Place for Us by Carrie Underwood. In the U.K. the singles There's a Place for Us and Someone Wake Me Up by Joe McElderry are being sold in connection with the film. The result of this marketing scheme is proving to be very confusing for consumers.

The official cover for the soundtrack features a close up image of the face of the lion character, Aslan. The image was also used for the cover art for the Carrie Underwood single.

Disney's 3D sequel to Tron, Tron: Legacy, is scheduled to be released on December 17, 2010. The soundtrack was compsed by electronic music duo Daft Punk. It is set to hit stores on Tuesday.

There are quite a few fake and fan-made cover for the soundtrack floating around online. The cover below is the official one. It is a simple design that reminds me more of a neon sign from a 1950s diner than a blockbuster 3D movie. I can see why fans are busy creating their own versions.

A teaser trailer was created for the Daft Punk soundtrack that features the track Derezzed. You can check it out below.

The latest in the Harry Potter series was released in theaters today. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is the first part of the seventh and final installment of the films.

The soundtrack for the film was composed by Alexandre Desplat. It is available as a standard version (right) and as a limited edition box set (below) that includes:

• Individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity
• PremierCell Presentation of high quality film photography with attachable easel
• 7 inch double sided picture Vinyl Disc with score from the movie
• DVD with 5.1 audio mix of Alexandre Desplat s score and a 7 minute video featurette of the scoring session
• Movie Poster
• Orchestral Sheet Music from recording session at Abbey Road Studios signed by Alexandre Desplat
• Soundtrack on CD
• 2nd CD with additional score

The box set will be released on December 21, 2010 and is currently available for preorder though Amazon.com. It is priced at under $80. Warner Bros. has posted a special trailer for the soundtrack on YouTube. You can check it out below.

The alien invasion movie Skyline was released to theaters today. The film stars Eric Balfour and Scotty Thompson as a couple who experience an invasion by space ships and deadly beams of light during a visit to Los Angeles. So far, the reviews have been mixed.

The soundtrack for the film is scheduled to be released on November 16, 2010. The music is by Matthew Margeson, who has worked as a music arranger and composer on films such as Kick-Ass, The Expendables, and Angels and Demons.

The artwork for the album shows two alien machines descending from the sky amid tall buildings. I think that it is a better image than the one being used for the theatrical release poster (right).

Having once lived in L.A., I do not think that the clips I have seen really do not think the film portrays the city. It has more of a New York City feel to me. Los Angeles doesn't really have much of a skyline and very few people live in luxury high rise apartments.

The DreamWorks animated feature Megamind was released in the United States in Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and 2D today. The film features the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt.

The soundtrack was released on Tuesday by Lakeshore Records. It includes original music by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe as well as songs by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Minnie Riperton, and Elvis Presley.

Tangled is an upcoming 3D animated film from Walt Disney Studios and starring the voices of Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Scheduled for release on November 24, 2010, it will be the 50th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

The story is based on the classic fairy tale Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm. Original music was composed for the film by Alan Menken with lyrics written by Glenn Slater. The soundtrack will be released on November 16.

The cover for the soundtrack album features the main characters, Princess Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, wrapped in the princess' long blonde hair. It is a cropped version of the teaser poster for the film.

The Social Network is a film about the founding of the Internet social networking website Facebook. The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin was adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 nonfiction book The Accidental Billionaires. It is currently playing in theaters.

The soundtrack for the film (right) was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Prior to the September 28 release of the album, a free five-track EP was made available for download. The sample can be obtained from a special webpage on the Null Corporation website by adding an email address to a mailing list.

The Beatles' song Baby, You're a Rich Man was used to conclude the film. However, the song does not appear on the soundtrack. Also missing from the soundtrack is the song heard in the trailers and TV ads to promote the film.

A cover of Radiohead's Creep performed by Scala & Kolacny Brothers, a Belgian girls' choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, has been assumed to be part of the soundtrack by quite a few people.

The song was quickly made available as a digital single. However, the cover art that was used is from Scala & Kolacny Brothers' 2010 album Circle (below left). Creep was actually released on the group's 2002 album On the Rocks (below right). Confused?

This is a great example of a record label being too cheap to create a cover for a single. So, now we have cover art for the Creep single that really is the cover for an album on which the song doesn't even appear. To top it off, live versions of Creep appears on a couple of other Scala & Kolacny Brothers albums with similar titles.

Posted by: zeefritz

Posted by: zeefritz

I hate having music in my collection that has incorrect cover art. That is even true of artwork that is released by the record label. Even though I am not big on fan-created cover art, I just had to create my own cover for the Creep single. It took all of ten minutes. Feel free to use it for your own download of the song.

Jackass 3D opens in theaters on October 15, 2010. The soundtrack for the third movie in the series based on the MTV television series is scheduled to be released on October 25.

