Movies that sing

"Listen….can you hear it?........The music…. I can hear it everywhere: in the wind; in the air; in the light. It’s all around us All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do is… listen."

"Sometimes the world tries to knock it out of you; but I believe in music, the way that some people believe in fairy tales."

- August Rush
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Ok..... so YES..... you can predict where this movie is headed from the the first 5 minutes of this film; the premise is hard-fetched; the sentiment is mighty; however, this movie beats the snot out of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN ( the critically acclaimed movie of the year - and Best Picture for 2008 Academy Awards)

For the musician or just the lover of music, you can not pass the opportunity to watch August Rush (now available on DVD). The songs are good; the arrangements are stellar mixing rock & classical together. It's the emotion of music....the sappy stuff......the stuff most people who are not musicians are too afraid of. It was, my opinion, the best movie of 2007.....next to Ratatouille.

Every once and awhile, a movie will come along and challenge your own dreams and beliefs. August Rush is the latest among other music-oriented offerings to make one forget about the failures and concentrate on the dreams again. The last movie to have this kind of impact was 1995's Mr. Hollands Opus.

Now, certainly, there have been many movies about music or musicians; biographies and historical dramas that have entertained and even inspired. Check these out (notice: not all are family oriented)

La Vie en Rose (2007) -
the story of Edith Piaf , French singing sensation

Ray (2004) - the story of Ray Charles

Walk the Line (2005) -
the story of Johnny and June Cash

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)-
the story of Loretta Lynn

Bird (1988)- the story of Charlie (Bird) Parker
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)- the story of Billie Holiday
Shine (1996) - the story of pianist David Helfgott

and last, but not least........


Amadeus (1983) -
the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart