Favourite soundtracks & film scores

I read this story as a kid and I loved it. So much that even now after all these years, I still remember it. That's the reason why I decided to watch and I'm really glad I did.

This is a real gem of a movie. Unappreciated and underrated. And the music is among the most breathtakingly beautiful I've ever heard in a movie. There's no way I'm not getting my hands on the soundtrack. To top it all off, there's Daniel Day-Lewis who happens to be one of my favourite actors. The chemistry between Daniel and Madeleine is quite amazing. She really is gorgeous in here as well as the other girl. Credits due to the other's in the cast as well, even though the acting wasn't always of the highest standards.

I'm really glad they made a movie worthy of the original book. This certainly is one of the greatest stories ever told on film.

Trying to find flaws in a film like this is a waste of time. It still is and will always be one of the greatest films ever made.

The score composed by James Horner is breathtaking and totally worthy of a film as epic as this.

One of the greatest movies of all time. Truly brilliant in every aspect. Phenomenal performance by Russel Crowe and joaquin Phoenix. And you've gotta give credits to the score composed by Hans Zimmer. A true masterpiece. The track "Now we are free" (performed by Lisa Gerrard) at the end will probably make most people cry. You can never praise this movie enough.

The score composed by Howard Shore is one of the finest ever and well fitting for a film as magnificent as this. Everything about this as well as the other two films in this trilogy is absolutely perfect.

12 May 2009 (extended edition)
# - theatrical cut also watched

Shigeru Umebayashi's soundtrack is certainly the highlight here except for Zhang Ziyi's phenomenal perfomance and a few amazing scenes like the the echo game for example, which was amazing as hell. Ziyi deserves a nod here for her portrayal of the blind girl which was truly mesmerising. The film has it's flaws though like some way too unrealistic fight scnenes and below par acting and visuals in some scenes. But at the end of it all, the positives far outweigh the negatives. So hats off to Zhang Yimou for directing another memorable and brilliant movie.

One of the most beautiful and awe isnpiring films I've watched recently. Witness the true story of one guys fight against materialism and his dedication to fulfill a purpose.

Never thought much of Emile Hirsch but he does rather well here and I'm begining to like Kristen Stewart. She looks like she has the potential to become a pretty good actress.

Five stars from me for for the cinematography as well as Eddie Vedder's (of Pearl Jam) soundtrack which was stunning.

Speaking of the real thing, I admire the guy's courage and his wild spirit, but what he did almost qualifies as suicide.

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian: "...When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn't even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide."

But to take anything away from this film for that would be most unfair.

The wuxia genre at it's mesmerising best. One of the greatest Asian films ever made and I really really love it. Yun-Fat Chow, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh delivers excellent performances and Tan Dun's well crafted score was a bonus. This is a real gem of a film, with a beautiful plot and cinematography as well as the graceful on screen choreography and martial arts scenes. Watch it and you'll understand why this is a true timeless masterpiece.

Made in just over 17 days with a shoestring budget of 160K, shot mostly in real time utilizing natural lighting, improvised dialogue and with no professional actors whatsoever, this is truly a work of art which is beautiful, inspirational, and a joy to watch at the same time. Certainly well worth the acclaim and appraise it mustered at the Sundance and anywhere else. Love the duet they sing at the instrument shop titled "Falling Slowly" (nominated for an academy) and the one they record at the studio which by the way is titled "When Your Mind's Made Up". The soundtrack has even managed to notch two grammy nominations on top of the academy nomination. But it's not the music that makes this film special to me, it's the moving and humble depiction of how passionate both these musicians were and how much they loved doing what they did.

The only negatives probably were the bad accents of both the leads which were very evident when they spoke but didn't seem to have any effect on the singing at all and the acting wasn't of the highest standards which is understandable considering none of them were trained or professional actors.

Richard Roeper (of Ebert & Roeper show) referring to the film's recording studio scene: "More inspirational and uplifting than almost any number of Dreamgirls or
Chicago or any of those multi-zillion dollar musical showstopping films. In its own way, it will blow you away."

So true. A must watch for any one who appreciates music as a form of art.

Could've been so much better. Clive Owen is perhaps not the best choice for this role I think. The soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer was quite good though.

