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Serendipity

Serendipity

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Always Wanted To See It
Review: I loved this movie when I first saw it on dvd a couple months ago. I wish I could've gotten to see it in the theater, but I'm glad I finally saw it and now own it. It's a must have for all you romantic people.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing movie that is magically brilliant in all aspects!
Review: I would have to say that this is my favourite movie of all time. The acting is near perfect, cinematography and directing are beautiful and inspiring, and the music (which really makes this movie) is brilliant!

So the story is about two people who meet by accident and get along quite well, so they decide to do something on the spur of the moment. They have a great time with each other, but both are already engaged in a relationship; so they go their seperate ways. A few years later, both are about to be married to different people but can't forget each other. So they both go searching for each other, and it is by chance that they meet once again.

This movie is not one to be taken so seriously. Ok, so coinsidences like these don't really happen in real life, but hey; IT'S A MOVIE!

In my definition, to categorize a movie as as "romantic comedy" is to define it as a feel-good, light-hearted, mood-lifting romantic story. Just because it isn't exactly the funniest movie doesn't mean it's a bad romantic comedy.

I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to spend one and a half hours on an amazing, magical dream-like ride of life, love, and fate.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a GREAT movie about life, love, and coinsidences!!!
Review: This, I would have to say, is my favorite movie of all time! This is the kind of movie that you walk away from feeling inspired, happy, and wanting to live life to the fullest. The storyline is captivating, the acting is near perfect, cinematography and directing is inspirational and beautiful, and the thing that makes this movie so great (in my opinion) is the music. Every note of music is perfectly chosen and executed.

So the storyline is about two people that meet by accident, spend a little time with each other, but then go their different ways. A few years later, they're about to become married to different people but can't forget each other and go on a search for each other. Then it is by fate and chance that they meet once again.

This movie is amazingly beautiful in all aspects and I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to spend one and a half hours being taken away on a dream-like ride of love, life, and coinsidences. I would also recommend the amazing soundtrack.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Surprisingly bland, doesn't live up to its reputation
Review: I had heard a lot of good things about this movie, and not surprising when you consider who's in it. John Cussack, Kate Beckinsale and their crazy journey through destiny is just the sort of thing you hope for in a film like this. They play Brit and Sarah, who share a few perfect hours together in their first meeting, then let fate decide if they should ever meet again. Years later, when both are about to get married (to other people), the only one either really can think of is each other, and thus a crazy quest begins to reconnect.

But in the end, the dialog, so important to a romantic comedy, came across like a long, boring sermon, and not the natural chit-chat between two people who have really hit it off with each other. The actors argue on and on about fate and destiny but without any of the wit and charm of the greater classics of this genre. For a romantic comedy, there is very little comedy in here, and most of it is accidental anyway, little bits of improvisation that the actors added to make up for the utterly humorlessness of writer/director Peter Chelsom.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A romantic comedy without much romance and even less comedy
Review: Start with the terrific, self-deprecating John Cusack, add the beautiful Kate Beckinsale with NYC as a backdrop, and this film had huge potential. Unfortunately, the film is a flop.

Three big flaws:
1. Main characters - neither is very likeable (this is no Harry met Sally)
2. Plot - they "just miss" each other too many times. This becomes silly and is too much to endure.
3. Pacing - so slow that the tension is exchanged for tedium

One high point: The two main characters do have nice chemistry when together.
Unfortunately, this is not enough to carry the film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Love and Fate
Review: This is a romantic comedy, but the comedy does not stick with you. It is not that the movie is unfunny, but the laughs won't be remembered tomorrow; none of the humor is that memorable. Two people meet by chance and have a wonderful time together. Since they are seeing other people, they go their own ways and decide to leave their meeting again to the fates. Watching their separate paths inadvertently cross without their knowing is the main part of the movie. Pure serendipity!

John Cusack is John Cusack. His character is similar to most of the good guy/dreamer-type characters he plays in many movies. John Corbett is funny as the boyfriend of Kate Beckinsale.

