You've Got Mail, 1998

THURSDAY MOVIE CONNECTION!!!

Tom Hanks--Meg Ryan



Director: Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle, Bewitched)

Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Steve Zahn, Dabney Coleman

Yes, this one is one of the best ever. Way to go!

Kathleen Kelly's (Ryan) bookstore is threatened by the new mega bookstore nearby- Fox Books. Joe Fox (Hanks) feels bad that he's putting Kathleen out of business, especially when he finds out that his secret email pen pal, with whom he has fallen in love, turns out to be Kathleen herself. Meanwhile, Kathleen is torn between her anonymous pen pal online and the charming Joe Fox.

Okay, I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!

And no review would do it justice. This is one of those long, quiet movies. You will love it.

And yes, it is a remake. The first was "Shop Around the Corner" (1940 -James Stewart), and then a musical of "Shop Around the Corner" called "In the Good Old Summertime" (1949 -Judy Garland).

Forrest Gump, 1994

Thursday Movie Connection!!

Robin Wright--Tom Hanks

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone, Cast Away)

Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise

SPOILERS!! This review is really just me writing my thoughts as I watch it......

Okay, so I remember this movie, or bits of it, anyway, from long ago. Wow, what a weird movie. First of all, what was my mom thinking to allow me to watch this? This has way too much sex and innuendo and nudity in it. I doubt I will ever be watching this again. Too much dirtiness. But it's also funny.

A very funny part is when he's talking about how easy the Army is: he narrates, "And you always end everything with 'Yes, Drill Sergeant!" and then he yells it with the rest of his unit. "YES, DRILL SERGEANT!!!" His face, and the way he moves his head, is priceless.

The way he looks at the world is simple and sweet. But it's so sad, too. When Jenny (Wright) tells him he doesn't know what love is, I wanted to cry. It's so messed up. SHE is the one who doesn't know. When his letters are returned to him unopened, I hated her. And almost cried. And then they were reunited in D.C. -- and I almost cried again!

When he asks Jenny if little Forrest is smart or if he's like him, and he can't even say it, he's so choked up. That's the most beautiful moment to me.

Lieutenant Dan's hair is nice. I couldn't figure out why I both loved and hated it. Until I realized that it's exactly like mine. Curly wavy hair. You love it and hate it.

Good soundtrack. I love oldies!

The Green Mile, 1999

Director: Frank Darabont

Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt

Paul Edgecomb (Hanks) is a prison guard who works with prisoners who are on death row. This film is about him and his coworkers and how their lives change dramatically when a new prisoner comes to death row. The prisoner, John Coffey (Duncan), soon proves to have strange and mysterious powers.

This is a prison movie, so be warned: it's not exactly pleasant. And it has plenty of disturbing happenings. It's not too bad, I just wish that it had been the power of GOD that was given the credit. You could look at it like that, but it doesn't really seem like they want to convey it. Or maybe they did, and I missed it.

That Thing You Do! 1996

Director: Tom Hanks

Stars: Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Tom Hanks, Steve Zhan, Ethan Embry, Charlize Theron

The story of the one-hit wonder: The Wonders!

Actually, this is not the first time I have seen this one. I really like this movie! So funny, so cute, great music, crazy clothes, a handsome drummer....what more could you want? It's the story of the rise and fall of The Wonders in the early 60's. They become famous with their hit "That Thing You Do", and then quickly fall apart.

It's great! I promise, it's worth the watch! Totally fun! But I haven't seen it for 5 years or so, and I thought, until I just looked it up, that it had been a real story from the 60's. Like "fictionized" non-fiction, you know? But apparently not. I can't figure out if The Wonders ever really did exist, but I did figure out that the song was written for the movie! Wow! Didn't see that one coming. I feel fooled. Of course I never cared to look it up before, so I'm not that dumb, right?

The word "Gullible" slows up after the end credits of this movie.

Sleepless in Seattle, 1993

Director: Nora Ephron

Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan,Ross Malinger, Bill Pullman, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson

Before she directed You've Got Mail and Bewitched (good movies!), Nora Ephron made Sleepless in Seattle. The film was actually inspired by An Affair to Remember, which I reviewed yesterday, and which starred Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Sleepless refers back to it several times.

"And all I could say was 'hello'."

So, Sam Baldwin (Hanks) is a widower in Seattle, whose son Jonah (Malinger) calls in to a radio station on Christmas Eve, asking Dr. Marsha Fieldstone for help because he thinks his dad needs a new wife. Driving home from her family's Christmas celebration, where she just announced her engagement to Walter (Pullman), Annie (Ryan) hears the broadcast, and is moved to tears by Sam's open and honest conversation on the radio.

Unable to get Sam and his words out of her mind, Annie struggles with her growing feelings for a stranger in Seattle and her engagement to Walter. Meanwhile, Sam is dealing with a broken heart, and his determination to start dating again, after he discovers that his 8-year-old son has a girlfriend.

"What if this man is my destiny and I never meet him?" --Annie

(I couldn't say it better myself!)

My favorites: 1) Rob Reiner and Rosie O'Donnell's characters are definitely worth mentioning here. They play the best friends of Sam and Annie, and they are just fantastic! 2) My favorite part is the conversation about An Affair to Remember and The Dirty Dozen. Very Amusing! 3) I think this is a very unique movie- the main characters are only in 3 short scenes together. And they only talk to each other in 2 of those scenes. That's crazy! Want to see Meg and Tom really work together? You've Got Mail!