The soundtrack features an eclectic mix of tracks by artists such as Weezer, Karen O, Twisted Sister, and Roger Miller. The cover art is a basic black and white graphic that includes the Jackass skull and crossbones logo. Like the stars of Jackass, the logo is getting a bit old and tired. I am certainly not looking forward to Jackass 6, in which a 50-something Johnny Knoxville get punched below his hernia belt.

The musical Burlesque starring Cher and Christina Aguilera is scheduled to premiere on November 24, 2010. It is too bad that it won't be released before Halloween, because it looks like a film that would inspire quite a few drag costumes.

The soundtrack will be released a week before the premiere on November 16. I think it is safe to predict it will be a big seller. With the faces of two pop music superstars on the cover, how could it go wrong?

The cover art is a square version of the movie poster. In this particular case, it would be a mistake to do otherwise. This is going to be an iconic image that will be part of pop culture for many years.

The documentary by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim Waiting for Superman is getting quite a bit of media attention this week. The film follows several promising children through the public education system, demonstrating how it actually inhibits academic growth and results in high drop out rates.

The song Shine by John Legend is featured in the film. However, it is not included on the movie score by Christophe Beck that is currently available as a digital download on Amazon.com and iTunes. Instead, the track can be found on the collaboration album Wake Up! by Legend and The Roots (right).

The artwork for the movie score album is a square version of the movie poster. It features an image of a small child sitting at a school desk amid the rubble of the Apocalypse (presumedly brought about by the failing education system). It is quite an exceptional image for a documentary.

The new 3D animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole was released to theaters today. The film is based on the book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. It was directed by Zack Snyder and features the voices of Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Ryan Kwanten, Emily Barclay, Anthony LaPaglia, and David Wenham.

The soundtrack was composed by David Hirschfelder and includes a new song by Owl City called To the Sky. The album is currently available through iTunes and Amazon.com.

Unlike most soundtracks these days, the cover art for the album is not a squared version of the movie poster (right). It features the film's owl characters swooping down from a mountain top (below).

A music video for the Owl City song was released last week. It features clips from the film and original video of Adam Young as an old time movie projectionist. The song is very similar to Owl City's hit Fireflies.

The fourth in the Resident Evil film series opened in theaters today. Resident Evil: Afterlife is the first in the series to be released in 3D. In the film, the main character searches for and rescues survivors of a virus created by the evil Umbrella Corporation.

Milan Records is currently offering Umbrella, a track from the movie soundtrack, as free download from their website. The soundtrack was composed by tomandandy (Andy Milburn and Thomas Hajdu), who have composed music for several videogames and films. Their past projects include the films The Strangers, The Hills Have Eyes, and The Mothman Prophecies. The soundtrack is schedule to be released on September 28, 2010.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster. It features the film's star Milla Jovovich leaping through the window of a Los Angeles skyscraper with guns blazing.

Posted by: Orbs

Life as We Know It is a romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel that is scheduled to be released on October 8, 2010. The soundtrack for the film is currently available for pre-order and will be released on October 5.

The tracks on the soundtrack are by artists such as Amy Winehouse, The Black Keys, Free Energy and Taken By Trees.

The cover art for the album is similar to the photograph being used for the movie poster (right). It features Duhamel wearing nothing but white boxer briefs and tennis shoes and drinking a bottle of beer. I assume the joke is that he's a big baby, just like every man.

The trailer doesn't provide a very good preview of the soundtrack. It does reveal that the film is packed with the typical gags about baby's pooping and being difficult to raise. Remember Three Men and a Baby? This is a man and a woman and baby. Wait. Isn't that how it is supposed to work? What's the joke?

Anyway, Duhamel is a hunky young guy. Let's see if his bod can sell some movie tickets and a few soundtrack albums.

The comedy spoof Vampires Suck is currently playing in theaters across the country. It lampoons the popular teen vampire movies such as the Twilight series.

Albums for both the film score by Christopher Lennertz (right) and the soundtrack featuring tracks by various artists (below) are currently available. I am not familiar with many of the artists on the soundtrack, such as Magicwandos, The DeeCompressors, and KillDeer. The tracks have titles that appear to be those of novelty songs. However, there is a great cover of It's Raining Men by Kelly Kass.

The cover art for both albums is hilarious. Most people won't notice this, but the album art is also a clever parody of the Twilight films. The first Twilight film score and soundtrack albums use a similar group shot for the score and a romantic close up for the soundtrack.

The 3D comedy horror film Piranha 3D opened in theaters today. Both the score and the soundtrack for the movie have been released. The albums have very different covers. So, it should not be difficult to tell then apart.

The score by Michael Wandmacher features a photo of star Jerry O'Connell swimming in blood (right). The iTunes version soundtrack features a woman floating on a raft above a sea of toothy fish (below). The artwork on Amazon.com has a close up of the piranha, without the woman in the bikini. The iTunes artwork is obviuously a parody of the poster for the movie Jaws.

The soundtrack includes tracks by artists such as Shwayze, Amanda Blank, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and Hadouken.

