Tag Archives: Captain Marvel

Soundtrack Review: Stargirl (season 1) (2020)

WaterTower Music is pleased to announce that the Season 1 soundtrack for DC’s Stargirl is now available on all platforms.

DC’s Stargirl: Season 1 (Original Television Score) features 22 tracks from the debut season of the hit series. Recently wrapping its first season on both The CW and DC UNIVERSE, DC’s Stargirl was recently renewed for a second season exclusively on The CW. Based on the character created by Geoff Johns, DC’s Stargirl features an epic score by the award-winning film and television composer Pinar Toprak, who received her first Primetime Emmy® nomination this year for her work on HBO’s McMillions.

Toprak was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, where she began her classical music education at the age of five. After studying composition and multiple instruments at the conservatory, she moved to Chicago to study jazz, before continuing on to Boston for a degree in film scoring from Berklee College of Music. She then moved to Los Angeles, earned a master’s degree at CSUN in composition at age 22. In addition to DC’s Stargirl, she has composed for major Super Hero sagas like Captain Marvel, and Warner Horizon Scripted Television’s Superman prequel series Krypton. She also scored HBO’s six-part docuseries McMillions, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and earned her a 2020 Emmy® nomination. In addition, she has written music for Epic Games’ massively popular online video game Fortnite.

Regarding season 1 of Stargirl, composer Pinar Toprak had the following to say:

“I’m a huge fan of show creator Geoff Johns and everything he’s done,” remarked Toprak. “When we met, the way he talked about Courtney, the character, and his vision for DC’s Stargirl really touched my heart. Obviously, I love this genre to begin with, so it was a no-brainer to compose the score. Working with Geoff was just one of the best experiences of my career, to be honest.”

From a purely musical standpoint (I have yet to see the actual show), I love Stargirl. I loved it even before I heard it because I knew that Pinar Toprak would be scoring the series, and I’m a big fan of her work on Krypton (an underrated series with a severely underrated soundtrack and, of course, Captain Marvel. And the music of Stargirl is just as amazing as her previous works in the genre. Pinar Toprak has this amazing ability, that I first noticed in Krypton’s first season soundtrack, to take a television series and give it a “big screen” feel with the powerful themes she creates. Such is the case with Stargirl. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear this was a movie soundtrack, and that’s not a bad thing. I feel like any work in the superhero genre, be it film or television, should have a certain sound to it. You almost need that brassy, heroic sound to chart the adventures of the fledgling heroine (there are exceptions of course, the short-lived Constantine and Swamp Thing come to mind).

On a side note, speaking of Krypton, it may be my imagination but a few of the tracks in Stargirl sound similar to that earlier show. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as any string of works by the same composer are bound to sound similar in certain areas. I just find it interesting that Krypton (a series based on Superman’s home planet), and Stargirl (another DC comics series) have a similar sound.

Another detail I really enjoyed about the soundtrack of Stargirl is its almost symphonic quality. That is to say, the main theme that Pinar Toprak introduces at the beginning of the soundtrack album recurs throughout, but in slightly different ways, exactly as it would be if this music were in a symphony played in the concert hall. I feel like the superhero genre is ideally suited to symphonic music (similar to the Star Wars films), and listening to this great music just reinforces how well the two fit together.

I highly recommend checking out the soundtrack for Stargirl’s first season. It’s a stirring soundtrack from a great composer and one that any fan of superhero music should check out. On one final note, I’ve seen Stargirl get some mixed reviews here and there. Whatever your thoughts are on the series itself, don’t let that stop you from checking out the soundtrack. There’s a world of difference between hearing a soundtrack during the actual show and listening to the music with no distractions. So please, give the soundtrack a chance, you won’t regret it.

Let me know what you think about the soundtrack for Stargirl season 1 and have a great day!

My Thoughts on: Captain Marvel (2019)

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I know I’m 7 months late to the party but damn Captain Marvel was awesome!

Due to watching Avengers: Endgame earlier this year, I was already somewhat acquainted with Captain Marvel and her awesome powers, but I’d yet to see her origins explained. Now that I’ve finally seen it, I feel like a bit of a goof for avoiding the film for so long, because it really is a brilliant film.

