Category Archives: song of the day

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Song of the Day #2,009: ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’ – David Tomlinson

saving_mr_banksThis year, I’ve been startled by the number of award-season movies based on real-life events.

Here’s a sampling off the top of my head: Captain Phillips, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Philomena, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club, Lone Survivor and 12 Years a Slave.

Some of these are more faithful to their source material than others, and all have been criticized to at least some degree for their lack of fidelity. The words “based on a true story” — or worse, “inspired by a true story” — have come to signify code for “complete rewrite of history.”

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Song of the Day #2,008: ‘Roll Jordan Roll’ – Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cast

12_years_a_slave12 Years a Slave is the most devastating film of 2013, pretty much by default.

Any movie that takes an unflinching look at the horrors of slavery (and not many have) will be painful to watch, and this one certainly is.

I was prepared to be moved by the film on that level but I was not prepared to be so completely blown away by the filmmaking.

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Song of the Day #2,007: ‘Wonderful Tonight’ – Eric Clapton

captain_phillipsThis musical movie moment is a bit of a stretch — the song plays for just a bit and very much in the background — but I wanted an excuse to sing the praises of Captain Phillips, so please cut me some slack.

This film rocketed to my top five based on three tried-and-true moviegoing theories, which I will detail below.

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Song of the Day #2,006: ‘Let it Go’ – Idina Menzel

frozenMy extreme negative reaction to Frances Ha suggests that I might be getting too old for certain kinds of movies.

But apparently there is no age restriction when it comes to loving animated Disney musicals.

Frozen, the latest Walt Disney Animation release, follows closely in the footsteps of 2010’s excellent Tangled in terms of tone and design, but I think I liked this one even more.

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