Film Round-Up #40

It has somewhat startlingly been well over two years since I last posted a selection of Tom Hanks films. The challenge then was to find one that wasn't all that great since up to that point, all his films that I had seen had been good. That previous selection did yield one example that I wasn't too enamoured by, but it's still usually a safe bet to watch his films, so why not watch some more? None of the films chosen here were previously unseen by my eyes on this occasion (unless you count parts of the first one) but I hadn't seen some of them for many long years. Had I managed to find another non-great one in his filmography?

Big (Extended Edition) (1988)

Yes, I've already looked at Big in a previous Hanks round-up, but that was before I discovered there was an Extended Edition which I didn't know until very recently! I wouldn't normally bother with such releases except with my ultra-fave films, but an excuse to spend more time in prime 80s movie-land was one I couldn't pass up. I was somewhat concerned I might not even notice at least some of the new stuff - it's not like I've watched the normal version of the film dozens of times - and indeed, I hadn't noticed much for the first hour or so, but from the point when Josh and Susan have their trampoline session there are lots of extra scenes, most of which feature the two of them having dates and working together. They appear to be having a full-on relationship here, most of which was apparently cut from the theatrical release. I guess I can understand why too, but it's not just them - there's some 26 minutes of new stuff in total including lots of other extra bits and pieces, and for most the end product is probably even more enjoyable overall than the wonderful original... 9/10

Turner & Hooch (1989)

I probably saw this one around the time it came out but I remembered literally nothing about it prior to this post (except for the presence of a big slobbery dog, obviously). I did think it was a cop/crime film with a dog in it though, but after watching it again now, I realise it's more of a dog film but with a cop in it! Scott Turner (Hanks) is the cop in question, a detective who, in his last few days on the job, has to investigate the murder of Hooch's old codger owner while showing his replacement (Reginald VelJohnson) the ropes. On top of that, he also has to look after Hooch who turns his neat, organised life upside down! There's a bit of rom-com tomfoolery thrown in as Scott hits it off with the vet (Mare Winningham) who gives him advice about looking after Hooch but it's mostly a silly comedy with Hooch causing mayhem and Scott trying to tolerate him. Seeing Hooch breaking and/or messing stuff up does hit me right in the OCD and I wasn't really enjoying it for a while, but the charm of Hanks makes it more appealing than it would otherwise have been and it ends up being... not too bad. Certainly not one of his best though... 6/10

Apollo 13 (1995)

Is it just me or do we seldom seem to get big, one-off 'event' films like this nowadays? That was the first thought I had when watching it for the first time in 20-odd years for this post, but I was soon engrossed once again in this remarkable tale of that fateful Apollo mission back in 1970. The crew - Hanks as Jim Lovell, Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert and the late Bill Paxton as Fred Haise - had the most difficult jobs, namely giving decent performances while going up and down in aircraft to simulate zero gravity, but they all do excellent jobs. Leading the ground-based cast are Gary Sinise and Ed Harris at mission control and Kathleen Quinlan as Jim's wife, and their focus, like ours, is soon on our moon-bound astronauts whose service module has of course suffered a catastrophic explosion-related malfunction. I'm sure everyone knows the story and Ron Howard's now-classic film tells it superbly. The period details are spot-on and it remains gripping throughout, even if you know exactly how the real flight played out. Hanks is just part of a well-oiled machine here but he, along with everyone else, is superb. They don't make them like this any more... 9/10

Road to Perdition (2002)

Casting Hanks as a mob enforcer is a bit surprising but that's exactly what he's playing here. Naturally, being Hanks, his Michael Sullivan is a 'nice' enforcer, or as nice as a multiple murderer could be I guess, who finds himself taking on his own 'crew' headed by John Rooney (Paul Newman in what was his last major film role) after his idiotic son witnesses a murder. It was a film of particular interest to me in its day as it was Sam Mendes' second film after American Beauty (one of my favourites) but, oddly, I only watched it that once. I was looking forward to seeing it again though, and it didn't disappoint. Hanks is great in his dual role of protective father and vicious killer and Newman's grizzly mob boss is a worthy send off for the legend too. They get mostly excellent support from the likes of Jennifer Jason Leigh as Sullivan's wife, Jude Law as a hitman after him, Daniel Craig as Rooney's inept son, and Tyler Hoechlin as Michael Jr. The grim tone of Depression-era Illinois might put some off but it was captured superbly here which, helped by some wonderful cinematography and another great Thomas Newman score. I think this one flew under the radar a bit for some but it's an engaging crime drama that's well worth a look... 8/10

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Is it me or did this film receive little hype for a Spielberg film? It took me a couple of years to watch it but I'm glad I finally did. It's based on real events from the Cold War (late 50s here, longer timespan for real), and concerns the attempts of the US government to exchange captured Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) for downed US spy plane pilot, Gary Powers (Austin Stowell). Hanks stars as James Donovan, a lawyer tasked with defending Abel despite having no experience in such matters. Due to his fair and principled treatment of Abel, he is then sent to Berlin to negotiate the prisoner exchange upon (probably) learning the KGB is willing to deal. It would be a risky job anyway, even for someone suitably qualified, and naturally there are some dubious spy-ish tomfooleries from both sides as well, but James' honourable nature makes him seem like an old hand, and also earns Abel's respect. There are a few differences from the real events, of course, but this is still a fascinating insight into a consequence of the Cold War that is seldom explored. Add to that some excellent work from the two well-cast leads and superb depictions of Cold War-era Berlin and you have an engrossing, oft-overlooked thriller... 8/10