Saccharine movies. You know the kind. The conclusion is foregone and you await the inevitable and unlikely twists and turns, improbable coincidences and plot devices, that will eventually produce the results that you expected because you have seen this type of film a hundred times before. August Rush is that type of film. As the film unwinds you can sit back and witness as many as a dozen contrived coincidences, designed wholly to play on the heartstrings of your emotion as the ending you predicted unfolds before your eyes.
The great thing about August Rush is, that you don’t care that you’re being played like an instrument, in fact you welcome the experience.
I am just the sort of hopeless romantic who has no problem standing up and saying that I loved this film. Was it implausible? Certainly! Was the ending a familiar one? Most definitely! As with any good journey, however, the joy was not in the arrival, but in the getting there. That is where August Rush succeeds. The film was just the type of feel-good sugary sweet affair that one would expect for the holiday season. Unfortunately not every holiday season produces a real winner like this. From start to finish I was swept up in the story of a young man searching for the parents he knew were out there. Adding an extra level of delight to this film was the musical storyline and all that it entailed.
First August is a prodigy, the type of person who hears music all around him in the ebb and flow of everyday life. Second, August believes this music is his link to his parents who, for reasons unknown to him, placed him in an orphanage. It is this link between music, the world around us, and each other that is explored so sweetly in this film.
One of the things that I particularly enjoyed was the way that the audience is allowed to listen in on the music that August hears. From a sound design standpoint it was brilliantly done. I have no hope of describing it, it is something that needs to be experienced. The music in this film was also incredible, a mix of classical and modern music that works and works very well. I am especially fond of skilled guitarists, and this film was full of amazing acoustic guitar moments. I could have closed my eyes and just listened to the music of this film and been fully and completely satisfied.
There is however, more than just the music. August Rush is, as I mentioned, designed to play upon your emotions, and the cast they chose for this film did an excellent job of doing just that. So much in this film is communicated through looks, and Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers have the perfect eyes to communicate with. They had the sad eye thing going on loud and strong throughout the movie. Freddie Highmore was also incredible. The three of them did such a great job conveying their connection and the pain of being disconnected through their performances. Robin Williams, in a role that surprised me (I’ll say no more) was terrific. Beyond the main cast, however, were a number of smaller roles that were filled with strong performances. I was quite amazed at how many characters had an impact on this story and I was really pleased with the choices the casting director made.
I cannot really say more without giving anything away. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for a movie that yes, is predictable, but is so in just the way you want it to be, then you simply must see August Rush. It is a beautiful movie that carries you along with amazing music and heartfelt performances. it is well worth seeing in the theatre with ones that you love.
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Given that this past weekend was the long Thanksgiving weekend, I can not let this opportunity pass without expressing my gratitude to everyone who made my birthday so special this year. I had such an enjoyable time that I may just have to turn 39 again next year! All of you who posted well wishes on my birthday post get the first thanks! You made me smile over and over throughout the weekend and I appreciate you all so much.
For those who gave me gifts, you know who you are and individual ‘thank you’s’ are on the way, but I wanted to at least share some images of the things I was blessed with by way of thanks and also because I know how much we book lovers love our book porn. So, in no particular order, here we go:
Absolute Sandman Vol:2 and Spectrum Vol:1. Needless to say my heart was bursting when I got these. I cannot wait to open and enjoy them. There is no doubt some Friday Favorites inspiration will come from these.
The Alchemyst. I had seen this book previously in the bookstore. It had caught my eye because of the textures and colors of the cover. Reading the inside cover blurb has me very excited about this one.
I think I have always been a fan of interesting architectural elements, especially doors. I have become even more of a fan since I first read Neverwhere and doors, and Lady Door, played such a big part in the story. This calendar is so perfect. I also plan to savor the Belgian chocolates. And the Toff!!! Coincidentally enough I was just thinking of the Toff, one of my favorite sleuths from my younger years, the night before I opened this as a possible “title of a book with a first name in it” for Annie’s What’s in a Name Challenge. When I opened up this present and saw that it not only was a Toff book, but one I haven’t read or even heard of, I was thrilled!
Sometime over the course of the past year I read some Mike Resnick short stories somewhere and instantly went and added this book to my Amazon list. It has a great Martinierre cover and I hope to get to some of the more sci-fi-ish short stories for The Sci-Fi Experience.
