First of all I would like to apologize to the cube monkeys out there for getting this blog out there super late. Today I'm going to go over the career of Tom Hanks. I figured I'd veer away from the comedy/action actors/actresses today. Tom has been in films before I was even swimming around in my Dad's nuts (1992) so he's got a bunch of miles on his illustrious career. Worldwide his movies have grossed over $8.5 Billion, making him one of the highest grossing actors in history. That's pretty God damn impressive to say the least, good for him, good for him.
I found this picture hysterical, so I put it on, this is no way shape or form a reflection of his career.
Tom busted out on the scene after his role in Big (1988). He played the role of a child who wished to become big and over night became an adult. Looking at him from the outside not knowing what happened, you would probably think he was retarded based on how he carried himself throughout society. He was a manchild. It was actually a very good film, and the numbers speak for themselves since it made $151 million worldwide which was amazing for 1988. He was also nominated for an academy award for best actor that year, which he lost to Dustin Hoffman's role in Rain Man in which he played an autistic man. Big year for the mentally disoriented roles. I did not see the movie Philadelphia (1993) but he won the academy award for his role as Andrew Beckett, so I'd say he obviously did something right. In 1994 Tom won back to back academy awards for best actor after Tom's lead role in Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump is an American classic that I've seen numerous times in my life. Tom played the aforementioned Forrest Gump and the movie was about his life and showed us what this man went through. Forrest wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree but he didn't let that affect him. He won awards from the military for serving in Vietnam, was a world renowned ping pong player, a shrimp enthusiast but most importantly showed us, the viewer, life lessons. "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get" is one of the most used sayings still, and it actually is true about life. Unless your a baby born into a family with a silver spoon in your mouth, if you're one of those kids, fuck you.
One of the rolls I will forever love Tom for was his voice as Woody in the Toy Story trilogy which started in 1995 and was concluded in 2010. I have literally nothing negative to say about Toy Story. I grew up watching them and I feel that I can relate to the "main" character Andy a lot. It showed us Andy growing up from being a little kid to going off to college. The movies focused more on Woody and Buzz and the trials and tribulations Andy's toys went through. I am not ashamed to say that I tear up every time due to the ending of Toy Story 3. It's an absolute lock that one tear will be shed, and if you don't tear up, your a ginger and have no soul. In 1998 Tom was nominated for another academy award for the WWII classic Saving Private Ryan. SPR is viewed as one of the most realistic reenactments of what it was like for the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy and helped win the hellacious blood bath against the Nazi regime. The first time I saw the movie was in 8th grade during Social Studies class and had to have a permission slip signed by my parents due to the blood and guts. This is another Tom Hanks movie I can't help but tear up at the end because of the historical impact plus the attachment I gained to the numerous soldiers the movie showed. Every time I snipe someones head off in a videogame, I usually say "God give me strength", paying homage to SPR's sniper who is a boss. The final battle scene fighting of the German's is riveting and unbelieveable. The only complaint is that Upham, the pussy who was supposed to supply ammo for the men didn't die.
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In 1999 Tom was in the movie The Green Mile which also featured the late Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP) and it was a great watch. Tom struck gold with his performance in Cast Away (2000). It was about a man who worked for FedEx that wound up getting stranded on an island by himself after a delivery went bad and how he handled life. Things we take for granted such as water, food, shelter, warmth, clothing and maybe most importantly, companionship, were all struggles Tom's character Chuck faced. Chuck took a volleyball from the wreckage, befriended it, and named him Wilson (the balls brand). Gravity, which was mentioned in Themigs's blog, is a complete and utter ripoff of this concept, only in space (Like Anthony said, he couldn't have hit the nail harder on the head). Tom was again nominated for an academy award for best actor for his performance, which he lost to Russell Crowe for his role in Gladiator. In 2002 he teamed up with Leo and Spielberg in Catch Me If You can which I saw for the first time in Mrs. Bennett's accounting class senior year of high school. She had absolutely no control of her class whatsoever, great times. CMIYC was an enjoyable movie based on true events. Watch it if you can, you won't be disappointed. He's also known for his voice in the Christmas movie (Yes, I said Christmas, none of that liberal "Holiday" bullshit up in this blog) Polar Express (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels and Demons (2009), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011) and most recently Captain Phillips (2013). Captain Phillips was nominated for a total of 6 academy awards, unfortunately losing all 6, but don't read much into it, it was a fabulous film. It was about a cargo ship that gets hijacked by a bunch of malnourished Somalian pirates, who resembled some of Kony's finest soldiers, and tried to make a quick buck. The rest of it's up to you to find out, I'm not giving any more of the details away. Watch it for yourself and see how the story unfolds.
This has been my longest blog, and it could have went on a lot longer talking about the career of Tom Hanks. I tried to give the man his due diligence for entertaining the millions who have seen his films over the years. He is one of the most well respected men in the biz. I wish there were more actors like Tom Hanks, everything the guy says is a stitch.
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