The film Eat Pray Love starring Julia Roberts opened in theaters today. The soundtrack features songs by Neil Young, Marvin Gaye and the new single Better Days by Eddie Vedder.

The album and single are available on iTunes. It looks as if the CD can be purchased on Amazon.com as a pricey import or from several third-party sellers. I'm not sure what's up with that.

The cover art for the album is the image that has been used for the jacket of the Elizabeth Gilbert memoir on which the film is based. I wonder why they didn't use a photo of Julia Roberts. Perhaps her price was too high.

The song from the movie's trailer is Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine (above right). It is not included on the soundtrack album. The single can be purchased online through most retailers.

The soundtrack for the movie Nanny McPhee Returns is scheduled to be released on August 17, 2010, three days before the film premieres. The film is titled Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang outside of the United States and Canada.

The soundtrack was composed by James Howard Newton, who has a long list of film credits. He has also composed the scores for The Last Airbender and Salt.

The trailer features Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police. I do not know if the track will be featured on the soundtrack album.

The cover art for the soundtrack is not simply a square version of the movie poster. It appears that it is an expanded view of the image used for the poster. So, it actually work as a square composition (unlike a few recent covers that we've seen).

The 3D dance movie Step Up 3D is scheduled to be released in conventional 2-D, Real D 3D, XpanD 3D and Dolby 3D formats on August 6, 2010.

Many of you may have already noticed that there are two versions of the movie soundtrack being sold. One is the U.S. version (left) with 16 tracks by artists such as Flo Rida, Trey Songz, Jessie McCartney and Jazmine Sullivan. The other is the European version (right) with 14 tracks.

The cover art for the two albums differs significantly. I think I prefer the cover of the import version. The U.S. version looks as if a hooded grim reaper is ready to grab the young lovers. The other cover shows a dynamic dance move.

Posted by: zeefritz

  

The film Charlie St. Cloud starring Zac Efron is scheduled to be released to theaters on July 30, 2010. However, the soundtrack album will not be released until August 17.

The music was composed by Rolfe Kent, who has done the scores for such films as About Schmidt, Sideways, Wedding Crashers and The Men Who Stare at Goats. It is difficult to judge the soundtrack by the trailer and previews are not yet available online.

The album cover art is a square version of the movie poster. However, the image does work well as album art. It features a nice portrait of Efron that is certain to appeal to his fans.

Director Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller Inception opened in theaters today. It is definitely one that I will go to see. The special effects look impressive and it has an interesting cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I have been listening to the soundtrack all afternoon and I think it is the best work that Hans Zimmer has done in years. The track Old Souls is haunting and beautiful and definitely my favorite.

Unfortunately, the cover art for the soundtrack album is not goin to going to get such a favorable review. It is going to serve as a prime example of why a squared-off version of the movie poster doesn't always work as album art.

In this case, the poster shows a dramatic bending of a city street behind the cast of the film. You can see that the street is being folded over on to itself. This is a graphic depection of the film's special effects.

The album art has been cropped so that it looks as if the cast is standing at the foot of a steep hill. It looks like a typical scene in San Francisco. Half of the poster has been lost. I could almost imagine Steve McQueen speeding up behind them in his green Mustang. Sadly, it is just my imagination. Nothing but a lot of standing around is going on in that album cover.

The new science fiction action film Predators is scheduled to open in theaters on July 9, 2010. The film's soundtrack was composed by John Debney and is scheduled to be released on August 10. I'm not sure why they're waiting a full month after the film's debut to release the soundtrack.

The album cover is a square version of the movie poster. I am not sure that it works very well in a small format. The outline of the alien is a weak image. Also, it is puzzling that there is only one predator shown when the title of the movie indicates that there are a more than one.

There have been a couple of prerelease posters issued for the film in the international markets and one of them (right) would make a better album cover. It shows one of the film's stars, Adrien Brody, with lazer beams targeting him and a alien in the background. I understand that there is often a desire to create an iconic image for a science fiction movie (as was done with the egg hatching for Alien and more recently with the "no aliens" sign for District 9). If that is the case with Predators, the alien needs to be much more detailed and dynamic. The outline profile also seems a bit dated -- like something from the early 1990s. 

The soundtrack for the film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is scheduled to be released on August 10, 2010. The film starring Michael Cera as a nerdy bass guitarist for a rock band is based on the Scott Pilgrim comic book series. The film will be
released on August 18.

The soundtrack features tracks by Beck, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Cornelius and other artists. The cover art is a square version of the movie poster. It features a image of Cera playing an electric guitar.

Visitors to the film's official website will find one of those Flash gizmos that can be used to create customized illustrations (similar to what South Park did a year or so ago). The images can be saved as avatars and wallpapers. I did one of myself that turned out kind of cool (except that I'm labeled a "gothic lolita" for some reason).

