HOT: Apollo 13

Space has always been very interesting to me. I would have loved to be an astronaut and fly through outer space. But, it has also been pretty scary as well - and this film really didn't help that fear.

In Apollo 13 Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) is astronaut with the American space program, or NASA. He, his family and friends are about to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing with Neil Armstrong on television at his house.

Lovell is scheduled, along with Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), to fly in the Apollo 14 moon mission and land on the moon himself.

Around a month before the Apollo 13 launch, Lovell is called into his bosses office and is informed that he and his crew would be bumped up to Apollo 13 due to illnesses throughout the original crew. With just a little time to train, Lovell, Haise and Mattingly throw themselves into the simulators and train for their mission.

During the final week before the mission, Lovell is informed that one of the NASA crew members has developed measles and could have infected all those around him. Lovell and Haise had both had measles so are in the clear, but Mattingly is forced to stay behind having never had them - he is replaced at the last minute by Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon).

On the day the astronauts broadcast from space, Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) and the rest of the astronaut's loved ones head to NASA to watch. She notices that none of the television stations are covering the show and is told that none of the networks thought it was interesting enough to broadcast.

After the show, those in Houston helping the astronauts on their mission ask Swigert to stir the oxygen tanks. During the process, something horrible goes wrong and the shuttle explodes and begins leaking oxygen into space.

Forced to use their lunar module as a life boat, the astronauts soon realize that going to the moon is now out of the question and even returning home could be difficult. Flight Director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and the rest of the guys in Houston must now figure out a way to keep the three astronauts alive and get them home safely - including bringing Mattingly into the simulator to find the best possible way to save electricity and still use everything that they need.

Though it may have scarred me for life from wanting to head into outer space - I think I will wait until we have the U.S.S. Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon to make that trip - the movie itself was amazing and told the story of Apollo 13 very well.

Most of the acting in the film was top-notch. I still am up-and-down on Paxton. Compared to the other actors like Hanks, Sinise and Harris, he really stood out as below par. But, that didn't affect my thoughts on the film. One of my favorites.

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Top 10: Tom Hanks Roles

Alright, I figured it out. I have decided to do a Top 10 list about my all-time favorite actor, Tom Hanks. I pretty much like all of Mr. Hanks' work, although he has had a few duds in the mix. So, getting just 10 characters was a bit difficult. But, I did do it.

When I wrote down the characters he has played I actually came out with 12 that were my favorites, so I have to give Lawrence Whatley Bourne III from Volunteers and Scott Turner from Turner & Hooch an honorable mention.

So here is the list (reverse order as always):

10) Robert Langdon - Da Vinci Code

Synopsis: Based on the best-selling novel, Hanks takes over as Dr. Robert Langdon, a symbologist who is called into action of tracking down hidden clues inside Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings.

9) Jim Lovell - Apollo 13

Synopsis: Lovell is named captain of the Apollo 13 moon mission, and along with two other astronauts, will be one of the first few people on the moon. An explosion within the shuttle, however, makes this mission into a rescue mission.

8) Carl Hanratty - Catch Me If You Can

Synopsis: Hanratty is the main investigator in catching the con man Frank Abagnale Jr. During his pursuit he sort of develops a relationship with the young man - as sort of a father figure.

7) Chuck Noland - Cast Away

Synopsis: In one of Hanks' most brilliant performances, Noland is stranded on a remote island after a plane accident. For 2/3's of the movie, Hanks is forced to keep the audience interested with only his actions and his interactions with a volleyball named Wilson.

6) Mr. White - That Thing You Do

Synopsis: Mr. White of PlayTone Music is the new manager of The Wonders, whose hit single "That Things You Do" is climbing up the charts. But, friction between the band members soon puts an end to the magical run and the band becomes a one-hit wonder.

5) Josh Baskin - Big

Synopsis: The movie that really moved Hanks into the mainstream. Hanks plays Baskin, a 12-year old boy looking to grow up a little too fast. Making a wish on a Zoltar Machine, Baskin wakes up as an adult and is forced to figure things out on his own.

4) Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump

Synopsis: Easily one of the most quotable movies of Hanks' career. Hanks plays Gump, a man with a well-below average IQ, but even with his lack of smarts, Gump lives an extraordinary life and meets many fascinating people along the way.

3) Jimmy Dugan - A League of Their Own

Synopsis: Dugan is a retired baseball player, who during his prime was one of the greatest hitters of all-time. Drinking, however, got in the way of his playing career and he is given the chance to manage the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Baseball League - a woman's league. But it could very well be the best thing that ever happened to him.

2) Capt. John Miller - Saving Private Ryan

Synopsis: Hanks plays Miller, a school teacher who is in charge of men's lives during World War II. He is given the assignment of tracking down Private Ryan, whose three bothers had already been killed in the war. It's a gripping tale and one of the most realistic (so I'm told) war movies ever created.

1) Sheriff Woody - Toy Story

Synopsis: As stunning a career as Tom Hanks the actor has had, it's his voice work that has truly made the biggest splash. Hanks lends his voice to Woody, the jealous cowboy doll, in Toy Story. Which, along with being the first all-computer generated film in history, is also one of the best all-around movies.