Toy Story 5 (2026)

Despite my previous desire not to have the series continue, I got curious when I saw the new plot element in ads. Having seen all the other entries (not counting Lightyear) in theaters, I soon talked my parents into joining me -- followed by my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and reluctant nephew. This would be a new experience on that level at least, enough to make up for nearly half an hour of ads. Good thing the movie itself moves along at a fast clip.

Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), now 8, has trouble making friends because all the same-age kids in her neighborhood would rather play online. Her parents buy her a tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee), much to the consternation of her soon neglected toys. Her longtime favorite, plastic cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), sneaks off with stuffed horse Bullseye (no voice) to ensure that Bonnie has a good time at a sleepover with new connections thanks to "Lily," leaving astronaut action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to try to keep Lily in check. When things go sideways, Jessie and Bullseye involuntarily return to where she stayed decades ago....

Apollo 13 (1995)

When I saw this in a theater at 13, I didn't like it much. It's big on crisis but not on visual spectacle, apart from a brief nightmare sequence. (The impressiveness of shooting in low gravity goes only so far.) Yesterday, I finally mustered the nerve to give it another try with adult eyes.

In 1970, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) attempt to be the next men on the moon. They're not superstitious about the mission number, but Lovell expresses concern about Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) being swapped out for Swigert at the last minute because of a positive test for rubella. At first, the voyage is too plain for TV coverage. Things start going wrong on Day 3, when an oxygen tank explodes. Under flight director Gene Krantz (Ed Harris), NASA abandons hope of a lunar landing, and even getting them home alive looks highly improbable.

Elvis (2022)

Making a bio about anyone this prominent is practically asking for trouble. It might tell us nothing new or fudge well-known facts. Considering Baz Luhrman's penchant for anachronisms, I fully expected the latter. Still, he must have done something right -- if only not getting in the way too much -- for his flick to garner eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

If there's one way this stands out from most musician biopics, it's the first-person narration by the musician's manager, honorary Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). He discovers Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) when the latter has become a local sensation, young enough to require contract signatures from his parents (Helen Thomson and Richard Roxburgh). The partnership spells a lot of fame and income, but the two lock horns a lot. Tom seems to mean well when he demands that Elvis dial back the popular yet controversial elements, not so much when he won't let Elvis tour overseas because Tom immigrated illegally and has to make up gambling debts with Vegas performances.

Road to Perdition (2002)

This is one of those rare times that I allow myself to review a re-viewing because I'd mostly forgotten the first viewing. I have a friend (also a bit relevantly forgetful) to thank for convincing me to give it another go, as well as for helping me understand and appreciate what was happening.

In peak Al Capone-era Chicago, 12-year-old Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) knows that his father, Mike (Tom Hanks), has a dangerous job but gets curious about the unstated details, so he stows away in the car one night. Mike turns out to be a debt collector for the Irish Mob under John Rooney (Paul Newman), and Michael sees John's hotheaded son Connor (Daniel Craig, attempting a U.S. accent again) commit a murder even John wouldn't approve. Fearing that Michael won't keep his promise not to talk and resentful of Mike winning John's favor, Connor attempts to kill, directly or indirectly, the entire local Sullivan family, ironically missing only the two most important targets. Mike plans to take Michael to a relative in the fictitious town of Perdition, Michigan (modeled after Hell, Michigan?), but first he wants to neutralize the Rooneys' pursuing threat, possibly with Capone's aid via the one other real gangster mentioned, Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci).

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Why didn't I see this sooner, perhaps in a theater? Probably because Won't You Be My Neighbor? came out not so long before. But now seems like a good time to explore promising stress relief.

In 1998, Lloyd (Matthew Rhys), an Esquire writer based loosely on Tom Junod, has such a reputation for scathing articles that almost nobody will agree to an interview with him anymore. His editor, Ellen (Christine Lahti), gives him a different kind of assignment: 400 words on Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), as part of a series on heroes. Lloyd is not happy about this; neither is his wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), partly because he'll have to fly from New York to Pittsburgh, leaving her alone with their baby for a while, and partly because she worries what he'll write about her childhood icon. But Rogers has a way of helping people deal with their emotions more healthily, which is especially important when Lloyd holds a serious grudge against his own father, Jerry (Chris Cooper).

The Money Pit (1986)

I am definitely watching more movies with mediocre receptions lately. Maybe I'm more open to the possibility of being among the few fans. Maybe just seeing titles again and again without knowing much about them wears on me. I'm sure the convenience of streaming has something to do with it.

How silly of me to think that this title implied a pit that provides money. Instead, it refers to a superficially beautiful mansion that Walter (Tom Hanks) and girlfriend Anna (Shelley Long) buy for "merely" $200K up front, only to find that they'll have to go still deeper in debt for much-needed repairs.

Sully (2016)

I haven't seen many pieces of entertainment, in any medium, based directly on events that I heard about when they were news. In this case, it's hard for me to believe that the event happened nearly 11 years ago.

