20 October 2012

Top 5 Piano Songs In Movies

Check out the "sequel" to this list: Another 5 Great Piano Songs in Movies

y favorite piano songs written for movies. It was quite hard to put them in order but I would say that nr. 1 and 2 are clear favorites.

#5. Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - Japan/Goodbye
from Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)


The melody from "Goodbye" starts at 1:38 in "Japan" but with a faster pace and some different notes, which to me sounds better.

#4. Yann Tiersen - Le Moulin
from Amélie (2001)



#3. Michael Nyman - The Sacrifice/The Heart Asks Pleasure First
from The Piano (1993)


A repeated melody throughout the movie and The Sacrifice is the version I like most.


#2. Clint Mansell - Together We Will Live Forever
from The Fountain (2006)



#1. Michael Nyman - Big My Secret
from The Piano (1993)




For those who're interested, I've uploaded some piano tutorials to Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/trackmarked/
As soon as I learn how to play these five I will try to make tutorials for them too.

12 October 2012

Top 5 Trees In Movies

Usually, trees in movies are just trees, but sometimes they're more than just a tree, they're a character, a symbol or simply an extremely usable object. They might have an extraordinary ability, be incredibly beautiful or just be of great meaning to the characters or the viewers. This is my list of the  five greatest movie trees.

#5. Grandmother Willow 
from Pocahontas (1995)

The tree that gives pocahonthas and her fans necessary advice about life.  
It's a long time since I heard her voice, but I'll definitely be hearing her again soon!

#4. Treebeard

This ent has the best voice in the world of trees and he's also an important fighter on the good side.

#3. The Tree of Life
from The Fountain (2006)

The tree that gives life, though maybe a little too much of it. Extremely beautiful.

#2. Home Tree
from Avatar (2009)

An extremely powerful tree that I would be happy to keep in my backyard! Or simply live in.

#1. The Swimming Tree
from Pippi Longstocking (1969)

Maybe the least beautiful tree on the list, but this is a real tree that exists or existed somewhere in real life. It has always been a dream for me to play in a tree like this, just like Pippi and her friends does.

Please Comment: How would your top 5 trees list look like?



09 October 2012

Seen in September

Top 5 Movies Seen in September


#5. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)


A really good film about the famous escape from alcatraz. It's kind of a straight forward retelling of a true event, which for me is just the way it should be told. If not for anything else, watch it to learn the story about the escape. Or watch it because Clint Eastwood is great.

#4. Network (1976)


I had put off this movie for a long time, because I thought it would be a super-serious conspiracy film, which I'm not that fond of. I was surprised to find that it was such a fun and unique movie.

#3. Cinderella Man (2005)


Cinderella Man is a depression era set boxing movie, which are two elements I almost always enjoy. Watch this when you're feeling bored with your work, it may make you appreciate it more for a day or two (before you forget about it again as humans tend to do).


Encounters at the End of the World is a documentary about basically anything going on in Antarctica. It's about the animals, nature and work, but mostly about the people living there. Everybody has their own reasons for being there, but many of them seem to have in common that they wanted to "get away" or simply go for an adventure. A really enjoyable documentary which is made even better by  Werner Herzog's distinctive way of narrating it.

#1. The Last King of Scotland (2006)


Even though Idi Amin was a terrible person, I'm sure he was also very funny, like Forest Whitaker in this movie. I assume one has to be very charismatic to become a dictator, which in this movie is very well displayed.



My ratings in September: