HOT: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

In the next to last Hanks-O-Thon film before I wrap it up, a film I watched months ago but am just now getting to write about, I watched yet another film that Hanks is a main character, but again barely in.

In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Hanks plays Thomas Schell a father of a young boy and a man that works in one of the World Trade Center buildings.

Schell and his son Oskar (Thomas Horn) enjoy having missions given to them - such as finding an object from every decade in the past century. Though he loves his mother Linda (Sandra Bullock), Oskar seems to get along much better with his father.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Oskar is let out of school early, though he is not exactly sure why. When he gets home he discovers a few messages on the answering machine - and five of them are from his father who is inside the World Trade Center. As he finishes the fifth message, the phone rings. It's his father who begins to leave a sixth message - which then goes silent. Oskar immediately realizes that his father has died.

After his father's death, Oskar and his mother grow even further apart. He gets comfort from his grandmother (Zoe Caldwell), who lives across the street in another building. He flashes her light from a flashlight whenever he needs to speak to her. In her apartment she is also housing  a man that she calls 'the renter' (Max von Sydow) - which intrigues Oskar,

Oskar finds a vase inside his father's closet, that falls and breaks. Inside the vase is a small envelope with the name Black on it, and inside is a key. Oskar takes it upon himself to find the owner of the key - sort of a last riddle that his father gave him to work on.

When he visits his grandmother she is not there - and he encounters her renter. The renter does not speak - he only writes his answers, and has the words Yes and No on his hands. When asked if he wants to go on the journey with Oskar, he raises the hand Yes.

Together they head out to find the person that belongs to the key, and there are 472 Blacks in the New York phone book.

The film is both sad and a journey to find happiness again. As Oskar goes out on his journey he is forced to speak with other people, and he grows a strong bond with both his grandmother and the renter, who actually has a special place in Oskar's life. And, Oskar's realization that his mother does in fact love him.

Hanks, as I said, is barely in the movie. He is in the beginning, and serves as a bit of a narrator - he is also seen in a few flashbacks.

The stars of the film are easily Horn and von Sydow. Despite not being able to communicate very easily, their chemistry is really good. I really enjoyed von Sydow - Horn is young, and eventually I think he could be a pretty good actor. Here he was decent enough to carry the film - but I feel other child actors might have been able to do better.

It was a good watch, and despite 9/11 now being over 12 years ago, I feel it is still too fresh. I have been able to watch a few of the films about it, and I am glad that I did, but I have only been able to watch them once.

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HOT: Larry Crowne

It is sort of amazing to see how long it has taken me to get through this list. I realize life has gotten in the way, and obviously, even as much as I love him, watching a Tom Hanks film every night was not really an option.

But, to put it in perspective just how long it has taken - this film was just entering the theaters when I thought up this hair-brained idea. And, now I finally near the conclusion of this list and I finally get to watch it.

Hanks stars as the titular character Larry Crowne, a man that never went to college but instead joined the Navy, but he has carved a nice little niche for himself as a sales employee at UMart. One fine afternoon he is called into the break room for a meeting - thinking he, yet again, was being named Employee of the Month. But, instead he is fired because of his lack of education - he has risen as high as he could go without a college degree and had been passed over multiple times by people less deserving because of this.

On top of this, he is recently divorced and after losing his job finds it very difficult to find another job. As a cook in the Navy, but it wasn't something he was hoping to do long time. His friend, Frank (Ian Gomez), runs a diner and hires him as a cook - with enough leeway that he can go back to school.

He really cuts back on everything in his life - sells a lot of stuff, and switches from an SUV to a used scooter - in hopes to try and save his home from foreclosure.

He enrolls in just a few classes, one of which is a public speaking class taught by Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts). Tainot is an educated professor that appears to be stuck in this college she hates - when she first walks into her class only nine students are present and due to rules of the school that each class needs 10 to happen she cancels the class. But, Crowne enters at the last minute - much to Tainot's chagrin.

Crowne, now riding a scooter, befriends another scooter pal Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), whom he also has economics with. Economics is a much larger class taught in a stadium-style classroom by Dr. Ed Matsutani (George Takei).

Tainot is married to Dean (Bryan Cranston), who was also once a professor but is now a full-time writer/blogger after getting something published. But, what he really does all day is look at porn - even though Tainot knows this.

Eventually Tainot and Dean get into an argument and she gets out of the car a long way from her apartment. She is discovered, however, by Crowne and his scooter gang - and he helps her by giving her a ride to her apartment.

I guess there are a few morals you can take from this story - like it is never too late - or what you want in life may be right in front of you.

Hanks was amazing and very likable as Crowne. Never heard of Mbatha-Raw before, but she was also very likable as Talia, the young girl that befriends and helps Crowne. Takei was absolutely amazing as the economics teacher - his scenes were very few, but he definitely rocked them. I am not the biggest Roberts fan, but even I enjoyed her in this role.

Another group I enjoyed were those in Crowne's public speaking class - which he befriends. Steve (Rami Malek), Lala (Maria Canals Barrera) and Dave (Malcolm Barrett). They were actually some great characters, and you see that they become good friends with Crowne - but they were not used enough, and the friendships weren't seen growing, mostly seen through musical interludes.

But, Hanks carries the film. And, if you don't like him or even his portrayal of Crowne, you are not going to enjoy the movie very much. But, I do - and I did.

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HOT: Toy Story 3

It's very tough for an animated film to come along that can come close to my favorite one of all-time in Toy Story. But, I guess if one was going to get close enough it would be a film featuring those same lovable characters.

Toy Story 3 comes out a full 11 years following Toy Story 2. A lot has changed in those 11 years - as Andy (John Morris) has grown up since we last saw him, and it has been a long time since he has played with the toys we have all come to love.

Andy is just a few days away from heading off to college and his mother is on his case about clearing out his room before he leaves. So, he must decide the fate of his old, favorite toys - put them in the attack, donate them or toss them in the garbage.

As he grabs a garbage bag and tosses many of the familiar toys, Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles & Estelle Harri), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Bullseye and those three aliens - he comes across Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen).

He decides to toss Buzz into the garbage bag and Woody into his box for college. As he begins to bring the garbage into the attack for storage - his sister stumbles out of her room with an oversized box for donation, and he leaves the bag on the floor to help her.

Then the real adventure begins. Thinking the bag is for the garbage, Andy's mother takes it down to the curb for trash pickup. Woody, though, does his best to rescue them - but the toys make it out themselves and decide to send themselves to Sunnyside Day Care in the donation box.

Woody tries to get them to reconsider, and he himself gets stuck in the box for donation. Sunnyside, though, proves to be the perfect landing spot for the toys. They are welcomed with open arms by a strawberry-scented bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty) and a metrosexual tour guide Ken (Michael Keaton), who immediately makes a connection with Barbie (Jodi Benson).

After Woody escapes, only to be picked up by Bonnie and taken to her house, the other toys soon to realize that Lotso and Sunnyside isn't all that its cracked up to be.

At Bonnie's house Woody is told by her toys, Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), Dolly (Bonnie Hunt), Trixie (Kristen Schaal) and Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) inform him how horrible Sunnyside and Lotso are - so Woody heads back to try and break his friends out.

Toy Story 3 was, at the time, what we thought was the perfect sendoff for the toys that we have grown up loving. And, it was done to perfection.

It was funny, exciting, sometimes 'scary' and definitely pulled at your heartstrings in more ways than one. They had done the impossible - created a film as close to perfect as the original Toy Story film.

Now, with Toy Story 4 pretty much a guarantee - I hope they can catch lightning in a bottle for a third time. Although I enjoy Toy Story 2, it isn't up to the standards as the first and third. Hopefully the fourth can buck the trend.

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HOT: Angels & Demons

As I said in my Da Vinci Code review, I did not read this book. I really enjoyed seeing Da Vinci Code when I first saw it - so I was really looking forward to this sequel (prequel?).

But, when I first saw Angels & Demons in the theater I felt it as a bit of a let down. I was looking for more hidden clues like in Da Vinci Code and it just wasn't there. In fact, although I always wanted to re-check it out, it wasn't until this Hanks-O-Thon that I was finally able to.

On a second viewing, I must say I enjoyed it a lot more. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Robert Langdon, a symbologist that had helped solve Da Vinci's code to track down the final resting place of Mary Magdalene, and discover the last scion.

Although Angels & Demons was written before Da Vinci Code because of the popularity of the latter, it was turned into a film first by Ron Howard. And, when making Angels & Demons he decided to make it as a sequel instead of a prequel.

Here Langdon is summoned to the Vatican after the pope has died and a member of the CERN team is killed after creating three vials of antimatter, which one is stolen. The Vatican, while most of the cardinals are voting to to elect a new pope, someone has kidnapped four 'preferiti' - or the top options to become the new pope. It is sensed that this individual is part of a once thought extinct Illuminati.

Of course, clues are left - some many, many years ago - that can help lead Langdon to the four spots where the cardinals are being left to die.

This time, Langdon is helped by a member of CERN, Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), that helped create the missing antimatter that is being used to threaten to blow up the Vatican. Ewan McGregor also stars as the Pope's Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, a boy that was adopted by the pope and raised inside the Vatican.

Head of the Vatrican police is Commander Maximilian Richter (Stellan Skarsgård), who doesn't readily accept the help of Langdon and Vetra in tracking down the missing cardinals - especially after Langdon leads them to the wrong spot the first time.

So, this time around the pair aren't being chased by everyone as in Da Vinci Code - here it is a race against time to find the missing cardinals before they are all killed, and find the missing antimatter before it is used to blow up the Vatican.

As I said to start, I liked it when I first saw it - but I wasn't in love with it. What I fell in love with during Da Vinci Code and a lot of films like it is the clues and codes that are used to move onto the next code or clue. Here there just wasn't as many - there are still some good ones - but not as much as I would have liked.

On repeat viewing, though, I believe I enjoyed it much more. I still enjoy the first movie more, and I definitely enjoyed Audrey Tatou more than Zurer as Langdon's sidekick.

However, after watching both of these films a few weeks apart - definitely looking forward to them coming out with more. Lost Symbol has been out for over three years now, and it appears to be in development - can't wait to check that one out.

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HOT: The Great Buck Howard

It's rare a Tom Hanks film will come out and sneak past me. Here I understand it a little more, but I can honestly say I had never heard of this film until I started looking up his work.

The Great Buck Howard is much like That Thing You Do where Hanks' production company PlayTone put out the movie, but Hanks himself is not the star - instead he plays a smaller part.

Here, he plays an even smaller role than the role of Mr. White in That Thing You Do. However, Colin Hanks, Hanks' son, plays a much larger role. In That Thing You Do he is only seen escorting Liv Tyler into the Showcase.

Colin Hanks stars in The Great Buck Howard as Troy Gable. Gable is a law school student desperately in need of a change - so he drops out of school to become a writer. But, in order to continue paying his rent and all of his bills he answers an add in the newspaper for a road manager.

The job is for "The Great" Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a once popular mentalist who over the years has slowly faded from popularity - but not in his mind. He still believes he is amazing and loves travelling to cities to showcase what he can do.

Colin Hanks takes on the roll of departing Alan Berkman (Adam Scott) as Howard's road manager. He gets things ready for Howard on the road and makes sure everything is perfect for the show.

Meanwhile, Howard is trying to retain his popularity - and Valerine Brennan (Emily Blunt) a publicist is brought in to take on this difficult task - and also happens to start falling for Gable.

Tom Hanks plays the role of Colin Hanks' father, Mr. Gable. His role is very small and actually only has a pair of scenes - both with Colin. But his presence is felt.

Colin Hanks is a pretty talented actor himself - no where near his father yet, but he can continue to climb. The star of the film, though, is of course Malkovich. So over the top as Howard and really fun to watch the ups and downs of the role - and all of his idiosyncrasies.

The film itself is based loosely on The Amazing Kreskin - and was pretty fun to watch, but not the greatest of films. Pretty decent, but not amazing.

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HOT: Charlie Wilson's War

As I said before, there weren't too many Tom Hanks' films that I haven't seen before. But, this happens to be one of them.

Charlie Wilson (Hanks) is a representative for the United States in Charlie Wilson's War. He happens to be much more interested in partying and meeting women than he does at actually being a representative, though.

A friend (and sleeping partner) Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) encourages Wilson to get more involved in the Afghanistan-Soviet fight, and Wilson visits an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan.

Together, with rogue-CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) they are able to get Afghanistan the weapons they need and take the $5 million dollar anti-communism budget and expand it to $500 million.

Wilson becomes a hero, but in the end he worries about what his actions may have on the U.S.-Afghan relationship in the future.

Sort of fitting now, I guess.

Anyway, that is just a quick recap - a lot happens in a movie that really only has a small premise. But, I did enjoy it.

I actually enjoyed Hoffman more than Hanks in the film. I wasn't really thrilled with Hanks' Southern accent, but it wasn't the worst I have heard. Again, Roberts is not my favorite - and I wasn't too thrilled with her in this film.

Overall, not an amazing film, but enjoyable - for at least one watch.

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HOT: Da Vinci Code

I can remember back in 2003 (possibly 2004) when this book came out and it was all of the rage. Everyone I knew was reading it and they kept telling me that I would love it - it would be right up my ally.

As you can expect I never read the book. The last non-biography, sports book I even tried to read was the first Harry Potter book and that was on my honeymoon. As I've said in the past - if the book is good enough it will eventually be a movie - and I was right.

Tom Hanks stars as Robert Langdon in Da Vinci Code. Langdon is a symbologist who is summoned to a murder. Hidden at the murder scene are clues as to the murderer and the reason for the murder.

He is overseen by Capt. Bezu Fache (Jean Reno) and is helped by French cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tatou).

To say this is a hard film (book) to explain is an understatement. In essence Langdon and Neveu pretty much find and follow clues that show that the bible and most of what the Catholic church follows turns out to be a lie - with examples of Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene and a female writing one of the gospels.

Bishop Manuel Aringarosa (Alfred Molina) and his albino monk Silas (Paul Bettany) will do anything - including murder - to protect the teachings of the Catholic church and track down the 'keystone' which is a clue to the final resting place of Magdalene.

So, as if Neveu and Langdon don't have enough to worry about - they are out searching for clues that are hundreds of years old, and hoping to figure those clues out, being followed and hounded by Fache and the French police, and a murderous albino monk is also chasing them down.

However, Langdon reaches out to an old friend Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), who has spent most of his life studying the 'lost' pieces of the bible and the life of Jesus. He helps them capture the albino monk - and elude the police in order to complete their mission ... for long enough.

Would I have liked this book? Absolutely. I really enjoyed this movie, especially the first time I saw it. And, I am glad I waited to watch the movie - they even got my favorite actor for the lead role.

I love this sort of thing - symbols, clues, etc. and to do it with a subject matter as off-limits as religion and the Catholic church in general has been is outstanding.

I am not as 'educated' as Hanks' character or Teabing's character to even know what the name of many of the paintings or books they are speaking about. But showing the clues that are in these work - whether real or perceived - I found absolutely interesting.

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HOT: The Terminal

I don't think this film gets the credit that it deserves. And I definitely don't think that Tom Hanks gets credit for his performance in this film. In fact, I completely blank on this performance whenever I think of his best.

Anyway, Hanks stars as Viktor Navorski in The Terminal. Navorski is from Krakozhia who is traveling to New York City to fulfill a promise he made to his dying father.

When Navorski lands, however, it is found that while he was in the air his country became part of a civil war. Due to this happening, Navorski's travel visa becomes null-and-void, therefore he cannot enter the country legally. Also, Krakozhia would no longer be accepting planes, so he cannot go home either.

So, he is basically stuck.

At the same time Navorski lands at John F. Kennedy Airport, Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) is nearing a big promotion in the TSA, and would be overseeing the entire airport. And, somehow Navorski throws a wrench into Dixon's plans - he becomes a thorn in his side without really doing anything. Just for really being there.

When Navorski first lands he does not understand what is going on because his English is very limited, and here is where Hanks is just perfect in the role. Navorski begins to learn the language and begins to understand more and more of his surroundings - and before we know it he is speaking and understanding English with ease.

He befriends three airport personnel during his time stuck in the airport, Mulroy (Chi McBride), Gupta (Kumar Pallana) and Enrique (Diego Luna). They sort of begin to help him during his time at the airport, including getting fed. Enrique promises that Navorski will never go hungry again as long as he helps him get to know Dolores (Zoe Saldana).

And if that is not enough, Navorski also develops a bit of a crush on a flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Amelia is a bit of a wreck and is currently seeing a married man in hopes that he will leave his wife. But, she does develop some feelings for Navorski in their time together. The three pals even help Navorski develop an airport date with Amelia when she lands at JFK.

I have to admit, I didn't realized I liked this movie as much as I did. I got a bit choked up towards the end of the film. I don't think that was the case before - perhaps it was my mood or maybe who I am now eight years after its release. Either way, I really enjoyed watching this movie - even more than before.

Hanks, of course, was fantastic in this role. I was also happy with his three buddies in the airport - McBride is the only one I truly know, but all three were great. Tucci provided yet another outstanding performance. He is truly an underrated actor - I think he can do pretty much anything. Here, he was fantastic in the role of what can only be described as the villain.

One final note: Loved that Saldana was a Trekkie in this film. Little did we know at this time that she would be the new Uhura. I definitely laughed out loud.

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HOT: Ladykillers

I watched this movie a long time ago, when it first came out on DVD and I absolutely despised it - at least I think I did. But, either way I must not have enjoyed it - because this is the first time I tossed it in since that day.

Tom Hanks stars as Professor G.H. Dorr in The Ladyillers, which is based on a film and book from the 1950s.

Dorr finds a house in the south owned by Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), who has lost her husband and spends most of her time talking to her dead husband's photo, knitting, going to church and complaining to the local sheriffs about anything and everything.

Dorr is looking for a room to rent while on sabbatical, and finds Munson's house with a sign in the window with a room available.

Dorr uses his charm and intellect to get in good with Munson and lies to her about his intentions on his sabbatical - to practice with his band in her root cellar. While his true intentions are to use her cellar as a way to tunnel into a nearby underground vault.

Four others are part of Dorr's 'band', Gawain MacSam (Marlon Wayans), Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons), The General (Tzi Ma) and Lump Hudson (Ryan Hurst).

MacSam is the inside man. He works on the casino boat in which the vault is fed. Pancake is the explosives 'expert' with I.B.S. The General runs the show, while Lump is the muscle - pure dumb muscle.

Usually I like ensemble casts coming together for a heist, but something must have really turned me off the first time I watched this. A lot of that may have come from Hanks' character. He just didn't seem to fit into this era - he was Col. Sanders mixed with William Shakespeare and, despite being in the south, just felt like he was out place.

After rewatching it, I may have liked it a little more. Still not much for Hanks' character - who was still out of place, but of course he still rocked it - but I enjoyed the other cast members. Simmons was great and I liked The General as well. Wayans was of course a bit over the top - and I have liked Hurst since Remember the Titans, and he played dumb pretty well here.

Not an amazing film, but better than I originally thought. Could have been a whole lot better though, in my opinion. One of the bottom-tiered Hanks films.

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HOT: Polar Express

So, my Hanks-O-Thon hit a bit of a snag when this movie popped up. I love watching Christmas films, but even I couldn't fathom watching a Christmas movie before Halloween. So, there it sat for a good couple of months.

Well, it is still probably too early, but today I decided to toss in Polar Express. The movie is based on the children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. Which is interesting because the book itself is actually very short. But, they were able turn the short book into a 100 minute film - and it pretty much worked.

Tom Hanks plays, well, he plays pretty much everyone. In fact, I just discovered that he actually played the young child in the movie - whose name is actually never said, but is called Hero Boy. This was a surprise to me, because in all of the other voices (Santa Claus, Father, Conductor and the Hobo) you can actually hear Hanks' voice.

Anyway, Hero Boy is getting to that age where he is just not sure that Santa Claus is real anymore and the magic of Christmas may have slowly started to fade away. Well, Christmas Eve night a train pulls up in front of his house and offers to take him to the North Pole. At first he hesitates, but curiosity gets the best of him and he decides to jump on board.

The ride to the North Pole is pretty wondrous, full of singing, dancing and hot chocolate. But, as Hero Girl (Nona Gaye) forgets her ticket and Hero Boy tries to return it - he drops it. And the adventure begins as he tries to get her ticket and return it to her. Also where he meets the mysterious Hobo on top of the train.

As he gets to the North Pole with the rest of the kids, he joins Hero Girl and Billy (Peter Scolari) in getting stuck inside the elves' workshop - and eventually getting trapped inside the bag of presents.

But, as Santa presents himself - it is Hero Boy who is selected to receive the first present. At first he was unable to hear the jingle of the bells, but as he begins to believe again he is able to hear the marvelous noise.

Not a bad rewrite/extension of an outstanding children's book. To extend the source material to full-length feature was a great accomplishment.

My only knock on the film is how it looks. I just do not like the look of this animation - and to know how far we have come just makes it look even worse. Which is too bad because the film itself is actually pretty good - and excellent for a Christmas movie.

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HOT: Road to Perdition

I bought this film when it came out on DVD, which I am guessing was in 2002, and watched it not long after. I had not watched it again. On my first viewing it just didn't grab me like most Tom Hanks films have - and so it sat in my collection unwatched until now.

After a second watch, I think I like Road to Perdition a little more than on my first watch. Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, who works for a crime lord named John Rooney (Paul Newman) - in what would pretty much be his last film before he died not as a voice actor.

Sullivan and his family, wife Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and sons Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) and Peter (Liam Aiken) have a pretty decent life living in the protection of Rooney and the money that is coming in. But, as many have found out, if you cross the Rooney family it may be the last thing you ever do.

Not quite understanding what his father does for a living, and really not having the greatest relationship with his father, Michael Jr. hides in the back of a truck one night when his father and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), who is Rooney's son - which I am guessing may be the first time I had seen him in anything - go to talk some sense into an associate when all goes wrong and they are forced to murder him and his associates. The whole event witnessed by Michael Jr.

Sullivan promises both Connor and John that his son would never speak a word of what he saw - but Connor remains unstable and sends Sullivan on a job in order to get him killed - while going to their house to murder the rest of the family.

I have to admit, not really sure I didn't enjoy this the first time around. I really got into it much more this time. The old-time era looked great and some of the characters in the film were just great - including one I didn't mention Harlen Maguire played brilliantly by Jude Law.

Still, I can't rank this too high on the Hanks list of films, but I think it has earned the right to be in a rotation of rewatches whereas before I wouldn't have given it another look.

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HOT: Catch Me If You Can

In my opinion, Tom Hanks is the greatest actor in Hollywood. One of the things I admire so much about him is that even when he is not technically the star of the film, he still shines. This is really shown well in That Thing You Do, but you can definitely see it here as well.

Hanks plays Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can - a definite top character in the film, but definitely not the star. No, that belongs to Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars as Frank Abagnale, Jr. a 16-year old kid who leads Hanratty on a cross-country chase as he cons millions of dollars from  people and companies by forging checks.

Abagnale, Jr. is the son of Frank Abagnale (Christopher Walken), who gets denied a small business loan due to some issues with the IRS and eventually divorces his wife, Paula (Nathalie Baye), who is having an affair. When the two decide to separate, Abagnale, Jr. takes off and the fun begins.

He begins to pose as a Pan Am pilot, and then starts to forge fake Pan Am checks to the tune of 2.8 million dollars.

This of course begins to alert the FBI and Hanratty starts tracking Abagnale, Jr. - so much so that it becomes the only thing he wants to do.

Over the course of three years Abagnale, Jr. becomes a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer by forging documents and he conned millions of dollars along the way.

Still just a kid himself, Abagnale, Jr. tries to do most of this for the approval of his father - and soon tries to build a relationship with Hanratty with phone calls near Christmas time.

The film itself is based on a true story - and Abagnale, Jr. was one of the top forgers in the United States. He now works with the FBI in tracking down forgers.

DiCaprio and Hanks were absolutely amazing in their roles - and together they were even better. DiCaprio really carried the film as Abagnale, Jr. but Hanks was downright amazing playing second fiddle.

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HOT: Cast Away

This was a trailblazer type of film - at least from what I can remember. This was the first real big-budget film that showcased an individual for nearly an entire movie. Since then we have had a few more of these type of films, like Buried and 127 Hours.

So, Tom Hanks stars as Chuck Noland in Cast Away. Noland is a systems analyst for FedEx and wants the company to improve its ability to ship faster.

He is in a relationship with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) and the two are hoping to get married, but Noland's busy job always tends to get in the way. As they are having Christmas with her family, Noland is called to make another trip and he must leave again.

On the flight, something appears to go wrong with the plane during a thunderstorm and Noland is the lone survivor. He washes up on an inhabited island with no way of contacting the outside world and call for help.

The rest of the film, for the most part, is Noland spending time on this island alone. As he's on the island, FedEx packages that the plane was carrying begin to wash up on shore and Noland collects them, and eventually opens them to find uses for them.

Of course, the best of those packages proves to be a volleyball that eventually becomes Noland's only friend on the island. In a strange way having Wilson was a way for Noland to stay sane (which is odd to say) as he was able to talk to him and bounce ideas off of him.

Noland ends up going from a man that had no true hunter/camping skills to an expert after spending around four years on the island.

I, of course, loved this film. When I first heard that Hanks would spend the entire movie on an island alone, I thought there was no way they could make that interesting. But, they totally did - and a lot of that has to do with Hanks' performance and the inclusion of a volleyball.

In fact, I feel the island portion of the film is far superior than the portion of the film where Hanks is interacting with the other humans. That is when the film seemed to get a bit more boring - which is odd.

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HOT: Toy Story 2

It's really tough to understand the full quality of this film without knowing how it actually came together. Luckily you can check that out in the documentary, A Pixar Story.

Toy Story 2 was rushed into production and then totally reshaped not long before it was set to be released. Thanks to John Lasseter the film came out much better than originally planned.

As the first film was focused more on Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), this one goes a little deeper into Woody's (Tom Hanks) background. As Andy (John Morris) gets ready for cowboy camp, Woody is excited that he gets to spend time alone with his best friend. But, right before he's about to leave Andy plays one last time and ends up tearing Woody's arm - and decides to leave him behind.

Woody sits on a shelf and finds Wheezy (Joe Ranft), who was put on the shelf when he lost his squeaker with hopes of getting one replaced. Andy's mother comes and picks through Andy's room for stuff to get rid of in a yard sale. As Wheezy is selected, Woody goes on a rescue mission to save him from the yard sale. While on the mission, he gets discovered by Al (Wayne Knight) who owns Al's Toy Barn - and eventually gets stolen by him.

Woody is taken to Al's apartment and learns that he was once a a children's television show with his own Roundup Gang - that featured Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and his horse Bullseye.

Al has already agreed to ship the entire collection to a toy museum in Tokyo as soon as he finds the Woody doll to go with it.

Buzz, meanwhile, puts together his own rescue mission with Rex (Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney) and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) to get Woody back from Al and return him to Andy.

Toy Story 2 is another great film from Pixar, but it's probably the weakest of the Toy Story films - but it's still one hell of a flick.

The introduction of Jessie was great, and her backstory was heartbreaking. And the silent partner Bullseye was also a great addition. Stinky Pete turned out to be a pretty decent villain as well - sort of semi-partnered with Al.

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HOT: The Green Mile

The posting of this review comes at an unfortunate time. I am (again) still catching up on reviews of movies I have watched awhile ago. This comes just days after the death of its star Michael Clarke Duncan of a heart problem. I always enjoyed Duncan in many of his roles - this one probably being his best - and always wondered why he wasn't in more mainstream films.

Anyway, back to the movie. You will be missed Mr. Duncan.

I believe in my life I have only watched two films that were adapted from Stephen King's writing - The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile (but, I will be watching Stand By Me soon).

Here, Tom Hanks stars as Paul Edgecomb, a death row prison guard during the Great Depression. Edgecomb works with Brutus Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper), Harry Terwilliger (Jeffrey DeMunn) and newcomer Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison).

Percy is an issue in the prison - but he also just so happens to be related to the warden Hall Moores (James Cromwell), so the rest of the men just have to put up with him.

Edgecomb also happens to be dealing with one of the worst urinary tract infections I have seen - and has difficulty using the rest room, walking sometimes and in the boudoir with his wife Jan (Bonnie Hunt).

One day a prisoner arrives to the 'Mile', which they call it. A prisoner named John Coffey (Duncan) who is convicted of killing a pair of young girls. He joins two men already on death row, Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) and Arlen Bitterbuck (Graham Greene).

After the death of Bitterbuck, the Mile gets another member 'Wild Bill' Wharton (Sam Rockwell). Wharton is one of the worst criminals - and really stirs things up on the Mile.

The guards begin to realize that Coffey may be a bit different than other prisoners - and not just because he stands almost a foot taller than the rest. Edgecomb even begins to develop a relationship with Coffey and begins to think he didn't commit the crimes he is being charged with.

After Eduard's circus mouse is killed by Percy, Coffey shows his first miracle - bringing the mouse back to life. Standing amazed, the guards truly believe Coffey is something special - and begin to feel horrible that they will have to put him to death.

The film is marvelous to look at. You get the feeling by how the film looks just how it felt to be working on the Mile. Constantly sweating - much like in A Time to Kill - it was used very well.

The acting is top-notch. Hanks and Duncan are the standouts, but Cromwell, Morse and Pepper also give memorable performances. Hutchison, who is seriously despised in this role, does a great job to make us hate him. Finally, Jeter and Rockwell were just amazing in their roles as criminals. Rockwell really went over the edge as 'Wild Bill'.

This is one of those films that is great, but hard to watch except every so often. It's long and you begin to feel for these characters, especially Coffey, that it's hard to take on repeat viewings.

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HOT: Saving Private Ryan

I have never been in an actual war. I have heard tales. I have had relatives fight in the war and for our country. But, even through those you never actually grasp what war is truly like.

Saving Private Ryan, from what I hear, is the best representation of what actual war looks and feels like as we have ever had on film. And, it's as close as I will ever, or ever want to, be.

During World War II, a mother is about to find out that three of her sons have all been killed in action. She has four sons, one is still missing somewhere in the war. Commands come down the chain for Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) to put together a small crew and find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) so that he can be sent home.

Captain Miller has just been part of the invasion of Normandy on Omaha Beach where a lot of men were killed or injured, including one of Ryan's brothers.

Miller puts together a team of Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Private Reiben (Edward Burns), Private Jackson (Barry Pepper), Private Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Private Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) and Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies).

Upham is a translator and typist who has never been in action until he is asked to join Miller's crew to head across the country tracking down Ryan. His fear and lack of experience ends up hurting many of the other members of the crew, at least in someway.

Though a bit hard to watch in some parts as it is so close to actual war and you find it hard to stomach what people had to go and live through, the film is brilliantly put together. A film about founding a 'needle in a haystack' probably doesn't sound that entertaining, but mixed within this war film it definitely was.

The acting is superb up and down the line. You begin to feel for all of these characters and it pulls at your heart strings if anything happens to them. Plus, the film is riddled with amazing actors in just very small parts - like Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina, Dylan Bruno, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Hurst, Leland Orser and Nathan Fillion.

The film runs two hours, 49 minutes, but you can never tell. There isn't a dull moment in any of it. Even when there is a bit of time when the action has subsided and it's just the guys sitting around - the conversation and dialogue is so interesting and at times fun that you hang on every word.

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HOT: You've Got Mail

So, this movie is a remake of a film called The Shop Around the Corner, which I have not seen but the title of that film is used nicely here as a store.

You've Got Mail is the final of three films (so far) that Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks star in together, previously starring in Joe vs. the Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle. Here, I feel they were going to the Sleepless in Seattle well yet again - but with a little more comedy this time around.

Ryan stars as Kathleen Kelly, the owner of a small bookstore called The Shop Around the Corner. It was her mother's and she inherited it when her mother passed away. It has what all of the superstores tend to lack - a face and a heart.

Hanks stars as Joe Fox, who is part owner of Fox Books with his father and grandfather - which just so happens to be a book superstore. One, that slowly is taking out the other local bookstores just by being built. Kelly's store is one of the last to go under.

So, it goes without saying that Kelly hates Fox without really getting to know him.

That is where things sort of get twisted. Fox is currently seeing Patricia Eden (Parker Posey), while Kelly is in a long-term relationship with Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). However, both Kelly and Fox have found a friend online that they enjoy chatting with.

This is where that updated version - is already sort of outdated. I am not sure how many people still use AOL out there, but I have not had it in years. Plus, not sure how many people are actually finding there soul mates in chat rooms (this could actually still be happening, but I am way out of the dating game so I am not sure). But, in the ever growing age of technology - the dial-up and iconic 'You've Got Mail' message have already gone the way of the dodo.

Anyway, their chatting at first is rather bland - just every day things and someone to rant to. Plus, they keep it anonymous - no names or jobs.

After the two of them break things off with their significant others, however, Fox asks to meet. And, he soon finds out that the person he has fallen in love with over the internet is in fact Kelly, the one woman who despises him.

With this knowledge, however, he stands her up and begins to make nice with her - he now knows who he is chatting to online, yet she is still clueless. And, he uses this to get her to fall in love with him - the real him, not the superstore guy that tanked her business.

Though it is already outdated for the most part, I actually liked this Ryan/Hanks feature the most out of all of them. I know a ton of people love Sleepless in Seattle, but I feel this one is the better of the two.

It also has a pretty solid cast with Dave Chappelle playing Kevin Jackson, Hanks' right-hand man; Dabney Coleman playing Hanks' father; Steve Zahn playing George Pappas, one of the workers in Kelly's bookstore

Again, already a pretty outdated movie in terms of technology - but a pretty fun rom-com if you ask me.

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HOT: That Thing You Do

So, I have seen this movie a ton of times. In fact, I got a copy of it on DVD a few year's ago. But, it's on television so much that I had never opened it.

Well, for the Hanks-O-Thon it was time to watch the DVD. And, to my surprise, there was a Director's Cut available - and since I had seen the original version so many times I figured I'd give it a shot.

There wasn't too much more in the director's cut of That Thing You Do. A lot of the extra scenes involved the characters and gave them some extra depth. But, there were some scenes that really opened my eyes to a character, something I never saw in the original.

Anyway, a quick rundown of the film. A small band in Erie, Pennsylvania is about to play at a local talent contest. Jimmy Mattingly (Johnathan Schaech), Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn), T.B. Player (Ethan Embree) and Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) make up the band. Mattingly's girlfriend Faye (Liv Tyler) is also prominently featured as part of the band, even though she doesn't sing.

A few days before the contest, Chad tries to jump over a parking meter and falls and breaks his arm. In a bind the group goes to Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), a drummer who is being coached to take over his father's appliance store.

The song 'That Thing You Do' was written by Mattingly and was meant to be a ballad - but once Guy gets things rolling, the song becomes very upbeat and becomes a hit - and even nets them a job singing at a local restaurant.

After cutting an album on their own, the band is signed by a manager who promises to get their song on the radio and get them playing in larger cities - and he comes through. So much so that 'The Oneders' is soon signed by Playtone Records and Mr. White (Tom Hanks) - who changes their name to 'The Wonders'.

The song climbs the charts for months and the band plays state fairs with the rest of the Playtone galaxy. But, as things really begin to get good for the band - they also start to drift apart.

I really enjoy this movie. So simple, yet so fun.

The two main things in the director's cut that we get to see is Guy's girlfriend, Tina (Charlize Theron), fall in love with her dentist. In the original, we see her meet her dentist and see that there is something there - but here we see much more of the two of them interacting. The second thing we see - Mr. White is apparently gay. I never saw any really glimpse of this in the original, but there were a few scenes in the director's cut - including seeing his boyfriend, played by former NFL star Howie Long.

Doesn't change the movie all that much, but pretty interesting to see the whole picture now.

Hanks isn't in the movie a ton, more of a side character. The real star is Scott, Tyler and the other band members. But, his touches are all over it - including writing and directing it. Not to mention the slew of actors in bit parts throughout the movie from a lot of his other movies, including his wife, Rita Wilson.

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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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HOT: Toy Story

Did you ever wonder what happens when you shut your door as a kid? Perhaps those toys you have been spending so much time with actually have minds of their own.

In 1995's Toy Story, those questions and more are answered. I have always been a fan of cartoon films, especially Disney films - but this new kid on the block, Pixar, was seriously about to blow our minds.

It was the first film ever to be totally created through computers and CGI, which in itself would make this film groundbreaking. But, Pixar didn't stop there. They actually made an amazing story to go along with it - something that would become the norm with Pixar films.

So, Andy (John Morris) is a young child who really gets into playing with his toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) is a sheriff doll with a pull string that has been Andy's favorite toy since he was in kindergarten.

When Andy heads out of the room and leaves his toys by themselves, they all come to life and interact with each other. Some of the main toys throughout the room are Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles).

Andy and his family are about to move into a new home and it also just so happens to be close to Andy's birthday. A surprise to the other toys, they find out that Andy's mother has moved his party up so that it can happen before the move.

Woody dispatches a team of Army soldiers led by Sarge (R. Lee Ermey) to stake out the birthday party and report back with what Andy receives for his birthday. After thinking they had escaped the party without Andy receiving anything big - Andy's mom pulls a large box from the closet, and out comes Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).

Buzz is a toy with all of the bells and whistles and soon takes Woody's place as Andy's new favorite toy. But, Buzz is also a bit confused as he believes he is the real Buzz Lightyear and not a toy - so he tries to fix his broken spaceship in order to get back to outer space.

Woody becomes depressed when he is replaced by Buzz and on a night when Andy is allowed to bring one toy with him to Pizza Planet - Woody tries to knock Buzz behind a dresser, but instead knocks him out of the window.

Blamed by the toys for trying to get rid of Buzz, Woody tries to find Buzz and get him to come back to the house. But, both toys are discovered at Pizza Planet by Andy's neighbor Sid (Erik von Detten) and brought back to his house - Sid is a deranged child who enjoys torturing toys and Woody does all he can to get Buzz and himself out of the house and back to Andy before the moving trucks leave.

Again, just an amazing film. Pixar is the new standard for animated features and it all started with Toy Story in '95. It is also the film that all new CGI films will always be compared to. It's not often that something so new and groundbreaking can also produce one of the best animated features ever as well.

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