Rating: 
Summary: No. 2 in the numbered Fox Collector¿s Editions.
Review: When I first saw the first half of the trailer to Cast Away, my mind was immediately excited. One guy tries to survive on an island with nothing but what washes up on shore from a plane crash. Sounded like my kind of thing. But then the second half of the preview let audience know that the guy gets rescued and survives. That's a pretty big spoiler to put in the trailer. Imagine the preview to Empire Strikes Back revealing the identity of Darth Vader, the trailer to Citizen Kane revealing what Rosebud is, the DVD cover of Planet of the Apes revealing... wait. They did that. Anyway, it is a misstep to place Cast Away on par with those movies. It's entertaining and nothing more. And the whole movie appears to have been financed by FedEx.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Hanks Does It Again
Review: This movie hammers home the idea, to me at least, that Tom Hanks deserves the Oscar. His acting ability amazes me. This film harkens back to one of Tom's older films Joe Versus the Volcano, as the main character ends up on a deserted island. In this film, it's because of a plane crash in the pacific. The similarities between Cast Away and JVTV were numerous, with lots of bits of symbolism all through the film. Chuck Noland (Hanks) is a Fed-Ex employee who is obsessed with time. Everything has to be done on time (the Fed-Ex motto). When things go wrong in the biz, they call him in. When he gets called away right before Christmas, he figures it's just a short trip. A few hours later, he's in the drink. Trying to survive on the island only one concern. The other is keeping his sanity, which is apparently in short supply. Hanks delivers one of the best performances of his career in this film, which hardly got a second glance by critics. While there are a few special effects in the film (the plane crash), the film is mostly centered on Hanks character and follows him while he tries to make some resemblence of a life on the island. Where's Gilligan, the Skipper and the professor when you need them? Any Hanks fan should own this one. This is the one he got robbed of the Oscar on. You can repeat this mantra everytime you watch it. It's a slow constant flow-of-a-film, and is very dramatic and wonderful. I would have liked more special features, so I didn't give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Man Out Of Time
Review: It's hard to think of a movie in which the hero ponders a metaphorical crossroads in his life while standing at a literal crossroads. Insipid or inspired? The problem with Robert Zemeckis's visually and viscerally eye-punching Robinson Crusoe ins that you can't say for sure. Could the movie really be as thematically trite as an insprirational office poster? Or is it an admirably stripped- down examination of the ancestral essence of being human?
Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) doesn't worry about such big questions. He's airlifted into Moscow and other emerging capital hot-spots when local operations are absolutely, positivly running from that tireless hunter: time. (It's alerrgorical! Get it?) Summoned on Christmas to make an emergency run, Chuck leaves his fiencee Kelly (Helen Hunt) with the promise that he'll return New Year's Eve. Cue from a "Perfect Storm": Chuck and the FedEx jet crew lose radio contact and crash into the Pacific Ocean in a truly harrowing, you-are-there disaster sequence. This is no film for the squeamish, particularly after Chuck and a few FedEx packages wash up on an unnamed, utterly uninhabited island (Fiji's Monukiri and Mana, actually).
Almost everything, from what Chuck's forced to eat to his horror at consequences of a desert-island toothache, is accompanied by all the blood and guts left over from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.
Add in Chuck's deteriorating hold on sanity---evinced by the inspired conceit of his relationship with a volleyball on which he has drawn a face---and you have a long middle section of bravura filmaking.
But once Chuck get home, the film turns anticlimatic and emotionally nil, and there's a startling lack of chemistry between Hanks and an unimpressive Hunt.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Scenes, Great Story, Great Acting, Great Theme.
