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: Year of Release
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
If you want to watch a sweet drama that commits you to think outside the box, then Craig Gillespie’s (I, Tonya, The Finest Hours) might be that secret little hidden movie that might be for you. Starring Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, The Nice Guys), this tender, sweet film is like nothing you’ve ever seen. And if the premise scares you away because it looks stupid, watch the trailer. If the trailer still doesn’t do it for you, read what some top reviewers said. If that doesn’t work, then trust me a little. “The Ryan Gosling Dates a Sex Toy” movie is not what Lars and the Real Girl is about. At all.
Them That Follow (2019)
Such a simple premise and simple story is co-directors Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage’s creepy faith-based community movie Them That Follow. You can almost exactly predict the story and the steps it takes along the way and still be surprised when they happen. That is the sign of a quality film with quality people working behind and in front of the camera. And that’s what we have here, with this simplistic, beautifully artistic film, far from perfect but captivating.
After the Wedding (2019)
A sub-par movie with excellent performance best describes Bart Freundlich (Wolves) as slightly disappointing After the Wedding. It’s not that this movie was bad. It was just so far-fetched, yet it tried to take itself oh so seriously. When everything added together, it was hard to take this movie seriously, even when each of our leads did so without batting an eye. It should have been a movie I disliked because of its many flaws. Yet, as flawed as this movie was and how easy it is not to recommend, I still found myself thoroughly entertained and enjoying it.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
Sometimes, movies have dumb names or names that are so obscure that you can’t even remember the title. This is the case with first-time directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz in the sentimental surprise summer hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. Starring protagonist Zak (newcomer Zack Gottsagen), whose screen chemistry with Shia LaBeouf (Man Down, Borg Vs. McEnroe) is instantaneous, the result is a sort of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn between two pals trekking and floating down the fictional marshland in North Carolina.