Visit the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Website

The cover art for digital release of the Toy Story 3 soundtrack is somewhat odd. It doesn't have the title of the film — just a big "3" and two of the animated characters. It also has the name of the composer, Randy Newman, in very large type.

AlbumArtExchange.com user raffster has uploaded the first page of the digital booklet (right) as a more reasonable version of the cover art. I have to agree that the version being used is somewhat garish. I don't think kids really care about Randy Newman.

As a promotion for the film, Pixar has hired YouTube remixer Pogo to create a great video using sound bites from the Toy Story films. Toyz Noize is not on the Toy Story 3 soundtrack, but it should be. It is amazing!

The cover for the soundtrack album for the motion picture remake of The A-Team has been revealed. It is scheduled to be released on June 22, 2010.

The cover is a squared version of the movie poster (right). The faces of the actors have been cropped quite and bit more for the album. The result is an image that features craggy skin and over-sized pores. It is not pleasant to look at -- but from what I understand neither is the movie.

The music was composed by notable composer Alan Silvestri, who did the music for Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, and many other films. I have not seen a track listing, so I don't know if this album has anything worth buying. The music heard in the trailer doesn't impress me very much. Yawn.

The cover of the soundtrack album for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's upcoming 3-D CGI feature Despicable Me has been revealed. The film is scheduled to be released on July 9, 2010. The soundtrack will be released on July 6.

In January, it was announced that Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, and producer  Pharrell Williams would write original music for the film. It is Williams' first time composing music for a motion picture. Legendary composer and Oscar winner Hans Zimmer has composed the score. I do not have a track list for the soundtrack at this time.

Despicable Me, which features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Jemaine Clement and Julie Andrews.

The second Sex and the City movie was released to theaters this week. The soundtrack was also released as both a CD and digital download. The album features 18 tracks by artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Dido, Liza Minnelli and something called the Sex and the City Men's Choir.

If I were not familiar with the HBO series, I would probably assume that the movie is about a spooky-eyed female zombie who marches out of the desert after being cursed to wear ugly, red torture bindings on her feet. Can you seriously imagine anyone wearing high heels on a sand dune?

The fourth and final installment in the Shrek movie series is scheduled to be released  in theaters on May 21, 2010 in the U.S. and on July 2nd in the U.K. Two albums are being released in conjunction with the movie, Shrek Forever After: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Shrek Forever After: Original Movie Score.

The cover art for the albums is different enough that is should prevent the usual confusion between movie soundtracks and scores. The Shrek series has always been good about using album covers that can be recognized as being different.

The soundtrack is scheduled for release in the U.S. on CD exclusively through Walmart on May 18 and in the U.K. on June 29. The soundtrack will ba available as a digital download via iTunes. The score will be released in the U.S. on May 25. The soundtrack will include songs by artists such as Weezer, Beastie Boys, and Scissor Sisters. I do not have a U.S. release date for the soundtrack.

Various Artists - Shrek Forever After Music from the Motion Picture

Posted by: zeefritz

Harry Gregson-Williams - Shrek Forever After Original Movie Score

Posted by: zeefritz

The soundtrack for director Ridley Scott's Robin Hood is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2010. The score is by composer Marc Streitenfeld, who did the scores for American Gangster and Body of Lies. 

The cover art for the album is a square version of the movie poster (right). I think this a good example of a movie poster not really making a great album cover. The blurry hand in the foreground dominates the smaller format. In this case, a different image would have probably been a better choice. One with a more balanced focus would be a big improvement.

You can hear some of the score in the trailer posted below. It has a modern rock sound that I don't think works with the film. I found it distracting. I almost aniticapted hearing Aerosmith start to sing.

Robin Hood is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 14.

Kick-Ass is a movie about high school kids who dress up as superheroes and (you guessed it) kick ass. The movie also has a "kick-ass" soundtrack album with artists like The Prodigy, Primal Scream, New York Dolls, Sparks and The Dickies. It also has tracks by Ennio Morricone and Elvis.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of one of the many posters created for the film. The album was released digitally yesterday. The film is scheduled for release on April 16, 2010.

Any time I see a movie about the 1980s, I hope that it will have a great '80s soundtrack. Like 1998's The Wedding Singer, the soundtrack for Hot Tub Time Machine does not disappoint. The album has tracks from David Bowie, Talking Heads, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, Salt N Pepa and several other '80s artists.

The cover art for the album has a very retro look to it. It has a bright pink band at the top containing the phrase "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" and humorous cast photo. It definely looks like the cover of a soundtrack album from the '80s.

The film is scheduled to be released on March 26, 2010. The soundtrack will be available as a digital download on March 23.

The soundtrack for Shutter Island, the Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley is getting some buzz. It is an ecclectic collection of tracks by artist such as Brian Eno, Kay Starr, Johnny Ray, Nam June Paik, and Dinah Washington. Unfortunately, this is one of those soundtrack albums that isn't being sold as individual tracks. Those who want the haunting Dinah Washington and Max Richter track will have to shell out for the entire album.