Review: This movie reminds me of "Forrest Gump" because of the sentimental themes, the subtle, creative symbols, and the proactive, determined struggle of the main character, which happens to be played by Tom Hanks in both movies. The theme of this movie is about what is really important. Chuck Noland (pun for "no land") works for Federal Express and oversees time management. He thinks time is wasting and he doesn't know how right he is. He's constantly working and flying all over the world. He exchanges Christmas gifts with his girlfriend at the airport in the car then hands her a wrapped gift which is obviously an engagement ring. He tells her to hold on to it until New Years Eve, and promises he'll be with her then. She gave him a family heirloom pocket watch with her picture in it. He says he'll always keep it set to Dallas time and then rushes to his plane, which tragically crashes into the ocean. He is the sole survivor but luckily he managed to float on a liferaft overnight and by morning stumbled upon a small uninhabited island. This is where he begins being what is called proactive-- he deals best he can with what life dealt him. He is resourceful and exercises initiative. The bulk of the movie, his stay on the island, is very unique because he is the only human being shown, there is no music, yet it never ceases to be fascinating. He could just wither away and die or even commit suicide, which he almost does, but he decides to live. But for what? Namely for his girlfriend, whom he thinks about constantly and keeps the pocketwatch open to her picture. Symbolically, while the plane was losing control, he dropped the watch and risked his life to get it before it fell out of the broken plane. The plane crash symbolizes the harm of overcommitment to work and being too busy and focused on schedules and time. The watch symbolizes his life back at civilization. The plane crash made the watch stop ticking. I also think he decides to live just for the sake of life itself even with all its discomforts. A great turning point and memorable scene of the movie is when he bravely decides to voyage off the island on a raft he constructed. He could easily die in the middle of the ocean but the reward is to possibly get back to civilization. The reason it is a turning point in the movie is because when he gets back, it actually seems as if he were better off on the island. As he's floating away from the island, he looks back at it and you can feel that he will miss it because of all his hard work, all he went through, and all he achieved. Notice the title of the movie is "Cast Away" not "Castaway". This is because the real point is that being cast away by his lover was worse than being a castaway for four years. On the island, he yearned for companionship so bad he actually developed a relationship with a volleyball. Of course everyone thought he was long dead, including his girlfriend. So she married someone else and had kids. His friends throw a party for him, but he seems the least happy one there, thinking of whether or not he'll get his girlfriend back. Her husband greets him awkwardly as we would expect him to and explains that his wife is confused and doesn't want to see him right away. However, he should have at least prepared a little better as to what to say to him and been friendlier. Symbolically, he is a dentist and once performed a root canal on Chuck. At this point, I really felt contempt for her new husband and I was rooting for Chuck. I felt he deserved her after all he went through and how he never stopped loving her even after being away for four years. She seems ambivalent and confused at first, having meetings with Chuck and showing him the news articles and scrapbook she has of him and how she kept the Jeep that they were in together last at the airport. As he drives away in it, she chases him and kisses him and tells him he's the love of her life. Yet, her decision soon becomes clear as she goes back to her new husband, expensive house, and children. I felt so sad for Chuck. Of all the packages that washed ashore, he kept the last one unopened. He finally delivered it in person when he got back. Saving this package for that purpose shows his determination and hope for the future. Why else would he have saved it? Just like in Forrest Gump, this is a subtle, curious action. He leaves a note saying the package saved his life. No one is home and we never learn what was in the package or their response. The package was of no tangible use to him like the contents of the other packages but it was the hope that he would be able to deliver it that saved his life. As he's leaving, he stands at a crossroads. He's out west where miles of flat ground stretch all around him. A pretty, vivacious woman drives up and tells him the names of each of the roads and where they lead. I wondered why he just let her drive away when she seems interested in him and he's single trying to get over a lost love. The movie ends there, with Chuck standing at the crossroads not knowing where to go next, symbolizing how his life has been turned upside down twice and the big question on his mind is, "Now what?" The messages of the movie are that close relationships are more important than working and that we've got to do the best we can with the cards life deals us.
Rating:
Summary: A Sure Thing
Review: I suppose it's theoretically possible to make an unpopular movie starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt. Maybe A Chorus Line 2: Dancin' With Barney, or The Real Life Adventures of Al Gore. But it wouldn't be easy. Hanks' gift for connecting with audiences, coupled with Hunt's effortless likeability, make Cast Away virtually a sure thing from the start. Which is not to say that it's a great movie. The basic plot has been done for centuries, in every flavor from Robinson Crusoe to The Black Stallion to Gilligan's Island. In this case, a time-obsessed FedEx Manager (Hanks) finds himself with nothing but endless empty days and solitude when a plane crash leaves him stranded on a tiny Pacific island. But Hanks elevates this tired premise to a compelling human story that ultimately justifies the big budget and upstages some spectacular effects. (That's just about as close as I want to get to a real commercial jet crash, thanks very much.) A measure of the star's discipline and dedication to the project is the fact that he lost fifty pounds between the shooting of the initial scenes and the later ones - the better to convey the effects of four years' survival on thin provender. The most remarkable thing about this film is what's left out - especially if you compare it to something like Six Days Seven Nights. There are no ruthless pirates here, no sexual tension, no snakes finding their way into anyone's underwear. There's no restless hopping between Hanks on the island and the loved ones left behind. Banking everything on the skill and popularity of his star, director Zemeckis leaves him alone on the screen for 75 straight minutes. (Well, not entirely alone: his companion through most of his time on the island is a volleyball, washed up from the wreckage of the plane, that he decorates with a face and hair, and dubs "Wilson.") When all is said and done, you don't miss all those action-adventure fripperies for even a minute. It's a tribute to Hanks that he can make an effective co-star out of playground equipment. A lot of movie reviews say things like "this film isn't for everyone, but...." Well, Cast Away pretty much is for everyone. Except for the very young children who would be frightened by the plane crash and one or two slightly gruesome scenes, just about everybody can enjoy this film. In a way, that's a criticism - it's bland enough for every palate - but it's still well worth the seeing.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Tanks
Review: Castaway was gravely lacking whether it was a true story or not. I hope it was true because that would at least validate the reason why somebody would put an anti-climactic and obvious-to-the-point-of-silliness story like that on a screen. The only enjoyable parts were where he lost something: Wilson the volleyball and his only companion of four years; blood, in the ocean accident where he tries to row a deflated lifesaver tube towards a light in the distance and breaks his leg open on the coral; his flashlight burning out; his soul-mate re-marrying and starting a new family; etc. It was enjoyable because I wanted him to suffer further. I think sympathetic feelings should only be lent to greatness, like Stalin or the Hindenburg exploding into flames, not to some shlub lost at sea who survives against great odds and endures to what? Saving his life only to give into the convention of letting things be as they are? Of course if there is resistance one shouldn't push and pull, but it seemed the only thing holding him back were the qualms and strictions of leaving well enough alone. Too bad this didn't register in his brain on that island and save the two hours and twenty plus minutes of film. Although there were some amusing parts there was never really any suspense as the viewer knows without any advance warning that he would survive his ordeal no matter the severity or peril he faced. Two stars begrudginly because it was 50 times better than Wendigo and I like to be consistent.
