Top Tom Hanks movies

Besides Sandra Bullock, the newly Oscar nominated Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close also stars Tom Hanks. Now he might not have had the best couple of years but he is still frigging Tom Hanks. The legendary actor, producer, writer, and director has been around for over 30 years, so quite a career. Since he is just as much an international star (and has been for a long time) we’re going to count the top Tom Hanks movies based on his biggest box office hits worldwide, unfortunately unadjusted for inflation.

10. Catch Me if You Can (2002) $352.1 million – Directed by Steven Spielberg and also starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale Jr., a teen that successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks. Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent assigned to catch Frank. Catch Me if You Can is great film from start to finish, never boring, definitely worth your time.

9. Apollo 13 (1995) $353.5 million – Tom Hanks plays Jim Lovell in this Ron Howard film about the true story of the troubled Apollo 13 mission. Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris also star in this great movie.

8. Toy Story (1995) $362 million – The first big screen feature film of now famous animation studio Pixar, Toy Story is a wonderful movie that answers a simple question: What happens with your toys when there’s no one around? I was 8 when I first saw this in theaters and 23 when I last saw it at home. Still a great movie regardless of age. Tom Hanks voices the lovable cowboy Woody and two more equally fantastic sequels followed over the next 15 years.

7. Cast Away (2000) $429.6 million – “Wilson! Wilson!” Screams that, 11 years later, I still remember. Wilson is a Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball and Tom Hanks’ co-star in the movie Cast Away. It sounds crazy if you haven’t seen the film, I know, but Wilson really was for Tom Hank’s character, Chuck, what Friday was for Robinson Crusoe. This is obviously a castaway story and for fear of not spoiling anything else, I’ll stop here by saying that you simply must watch Cast Away.

6. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $481.8 million – A World War 2 epic set during the invasion of Normandy, it tells the story of a group of soldiers lead by Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and their search for private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), the last surviving of four brothers. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it’s one of the best war movies of all time, in my opinion.

5. Toy Story 2 (1999) $485 million – Often enough sequels don’t live up to expectations but that wasn’t the case with Toy Story 2, considered by some actually superior. Personally, I’m split here; it’s like having to choose between your kids. So again, Woody, Buzz and the rest of Andy’s toys return for a new adventure.

4. Angels & Demons (2009) $485.9 million – Based on the Dan Brown mystery novel with the same name, Angels & Demons is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code and a superior flick in every way. Ron Howard directs Tom Hanks again here.

3. Forrest Gump (1994) $677.4 million – A fantastic movie that won Tom Hanks his second Oscar, Forest Gump is based on the novel with the same name by Winston Groom. While not the smartest tool in the shed, Forest Gump lived quite a life, he taught a young Elvis how to dance, became part of the All-American Collage Football Team, meet John F. Kennedy, joined the army, fought in Vietnam, received the Medal of Honor, meet another president (Lyndon B. Johnson), played ping-pong for the US Army Team against China, meet yet another president (Richard Nixon) and so on. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away), Forest Gump is a phenomenal movie that can’t be missed by anyone.

2. The Da Vinci Code (2006) $758.2 million – Now this is a movie you can miss. It’s the very definition of how to spoil a good premise with a mediocre and boring movie. Yeah sure, it’s controversial and stuff but is that enough? If so then go right ahead, The Da Vinci Code is not a bad movie but I’m certainly not one to recommend it.

1. Toy Story 3 (2010) $1,063.2 million – 11 years worth of expectations and Toy Story 3 did not disappoint one bit. The end of a trilogy and a series, at least until rumors of Toy Story 4 started circling. You know, Pixar hasn’t failed us yet, why start now, Cars 2 be damned.

Two Oscars and five Golden Globes later, there are many other noteworthy Tom Hanks movies that didn’t make this top 10 but only two of those have a special spot in my heart. One is The Green Mile, a superb film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The other is Sleepless in Seattle, a heart-warming film just as great now as it was 19 years ago. Now that I think about it, I really love Big also. So what’s your favorite Tom Hanks film? Comment below!

What are your top Tom Hanks movies?

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Get ready for 84 minutes of Shakespeare on mushrooms. The 3D animated Gnomeo and Juliet is based off the famous writer’s 16th century play. In the opening monologue, a little gnome alerts the audience that this take will be a bit different from all the other versions. What the little gnome – and the nine other writers – forgot to mention is that this will blatantly steal the Toy Story concept. Now retreads are part of the process these days and this practice is accepted. With that said, the producers, writers and director better bring their A-game in the creative department.

After the monologue is completed, the setting of this story takes place in the connecting backyards of two upscale senior citizens. As they exchange insults when leaving for work, the one thing they do have in common is the pristine upkeep of their backyards. Both fenced in areas are decked out with tiny ceramic gnome statues. On one side we have the elegant blue gnomes. The other is the quasi-grumpy red gnomes. Once the respective homeowners leave for the day, the gnomes come to life and begin tending to their lands. Yet every now and then, the rival factions like to take subtle shots at each other. Whether it be in sabotaging ones flowers and/or partaking in the heated lawnmower races in the back alley just beyond the fence, the two sides are very competitive when interacting with each other.

The story glosses over all the characters so the audience can get a proper introduction. Yet the main focus is on the heralded son of the blues, Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and the princess like daughter of the reds, Juliet (voiced by Emily Blunt). Both have a sense of adventure in them, which leads them to an unexpected meeting, when both decide to venture beyond the fence. It becomes love at first sight, but the obstacle of being a blue and a red, forces them to hide their passion for each other. Eventually, the grudge between the blues and the reds escalates, leaving the two lovebirds in a tough position.

It’s fine to do an alternate take on a revered story. Disney’s Tangled is evidence of that, for it managed to successfully execute the formula in an entertaining way. Gnomeo and Juliet does a few creative things and pays attention to the small details (no pun), when using its surroundings. Problem is the gnome characters were not the proper vehicle to helm this tale based on the layout of the script. You would think having nine writers, the creative lighting bolt would eventually strike somewhere. Sadly, the potential (if any) is never fully realized.

Audiences – especially the younger audiences – will chuckle in a few choice spots. A chuckle is all though. Put it this way, you know when something hilarious happens on-screen and the audience is still laughing to the point you may miss a few lines of dialogue in the movie? Well, this will not happen at all in this guy. In fact, it seems the writers were cognizant of that above practice in theaters and purposely added a buffer between jokes. Which is met with dead silence. Now that isn’t to say the jokes were complete duds, but they (writers) definitely needed to spend more time on the material in accordance with the animated sequence that accompanied these said duds. What is funny though, Ozzy Osbourne voicing a ceramic deer the size of a shoe.

Comparisons to Toy Story are natural since the gnomes and a other random ceramics all freeze when humans enter the frame. What this flick is missing that Toy Story had was more depth in each character’s persona. None of the ceramic statues – which also include a French frog and a Super Mario Bros. mushroom – had the charisma necessary to make this memorable. The chosen environment the characters are put in was never fully developed, therefore, not all that interactive. It’s a shame too, because random flashes of brilliance were on display and could entertain. The not-so intelligent Pink Flamingo is an example of things the story did right.

Overall, Gnomeo and Juliet needed more preparation. The final version looks more like a second or third draft. Maybe Touchstone Pictures sent out the wrong copy to theaters. The physical animation is worthy of the big screen but the story and creativity regarding the characters is not quite there. Which suggests this title probably should have went straight to DVD. This is a product that will not annoy you in anyway, but the flick never engages the audience (old and young). At least it’s short (again, no pun intended).

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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The trailer mash-up below is probably one of the best I have seen in a long while. Youtuber al28283 has inserted Toy Story footage on top of The Dark Knight trailer, and it is almost perfect.

Watch it now!

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