Tom Hanks is an American cinema legend. From Splash to Big to A League of Their Own to Philadelphia to Forrest Gump to Apollo 13 to Saving Private Ryan to Toy Story to The Green Mile and everything in between, Hanks has crafted some of the most memorable performances any generation has ever seen. But, if you notice a trend in the above movies, these and many other classics occurred before 2000, when Robert Zemeckis’s (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) Cast Away had its theatrical run. Since then, Hanks’ has starred in quality movies like Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie Wilson’s War, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, and Sully. However, there have also been misses like The Da Vinci Code trilogy, Larry Crowne, Cloud Atlas, Ithica, The Circle, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Indeed, his career still has more ups and downs, but his overall portfolio isn’t quite as robust. Plus, in the last 20 years, he has taken more time off between projects. I mention all of this because he’s been my favorite actor for a large portion of my life, and I would prefer him acting more often with fewer duds in between.
Category Archives: Helen Hunt
The Sessions (2012)
When we come across some of the most extraordinary people or find ourselves in the most fortunate situations, we are least looking for those. At times we are presented with the greatest of gifts that, at one point, we could never have imagined and, the next, you can’t imagine how you ever functioned prior. I imagine this is how you might feel when you know you have found your lifelong partner or when you have a child. I’ve had three of these moments in my life. While I have discussed these other two moments very, very infrequently with anyone, there is one that I will share often. It involves my wonderful niece Jessica. Today (February 17, 2013) is her birthday. She just turned 25. She recently married her high school boyfriend. She’s a teacher. Besides me, Jessica is the only teacher in either of our extended families. She is as wonderful of a human being as you will ever meet. She is and has always been so sweet, kind, and intelligent. She’s wise beyond her years but still has this youthful appreciation for life’s little gems. I love her so much and am so proud to be her uncle. I was asked to be an usher at her wedding this past fall, which was one of my life’s great honors. With only a 12-year age gap between us, I do think of her as a little sister as much as I do a niece. I’ll touch on more of this later in this review.
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