The Night Window 1917 is an epic war film directed and produced by Sam Mendes. The film is based on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred. It chronicles the mission of two young British soldiers (World War I, 1917) who must […]

Fire Temple Having just seen Midsommar, I can tell you the film is mesmerizing to look at. It’s like a technicolor dream. Director Ari Aster, and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski are true visual artists. The shimmering major key music alludes to the rotting façade of the […]

The Real Hero The Real Hero is a beautiful orchestral piece, played at the very end of Avengers: Endgame. There’s also a subtle fingerstyle guitar resolution at the end. I took the cues from that guitar bit, then I created my own arrangement, incorporating the […]

Touch of the Sun 127 Hours is the story of Aron Ralston, who survived a canyoneering accident by cutting off his own arm after being trapped for 5 days. The film stars James Franco (as Ralston) and is based on the Aron’s book, Between a […]

The NeverEnding Story Stranger Things Season 3 delivered a nostalgic punch with its unexpected inclusion of The NeverEnding Story theme song. The iconic 80s tune was an absolutely delightful throwback to the era. I loved that theme (and movie) when I was a kid. Movies […]

Codex Codex (The King of Limbs 2011) is one of my favorite Radiohead songs. I’m surprised it’s not used in more film soundtracks. This arrangement is heavily derived from the Westworld (Season 2) variation where composer Ramin Djawadi performs the song with delicate and sparse […]

The Last of the Starks I was not disappointed in Game of Thrones season 8. I see it as an extension of season 7. If viewed that way – the story doesn’t feel rushed. The show-runners didn’t have enough source material to work from. I […]

The Office  My wife and I plowed through The Office in 2019. All of my teenage guitar students had been imploring me to watch it. The series turned out to be just the right thing for us — as I get home late from work […]

The Long Night I loved the end credits theme from Game of Thrones, Season 8 Episode 3. The Episode is called The Long Night and the end credits song is called Not Today. This piece served as an abbreviated preamble of Ramin Djawadi’s, The Night […]

Jenny of Oldstones This was a great tune performed in Game of Thrones (Season 8, Episode 2). It was hauntingly reprised during the end credits by Florence + the Machine. My classical guitar version is based on the end credits. With a song like Jenny […]

Isolated System I love this instrumental piece by Muse. It worked perfectly as the theme song for Brad Pitt’s World War Z in 2013. Using it was a brilliant stroke — as it set a tenor of unease, right from the beginning of the film. […]

A Lannister Always pays His Debts I’ve always loved this piece from Games of Thrones Season 3. It’s really a classic motif from the series called, The Rains of Castamere. The Lannister variant is an extended more melodic version. I paired down the piece to something […]