Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

When I tell people that I haven’t seen Sleepless in Seattle, they usually give me a surprised look.  One reason is that I am a huge fan of Meg Ryan and two its because this one is relatively popular.  I get it, I really do but I had TV restrictions when I was a kid and this hit right in that time frame of my life where I was in elementary school and it wasn’t really my dad’s sort of movie, so no, I never saw it until now.  Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks was a good pair in You’ve Got Mail and I’d really like to see how they did in this one.

Before I move on with the review, I’d like to direct your attention to MovieRob who has his Monthly Genre Grandeur with April’s genre being romantic comedies. Maybe you have seen a romantic comedy or you love the genre, you should send him a review and join in! I will be sending one over to him soon once I decide which to watch.  For more info, you should head HERE!

Okay? We’re good to go? Did you follow him so you can at least read up his awesome reviews?

Awesome! Lets carry on with this review 🙂

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Ross Malinger, Bill Pullman, Rosie O’Donnell

After the passing of his wife, Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) and his son, Jonah (Ross Malinger) decide to move to the West Coast to try to have new beginnings and move on.  However, having moved for over a year, Jonah sees that his father hasn’t moved on and doesn’t sleep so on Christmas Eve, he decides to call the local radio station and ask for the help of Dr. Marcia Fieldstone.  Reluctantly, Sam is dragged into this and as he pours his heart out about his marriage, women who are listening to this fall in love with him and he is nicknamed Sleepless in Seattle.  One of these women is the engaged Annie (Meg Ryan) who lives in Baltimore.  Although she is happy with her fiance Walter (Bill Pullman), she feels drawn to Sam and tries to get to know him better despite their distance. She writes him a letter in hopes that they could meet on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day.

I have no idea what Sleepless in Seattle  was about but see that reaction up there? That is how I kind of looked like when I was watching it and Tom Hanks gets the name of Sleepless in Seattle.  Plus, it had an extensive relating to An Affair to Remember which I only watched afterwards to understand better what they were trying to talk about.

All joking aside, Sleepless in Seattle was a good romantic comedy.  I can’t quite decide if I like You’ve Got Mail or this one more when I finshed but I have a feeling that I may like this one a tad more even though some parts didn’t quite make much sense (like the scene up there) but then rom-coms are really about making sense, its about the feel-good factor. Agree? Thought you would 😉 This flick is really the essence of defining love because its about magic, fate, destiny and all that stuff.  Whether you believe it or not, I do and I eat that stuff up.

Sleepless in Seattle has a charismatic cast. You already know that part, right? Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor and even though him and Meg Ryan don’t really have many scenes together per se, they both carry each side so well.  Its pretty entertaining to watch them both carry themselves through this flick.  Meg Ryan’s Annie struggling between wanting and resisting the urge to know Sam more while Tom Hanks’s Sam tries to move on with a lady that laughs in a creepy way.  Plus, the little kid was just so hilarious. And how can I forget Rosie O’Donnell! She’s been poking through all of these movies I’ve been watching and she is just the most awesome part of the movie because she brings this energy and wit.

As a fan of romantic comedy, I have to give a round of applause to Nora Ephron for writing and directing a lot of them.  She knows how to put together a fun, heartfelt and especially romantic love story.  Sure, there is nothing epic about her stories but it always leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy and thats what feel-good movies should do 🙂

Another Meg movie scratched off the list, Paul S! Which next?

 Which do you prefer for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan pairing: You’ve Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle? What did you think of this?

 

Julie & Julia (2009)

Next up in recommendations is from a lovely blogger, Livonne.  She is a fabulous photographer and writes amazing posts.  I totally love hanging out at her blog and if you haven’t been there, well, lets just say you are missing out and you should!! I’ll give you a some time to head over there to follow her and check out what she does.

Ready? Well, she suggested to me to watch Julie & Julia.  Funny enough, I’ve read the book but never actually finished watching the movie entirely.  I mean, whats wrong with me, right? Its literally a movie about EVERYTHING I love and honestly, it (the book) has a bit to do with why I even considered blogging in the first place.  Cooking, blogging, eating, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep and add in a bit of Stanley Tucci and a dash of Jane Lynch: count me in on that one!

Wait wait, I’m getting ahead of myself! A little synopsis, shall we?

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Jane Lynch, Linda Emond

Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is a government worker who moves to Queen’s because of her husband ‘s (Chris Messina) job and aspires to be a writer and with her passion for cooking, she decides to take 365 days to cook through the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Back in the day, Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) life unravels somewhat similarly when she moves to France because her husband (Stanley Tucci) is sent there to work at the American embassy.  She decides to learn French cooking and eventually after meeting certain people decide to publish a book geared towards teaching servantless American woman to cook. 

Julie & Julia, the book, was a unique reading experience.  It was fun and light-hearted and so inspiring because you know what it is.  We all hit a bit of road bumps and sometimes the little turns and bends down the unexpected and spontaneous roads become experiences that turn out to be more rewarding than we imagine, not just in the sense of career but a self-satisfaction and a personal journey to learn more about ourselves.  At least thats why I love blogging, I just can’t help but wonder if sometimes I become self-absorbed although I try my very best to balance my life as much as I can..

Back now to the movie, Meryl Streep gives a charistmatic performance.  She’s fun to watch as the clever and witty Julia Child.  There’s something so lovable about her character.  She’s cooking and watching those little snippets of her teaching cooking and I wanted to go pick up her book and cook it also, but then, I don’t think my rather lactose-intolerant/sensitive stomach could take so much butter and cream and fat.  Its just so inspiring.  Thats whats great about this adaptation because it manages to re-enact the light-heartedness with a hint of comedy.

Comedy is not so much in Meryl Streep, except for her witty dialogue but rather in Amy Adams’s Julie Powell portrayal. She’s the modern person and for me, I felt like I could relate to her.  Other than that inner journey that I talked about in terms of blogging, it had to do with that whole learning new cooking skills, especially the lobster part.  Amy Adams is just a lovable and adorable actress and she can handle a range of emotions from bubbly to full-on crazy meltdown.

Julie & Julia is a fun and entertaining trip especially for foodies.  Its funny and entertaining and also inspiring.  Being a blogger, we understand the world of being a blogger and the whole journey of being dedicated to it and finding a balance between this life and our own life not in front of the computer.  The whole doing something not related to work or that we’re passionate about and sharing it with the part of the online community that has similar interests.  I liked this movie a lot and it really made me feel really good afterwards. It injected me with a dose of well-needed energy and motivation. I guess thats why I’m typing up this well past my bedtime. So I’ll stop now and say, do watch this.  Its a really good one 🙂

Thanks to Livonne for bringing this one up.  It gave me the push to watch the full movie and fully appreciate it for its awesomeness! 🙂 Remember to check out her blog!

Have you seen Julie & Julia? What are your favorite roles of Amy Adams and/or Meryl Streep? Are there other movies related to cooking that you’d recommend?

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Half way through this week and its full of Burlington restaurant reviews and pictures, etc. I wanted to get in a quick movie review to shake things up a bit.  So I decided to go into my tablet and continue working on all the movies I had there.  I was in the mood for some Meg Ryan so here we go…You’ve Got Mail was pretty much my only option.

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Greg Kinnear

Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) owns a little children’s book store which she had passed down to her from her mother.  However, a business threat appears when Fox Books decide to move in down the block  where they still discounted books with larger variety and more accessibility.  Before Fox Bookstore opens, she met Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) who didn’t reveal his identity immediately until later on.  With this, they both provoked each other to be their worst selves as Kathleen fights to save her business.  On the side, she also has an unknown identity online friend who she pours her heart out to in emails until Joe realizes that the rival she saw in Kathleen was actually the same charming woman he was talking to online.

Destiny, fate, love-hate relationship hidden behind an unknown relationship sort of story seems to be very normal and cliche.  This movie has a lot of cheesy and generic moments but for me and the amount of romantic comedies I’ve watched in the last 5 years, everything gets predictable after a while.

What really did it for me in this one was the actors themselves.  The cast was fantastic.  Meg Ryan is charming as always in the role of Kathleen Kelly.  I love her casual and carefree but slightly shy and fear of expressing herself type of character.  We see her character progress until the guidance of her online friend how to stand up for herself.  The character’s emotions and passion for her career made me get attached to her side of the story.  Meg Ryan is definitely an actress I adore.  I’ve said it before in my movie review back in February of French Kiss.  I think even I started falling in love with the characters she plays, the charm that she carries is just amazing.

I’ve rarely seen Tom Hanks doing romantic comedies and after looking at his list of movies that he’s done, he hasn’t really done any except for Sleepless in Seattle.  I only remember glimpses of that movie since I saw it when I was younger.  Tom Hanks playing Joe Fox made me want to punch his face whenever he engaged into a provoking conversation with Meg Ryan’s character for a good part of the movie.  Then when he communicates with her via email, suddenly he turns into this sweet man.  I call that really good acting.  He made me grow to like his character as we learned a bit more about the life of Joe Fox and as the story progressed.

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks has such attractive chemistry between the two.  Every time they are on screen together they drag you into their argument or conversation.  Its really pretty awesome how they are just so good at what they do.  Most of the time, good chemistry in a romantic comedy is what makes it a success.

To me, You’ve Got Mail may not be the most original rom-com that I’ve seen, but it sure was fun to watch.  The chemistry between Meg Ryans and Tom Hanks is almost incomparable to any other on screen couple and it leads this flick to be considered a success for me .  It made me crave to want to watch it again even though I had just finished it.

Oh, by the way, this has officially made me go on a mission (my boyfriend laughed at me when I said this) to search up ALL of Meg Ryan’s movies.  For a Meg Ryan fan, I have a lot more of her movies to catch up with.  So the mission is on! If I ever manage it all, I’ll do a marathon or something. Anyone want to join in?

I’ve already talked about Meg Ryan before but Tom Hanks! I’ve actually seen a lot of his movies, not all but some. What is your favorite Tom Hanks movie?