I never really like compiling lists of the year’s best but at the same time it’s hard NOT to revisit at least a few things that really left an impact over the last 365 days. One thing that comes to mind right away is Under The Skin. Director Johnathan Glazer’s quiet, pensive, yet masterful science fiction film resonated with me down to the core. One of the big reasons for this is Mica Levi’s accompanying soundtrack. Perhaps one of the best science fiction, if not film soundtracks to come out in years, the music was absolutely essential to creating the atmosphere and mood of the film. Parts of it were recorded in a giant shipping container and the percussion and strings were eerie and aggressive at the same time. Scarlett Johansson played a beautifully terrifying alien that should really be every man’s worst nightmare. Along with numerous music videos and commercials, Glazer has put together three great films, with Under The Skin being his best one yet. The use of soundtracks also is been lost in science fiction and horror films throughout the years but this brought marriage back in a big way. For both the movie and the soundtrack, this was easily one of my favorite projects of the year.

-JRS