The artwork for the album is a square version of the movie poster. It features DiCaprio holding a lit match. I don't think the poster does a great job of capturing the spirit of the film. It would have been nice to see something a bit more creative. Perhaps I'd be more inclined to buy the album if that were the case.

German composer Harold Faltermeyer won a Grammy for the score 1984's hit Beverly Hills Cop. While Faltermeyer's original score was never released, the soundtrack (right) was a popular album that featured several hit tracks such as Patti LaBelle's New Attitude, Glenn Frey's The Heat Is On, Pointer Sister's Neutron Dance, and Faltermeyer's Axel F.

Hoping to recapture the success of Beverly Hills Cop, director Kevin Smith has teamed up with writers Mark and Robb Cullen to create a "buddy cop" film starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan that includes both a score by Faltermeyer and a theme song performed by Patti LaBelle.

What is interesting is that the soundtrack album released for Cop Out is Faltermeyer's score, rather than a collection of music tracks heard in the film. The soundtrack does include the theme song, which was written by Faltermeyer.

The entire project has me somewhat confused. It is as if they took several elements from Beverly Hills Cop (black comic from Saturday Night Live, Harold Faltermeyer score, Patti LaBelle) and thought that using them would result in similar success. Perhaps they should have started by casting a hip young comic rather than Tracy Morgan. Morgan is great in small doses on 30 Rock, but I don't think I could stand listening to him ramble on and on as the star of a feature film (I could barely make it through the trailer).

Looking at the cover art for the soundtrack, all I can think about is Morgan upstaging co-star Bruce Willis by rambling incoherently and doing a routine that only a man 20 years his junior should be allowed to get away with. Cop Out is scheduled to be released on February 26, 2010. The soundtrack will be available on February 23.

For many years, there has been a great deal of confusion about the differences between and "motion picture soundtrack" and a "motion picture score" ̶  and with good reason. Often, people go to a movie and then purchase what is labeled the "soundtrack" with the idea that the popular songs heard in the movie will be on the album. What they get instead is the symphonic score.

Sometimes the score a movie is labeled "score" and sometimes it is sold with "original soundtrack" on the label. It is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Many movies have an album released for both the score and soundtrack. There have even been albums released that were simply "inspired by" the soundtrack for a motion picture.

The movie Tooth Fairy is currently playing in theaters. If you watch the trailer posted below, you will hear the song Just What I Needed by The Cars. However, the song is not on the album being sold as the original motion picture soundtrack. Instead, the album is the score by composer George S. Clinton.

There has been a lot of buzz for the forthcoming movie about female rock band The Runaways. The film stars Dakota Fanning as Cherie Curry, the band’s lead vocalist and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett. I haven’t seen anything about a soundtrack being offered for the film, but I have posted two of the band’s album covers below.

The first is The Runaways’ self-titled debut album that features a photo of Curry (I think Fanning is the perfect choice to play her). The second is Waitin’ for the Night, which marked Joan Jett’s debut as lead singer after Curry’s departure from the band. The film is scheduled to open on March 19, 2010.

The soundtrack for the movie Crazy Heart was released this week. It is available as a standard CD and a deluxe version with extra tracks. When I saw the album cover, the first thing that popped into my mind was “When did Jeff Bridges turn into Kris Kristofferson?” He looks exactly like Kristofferson (right) with that gray beard and long hair.

The film is about a down-and-out country singer, played by Bridges. It has gotten great reviews and even Oscar buzz. The soundtrack includes several original songs performed by Bridges and tracks by Buck Owens, George Jones, Lucinda Williams, and several other notable artists.

Youth in Revolt is a film starring Michael Cera as — guess what — a nerdy teenager. This film can best be described as Porky’s meets Fight Club, with Cera battling with an evil duel personality. Everything about this movie screams “seen that” and that includes the art direction for the movie poster and soundtrack album cover.

Graphic designers should be put on notice. Ransom note typography has been done far too many times. The only thing worse than ransom note is the font that looks like a Dymo label. And guess what! They used the Dymo lable font for the cover of the audio book (right).

These typographic treatments were overused by 1990. Don’t we have any talented graphic designers who can come up with something original? Why are do many album covers look as if they were designed using free fonts downloaded from the Internet?

Many viewing the trailer will be disappointed to learn that Rebel Rebel is not on the soundtrack. You will find songs by Fun Boy Three, Jo Stafford, and Fruit Bats. There is also a 39 second clip of Michael Cera unintentionally using a guitar as an instrument of torture.

Hans Zimmer has composed the scores for over 100 films. Many of them have been blockbuster hits, due in part to his ability to create some of the best movie music ever recorded. Zimmer has won seven Oscars, seven Grammy awards and nine Golden Globes. The soundtracks for the films he scores are always worth buying.

When I saw the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr., I immediately thought that it would be a sticker. Sherlock Holmes as an action hero? Really? Then, I saw that Hans Zimmer had done the score and considered the remote possibility that it could be a decent movie.