Rating:
Summary: At The Crossroads
Review: The symbolic ending of this movie finds Tom Hanks at the dusty crossroads of a small town in Texas after returning to his job as a FedEx worker.
Four years prior to this, he survived a plane crash that left him stranded in the South Pacific and presumed dead by family, friends, and colleagues.
The years spent on that primitive isle are realistically boring and lonely for him. Viewers watch as a soccer ball with his bloody imprints becomes his best friend, his hair grows long, wild, and sun-bleached, and he grows mentally ill.
By the time he is able to build a raft and finally free himself from his island prison, we realize how much Wilson has come to mean to him, and how Wilson has come to symbolize the human contact that Chuck so desperately craves.
We feel sad that his wife, Kelly, played by Helen Hunt, didn't pay attention to her gut instincts about whether or not her husband had survived, and instead listened to friends who told her to move on with her life.
This film reminds me a little of "Forever Young", except that the ending leaves us hanging regarding the ultimate fate of the hero. But we know that at least now that he is back in civilization, his destiny is back in his own hands, and we wish him all the best.
Rating:
Summary: a gem
Review: A simple premise unravels itself to an extraordinary understanding of the human things surrounding us. I believe that the secret to Tom Hank's character's survival should not have been given away in the ads by Fox. Movies I really want to see, I avoid all ads for and I did for this one too. I dont want to be told what I am going to get. I want to be tugged with emotion in all its intensity and fashion. such a beautiful film in its essence, the story of a Chuck Nolan who gets stranded on an island with the hope of seeing his fiance again. SPOILER WARNING: But Alas the anti climactic ending was a heartbreaking tearjerker. The very woman that kept Chuck alive should have in some way been worth it. She still loves him but it is too late. While the idea about changes and the motto ...to keep breathing shines but it doesn't make the viewer's heart feel any better because of what happened between Tom Hanks and Helen Hunts characters. A simple story very visually told and a performance worth the nomination it got, the movie winds slowly to unravel its sincerity. It could be mistaken as slow but the slowness is vital to its very structure. When Hanks got his nomination, I thought again, another year, something is wrong with the academy. This guy gets chosen every year..but every year this man brings incredibly fantastic performances. A great movie with a great message of not taking things for granted, and knowing how time and love change the human heart.
Rating: 
Summary: First of all I would like to warn you
Review: I thought that this movie was terrible. Why? Well, the movie went nowhere, told us nothing, and was nothing but one guy talking to a volleyball. Sound exciting? I mean, even if you like Tom Hanks it wouldn't bring up the quality of the movie. The sustaining forces of this movie were Wilson, the infamous volleyball, and the "undelivered package," which really means nothing held it together. Now, obvioulsy I do not recommend this movie to you, but I do agree that you should at least see it once, and maybe that friend you have that says they "like" it will show it to you for free. It is not worth the money, and I saw it in theatres!
Rating:
Summary: WILSON!!!
Review: (...). This movie is another great one from his roster. It may not outshine Back to the Future, and Forrest Gump, but it was really good. The plot moves a little slow, but not to the point where you fall asleep in the theater. Tom Hanks gave a wonderful performance, as well as Helen Hunt even though she only takes up about 30 minutes of screen time. The movie, mostly was almpost without sound. It was really different and I though that was really bold of Zemeckis. Tom Hanks grew more and more insane as the movie progresses, and he makes friends with the most iconic of all sports equipment, Wilson the Volleyball. The film was great and it really made you believe you were stranded with Tom's character, Chuck. It is a great film all around. See it.
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