"Death is the road to awe."

Strangely beautiful and fascinating. One of the best films I've ever watched and I really mean it. The fact that I understood much of the symbolism depicted in the film - from the ancient Mayan cultures, the Spanish exploitation of their lands for riches and the myths about the tree of life - helped quite a lot I guess. Otherwise there's chances that you might feel a little bit overwhelmed and find it difficult to comprehend the story. Since I had pre existing general knowledge about the background behind the side stories, it was quite easy for me to fit in all the pieces and make some sense out of it. But there's no doubt that every one who's watched this will have his/her own explanation and to me it doesn't really matter since I loved it the way I interpreted it. Infact it's the very reason why this is such a great film. To make a film with so much meaning in itself, that ain't going to be an easy job by any means.

Darren Aronofsky is a genius and this film another one of his masterpieces. Beautiful music by the very talented composer that is Clint Mansell, brilliant acting from the likes of Hugh Jackman (who did a really impressive job in what must've been a difficult role), Rachel Weisz & Ellen Burstyn coupled with stunning visuals and an amazing storyline. The film had it all and I absolutely adore it.

Can't wait to get this on HD and watch it all again. You can bet I'm gonna get the director's cut as soon as it get's released as well. I rarely watch a film more than once but this, so far I've failed to get this out of my head. I've got my hands on the soundtrack as well and I'm loving it as much as the film. The only thing I regret is not having watched this at a cinema. That would've been quite an entrancing experience.

"Together we will live forever."

I'm left speechless after watching this one. It scared the shit outta me. No, it's not a horror flick, but it scared me coz it felt so realistic. And I kept on thinking how harsh and fucked up reality could be sometimes.

Combined with the phenomenal acting, the captivatingly psychdelic music, the haunting and heartbreaking story and the powerful message it delivers here, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen for sure.

Obsessions are a dangerous game to play. And sometimes, when you get addicted to a thing, there's no turning back. If there's one movie I'd recommend everyone in this world to see, this is probably it.

Absolutely fucking incredible cinematic experience. I loved every second of it. If ever you needed any proof as to how good cinema can be, this would do it nicely.

The music, the writing, the camera work, the acting, it was all perfect in a way. Audrey Tautou is such an amazing actress and Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a genius. Seriously, I'm still in awe.

19 August 2008

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."

You couldn't guess where this was heading if you life depended on it. It just throws in surprise after surprise at you. It's disturbing ofcourse and you could definitely use the word 'wierd' as well here but the fact is, above all it's a fucking good film. Absolutely amazing I must say. One of the finest offerings from Asian cinema.

ps. That Octopus scene was gut wrenching. I've seen people do that before on tv but never such a big one.

11 August 2008

As far as American classics go, this one's among the greatest of all time. Don't think I need to say anymore.

7 September 2008

Well worth the hype. It's so good that you almost forget it's an animated film.

24 August 2008

The soundtrack really adds so much to this adrenaline rush of a film. Sean Connery and Ed Harris more than makes up for Nicholas Cage's corny acting. I love this film.

1 October 2008

This film's got soul so to speak of. The whole film along with the guitar jam at the end featuring Steve Vai makes this a delicious treat for any guitar lover or music lover for that matter.

Not to be confused with the Britney Spears film with the same title.

8 October 2008

Rocco: Fuckin'- What the fuckin'. Fuck. Who the fuck fucked this fucking... How did you two fucking fucks...
Rocco: Fuck!
Connor: Well, that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word.

Bloody fuckin good entertainment!. The music puts you in a mood for some high octane action and thats exactly what the film delivers. I love this stuff.

Connor, Murphy, Il Duce: And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be.
Il Duce: In nomine Patri.
Connor: Et Fili.
Murphy: Spiritus Sancti.

10 October 2008

Trippy, violent and chaotic as hell but amidst all the mayhem, there's a great love story and sadly, some people just don't get the satire or the film itself.

Originally written by Tarantino but Oliver Stone modified the script to an extent and Tarantino ended up not really appreciating the outcome but I think this film is phenomenal in a lot of aspects includng the acting, the cinematography and the soundtrack to name a few.Absolutely loved the experience.