The cover for the album appears to be a square version of the movie poster (right). However, closer inspection reveals that the face of Robert Downey, Jr. has been changed for the album. I’m not sure why they did this. I think the face on the poster is much better. There is something off about Downey’s face on the cover of the soundtrack. Perhaps the lighting is wrong. The perspective of the hair doesn’t seem to match the rest of the head. I’m not really sure why I find it strange.

The motion picture Precious is one of the most critically acclaimed of the year. It also has an amazing soundtrack featuring Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, the legendary Mahalia Jackson, and nine other notable artists.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster. It features a photograph of the title character with the wings of a butterfly superimposed on her back. It differs significantly from the original movie poster that I recall seeing when the film was being promoted prior to release (right).

The original art is a very strong graphic that resembles the work of the great Saul Bass. I do not know why they changed it to the cliché image with butterfly wings that is currently being used. The design of the previous poster was far superior and I think it would have made a better album cover as well.

Butterflies are a very overused graphic element — especially on album covers. I wish that art directors would simply avoid them unless the project actually has something to do with butterflies. The crown floating over Precious’ head is just the icing on the cake. All this cover needs is a flaming skull and a soaring eagle. The lowercase typography for the title is also a tad bit weak.

The Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog opens in theaters on December 11. The soundtrack album featuring original songs and socre by Randy Newman will be released tomorrow. Samples of the songs performed by Ne-Yo, Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls), and other cast members can be found on the Disney website.

The album cover is a square version of the movie poster. This has been a growing trend with soundtrack albums. It is somewhat disappointing to see that Disney has chosen to recycle their movie poster art for an album cover. The soundtrack for the 2007 Disney film Enchanted featured original art for the album cover (right). Perhaps it is just a sign of the troubled economy.

While the image used for the album cover works as a movie poster, I do not believe that it is the right for the soundtrack. The image of the Princess holding the frog is secondary to the movie’s villains. There is just too much going on in the frame. The album art for Enchanted eliminates the secondary characters and simplifies the image, resulting in a much stronger composition. Let’s hope Disney does not continue to crop movie posters for their album art. We should expect more from them.

The soundtrack for the upcoming James Cameron 3D film AVATAR is scheduled to be released on December 15. The music for the film was composed and conducted by James Horner, who composed the scores for Titanic, Braveheart, Field of Dreams, several Star Trek films and many others. The film will hit theaters on December 18.

It has been reported that British pop singer Leona Lewis has recorded the movie’s theme song which was written and produced by Horner and producer Simon Franglen, the team that produced Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On from Titanic.

The cover of the soundtrack album is a squared version of the movie poster. Currently, there is no mention of the theme song or Leona Lewis. That may change if the song becomes a hit. There is no word on whether or not the song will be released as single prior to the film’s debut next month.

The score for Men Who Stare at Goats, a film starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, is currently available as a digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes. It is unusual that the score for a major motion picture is not being sold as a CD.

The score was composed by Rolfe Kent, who has worked on other films such as Sideways, Wedding Crashers, and About Schmidt. The cover for the album is basically a square version of the movie poster. That isn’t surprising since this appears to be a digital-only release.

The soundtrack for the science fiction thriller The Fourth Kind by composer Atli Örvarsson is scheduled to be released on November 23. The movie opened in theaters this week to less than great reviews. The story involves a group of people who are revealed to have been abducted by aliens while participating in a sleep disorders study.

The cover of the soundtrack is not a square version of the movie poster (right), as is so often the case these days. Instead, the album cover features the face of the film’s star, Milla Jovovich.

The cover uses the same color scheme as the poster, but does not include the tagline “Based on the actual case studies” and the explanation of what the film’s title means. In this case, I think that would have been a good idea. While Jovovich face serves as a great image, the cover as a whole leaves me kind of cold and uninspired.

The Michael Jackson documentary This Is It opens in theaters today. The double CD album of “music that inspired the movie” is currently on sale. The CD is not a soundtrack. It is a collection of studio recordings of many of the songs heard performed live in the film. The collection includes 14 of Jackson’s hit songs, two versions of the previously unreleased single This Is It and four demos.

The album cover is a squared version of the movie poster (right). It features a silhouette of Jackson on a smoke-filled stage on which has been superimposed a colorful “quilt” of images from the artist’s live performances. It is a very strong image and quite approriate as a tribute to the late King of Pop.

There will undoubtedly be a lot of media coverage surrounding the film. There are already reports that it accounts for over 61% of online ticket sales. We are certain to see fans lining up at theaters.

It seems that earlier predictions that Michael Jackson mania would be a short lived fad have proven to be inaccurate. The film is certain to boost sales of the This Is It and Jackson’s most popular albums.

The soundtrack for Zombieland was recently released on iTunes. According to the reviews, many people are upset that what is being sold as the movie soundtrack is actually the score by composer David Sardy. It does not include the rock songs heard in the film, such as Van Halen and Metallica.