Normally, I avoid origin films like the plague, because most of them have that “awkward phase” when the hero is just learning how to deal with their powers or situation (or a combination of both) and I find it all very difficult to watch. However, Captain Marvel takes the same road that Black Panther did last year: the awkward phase is skipped over entirely, with Carol’s origins explained in flashback form. This is a format I really like for origin films, because the awkward moment I was afraid of never arrived.

And then there was the humor, which I didn’t see coming at all! Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson are incredibly funny when put together, and it makes me want to see more. All throughout the film are little funny moments that make you want to smile, and it’s yet another reason why I love this film. The other pairing that I found fascinating to watch was the interplay between Carol/Vers and Yon-Rogg. First of all, Jude Law is brilliant in that role. Second, I’m still trying to figure that guy out. I’ve been jumping back and forth in my opinion of Yon-Rogg since last night. While I initially thought he was just Carol’s well-meaning mentor, I quickly thought he was her mortal enemy the whole time. But then I thought about it, I mean really thought about it, and now I think it’s a lot more complicated than that. I think, on some level, Yon-Rogg does genuinely care about Vers/Carol, because at times he seemed genuinely conflicted. Considering he leaves the film very much alive, I imagine that situation will be resolved in Captain Marvel 2.

Also, on a quick side note, that little plot twist regarding the Kree and the Skrulls (and which ones are the bad guys) just about blew my mind. I did not see that coming, I really didn’t.

But I think what I loved most in Captain Marvel was the evolution of Carol throughout the story. She started as a would-be Kree warrior struggling to fit in, and grows into this absolute badass who realizes she doesn’t have to justify her existence to anyone and the moment she came to that realization had me in tears because it was just so beautiful.

I’m so happy I finally made the decision to watch Captain Marvel, it is by far one of the best films in the MCU, and in my mind it also firmly cements Captain Marvel as one of my favorite Marvel superheroes. I can’t wait to see Carol’s story continue in the sequel (whenever it arrives). Let me know what you thought about Captain Marvel in the comments below and have a great day!

Soundtrack Review: Krypton (season 1)

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The soundtrack for season 1 of Krypton is now available, having been released on March 8th to coincide with the season 2 premiere. The LP will release on Red/Orange Galaxy vinyl on April 13th for Record Store Day. The album features one of the hottest developing talents within the composing world for TV, Film and Games, Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel, Justice League).

Toprak’s music for Syfy’s Superman prequel, Krypton, follows her score on the Fortnite video game; the most widely played new game in 2018. An average of 8.3 million people were playing Fortnite concurrently in November alone. After her incredible contributions of additional music to DC’s Justice League, Pinar Toprak was chosen to compose the highly anticipated Marvel movie, Captain Marvel. The first female composer to score a major comic book movie, Toprak continues to prove herself as majestic as the superheroes her music exalts.

The score itself is beautiful and I highly recommend picking it up. Toprak balances a line between science-fiction edginess and orchestral heights. More and more often television series have scores that are equal to film scores and this shows here in the score for Krypton. I particularly liked the tracks “Seeing Kandor for the First Time” and “Welcome to the Fortress.”

Centuries before Truth, Justice and the American Way, the grandfather of Superman, Seg-El, must redeem his family’s honor in DC and SyFy hit television series KRYPTON. With a cosmic evil reaching through time to destroy the House of El before the rise of its heroic scion, can the forbearer of steel prevent the destruction of much more than just his family or is more than just the planet doomed. KRYPTON is executive produced by David S. Goyer (MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE and THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy).

Track listing:

1. Seeing Kandor For The First Time (00:50)
2. The Death Of Val El (1:34)
3. Bar Fight (2:41)
4. Welcome To The Fortress (2:18)
5. Your Grandson’s Cape (3:41)
6. Brainiac’s Peeking Through Rhom (2:26)
7. Kem Sweet Talks Ona (1:35)
8. Street People (1:15)
9. Seg Escapes (1:23)
10. Ona Says A Prayer (2:48)
11. Seg In The Wastelands (00:39)
12. Lyta Meditates* (1:13)
13. A Test Of Sibling* (2:12)
14. Let The Trial Begin* (4:34)
15. Meant To Save Superman (00:44)
16. Jayna Shoots The Voice (1:43)
17. Dev Awakes (00:45)
18. Sigil Means Hope (1:45)
19. Bye Bye Brainiac* (7:43)