10 Great Film Endings Set To Fantastic Music.

I just finished watching King of California yesterday. It's a good movie with fine acting by Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.

The final scene, which segues into the end credits, played to the song "California Stars" by Billy Bragg and Wilco pretty much summed up the entire film experience for me.

In my opinion, the final song in a movie can represent a film's entire soul.

Then, started to think about some other great films with spectacular final scenes set to great music.

Off the top of my head, here are ten great examples:

PULP FICTION
The Lively Ones' Surf Rider kicks in as Jules and Vincent exit the diner in flip flops and dorky t-shirts.



FIGHT CLUB
The Pixies' Where is My Mind brings it all together as buildings crumble while Marla Singer and Tyler Durden's alter-ego hold hands and contemplate their future.



THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
The Farrelly Brothers and the rest of the cast ham it up with Build Me Up Buttercup from The Foundations.



THE SHINING
As Jack's fate is sealed in the hedge maze, Kubrick tosses in one more red herring with a cut to the hotel and a slow camera pan to a small portrait of New Year's revelers (with a surprise guest!) circa 1921 set to the eerie music of Midnight With The Stars and You performed by the Ray Noble Band.



THE MATRIX
Had there not been any sequels, this ending set to Rage Against The Machine's Wake Up would have went down as one of the all-time best. It completely sets the tone of the entire experience.


THE BREAKFAST CLUB
As Principal Vernon finishes raeading Brian's hope-filled prose summing up a long day of Saturday detention, on the football field John Bender raises his arms in the air and The Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me kicks in.
Click here to listen to Anthony Michael Hall's Breakfast Club prose.


TRUE ROMANCE
After going to hell and back, Alabama, her husband (minus one eye) and son are sitting beside a sunny beach. While we listen to her narration, our ears are dabbled with Hans Zimmer's feel-good score You're So Cool. Perhaps Tony Scott was foreshadowing a happy ending throughout the film with this musical choice?
Click here to listen to You're So Cool.


STAND BY ME
As an older Gordie Lachance (played by Richard Dreyfuss) types in the final sentence to his coming-of-age novel, Ben E. King's Stand By Me begins and the credits roll.


DONNIE DARKO
The viewer is taken on a journey of all the main characters while Gary Jules performs the Tears for Fears hit Mad World in this striking end sequence.

CLOSER
In this beautiful end sequence set to The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice, Natalie Portman walks the streets of New York City to many rubbernecking males while, in London, Dan finally realizes the true identity of Alice Ayres.


I'm curious, what's your favorite? Are there any that I missed?

One-Sentence Movie Reviews (January 2008)

Once again, I offer up my one-sentence movie reviews for all to consume with your eyes.

EASTERN PROMISES Great, gory russian mafia film with an awesome naked knife fight scene.

WE ARE MARSHALL Director McG ditches Charlies Angels for a chance to tackle real drama in the form of The Thundering Herd and somewhat succeeds.

3:10 TO YUMA Great acting and a great screenplay make this one of the better westerns to come out in some time.

THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED Film geeks will swoon at this movie aimed at the MPAA while everyone else will go 'meh'.

SHOOT 'EM UP It's Sin City mixed with early John Woo movies for a somewhat-fun ride filled with a shitload of body bags.

SUNSHINE Mix 2010 with Event Horizon and Outland and you've got this above-par science fiction movie from the director of Trainspotting and the writer of 28 Days Later.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM Just like Die Hard, The Fugitive, Predator and First Blood, this is one of those action films that transcends the genre (whatever that means) to make this arguably, one of the best trilogies of all time.

THE HEARTBREAK KID Although I hated the original, if you like the Farrelly Brothers you'll laugh at this remake, which could almost be considered a sequel to There's Something About Mary.

THE LOOKOUT Great cinematography, great acting and a solid script make this bank robbery film one of the surprise rentals of the year (so far).

HATCHET To quote The Simpson's Comic Book Guy, "Worst horror movie ever."

So, did I knock it out of the park or hit a foul ball?

One-Sentence Movie Reviews

Although I haven't been to the theater since Knocked Up was released earlier this year, I will say that I've seen my fair-share of great (and not so great) movies on DVD.

That said, I thought I would entertain you with some one-sentence reviews of films that I rented the past three months. Enjoy.

ONCE. It's Hustle and Flow for street musicians.

TURISTAS. Hostel 1 & 2 in the jungle with plenty of hot bodies.

THE WIRE: SEASON 4. The best season (so far) to one of the best television series' ever.

RESCUE DAWN. In my opinion, one of the best films of the year that went under the radar.

JIM GAFFIGAN: BEYOND THE PALE. Great stand-up from a Conan O'Brien regular.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Although the final battle scene is worth the rental price, you'll need to see the other four Potter movies to understand what's going on.

WAITRESS. Another great little gem of a movie that came out of left field.

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS. A great movie for college grads that haven't quite found their way in the world.

SUPERBAD. It's the next generation's Weird Science, Sixteen Candles and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

FUNNY GAMES. Very disappointing foreign thriller soon to be a shot-for-shot remake in the United States.

LADY VENGEANCE. The final bloody, thrilling installment of Chan Wook-Park's Vengeance trilogy.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. IT-ignorant John McClane turns into Freddy Krueger with murder, mayhem and one-liners galore.

RATATOUILLE. This tasty, little animated movie about a rat who wants to be a chef is so good it should be nominated for a 2007 Best Picture Academy Award.

FIDO. A refreshing, new look on the dusty, old zombie genre.

SPIDER-MAN 3. Not as good as 1 & 2, but entertaining enough to sit through.

SICKO. Michael Moore stirs up America's anger once again as he takes on America's health care system.

BRIAN REGEN: STANDING UP. Great stand-up from my favorite comedian.

TRANSFORMERS. Great special effects can't pull this movie out of the scrap heap.

HOSTEL: PART II. At 90 minutes, a surprisingly good sequel although a bit low on body parts and blood.

So there you have it. Are there any reviews you disagree with? Why not shoot me a line to tell me that I'm wrong. Or great.