I started listening to Neverwhere on audio the day I opened this. I knew this was coming out months ago have been in real anticipation for its arrival. This is the ‘author’s preferred text’ and I cannot wait to see if I notice any of the additions to the story. I am unsure if anything Gaimainish can be any better than to have Neil reading my favorite of his stories to me!
Movies, movies. I had the privilege of seeing Night Watch in the theatre, but when Day Watch as released it lasted all of one week before disappearing from the city. Cretins! Now at last I have it on DVD and can find out how the story progresses. I hope the third episode in the trilogy hits theatres long enough for me to catch it.
Mary and I will hopefully get some time this holiday season to use the movie gift card for some romantic night on the town!
And here is my gift to myself. I ordered the latest incarnation of Spectrum several weeks ago only to find out that there was a mix up and my order had been canceled. This put me in quite the conundrum because Jeff already had his and we are itching to get together for our annual Spectrum review. I decided to be patient and went ahead and ordered it again. It arrived on my birthday. How cool is that? From what little I’ve seen this edition looks to be a real beauty and I can already say, not having seen any of the art contained therein, that this book is a must buy for those of you who have enjoyed my previous Friday Favorites feature.
I am going to break my word a bit here and single out Pat for this wonderful card. Is this not perfect for those of us who are bibliophiles? It reminds me of the images on the parking garage at the downtown Kansas City Public Libary. Even more cool, it has a quote from one of my most cherished poets:
My parents gave me money for my birthday, which I promptly spent on new Christmas decorations to add to my growing menagerie:
(Click on the image to see what they look like when they are lit)
In addition to the penguins and candy canes, I bought some interesting lights as well, including these:
(Click on the image to see the snowflake lit…there are alternate blue and white snowflakes)
And of course, I cannot forget the amazing gift of my birthday cake:
Thank you one and all for making the start of my last year in the 30’s a marvelous affair. I feel very, very blessed to have such wonderful friends both here where I live and all over the world through our blogs. You are all more amazing than you may ever know. Thank you!
And if you missed it, make sure to check out the post below this one for two great reading challenges that you can participate in and combine with other challenges you may be doing.
Happy Monday everyone!
OMG! talk about Mr Popularity! lol.. I’ve never seen so many great presents together at one time before!! You are one lucky SOB! (did I say that? hmmm, must be old age doing it)
I’ve read The Alchemyst and enjoyed it.. but be warned it’s going to be more books before it all ends!
Ok, now to the serious stuff… NO FAIR THAT YOU GOT BELGIAN CHOCOLATES THAT YOU CAN’T SHARE! lol.. gads they are my absolute favorite chocolates! hahaha.. Dang it Carl, I sure wish I lived near you so I could help you devour those! hahahaha..
What a haul you made! And you still have Christmas to go!
All your gifts are fabulous and I can’t see you not enjoying evrey single thing you received! I hope we get reports of each and every one of them! (even how good the chocolates are… *envious*)
I am indeed one lucky SOB, Deslily, no doubt about it. I consider myself to be quite fortunate. And I will definitely do reviews as I read the books, watch the movies. As for the chocolates….
Ok, so I’m sitting in my office at work giddy as a school girl looking at all of your gifts! lol…As soon as I saw Absolute Sandman 2 my eyes got big 😀 Glad to hear it was such a great birthday celebrated with great family and great friends!
I love your Christmas decorations too…they’re great! I think I’m going to start putting mine up tonight. Where’d you get those snowflakes? I love them. I might pick some up if you got them at a store that we have here too.
Wow. What a haul!! You certainly have friends and family members that KNOW you!! It looks like you did very well!
You have fantastic friends, Carl! I’m glad to hear you had such a great birthday. And I love your Christmas decorations!
Chris, I got those snowflake lights at a store here called Old Tyme Pottery. They have great Christmas decorations and really good prices, especially if you catch them just right. The penguins and candy canes are from there as well.
Thanks Stephanie and Nymeth, you are also among those “fantastic friends”!
Man you got a ton of cool books and more. I’m happy for you my friend. August Rush sounds wonderfully charming. I hope the family and I can make it out to the theatre to catch it. I think the kids really want to see Enchanted though. I’m not sure about that one.