20 october 2008

Stylized action flicks don't get any better than this. The script is amazing and some of the characters are just brilliant. Top notch film making from Guy Richie who's easily become one of my new favourites.

25 October 2008

A good story with a beautiful message. Some breathtaking landscapes and scenery. One of the finest scores ever in a film and I really mean that. One of the very few mainstream films which (at the time of it's release) gave a lot of depth and character to the Native Americans, which I as someone who's obsessed with ancient cultures and the likes really appreciate.

Kevin Costner may not be a great director and he's not exactly impressive as an actor either, but this film has a lot in it that appeals to me. Fans of Scorsese and Goodfellas in particular are just pissed that this won the Oscar. Personally I don't think this film is Oscar material anyway but maybe they gave it for a change, but whatever it is, this is certainly is worth praising. Yes it has it's many flaws but it has it's moments as well.

28 October 2008

Pure cinematic bliss. An absolutely breathtaking experience that left me speechless.

An hd version was released on blueray quite recently (28th October 2008) and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Also a sequel titled 'Samsara' is in production (likely to be out in 2009) and I'm really looking forward to that as well.

1 November 2008

The whole idea of mythical floating landscapes was quite incredible and the quality of animation is pretty amazing. It's rather cute as well and I absolutely loved the score. There are actually two versions of the film, an English and a French version. I think the English version is superior coz it has a better voice cast. If only the script was better! This is still my favourite animated flick of 2008 apart from Wall-E and the sad thing is this is hugely underrated.

If you're looking for the music from that one particular breathtaking scene somewhere around the last quarter of the film, it's from a Japanese band called Jalan Jalan who performs Indonesian ethnic music, hence the Indonesian band name. They make mostly ambient / chillout pieces. The song is titled Lotus and comes from an album titled Bali.

20 November 2008

6 December 2008

On it's own it's a brilliant film but City of God really is on a league of it's own if you compare the two. Though it's not fair to compare, it's impossible not to. The themes are similar in way and some of the actors are the same but it's not a sequel in any other way even though it's marketed as one.

I've yet to see the tv series based on this and from what I've heard it's quite good so I think I'll try getting my hands on it.

13 January 2009

I was pretty sceptical about this at first considering it's a film about the Sabra and Shatila Massacre from an Israeli point of view. Was expecting major propaganda but it turns out it's more of an anti war flick (talk about good timing!) and it doesn't try too much to lay the blame on anyone. But at the end though, my initial thoughts were proved right in a way coz apart from Ariel Sharon, every other Israeli was portrayed as naive and having no clue at all even though they themselves helped the Lebanese Christian Phalangist army massacre over 3500 Palestinian refugees, most of 'em helpless kids, women and elderly.

Still, it's a powerful war film that will probably move most to tears. The story is told as a memoir from the director who after an encounter with an old friend starts having nightmares about his involvement in the whole thing and decides to take a stroll down the memory lane. The result is a harrowing tale of war and the toll it takes. Add to that a brilliant score and some of the best animation ever and it really is a film worthy of praise. At the end of the day though, one must wonder, will we ever learn from the past. Doesn't seem like so given the current situation in the region.

21 January 2009

A real gem of a film from Germany. Ulrich Mühe (1953-2007, RIP) with one of my all time favourite performances in a film that is just wonderful in so many ways. Quite easily a firm favourite of mine and the same goes for the soundtrack.

8 February 2009

You can't hope for a better ending to a film given it's content. I absolutely loved this film. It's so underrated.

17 February 2009

Don't have much to say other than the fact it's a very simple yet sweet film with some lovely music.

12 April 2009

If you were expecting a generic scifi action flick after seeing the posters or the trailers, you can't be more wrong. This here is a film that deserves so much more. Easily one of my favourite scifi films and Nyman's score is really a thing of beauty. Makes a great film special.

"You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back."

17 April 2009

16 April 2009

The cinematography was just so good.

24 May 2009

Breathtaking cinematography and a score that is as good. The film is beautiful to watch but the ending left me a bit disappointed.

30 June 2009

My second Shane Meadows film. It turned out to be a top notch film with a great story and an amazing soundtrack.

3 July 2009

My favourite Wong Kar Wai film.

7 July 2009

A Werner Herzog masterpiece.

14 July 2009