I speak of the "Miracle on the Hudson," in which long-time pilot Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) lands a damaged commercial plane on a river instead of heading for either of two nearby airports. Everyone survives, but that's not the end of Sully's troubles. He develops PTSD symptoms, he and wife Lorraine (Laura Linney) are not crazy about all the public attention, and the National Transportation Safety Board, while impressed at his landing skill, thinks he made a dangerously wrong decision and should not be allowed to fly again. Can he convince the Board that its analyses are incorrect?

Toy Story 4 (2019)

To me, the Toy Story series has been almost the antithesis of the Cars series. TS1, while flawed, was destined for classic status. TS2, while not feeling necessary, outdid it in my book. TS3, which I had long assumed would never happen, became my all-time favorite animated feature (tho I may revise that assessment with further viewings). Could TS4 continue the pattern?

A mere two years after the events of TS3, old toy cowboy Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has lost favor with owner Bonnie, who's starting kindergarten. He's taking this decline better than he did in TS1, but his way of coping is to support Bonnie clandestinely against the advice of others; like the emotions in Inside Out, he prioritizes nothing over the happiness of "his kid." With his guidance, she makes an ugly yet fairly impressive arts-and-crafts toy named Forky (Tony Hale), who initially doesn't have the mindset for a sapient toy at all. By the time Forky's getting cooperative, Woody's eyes stray to a familiar sight in an antiques shop window, giving him a riskier new priority and prompting buddy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to go on his own rescue mission....

The Post (2017)

As a Steven Spielberg fan, I could hardly have waited long to see a new pic of his with decent reviews, so I didn't hesitate to accept a Meetup invitation. At the same time, I approached with some trepidation, because it looked like the studio had poured in too much talent. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the leads? Would there be any scenery left? There are a few other familiar names -- Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, David Cross -- but none of them stood a chance at standing out.

Something of a spiritual prequel to All the Presidents' Men, the story concerns events leading up to the first publication of segments of the Pentagon Papers. For maybe the first third, it's hard enough for The Washington Post to vie with The New York Times for breaking news. Then they choose a tougher opponent: the Nixon Administration, seeking to plug the leak of classified information by any means necessary.

The Terminal (2004)

I had said not to expect many more reviews of Steven Spielberg-directed features. It's something of a surprise to myself that I took only about seven months to get to another.

Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a present-day airline customer from a fictitious nation apparently near Russia. During his flight, his homeland experiences a coup d'etat, resulting in a most extraordinary situation for himself: The U.S. neither recognizes his passport nor can send him back any time soon, so his only legal option is to stay at this NYC airport indefinitely. (If this sounds implausible, know that a real-life Iranian had to wait 18 years in a Parisian airport after the 1979 revolution.) Note that this comes in the first few minutes, so the running theme of the whole story is waiting, but I assure you that things do happen before Viktor's freedom....

Cloud Atlas (2012)

The Wachowskis have not done a great job of sustaining their directorial popularity in the wake of The Matrix, with V for Vendetta being their one other major hit as writers and producers. This may explain why they decided to try something different, adapting a David Mitchell bestseller into one of the most expensive indies yet, sharing credit with German cult director Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run).

Specifically, we get six alternating subplots across different settings and even genres. In 1849, an American aristocrat visiting a Pacific island contends with illness, envy of his wealth, and a burgeoning sympathy toward slaves. In 1936, an aspiring British composer works on "The Cloud Atlas Sextet," but his history of gay sex limits his options for exposure. In 1973, an investigative journalist follows a murder trail toward a horrible San Francisco corporate conspiracy. In the present, an elderly British publisher learns the ups and downs of working with a thuggish author, followed by the untrustworthiness of his own brother. In 2144, South Korea has been manufacturing female clones for servitude, and one with the telltale serial number 451 rebels. In 2321, an unspecified disaster has led to Hawaii being divided into primitive tribes and a handful of elite technocrats, and one of the latter needs assistance from the former.

What draws these subplots together? Lots of little things: a recurring birthmark on focal characters, parallel moments in their lives, actual references to the past. Oh, and more than a dozen actors play multiple roles, among them Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, and Wachowski staple Hugo Weaving, hinting at reincarnations. If there's a single overarching theme to the whole thing, it's championing resistance against tyranny -- which, come to think of it, describes the other Wachowski movies I know.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

You can't tell from any of my previous entries, but I'm a major Steven Spielberg fan. Maybe being named after him has biased me in his favor, but the projects that he directs and/or produces rarely disappoint me. I've seen nearly all his feature films to date, so don't expect me to review many more.

As in real life, in 1957, insurance attorney Jim Donovan (Tom Hanks) is asked to defend Soviet spy Rudolph Abel (three-time Tony winner Mark Rylance) in court. There's no getting Abel off the hook altogether, but Donovan persuades the judge to forgo a death sentence, not least because Abel could make a good bargaining chip. The opportunity for this comes before long, as two Americans become prisoners in rapid succession: a spy in the USSR and a mere student who attempted to break into East Germany for romantic reasons. Donovan once again steps up to the plate, this time in the even harder role of officially nongovernmental negotiator in Berlin. Can he get both communist governments to cooperate and trade two prisoners for one of questionable value?