I am buying Spectrum 14 for my Christmas presents. I figure it will become a holiday tradition… The rest of the year, I really must try and pick up a few of the older ones. You have me hooked, I am afraid. 🙂
What a great pile of loot! But I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more! It really is great to hear that you had such a wonderful birthday this year! After the last few weeks at work, it sounds like just what you needed, huh? And now you get to head right into the Christmas season…ahh, life is good!
I’m sure it must seem as if I live off in a cave somewhere most of the time, but I’ve never heard of August Rush. It sounds absolutely perfect for the season. (Now if I can just make myself actually go to a theater…)
By the way, I really love those snowflake lights!
you and jeff discuss the new spectrums! how cool is that!
ooh those prezzies…! how wonderful. you have me salivating here…! and the card from pat is gorgeous!!
Aunt Joyce had me look up reviews of August Rush and I thought it sounded like an enjoyable film. I’d like for James and I to see it the next time Tori babysits. We’ll take some tissues!
I’m glad you had such a blessed birthday, you spoiled little boy!
I love the new Christmas yard art!! Too cute! I need to start investing in outdoor things, too. I have plenty of inside stuff!
Jules, are you guys getting a monster tree this year because of those high ceilings?!?!
You guys would like August Rush alot. It is very clean and your kids could see it, but I’m not sure they would get as much enjoyment out of it. Maybe Lydia and Jessica.
Jean Pierre, that is something we started a couple of years ago. As much as it kills us we buy our Spectrums, read the Year in Review sections separately, and then we don’t look at any of the pictures until we can get together and slowly peruse our books together. It is incredibly fun.
Debi, you would like August Rush. As I said, it is a nice clean family film. Annie would probably enjoy it as well.
Kailana, it is always a good thing to get folks hooked on the Spectrum books. With the Amazon discount, they are an amazing value for all the great art that one gets.
Jeff, I’m wanting to see Enchanted myself. I really like Amy Adams and I’ve heard good things about it.
That’s cool. I haven’t talked to anyone who’s actually seen Enchanted yet.
On another movie note. I watched Solaris last night. I really enjoyed it. It’s definitley not your typical Hollywood space movie but I think you would like it. I’m still thinking about it this morning. I watched all the special features after seeing it then read the entire screenplay off the DVD on my TV and then listed to half the commentary track before crashing last night. Clooney is great in it as well as he always is.
I actually saw Solaris in the theatre and thought it was okay. I remember being entertained but not being blown away by it. It is probably something I would enjoy more the second time around now that I know what kind of film it is.
Doesn’t Sunshine come out on DVD soon? I am really looking forward to seeing that again eventhough it won’t be near as incredible on the small screen.
that is just the coolest thing!
jeff, i love “solaris”! i saw it at the movies too and for me the experience was amazing. i think it helped that it was a smallish movie house, so it felt very intimate. can you imagine all your peripheral vision taken up by that planet and all those hues of blue and red that pervade the film! oh my!
loved it loved it loved it!
carl, i hope you like it more second time round!
“sunshine” i unfortunately missed, but i’ve reserved it on our dvd rental website thingie…! 🙂
I checked on amazon and it lists a release date of Jan. 8th for Sunshine.
Carl – I can defiently see how a lot of people would just think Solaris was ok. It’s defiently not your typical sci-fi action movie which I’m sure how it was marketed back then. I think part of it was my experience two nights ago. The cold weather always brings out more of my sci-fi side. I was curled up on the sofa by myself and it was late and the movie just sucked me in. I also found the sound and score of the film incredible. It reminded me a lot of Silent Hill and Sunshine in terms of a sensory experience.
JP – I really wish that I could have seen Solaris at the theater you described. That sounds great. Plus most any theatre has better sound system than the one I have at home. I really want to check out the book now to read the differences. Of course it might seem dated now. Science Fiction is a lot harder genre in regards to holding up over time. It sounded like the original work was written 40 to 50 years ago.
All this Sci-fi talk makes me want to see another Sci-fi flick now. I guess I am Legend is coming out soon but I’m really in the mood for more of a space setting Sci-fi movie.