I downloaded the soundtrack (er, score) and it is actually quite good. It will be an excellent addition to my Halloween music collection. You may have noticed that there is an embarrassing typo in the cover art that is being used on iTunes. If not, I’ll give you a moment to find it.

Got it? The “d” has been omitted from the word “soundtrack”! Obviously, this was a hasty graphic design job. It is simply the artwork from the movie poster with some extra typography added. I always wonder how these typos make it into the wild. I worked as a corporate marketing department editor for many years and these goofs are really quite rare.

To publicize the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ new animated comedy Planet 51, the studio has put a DVD of the film in orbit on the International Space Station. Planet 51 will be released in theaters on November 20, 2009. It features the voices of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Gary Oldman, John Cleese, Jessica Biel and Justin Long.

The soundtrack for the movie is scheduled to be released on November 17. It features songs performed by Keith Murrell, Sophie Green and others. The album cover features a very cute illustration that is different from the various movies posters and can be seen as the main graphic on the movie’s webpage (which is worth checking out).

The music video for Adam Lambert’s song on the 2012 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was posted on YouTube tonight. Time for Miracles is the kind of rock ballad that fans have anticipated from Lambert, whose album For Your Entertainment is scheduled to be released on November 23.

The 2012 soundtrack is set to be released on November 10. If I were them, I’d place a “Featuring Adam Lambert” in the bottom left corner of the cover.

The murder revenge movie Law Abiding Citizen starring Gerald Butler and Jamie Foxx was released to theaters yesterday. The soundtrack for the film is currently available as a digital download and as CD on Demand from Amazon.com.

CD on Demand is a new way to distribute digital music on a physical CD. The album is burned onto a CD-R and packaged with album art much the same way as a traditional mass-produced CD. This is the first time that I have seen a motion picture soundtrack distibuted on CD on Demand. The last time I read about this new sales format, it was being presented as an affordable way for indie artists to produce CDs.

The album art for this soundtrack is very basic. It is a square version of the movie poster. It is missing the “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” phrase that we’ve come to expect on soundtrack covers.

A movie that is being called High School Musical with fangs premires in New York City tonight. The young cast of I Kissed A Vampire will be in attendence at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema at 6 PM. The soundtrack was released on iTunes today.

The album cover features yet more attractive young people with vampire fangs and an ambiguous love triangle. I don’t know how much longer this trend will continue, but a rock musical just could be the thing that drives a stake through its heart.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is scheduled to open in theater’s on October 23. The ad for the film recently began airing on television and the soundtrack will be released on October 20.

Unlike many current soundtrack albums, the cover for Cirque du Freak is not simply a squared version of the movie poster (right). In fact, it is entirely unique. The album cover also omits the tagline “Meet Darren. He’s sixteen going on immortal” and the title is “The Vampire’s Assistant” rather than “Cirque du Freak” — which one would assume to be potentially confusing for consumers.

The film has an impressive cast that includes John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek, Willem DaFoe, Ken Watanabe (The Last Samuri), Orlando Jones (MADtv) and Jane Krakowski (30 Rock). I’m not sure that the world needs another vampire movie or TV show right now. But, the movie looks interesting with Hayek as a bearded woman and a vampire chimpanzee called a “vampaneze” (I’m not making that up). Perhaps they should have included the bearded Hayek and the fangy chimp on the cover of the soundtrack!

Not only is the movie Whip It the directoral debut of Drew Barrymore, it has one of the best soundtracks I have seen this year. Some of the artists include Ramones, The Breeders, Dolly Parton, Peaches and The Raveonettes.

The album cover features the film’s star Ellen Page (Juno) in costume as a young woman who goes from being a beauty pageant winner to a roller derby queen. The film is scheduled for release on October 2. The soundtrack is currently available.

The film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story is scheduled to be released on October 16. The soundtrack featuring original songs by Karen O and The Kids will drop on September 29. I have heard previews of the album and it is a nice collection of rock/pop songs sung by Karen O and a children’s choir. The single All Is Love (right) is currently available.

Unlike many current soundtrack albums, the cover for Where the Wild Things Are is not simply a reformatted version of the movie poster. The cover features a detail of the computer animation used to bring Sendak’s characters to life (click the cover below to see a larger image).

9 is a new animated film from director Tim Burton (not to be confused with District 9 which is also a current release). The soundtrack is by Deborah Lurie and Danny Elfman and from the trailer it sounds very dark and dramatic. Since the film is about the end of humanity, perhaps that should come as no surprise.

The album cover for this soundtrack is based on the movie poster. It depicts a post-apocalyptic world and the film’s main character under a giant glowing number 9.

Gamer is a futuristic thriller about a video game that involves real humans being used as game characters. The soundtrack by Robert Williamson and Geoff Zanelli will be released on Tuesday.

