Desert Island - Movie Soundtrack

OK. So I saw this on a few of my fellow bloggers' sites and I thought it was such a fun idea that I had to give it a try. And man was it hard. In fact, if I did this again next week I could very well have a whole new list. But, after my initial pass these are the ones that I have chosen.

Castor at Anomalous Material has given a set of parameters. A plane goes down and you are on a deserted island. In this case, what 12 songs (and those songs must be included in a soundtrack) would you bring with you to listen to on a continuous loop.

So, I began thinking. And a lot of different things popped into my head. First was, find your favorite groups or singers and figure out which soundtracks they belong to. Second, what songs resonate with you thanks to their inclusion in a film.

Well, these are the 12 that I came up with.

1) The Tragically Hip - Ahead By A Century

-Found on the Jumper soundtrack, The Tragically Hip have been my favorite band since I was in high school. Living in a small town just south of Canada, these Canadian musicians really had an influence on my teenage years and have continued to be a part of my life ever since.

2) Guster - What You Wish For

-Found on the Life as a House soundtrack, Guster is another of my favorite bands. I was introduced to them by my then friend and no current wife. They have sort of become a staple in our household and we continue to see them whenever possible.

3) Our Lady Peace - Life

-Found on the Men With Brooms soundtrack, I came across Our Lady Peace (another Canadian band) a little later than my other two favorite bands, but have come to love them all about the same. I realized that I had actually been listening to them for awhile, but didn't know who they were - now one of my top three bands.

4) The Clarks - Let It Go

-Found on the Summer Catch soundtrack, I was born in Pittsburgh, but moved away when I was eight years old. I returned to my birth city for college and discovered a local band doing pretty well for itself - and I have been following them ever since.

5) Gene Wilder - Pure Imagination

-Found on the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack, my all-time favorite movie and besides The Candy Man, probably the most iconic song in the film. I had to include at least one song from this amazing film.

6) Soggy Bottom Boys - Man of Constant Sorrow

-Found on O Brother, Where Art Though soundtrack, the song that became a sensation throughout the film actually became a pretty big sensation outside of the film as well. The funniest parts are Clooney and his gang singing the words of the Soggy Bottom Boys.

7) Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection

-Found on The Muppet Movie soundtrack, definitely brings me back to my childhood and love of the Muppets. My son has slowly gotten into these movies and has these songs in his iPod. Just a great song - probably the best by a frog.

8) Wailing Souls - Wild Wild Life

-Found on the Cool Runnings soundtrack, this song definitely reminds me of this great film. It truly fits the movie of the first Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the Olympics.

9) Frou Frou - Let Go

-Found on the Garden State soundtrack, a film that is truly known for its soundtrack this Frou Frou song has always stuck out to me and compliments the film very well.

10) Linkin Park - What I've Done

-Found on the Transformers soundtrack, when I first heard the song it really jumped out and me and although it is probably overplayed by now it still is a great song that really fit into the movie well.

11) Citizen Cope - Let the Drummer Kick

-Found on the Accepted soundtrack, one of the best films ever that my wife and I have to watch at least once a month. This song - besides the amazing You Think We Suck - is probably the song that resonates the most for me from the film.

12) The Wallflowers - Heroes

-Found on the Godzilla soundtrack, but I would technically be including it from The Replacements. The original song was used in the film, but for some reason they used another artist on the actual soundtrack.

Well, there is my 12-track deserted island CD. Like I said, if I made this list a month later it might be a little different - and I am sure I missed a ton of great songs that I will find late on, but for now, at this moment, this is my list.

Jumper

I have to admit, I have been pretty anxious to see this film since I first saw a trailer for its release like a year and a half ago.

I am not able to run out and see many films in the theater, so this was one of those that sort of got pushed to being watched on DVD. So, I was finally able to check Jumper out on Sunday.

I was a bit apprehensive, because of some of the reviews I have read from my fellow bloggers whom I respect. But, I was not disappointed. Sure, the movie wasn't Oscar-worthy or very deep - but it was very entertaining.

I think Hayden Christensen has been given a bit of a bad rap because he was Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. Everyone believes that he is a wooden actor because of his dialogue, but I think those people should look at the original trilogy - most of Star Wars dialogue is wooden.

I think if people want to check out Christensen in a new light, perhaps check out Shattered Glass and to a little lesser extent Life As a House.

Anyway, back to the film.

David Rice (Christensen) is a jumper - someone who can jump to any point in the world (as long as he is able to see it - either through his eyes or a photograph). He first notices this when he tries to rescue a snowglobe he tried to give his crush, Millie (Rachel Bilson) that was on top of some ice. He falls through, and before drowning jumps himself into a public library.

Rice's homelife is pretty terrible - his mother (Diane Lane) left when he was five, and his father is pretty much non-existent. So he leaves home, starts robbing some banks with his new ability and starts living the high-life in a penthouse apartment.

However, due to his bank robbing and constant jumping - he appears on the radar of Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), who is a pladin, or a person who believes God should be the only person to have such abilities - and thus tries to hunt down and kill jumpers.

On a trip to Rome with Millie, Rice meets up with another jumper, Griffin (Jamie Bell), who is a little more experienced and tries to warn him that he is being hunted.

Like I said before, this isn't Oscar-worthy material, but the effects were pretty amazing. And it was highly entertaining for just a quick hour and a half film.

I sort of get the feeling that they were setting up some sequels with the whole mother situation - and hopefully that happens, or else the ending sort of doesn't really make too much sense.

Grade: