Actress Meg Ryan (1961)

Ithaca (2015), an American drama directed by Meg Ryan and written by Erik Jendresen, is based on the 1943 novel The Human Comedy by William Saroyan. Set in a small fictional town of Ithaca, CA in the 1940s during World War II, the story follows 14-year-old Homer Macauley who is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger. His motivation comes from his desire to take care of his widowed mother Katie, his older sister Bess, and his youngest brother Ulysses. Unfortunately, Homer’s older ...

The romantic comedy-drama film, You’ve Got Mail (1998), was directed by Nora Ephron. Set on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the story follows Kathleen Kelly who manages The Shop Around the Corner, a children’s bookstore passed down from her mother. Currently dating Frank Navasky, a liberal columnist for The New York Observer, Kathleen uses her laptop and AOL email account (screen name ‘Shopgirl’) to communicate with ‘NY152’, someone she first met in a chatroom. Despite their agreement to keep personal details private, she learns only the name of his dog, Brinkley. As it turns out, ...

City of Angels (1998), an American romantic fantasy film directed by Brad Silberling, follows the story of Seth, an angel living in Los Angeles. Seth and his fellow angels have the important duty of protecting humans in subtle ways. One of Seth’s main tasks is to guide those near death to the afterlife. In order to better understand human beings, Seth and Cassiel often ask people about their favorite things in life during these encounters. However, as angels do not possess human senses, they struggle to comprehend human behavior. While waiting to guide a man undergoing heart surgery to the other world, Seth is ...

Edward Zwick’s film, Courage Under Fire (1996), tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Serling during his time in the Persian Gulf War. In a chaotic nighttime battle, Serling mistakenly strikes and destroys a tank belonging to his own team. Tragically, this action results in the death of his friend, Lieutenant Boylar. The Army tries to conceal the details of the incident and honors Serling with a bravery medal before moving him to a desk job. Later on, he is assigned to investigate whether Captain Karen Walden should be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor as she was the leader of a rescue mission for a downed ...

Directed by Michael Hoffman with a screenplay by Rupert Walters, Restoration (1995) is a historical drama adapted from Rose Tremain’s namesake novel published in 1989. Robert Merivel, a young doctor, enters into the service of King Charles II of England after rescuing his beloved spaniel. Initially consumed by indulgent behavior and popularity at court, Merivel’s lifestyle takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to marry Celia, a royal mistress who has fallen out of favor. The purpose of this orchestrated ...

Sleepless in Seattle (1993) is a beloved romantic comedy helmed by director Nora Ephron. The film follows Sam Baldwin, a grieving widower and successful architect from Chicago who decides to start fresh in Seattle with his young son Jonah. A year later, on the eve of Christmas, Jonah dials into a popular radio talk show and convinces his hesitant father to open up about his late wife Maggie and their love story, particularly how he knew she was ‘the one’ when he first held her hand. This heartfelt broadcast draws the attention of thousands of women across the nation who are deeply moved by Sam’s words ...

The biographical film, The Doors (1991), was directed and written by Oliver Stone and Randall Jahnson. It tells the story of the influential American rock band and their impact on music and counterculture. In 1949, a young Jim Morrison and his family are driving through New Mexico when they come across a fatal car accident involving an elderly Native American. Years later, in 1965, Jim finds himself in California immersed in the Venice Beach scene. During his time at UCLA, he falls in love with Pamela Courson and meets future bandmates Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. Together they form The Doors, with ...

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), a romantic comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, follows the story of Joe Banks, a Staten Island resident who works in a dreary factory with an unpleasant boss named Frank Waturi. Despite regularly consulting doctors for his chronic illness, Banks remains joyless and listless. Eventually, Dr. Ellison informs him that he has an incurable disease called a ‘brain cloud’, which has no observable symptoms but will result in death within five to six months. The doctor attributes his previous job as a firefighter as the cause of his psychosomatic symptoms and urges ...