Sleepless in Seattle

Re-watched this movie last night. I think most have seen it, but if you haven't and you like:

1- "Chick Flicks"

2- the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan duo (Joe v.s. the Volcano, and You've Got Mail)

3- sappy love

You will enjoy this movie. (favorite scene from the movie) It's rated PG, for some mild language.

The brief plot:

Sam Baldwin, a Chicago architect, has lost his wife. He and his young son Jonah move to Seattle to make a fresh start. On Christmas evening, Jonah calls into a national radio advice show and persuades his father to go on the air with him to talk about how much he misses his wife. Thousands of women around the country, touched by Sam's story, send him letters. One letter is from Annie Reed, a journalist from Baltimore, Maryland, engaged to a man named Walter (Bill Pullman) who feels that there is something missing. The supporting cast in this movie cracks me up. If you're in the mood for a love story, check this one out.

-Caitlin

Ghost Town

This is a comedy starring Ricky Gervais (hysterical) and Greg Kinnear (hot) The movie got me excited from the get go, it has Ricky Gervais, who after seeing in the British Office and Night at the Museum, had me hooked on his sense of humor. It's so awkward, but so funny. Next add Greg Kinnear who I love, and find extremely sexy (I have been teased for this) and you get a really great movie.

The plot reminded me a bit of Heart and Souls (Robert Downy Jr.) if you remember it. Basically Ricky Gervais dies for 7 minutes during surgery and starts seeing ghosts. The ghosts need help resolving earthly things, and seek out Gervais. Kristen Wiig from SNL plays a bit part as the doctor and had me cracking up. Not to mention all of the other silly side characters.

The only thing I would say that was negative is sometimes it dragged just a bit, but the humor made up for it. The cast was likable and funny. I would say this one is worth the money to see on the big screen, and would make a great date movie.

It is rated PG13, but does have a couple of F-words, so beware when taking children. Enjoy!

-Caitlin

I agree with Caity on this completely, just insert Tea Leoni for Greg Kinnear and I would give it the same review. Ricky Gervais is truly an underrated comedian and sure some of his jokes are just plain awkward but he just does that kind of comedy so well that it didn't bother me for a minute. I was laughing so hard it kind of hurt my stomach but it was all worth it.

Like Caity I felt the middle endish part of the movie dragged a little but I only think this is because your not laughing as much as the first part so you can actually hear the actors talking and moving the plot forward.

Overall it was a great, funny comedy with a dash of romance thrown in but not so much as to delve into a chick flick territory. If you are looking for a good laugh, this movie is the way to go.

-Eric

How I Met Your Mother

This is a quick plea from me to you. Please watch the 4th Season premiere of How I Met Your Mother, Monday night on CBS. I don't want to think of a world where I don't get to hang out with this gang every Monday night (or whenever, if you get the first 3 seasons on DVD. Hint, hint.) and if more of you don't watch then I fear that will happen. So please take 30 minutes out of your busy lives and watch HIMYM. You won't regret it.


Thank you in advance,

Eric

Can I just tell you the joy that I get from this series? I never go an episode without laughing at least once, but I usually laugh the entire episode. I wish I could watch all the Season's over again and not know what was going to happen. This is a show I love, and have insisted on buying all of the box sets, because like Friends, the Office, or Gilmore Girls, I can watch it over and over again. You won't be disappointed.

- Caitlin

The Sum of All Fears

Based on the novel by Tom Clancy, The Sum of All Fears is the story about two nations having to make life changing choices after an attack and how fear plays into those choices.

I have seen this movie many times and watched it again recently after catching the first half on cable. The movie stars Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, who both do a great job here. For those of you familiar with the Jack Ryan movies or books; The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, you know that you are in for an action packed, white knuckle ride. The Sum of All Fears is kind of like a reboot of those movies, with Affleck stepping into the part of Jack Ryan last played by Harrison Ford. And all said and done I think he does a convincing job and more than holds his own. Throw in Freemen and a cast of well known actors and the cast is rounded out quite nicely.

The plot finds Jack Ryan working at the Russian Desk at the CIA where he is pulled into the middle of this whole mess and ultimately must do what he thinks is right for the country. I don't want to give away to much to those who have not seen this. But if you are looking for a good thinking man's, or women's, movie then look no further. I was still on edge and I have seen it many times.