On another note JP have you had chance to see the extended editions of LOTR Two Towers and Return of the King yet?
jeff, oh the music! when you wrote that the other day i just glossed over it, i’d forgotten what the music sounds like, and then i remembered it!!! oh!! that music haunted me! and it keeps on doing! out of nowhere it’ll just JUMP into my head and sit there and control my mood.
oh wow. its beautiful.
watching it in the theatre was amazing!
but the way you watched it is the other kind of perfect setting. isn’t it just? at home alone, raining outside, late night, open mind, no expectations, fertile imagination…
i also read the book… and weirdly, i found i prefered the film. for one thing, the film is more focused.
i haven’t managed to get the others yet… 🙁 i hope to in the not-too-distant future. especially as the 2nd and 3rd parts are the really contentious ones.
We’re definitely looking forward to discussing those. For me, having read the books after seeing the movies many times over, I didn’t see enough differences to get worked up about. There were some glaring differences, but I am already so invested in the films that those and the story seemed to me to compliment each other and build on each other nicely. I don’t see even the most glaring contradictions as much as I probably would had I read the books at a younger age and gotten attached to them.
JP – I think you hit the nail in the head. I defiently approached the film with no expectations and an open mind. From the extras with the writer/director I was getting the feeling that I probably also would like the movie more than the book. He said he really drove the film on an emtional storyline where he said the book was a lot more along a philosophical line. While I think that would be interesting I believe the movie version just sounds like it’s more of the story I would connect with.
Carl – Don’t worry about if you had read them at a younger age. I read them 20 years ago in high school and I have forgotten most of the small details. Of course your memory is twice as good as mine. The movies I feel really stay true to the main storyline and that’s what mattered the most to me.
JP – Have you ever seen Love Actually. It has become my favorite holiday film. I watched the first half again a few nights ago and it still just pulls me in every time I watch it. I attach to the characters and the message over and over again each time I see it. Ok I’ll stop I’m just rambling now and if any is try to read these comments from August Rush opinions they’re going to say what the heck is all this about! 🙂 I really need to find some Lobsters to include in my holiday decorations. 😉
Take care, guys!
CARL:
well, i don’t think the differences bother me at all, as i agree with you and jeff that they are made in the spirit of the books. i think i am critical of them as films, and not so much as films based upon a book i love – although, i do concede that that might taint my criticism…
JEFF:
what you saw about soderbergh and stuff makes a lot of sense actually. i can see that, now that you’ve said that. the book is just too vauge, for me, after the intense experience i had of the film. don’t get me wrong, the book is still good – and would probably have been better, had i not seen the film beforehand.
but i was looking for a continuation of the film’s experience, and the book didn’t offer that.
i have seen “love actually” actually. my experience of it was unfortunately tainted by the media coverage of it, which was rather negative. and also, as much as i like the english, they’re a grumpy and sarky bunch so they don’t really like this kind of film unless its done perfectly, and even then they have to make clever sarcastic comments about it. many of them haven’t even seen it!
i managed to catch in on the plane and i rather enjoyed it (although in some ways not, for above-named reasons). i remember really enjoying emma thompson in it a lot! i thought she was superb!
but i tell you one thing – i am really getting into the christmas spirit this year!! 😀
I think I will skip the book now after reflecting of what you’ve stated. I think I also would be disappointed by the book too. You comment on a continuation of the movie’s experience I think hits the nail on the head. I would be looking for that as well and would be disppointed not to find it.
I find myself really getting into the Christmas Spirit as well this week. My kids are already super excited. Which as a parent is so cool. I can see where the movie would get a lot of negative comments. I think it mostly flew under the rader over here. I know I didn’t catch it until it came out on DVD. Over here I know that people just handle the sex and adult language in a holiday movie. I on the other hand find it refreshing to have a great holiday movie made for an adult audience. Every holiday movie doesn’t need to be kid friendly. I also am a big fan of Emma Thompson and she was great in it. I don’t know the name of lady that Hugh Grant falls in love with but I thought she was captivating as well.
Thanks for the August Rush review. My in-laws were raving about it earlier today. I do not trust their movie judgment, but I will trust yours.
And that has got to be the coolest birthday cake ever! Happy belated!
That’s funny, Stefanie! I liked it quite alot. It is pure saccharine, to be sure, but I thought it was wonderful.
Thanks!