5 films with great music

It's January: it's cold, it's bleak and it's pretty miserable. What does this mean then? Well this is the time of year that I like to call "Oscar season", everyone is going out to the cinemas to see the latest films that critics have been raving about. Some of this years examples include: The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle. All of this meant that I decided to make a list of some of my favourite music from films that I've seen (some old films and some new ones too). These films aren't necessarily my favourite ones but I definitely enjoyed all of them and I still enjoy them, even to this day.

5. All Star by Smash Mouth in Shrek- You know, the one with the opening scene where Shrek does various things in his swamp including farting in a mud bath, AHAHAHA SO FUNNY (well it was funny back when I was 7 years old). Anyway this song was used in pretty much every film from the late nineties/early noughties. Culprits who played this song included: Rat Race, Inspector Gadget and wait for this one (because it's hilarious)... Digimon: The Movie. Wow, Now Digimon: The Movie is funny because it was the most blatant rip off of Pokemon back in the day. I'm losing track again, where was I? Oh yeah, the use of All Star was the most memorable in Shrek though because the film was one of the most successful animated films ever. It earned millions at the box office and spawned a few sequels too, some good and some bad. Furthermore, ask anyone who was born from 1990-1996 to sing you this song and they'll probably be able to sing every lyric to you. That's how memorable the song was.

4. The whole soundtrack from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist- This cutesy rom com follows two young people as they travel through New York to find a secret venue where their favourite band are playing. The band, entitled "Where's Fluffy?", are fictional though and they only exist in the film and not in real life. Through out the film, Nick and Norah have to overcome several awkward encounters in order to realise their feelings for each other Whilst all of this going on, we have this fantastic soundtrack that is full of romanticism and hope (and indie bands). Also, most of the film is shot at night too. Therefore, this nice touch adds more of a dreamy feel to the cool indie pop music.  Not only that but pretty much all of the artists from the soundtrack are actually from New York. This means that the soundtrack goes hand in hand (sorry for the pun) with the film brilliantly. A perfect match if you ask me (oh god, so sorry once again everyone!).

3. The whole soundtrack from 500 Days of Summer- Another rom com for you folks! Yes, this non linear rom com tells us the key events from Tom and Summer's odd dysfunctional relationship. He likes her, she doesn't want a relationship and it all gets rather complicated. All the while we have a range of artists from different eras having their songs played in the background. Some of the songs are used for comic effect whilst others are used for more emotional moments. One paticular highlight involves Tom dancing to Hall & Oates "You Make My Dreams" after he sleeps with Summer for the first time. The scene mentioned pretty much goes from very standard to crazily eccentric in side splitting way. More recent artists such as Regina Spektor, Wolfmother and The Temper Trap were also used for the film's soundtrack. All in all, this is soundtrack that has a lot of variety and this is what makes it so great to listen to.

2. The whole soundtrack from Drive- This dark art house film is about a man who is a stunt driver by day and a get away driver by night. He then meets a women who's husband is involved with troublesome gangs so he decides to protect her (as you do!). The film is quite violent at times and it also has an eerie night time feel where the only lights are those tacky looking neon coloured ones, a la Las Vegas. What better to soundtrack this then than with synth driven songs that drip style from every pore. Check out "A Real Hero (feat Electric Youth)" by college and all will become clear. The film just oozes style in terms of everything really: the setting, the acting, the directing and most importantly, the music. Without the music the film just wouldn't work. It's a vital ingredient in the equation of the film and it deserves so much credit. That's why I've put it at number 2 in my top 5 list.

1. The whole soundtrack from Pulp Fiction-

Everyone all over the world, from America to Australia has seen this beloved crime thriller classic. It was Quentin Tarantino's big time hit that launched him into the realms of directing superstardom. Not only that, but his controversial yet distinctive directing style became so well known in popular culture that people started to call them "Tarantinoisms". So what helped this nineties classic to become so successful? Why an awesome soundtrack of course. The film is set in the seventies so therefore most of the music is from this era (except for the odd exception). Throw this in with some sharp tongued dialogue and you've got yourself a real winner. How can anyone forget that classic scene where Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega do some cheesy dancing to Chuck Berry's "You Can Never Tell". Truly one of the best soundtracks of all time in my opinion and I'm sure many others would agree. Now if you'll if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch more films now. Bye!