-Eric

Lars and the Real Girl

Directed by Craig Gillespie. Screenplay, by Nancy Oliver, focuses on a shy, lonely, socially inept young man who develops a relationship with a life-sized, anatomically-correct doll he orders online. Rated PG13 for some sex related content. But honestly, I can't remember anything offensive.

We watched this with our friends, and I think I was the one who liked it best. I loved the acting, I thought the story had heart, and I loved that it was different. Plus I laughed really hard. This movie was nominated for a bunch of rewards and was a Sundance film.

If you are looking for a different movie, I would recommend this one. The more I think about this film the more I loved it. Plus I really like the soundtrack. And I am always in love with movies that have a bunch of lovable characters. I would rent this one.

Caitlin

I agree with Caity on most of this one. The movie was definitely different and I didn't hate it. But there were parts that I didn't like. (More on that later.) I did enjoy the cast, especially Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer and think they did a good job. The thing that makes this movie work is that it has heart, sure that heart happens to be a doll, but heart none the less. I also enjoyed how this doll affected the whole town.

The things I didn't like about this movie were things that the movie had no control over, in other words they were things of my own doing. Ryan Goslings character started to sound like David Arquette to me after awhile and then that was all I could see, or hear, rather. I found myself being distracted by this and kept waiting for the cast of Scream to come out. Also the story is so odd it is a little hard to get into at first and it took a little while to get going only to wrap up things pretty quickly. I would have liked a little more follow up at the end, perhaps a few years down the road. But that is just me and I can accept the way the filmmakers ended the movie and it doesn't leave you hanging, scratching your head.

Overall it wasn't terrible and I laughed at quite a few parts and if I could have gotten David Arquette out of my mind I am sure I would have enjoyed it more. I agree with Caity that it is worth a rental, if only to watch something different.

-Eric

The Bonnie Hunt Show

I love Bonnie Hunt! So I was very excited to learn that she has a new show on and today, thanks to the magic of Tivo, I watched it for the first time. I guess you could call it a talk show but it reminds me more of the old variety shows, like Carol Burnett. It is just a fun time and very entertaining to watch.

I love the way Bonnie interacts with her crew, guests, band and audience. She just makes you feel at home or at the very least the home of a good friend. Plus she acts like your friend playing off of the things her guests say, joking back and forth with her crew, giving the band a hard time it all just comes together so well. The show didn't feel over rehearsed. It was just like I was dropping in and like any drop in you never knew what was going to happen next.

My favorite part of Tuesdays show was when one of her guests said he loved her set, to which Bonnie deadpanned "Thanks, it's a new bra!" I was laughing hysterically, joined in a few seconds later by the audience once the joke set it. It is things like that and the green screen, that you can watch on her website bonniehunt.com, which is why I love Bonnie. I was a great laugh after a long day. Bonnie has earned a season pass from my Tivo, no higher honor could be given! Check it out.

-Eric

Passport To Great Weekends

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I like to spend my Sunday mornings in bed with Samantha Brown. That's right, every Sunday morning I like to visit all the places Samantha does through the magic of TV.

For those of you who have not heard of Samantha Brown I will provide a little history, at least as I recall it. I discovered Samantha a few years back while she was doing the Passport to: Latin American, Passport to Europe, etc. As an armchair traveler I have come to love the places Sam has taken me and although I was not a huge fan of Sam's from the get go, she as consistently grown on me to where I can't imagine armchair travel without her. She has the girl next door quality and you can tell that she doesn't take herself too seriously. Plus she is not afraid to try new things, like interesting foods and drinks, that would give me pause before trying. She has become the person that I would love to travel with because she knows (or her producers) all the great places to go and things to try wherever you may be.




Well Passport to Great Weekends continues the themes set forth on her earlier adventures, only this time they are much closer to home, not to mention places that I might actually make it to one day. So far this year she as gone to Brooklyn, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, New Orleans, Los Cobos, New Hampshire, London UK, Washington DC, Wyoming, Cape Cod, and Los Angeles visiting each for three days and showing you the best things to do in that amount of time.

I can't imagine a better way to spend my Sunday mornings then with Sam. New episodes air on Thursdays but I never seem to catch them there. I usually catch the episodes on Sunday mornings and as a bonus there are two episodes back to back. A whole hour of armchair traveling, not a bad way to spend part of your weekend and the company isn't half bad either.

-Eric

The House Bunny

As most you know, or maybe don't, August is the dumping ground for bad movies. Studios just hoist a lot of really bad movies on us in August getting ready for their fall and Holiday movies. So I went into The House Bunny knowing full well that it would not be winning any awards and just hoped it would be entertaining. I admit that I laughed at the previews for it and I am fond of Anna Faris who deserves much better then the movies she has been in.

The premise of The House Bunny is as follows. Shelly (Anna Faris) is a Playboy bunny who after turning 27, or 59 in bunny years, is tossed out of the mansion. As an orphan Shelly as nowhere to go and stumbles onto a Greek Row of an unnamed university. Once there she discovers that the outfit/misfit sorority, Zeta Alpha Zeta, is in need of a house mother and they are also in need of 30 new recruits or the school is going to shut them down.

After the girls agree to let Shelly be their house mother she uses all the tricks she has learned as a bunny to help get new recruits to join ZAZ and teach the girls to fit in. All the while dealing with a rival sorority that wants the ZAZ house to expand.

This is where I lost interest in the movie. They bring on the smart love interest (Collin Hanks) for Shelly and show how easily fitting in can make one forget who they truly are. The movie uses a lot of stereotypes as punchlines over and over again and they really aren't even that funny the first time. Although I loved the way Shelly remembers peoples names.

The only reason this movie is even somewhat enjoyable is because of Anna Faris and to a lesser extent Emma Stone (who was great in Superbad) as one of the girls. The rest of the cast seems to be trying really hard and it just comes off as forced. So if you want to see a new movie in August you could do worse then The House Bunny, but I would wait until it hits the dollar theaters or Redbox.

If you have seen The House Bunny make sure to take part in the poll to the right.

-Eric




Okay I think I liked this a little better than Eric, but not much. We saw it together, and at the end we just kind of agreed it was predictable. It kind of reminded me of Sydney White.


There were parts where I laughed out loud. Other parts where I snickered and some where I sat there kind of annoyed. I really liked Anna Faris, and I liked Emma Stone as well. The rest of the cast was just blah and forgettable.


I liked it, but was glad I only paid five dollars for it, and kind of wished I would have waited for the dollar movies. Though I did find it entertaining. If you want a movie you don't have to do much thinking with and just a popcorn muncher, then see this. Also go into it knowing it's a fluff movie.


Caitlin

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus is a singer/songwriter that when he sings, makes me want to hop a plane to Paris, sit at a quaint table sipping my drink and watch the passer-by's. I love him.

A lot of people have told me they think he whines too much. He is whiny, but I like it, because it has a different sound. He not only sings but he plays the guitar and piano as well. Probably known best for singing "complainte de la butte" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. (click here)

But I adore him for his other songs. Sample my one of my favorites here.

If you like a different sound, Rufus could be for you. And that's the trufus. (Any How I Met Your Mother fans?)

Caitlin

I have fond memories of Rufus Wainwright. 10 years ago some of my friends had just started driving and we went on an adventure. The soundtrack to this adventure was provide by Rufus Wainwright and the song "Instant Pleasure". We would drive around and sing that song at the top of our lungs. Ah, good times!


I also enjoy his version of "Hallelujah", not to take anything away from the Jeff Buckley version which is a bit slower and drawn out then Rufus' take on it. Of Rufus' newer songs I really enjoy "Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk" and "California" they both always manages to bring a smile to my face and I wouldn't say either of those songs is whiney.

Eric

P.S. I Love You

Watch this one with a box of tissues. A FULL BOX! I am so grateful I didn't see this in the theatres, because I would have forgotten tissues, and I would have been a mess! It sounds funny, but I had to take breaks, because it was too much sometimes. And believe me, my husband was making fun of me. He kept saying "Why are you watching it!?" To which I replied, "Because it's good." And it was.

Based on a novel by the same name, and starring Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler, with a supporting cast including Kathy Bates, Harry Connick Jr., and Lisa Kudrow. Holly (Hillary Swank) is married to Gerry (Gerard Butler) who dies within the first ten minutes of the show, and the rest centers around her receiving letters he had written to her before he passed.

I think the reason why this was so hard to watch for me, was because I am married. I am sure it's sad for anyone, but I believe there is something slightly different in watching it when you think of your spouse in the place of Gerry. Plus I am an emotional girly sap. So the tears were a plenty.

If you feel like a good cry, and let's face it.. us girls sometimes do. This is the movie for you. It was very well acted and though some parts were slightly unbelievable, it was still great. Though it's mostly a drama, there are definite funny parts that will have you laughing out loud, through your tears of course.

Rent this one, but be prepared.

Caitlin