American Beauty

February 27th, 2009 Posted in Life, Movies
No Comments

american_beauty Since we just experienced the Oscars, it got me to thinking of the Best Picture winner from 10 years ago (1999), American Beauty. I remember not liking it much the first time I saw it. I thought it was so violent and so negative and disturbing. However, after time passed and I let it settle in and thought about it some more, it started to appeal to me more. I watched it again and sure enough I loved it. There’s just so much more to it than what you see at first. Much like the trailer indicated, “Look closer” and you will see the beauty.

Yes, the violence and the disturbing elements are still there like the dysfunctional marriage and bad parenting but there’s a great deal of painful truths running throughout the story. The depiction of suburban life and corporate america are also unsettling and borderline insulting (especially coming from a British director) but once again it only hurts because there are germs of truth to it all. After a decade since its release, I firmly believe American Beauty deserved to win Best Picture.

Here’s the trailer with Thomas Newman’s wonderful music

Here’s the famous rose petal scene where the lead characters says
”It’s the weirdest thing. It feels like I’ve been in a coma for 20 years and I’m just now waking up.”

Here’s the unforgettable ending that sealed the Oscar for the Best Picture
Don’t watch it if you’ve never seen the movie and plan to watch it.

Here’s Thomas Newman’s Theme

Share
Read More

Phenomenon

May 6th, 2008 Posted in Movies
No Comments


One of the most underrated movies has to be “Phenomenon” starring John Travolta. It is one of my all-time favorites. There are so many things that I love about this movie. The performances by everyone in the cast, especially Travolta and Forest Whitaker. Robert Duval was also amazing as the doctor. I loved this story from Gerald Di Pego and the direction from John Turteltaub who did another favorite of mine the year before with “While You Were Sleeping” (1995) starring a young Sandra Bullock.

The music was another incredible part of the movie. It’s no coincidence that the composer was Thomas Newman, once again. You will see many of my favorite movies on here will have soundtracks by Mr. Newman. He’s like our generation’s Mozart. The running theme throughout the movie whenever John stares at the trees swaying in the breeze are some of my favorite scenes ever. They are mesmerizing and so soothing. Even after all these years, I still catch myself doing the same thing myself every once in a while on a beautiful way.  I love the way John’s character describes this feeling to his lady love (Kyra Sedgwick, who was also precious), comparing it to the feeling a parent has when comforting a baby in their arms. Here’s the scene which also includes the funny line when she asks “Were you expecting to get lucky?” and he replies “Only hoping”.  This video then continues to the finale of the movie so don’t watch if you plan to see it for the first time. It’s a powerful ending, so sad and then so joyful.

There’s also another unforgettable scene between the two of them that is breath-taking. He asks her, “Will you love me the rest of my life?” and she replies, “No. I’m going to love you the rest of mine” Amazing scene once you know the context of the situation. It made me gasp. I also liked the line just before that one when Lace says “I tried so hard not to love you” and George asks “How’d you do?” and she replies “TERRIBLE!”  Here’s that whole wonderful scene

Here’s a poem I wrote that was inspired by the movie, especially the scenes with the trees dancing in the wind to Thomas Newman’s beautiful theme. I call it “The Tops of Trees“. (here’s the MP3 file).

Here are some scenes from the movie:

The sweet shaving scene

Also worthy of note is that Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” came from this movie and its glorious soundtrack! It was a major number one hit and a perfect way to end the movie.

Share
, , ,
Read More

Hope is a good thing

February 22nd, 2008 Posted in Movies
No Comments

shawshankgif

Even though the Shawshank Redemption came out in 1994, it still remains ever present for me. Yes, the movie and the performances were incredible, but the music and the way it enhanced every scene created a deeply moving and memorable experience for me. Thomas Newman is my favorite composer today and this was his greatest achievement. Listen carefully to the subtly when a scene needs it or the majestic exuberance when that’s what is needed. He is a master and this movie was his opera.

The most powerful theme of the movie is HOPE. It’s what keeps the main character alive and prevents him from going insane. It’s like a modern parable of Job from the bible who endured all kinds of pain and anguish but never lost faith or hope. It is truly an inspirational experience and a must see movie, especially when we’re feeling a little lost or hopeless in life. This movie will lift your spirits without question.

Here are several magnificent scenes along with inspirational composition by Thomas Newman from Shawshank:

Here’s the entire movie in 8 parts.

Share
, ,
Read More