Like most recent motion pictures, the album cover is almost identical to the movie poster. That is always a good strategy because it makes it easier for consumers to recognize the soundtrack. Of course, it helps to have a great poster on which to base the album cover.

The cover for Gamer features an image of the star Gerard Butler, with the face of the child who is controlling his character pushing through it. It is a nicely done cover that makes good use of the star’s handsome face.

The cover for the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack has finally appeared online. The album is scheduled to be released on October 13. Like most soundtrack albums these days, the cover is based entirely on the movie poster. So, there aren’t any surprises here.

Taking Woodstock, director Ang Lee’s comedy about the 1969 music festival, will be released in theaters tomorrow. The original motion picture soundtrack is already available. It includes original music from Danny Elfman’s score as well as songs by Crosby, Stills & Nash, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and other Woodstock headliners.

Danny Elfman’s original score for the film is being released on September 22. There may be some confusion between these two releases. The album covers are very similar. Just keep in mind that if you want the album with the original artists, buy the one that does not have Danny Elfman’s name on the cover.

The album cover for the soundtrack of the 2009 version of Fame is holding true to the original. Back in 1980, everyone I knew had the LP with the bright red Fame logo on the cover. It was a simple design that immediately became iconic.

The new Fame logo is very similar to the original. It is minus a couple of flourishes and has been put up in gold lights, but it is essentially the same.

Undoubtedly, there will be big difference between the music that was on the first soundtrack and this new one. From watching the trailer, it is obvious that the production is designed to appeal to the young audience of today.

Will the new Fame mean as much to creative young people as the 1980 version meant to my generation? That remains to be seen. I do not have a release date for this album. The film will be released on September 25.

A release date for the original motion picture soundtrack for District 9 has not yet been announced. That’s probably not great timing since the film is getting great reviews and could be one of the most popular science fiction films of the year.

Like most motion picture soundtracks, the album cover is based on the poster. I like the “no humans allowed” sign. It is a very smart graphic that we’re sure to see on t-shirts very soon.

The soundtrack album for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds is scheduled to be released on August 18. Tarantino is known for his unusual soundtracks and this one is no different. It is difficult to imagine a film about Nazis featuring David Bowie’s Cat People and several tracks by Ennio Morricone.

I am somewhat disappointed with the album art. It certainly doesn’t compare to Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. It has a kind of Raiders of the Lost Ark look to it. Perhaps that is intentional. The film seems to be a typical depiction of cartoonish evil Nazis and cornball G.I.s. Obviously, the trailer doesn’t impress me very much either. I won’t be surprised if the Nazis open a golden box and their faces melt off.

The cover for the original motion picture soundtrack for the thriller Orphan is very impactful. I would venture to say that the image of the murderous child used on the album and the movie poster will become iconic. It is that creepy.

A few weeks ago, I did an informal poll about the cover for the Funny People soundtrack album. I asked people to look at the album cover and guess what the movie is about. Most people thought it was about a love triangle, with Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann competing for Adam Sandler’s affections. I guess I can see that. It is a very odd pose — especially for Rogen.

The trailer for Funny People can’t be embedded, so I can’t share here. I will instead post a clip containg the acoustic version of John Lennon’s Watchin’ The Wheels, which is the last track on the album.

1. Great Day - Paul McCartney (2:09)
2. Wires - Coconut Records (2:26)
3. All The King’s Horses - Robert Plant And The Strange Sensation (4:20)
4. Carolina In My Mind (Live) - James Taylor (4:59)
5. Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon (3:28)
6. Real Love (Live) - Adam Sandler (5:06)
7. We (Early Take) - Neil Diamond (4:12)
8. Jesus, Etc. (Live Summer ‘08) - Wilco with Andrew Bird (4:01)
9. George Simmons Soon Will Be Gone - Adam Sandler (2:16)
10. I Am Young - Coconut Records (3:12)
11. Memory (from Cats) - Maude Apatow & Larry Goldings (3:54)
12. Numb As A Statue - Warren Zevon (4:07)
13. Photograph - Ringo Starr (3:59)
14. Watching The Wheels (Acoustic) - John Lennon (3:06)

Here is the album cover and track listing for the Jennifer’s Body soundtrack. The cover is sure to catch the attention of Megan Fox fans. You may have overlooked the hand that is coming out of the desk she’s sitting on. This is very tongue-in-cheek. There are a few funny lines in the trailer, too.

Track Listing

1. Florence + The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
2. Panic At The Disco - New Perspective
3. Hayley Williams - Teenagers
4. Little Boots - New In Town
5. Dashboard Confessional - Finishing School
6. Low Shoulder - Through The Trees
7. Cute Is What We Aim For - Time
8. Screeching Weasel - I Can See Clearly
9. Cobra Starship - Chew Me Up And Spit Me Out
10. All Time Low - Toxic Valentine
11. Black Kids - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
12. White Lies - Death
13. The Sword - Celestial Crown
14. Silversun Pickups - Little Lover’s So Polite
15. Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor