I just has a thought – after so many years of countless movie-watching, I do not seem to have reflected on the shows I really really like. So I have decided that as and when I will reflect on my favourite movies and some pretty good shows that have impacted me in some ways. The title will start with “FM”, meaning “Favourite Movie”. (Ok, I know how cliché that sounds.)
I decided to start off with “Forrest Gump” as that is my ultimate favourite movie of all time. After all these years and so many more shows, no other show has ever topped this, and no other actor has ever topped Tom Hanks as my ultimate favourite actor. I know I may drool over “pretty” and “gorgeous” actors, but when it comes to real acting substance, Tom Hanks is top of the list.
Perhaps the reason “Forrest Gump” is so well-received may be due to the naivety, simplicity and innocence of the main character. He goes through life believing in the goodness of everybody and everything and does the good and righteous thing without caring how others think of him. No matter how bleak the situation is, and how many times people have hurt him, he still manages to see the positive side. The world needs more people like him!
The show itself is like a crash course in the golden years of American history, spanning thirty years from the 1950s to the 1980s. It started with Forrest Gump as a child, staying in Alabama, one of the southern states that had very strong racial discrimination. There was a slight reference to the Ku Klux Klan of old.
While the kid grew up through the years, he was involved in love (his childhood friend Jenny, who got mixed up with hippies and gangs), fame (he won a football scholarship to college because of his running speed), war (he was roped into the army to fight the Vietnam War), sports (table-tennis competition in the army), close friendships (his buddy in the army by the name of Bubba who died in a shelling, and later his lieutenant, whom he saved), wealth (shrimp farming), death of his mother, inspiration to others (the three-year marathon he ran throughout the country), birth of his child by Jenny (incidentally played by a then three-year-old Haley Joel Osment, who later went on to star in “Sixth Sense”), his marriage to Jenny, her death, and the show ended with him waiting for the school bus with his son.
The show started off with a feather flying around, where my favourite tune “The Forrest Gump Suite (Feathersong)” started playing. Incidentally, the show ended with the flying feather and the song. I still remember the taglines “Run, Forrest Run” and “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”
Throughout the show, there were references to famous events and people, like Elvis Presley, who was one of the Gump family’s lodgers, the historical event where the first blacks were allowed to attend the University of Alabama, the Vietnam War, world table-tennis tournaments against China, his shaking hands with a few Presidents, meeting with John Lennon, the Watergate Scandal, gathering and protest of hippies, meeting with the “Smiley Face” T-shirt designer, establishment of the Apple company by his business partner.
The show is really authentic because besides the various references to true events and people, songs of those eras were played too, Songs by Elvis, by some pop groups and singers of that era. I actually learnt much more about the various historical events, the songs, fashion, culture, people of that period during the almost three hours of the show than any other history lesson!
Tom Hanks is part of the reason why the show is so widely-acclaimed. Besides a good storyline, he manages to carry the character throughout the show. People feel sad when he is sad, reaches out to him when he got scolded by trying to do something good, want to protect him like how he was protected by his mother, Jenny and later his lieutenant who became his best friend and business partner.
Forrest Gump is the type of guy that endears to everyone, young and old, and everyone wants to take care of him and tell him everything is alright. No wonder the movie and the actor were both well-deserving of the “Best Picture” and “Best Actor” win of that year respectively.
Unlike Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks is not the type whom others drool over or gaze at, but his success is based solely on his acting skills. Which is why the shows he acted in usually have more intense storylines and range from a variety of genres, where the lead role required a real good actor to carry through, not just a hunky dory pretty boy.
It is as if whatever role he takes on, the character really fits in and comes to life. He can portray a sub-normal and innocent guy (Forrest Gump), a thirteen-year-old trapped in the body of a thirty-year-old (Big), a “Robinson Crusoe” type (Cast Away), a FBI agent (Catch Me If You Can), a professional hitman (Road To Perdition), a prison chief (The Green Mile), a single father (Sleepless In Seattle), an army commander (Saving Private Ryan), a wanderer at an airport terminal (The Terminal), a con-man (The Ladykillers), an astronaut (Apollo 13), a band leader (That Thing You Do!), a manager of a female baseball team (A League Of Their Own), a big boss of a big company (You’ve Got M@il!) and a gay AIDS-stricken man (Philadelphia) all rather realistically.
That is why his shows are normally worth watching. Through the years I have come to realize that if it is a Tom Hanks show, it is a must-watch! I am really looking forward to “The Da Vinci Code” where he will take the role of Professor Robert Langdon.
Just a pity I did not manage to catch all his shows. I have yet to watch “That Thing You Do!” (which consisted of another catchy song), “The Ladykillers”, “The Terminal” and “Philadelphia”.
The show “Forrest Gump” came with a soundtrack, which I bought after the movie came out. I fell in love with all the songs, especially the main theme. It was my second ex’s favourite CD too, and a pity he kept it back, so now I have to look for another one of the same. Looking out for soundtracks from “Apollo 13” and “That Thing You Do!” as well!
I decided to start off with “Forrest Gump” as that is my ultimate favourite movie of all time. After all these years and so many more shows, no other show has ever topped this, and no other actor has ever topped Tom Hanks as my ultimate favourite actor. I know I may drool over “pretty” and “gorgeous” actors, but when it comes to real acting substance, Tom Hanks is top of the list.
Perhaps the reason “Forrest Gump” is so well-received may be due to the naivety, simplicity and innocence of the main character. He goes through life believing in the goodness of everybody and everything and does the good and righteous thing without caring how others think of him. No matter how bleak the situation is, and how many times people have hurt him, he still manages to see the positive side. The world needs more people like him!
The show itself is like a crash course in the golden years of American history, spanning thirty years from the 1950s to the 1980s. It started with Forrest Gump as a child, staying in Alabama, one of the southern states that had very strong racial discrimination. There was a slight reference to the Ku Klux Klan of old.
While the kid grew up through the years, he was involved in love (his childhood friend Jenny, who got mixed up with hippies and gangs), fame (he won a football scholarship to college because of his running speed), war (he was roped into the army to fight the Vietnam War), sports (table-tennis competition in the army), close friendships (his buddy in the army by the name of Bubba who died in a shelling, and later his lieutenant, whom he saved), wealth (shrimp farming), death of his mother, inspiration to others (the three-year marathon he ran throughout the country), birth of his child by Jenny (incidentally played by a then three-year-old Haley Joel Osment, who later went on to star in “Sixth Sense”), his marriage to Jenny, her death, and the show ended with him waiting for the school bus with his son.
The show started off with a feather flying around, where my favourite tune “The Forrest Gump Suite (Feathersong)” started playing. Incidentally, the show ended with the flying feather and the song. I still remember the taglines “Run, Forrest Run” and “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”
Throughout the show, there were references to famous events and people, like Elvis Presley, who was one of the Gump family’s lodgers, the historical event where the first blacks were allowed to attend the University of Alabama, the Vietnam War, world table-tennis tournaments against China, his shaking hands with a few Presidents, meeting with John Lennon, the Watergate Scandal, gathering and protest of hippies, meeting with the “Smiley Face” T-shirt designer, establishment of the Apple company by his business partner.
The show is really authentic because besides the various references to true events and people, songs of those eras were played too, Songs by Elvis, by some pop groups and singers of that era. I actually learnt much more about the various historical events, the songs, fashion, culture, people of that period during the almost three hours of the show than any other history lesson!
Tom Hanks is part of the reason why the show is so widely-acclaimed. Besides a good storyline, he manages to carry the character throughout the show. People feel sad when he is sad, reaches out to him when he got scolded by trying to do something good, want to protect him like how he was protected by his mother, Jenny and later his lieutenant who became his best friend and business partner.
Forrest Gump is the type of guy that endears to everyone, young and old, and everyone wants to take care of him and tell him everything is alright. No wonder the movie and the actor were both well-deserving of the “Best Picture” and “Best Actor” win of that year respectively.
Unlike Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks is not the type whom others drool over or gaze at, but his success is based solely on his acting skills. Which is why the shows he acted in usually have more intense storylines and range from a variety of genres, where the lead role required a real good actor to carry through, not just a hunky dory pretty boy.
It is as if whatever role he takes on, the character really fits in and comes to life. He can portray a sub-normal and innocent guy (Forrest Gump), a thirteen-year-old trapped in the body of a thirty-year-old (Big), a “Robinson Crusoe” type (Cast Away), a FBI agent (Catch Me If You Can), a professional hitman (Road To Perdition), a prison chief (The Green Mile), a single father (Sleepless In Seattle), an army commander (Saving Private Ryan), a wanderer at an airport terminal (The Terminal), a con-man (The Ladykillers), an astronaut (Apollo 13), a band leader (That Thing You Do!), a manager of a female baseball team (A League Of Their Own), a big boss of a big company (You’ve Got M@il!) and a gay AIDS-stricken man (Philadelphia) all rather realistically.
That is why his shows are normally worth watching. Through the years I have come to realize that if it is a Tom Hanks show, it is a must-watch! I am really looking forward to “The Da Vinci Code” where he will take the role of Professor Robert Langdon.
Just a pity I did not manage to catch all his shows. I have yet to watch “That Thing You Do!” (which consisted of another catchy song), “The Ladykillers”, “The Terminal” and “Philadelphia”.
The show “Forrest Gump” came with a soundtrack, which I bought after the movie came out. I fell in love with all the songs, especially the main theme. It was my second ex’s favourite CD too, and a pity he kept it back, so now I have to look for another one of the same. Looking out for soundtracks from “Apollo 13” and “That Thing You Do!” as well!
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Bio of Tom Hanks.
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