I would recommend this if you are looking for a light-hearted romance, but not if you are looking for a comedy.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Boring story and bad performances.
Review: I was very disappointed by this film. I am a big fan of John Cusak and Jeremy Piven. They usually make good choices with the scripts they do, and give you hearfelt performances. This film is a major exception. It starts with an interesting but weak premise that goes no where. It's one "Oh look, destiny can be such a funny suspensful thing, can't it?!" joke after another; none of them very funny. Cusak seems to sleepwalk through the film, barely being there. He looked very tired and bored, as was I. This was my first time seeing Kate Beckinsale, and I hope it's my last. She was very wooden and sounded like she was reading the script outloud for the first time everytime she spoke. Jeremy Piven was OK, but wasn't given much to work with. The only highpoint of the movie were the scenes with Eugene Levy in them. He stole the movie, and is the only reason I give the film 2 stars. The DVD extras aren't any better. Some of the "deleted" scenes are more like alternative versions of the same boring scenes that made the movie. Delete them all I say!
Don't waste your money on this film, beyond a rental if you're curious. "America's Sweethearts", with John Cusak that came out at the same time is slightly better. Or better yet, for your John Cusak fix, watch or rewatch: "Say Anything", "High Fidelty", "Better Off Dead", "Being John Malkovich", "Grosse Pointe Blank", "the Grifters", or wait for his new film "School of Rock" with Jack Black.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Predictable but very good
Review: This is a great movie but a little predictable. I highly recomend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Where Fate Leads me; a Romantic Comedy in New York City
Review: Like me, if you like romantic movies, this one is for you ... especially when you love the titles like "Sleepless in Seattle", "The Shop Around the Corner" (and its remake "You Got a Mail"). Instead of Tom and Meg, you got John Cusack and kate Beckinsale, both of whom are really good. But the story first.

Jonathan (Cusack) and Sara (Beckinsale) meets at New York City's crowded Bloomingdale's just five days before Christmas. Each of them, looking for a present for their own sweethearts, lay hands on the same pair of black gloves. A lively conversation begins, which leads to joyful chatting over chocolate at the cafe "Serendipity 3." Then, knowing that they are going out with somebody else at home, Jonathan and Sara, as you know, fall in love with each other instantly. But one proposal from Sara, who is reading Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", changes everything. Perhaps she is influenced by what she read.

This is what she does. Sara has Jonathan write down his phone number on a five dollar note, and without looking at it, she spends it at the nearby stand. (Oh, I forgot to say that they didn't formally introduced themselves, so they don't know each other's surnames.) In the same way, she writes down her name and phone number on the page of her book, and tells him that she is going to sell the book somewhere later. Sara says; If there is fate or destiny; and if they are predestined to meet again, they will meet again. Then she vanishes into the street of New York, leaving him behind.

Cue to a few years later ... but I should stop here. Imagine the rest of the story for yourself. More cynical fans would think that everything is too contrived and impossible, and maybe they are right. Some might say that it is all too predictable, and yes, they are right, perhaps. But what is the point of watching films when you just want to see the better side of life? Are we denied to do that simply because some people think reality of life is so hard? Well, I disagree.

"Serendipity" is totally, absolutely, completely for the people with romantic personality, and that is all you have to know. The two leads' parts are underwritten, and it seems sometimes that some part of the film are missing from the complete version, but John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are so charming that all those faults are forgiven. The supporting roles are weak, so you cannot expect delightful comic moments too mcuh, but at least Eugene Levy as a most annoying clerk and Jeremy Piven as Jonathan's friend are recommended. The photography is also great, capturing the best side of Manhattan. Yes, this is another post-card New York, but still I loved the beauty of the film.

The healthy commercial success on US box-office chart means many of us love these romantic films. You can say there is no such thing like serendipity ... but how can you prove it? For those who believe in it, "Serendipity" would be an unalloyed, precious treasure.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun but thin
Review: Enough fun and romance for me to enjoy seeing it once. But the plot is a both predictable and far-fetched. It's OK, but there are other movies that are both more fun and more romantic.


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