Jumper
by John Powell
Opens: February 14, 2008

Poor Annie hasn't had much luck at the box office since Revenge of the Sith.  Well, things are looking slightly better with his next film, JUMPER.  At least he has Mace Windu and director Doug Limon (The Bourne Identity) with him on this one.  The second trailer for JUMPER is infinitely more intriguing than the first teaser, but seeing JOHN POWELL's name in the credit list is an even brighter spot. 

The Spiderwick Chronicles
by James Horner
Opens: February 15, 2008

2007 was a very quiet year for the usually busy composer.  James Horner gets things going in 2008 with THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES.  This is yet another children's fantasy book being mined for box office gold.  The film may give Horner the chance to return to some of his early-career magic heard in scores such as THE LAND BEFORE TIME, THE PAGEMASTER or even WILLOW...or perhaps he'll do something completely unexpected!  Come on...there's always hope.

Penelope
by Joby Talbot
Opens: February 19, 2008

One of the hidden gems of 2007 was JOBY TALBOT's work for ARTIC TALE.  The music performed by the small ensemble being lead by piano, woodwinds, and a number of chromatic instruments gave the score a light, even magical feel.  The music used on the official Penelope Movie Site shows that Talbot has pushed this feel into this score even further.  I can't help be reminded of some of Elfman's work and more recently James Michael Dooley's score for PUSHING DAISIES.  The film is about a girl born with a pig's nose and her fight to be accepted as she is perfect territory for such a score.  It may turn out to be a score that features lighthearted, but memorable themes, heartbreaking as well as uplifting moments, so I have no trouble in putting fairly high expectations on this one!

The Counterfeiters
by Marius Ruhland
Opens: February 22, 2008

This film was originally released in 2007, but doesn't make its way to the USA until February 2008.  This looks like it could be a fairly interesting film based a bit of little known, World War II history.  How novel.  The composer, MARIUS RUHLAND, is a German composer who has been involved with, among other films, a couple ILAN ESHKERI projects:  STARDUST and HANNIBAL RISING.  I'm looking for a fairly subdued score here for a small ensemble.  Not much to get too excited about, but we'll see.

Vantage Point
by Atli Örvarsson
Opens: February 22, 2008

You might not recognize the name straight off, but Atli Örvarsson has produced some interesting music in his career.  Having worked with Hans Zimmer et al on such projects like THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLDS END, and THE HOLIDAY, Ovarsson seems primed to deliver some good action/suspense cues for this film. VANTAGE POINT looks like it could be an entertaining ride at the theater this February, so I'm holding out hope for an equally entertaining score from Ovarsson.

Taken
by Nathaniel Mechaly
Opens: February 27, 2008

Is that James Bond 22 starring Liam Neeson?  Sort of looks that way, judging by the poster.  This French flick has next to nothing to do with espionage.  Instead it focuses on a father (Neeson) who's daughter is kidnapped while on a trip to France.  Now, I said "next to nothing." Right?  Well, it turns out Neeson's character is a former spy and will need his old skillset to trackdown his missing daughter.  Now the score is provided by NATHANIEL MECHALY who has done a number of French film scores and television spots as well.  He's pretty much unknown outside of Europe.  I'm not sure what to expect here, so join me in having low expectations with hope for a early-2007 surprise.

The Other Boleyn Girl
by Paul Cantelon
Opens: February 29, 2008

This is one to beware of...the strong trailer music could set us up for some disappointment here.  Adjust your expectations accordingly.  Now with that said this could really be a good flick...and the score just may follow suit. Originally EDWARD SHEARMUR (one of Hollywood's more under-utilized composers) was tied to this project, but instead PAUL CANTELON ended up with the gig.  Not being nearly as familiar with Cantelon's work as I am with Shearmur, I have to drop my level of anticipation on this one by a half-a-notch or so.