Cast Away

Rating:
Summary: a serious waste of time
Review: another overblown tom hanks epic. zemeckis lost his touch after the back to the futures/roger rabbit and has continued to spiral downwards. If you would like to watch Tom kill fish and talk to a volleyball for nearly two hours, this movie is for you.

The only reason the movie earned 2 stars from me is because I thought that the action sequences on the Fed Ex plane were superb. So, if you know you will like to see Tom kill fish and talk to a volleyball for most of the film, this is for you.

P.S.- When I say he talks to a volleyball I mean it. It is another way that he is able to stay alive. His friend "Wilson" is supposedley another strength that keeps him alive.

Rating:
Summary: Rivetting
Review: This was a film I wanted to see only because of Tom Hanks, not because a remake of Robinson Crusoe had any particular appeal. What a surprise! This film has some of the best special effects I've ever seen. It makes The Perfect Storm look precisely like the little boat in a box of water that it was (not to mention paper-thin characters and way too much nonsensical machismo.) The plane crash in Cast Away is so real that the viewer gets a terrifying sense of its actuality. (The only other "wreck" sequence I've seen that was comparable was the train wreck in The Fugitive.)

I cannot conceive of any other actor pulling off what Hanks does in this film. He is an actor with such honesty and integrity that he inhabits every character he portrays. And in this case, one cannot help but watch in awe as he invests his formidable skills in this Fedex employee who miraculously survives not only a horrifying plane crash but also a life of total isolation on an unpopulated little island.

What's also amazing is that this film was directed by Robert Zemeckis who's not famous for his sensitivity. But this film has it all: utterly believable characters, a fine script, and more action than most bash-em-up, shoot-em-ups could ever manage on their best days. To see a man we come to care about deeply beat the odds and survive makes for the most rewarding viewing. There's not a single predictable moment, nor a single stock character to be found anywhere in this film.

Absolutely stunning and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Triumph for Tom Hanks
Review: This movie is a tour de force for Tom Hanks and has some very compelling moments. In the beginning of the movie, he is shown as a FedEx employee who is obsessed with time schedules and spends copious amounts of time on his cell-phone and answering his beeper. He is a slave to his job as evidenced by a Christmas Day departure for a business trip which forces him and his fiance, played by Helen Hunt, to open their gifts in the car before he leaves. Helen Hunt is sadly underutilized in this part, by the way. By far the best scenes in the movie occur during the circumstances which strand him on an uninhabited island and the time in which he lives on the island. Needless to say, his priorities change drastically and he is kept going by a fading picture of his girlfriend and by accomplishments such as discovering water and creating fire. The scenes before and after this segment are poorly written and unconvincing and if anyone but Tom Hanks was saying some of these lines, we'd never believe them. The island scenes were well-done, but I was left with a vaguely unsatisfied feeling at the end.

Rating:
Summary: "Cast Away is one of the best movies in 2000"
Review: Cast Away is one of the best movies in 2000 and so much better than "Gladiator" which was so boring. You have to see Cast Away because its a really really excellent movie. So buy the dvd rent it borrow it what ever just see it because its a excellent movie from beginning to end!

Rating:
Summary: Best FedEx commercial I have ever seen
Review: FedEx FedEx FedEx. The poor schmuck is stranded on a desert island yet they still manage to get the FedEx logo plastered 10 feet tall across the screen. At times the gigantic FedEx logos made it difficult to focus on what the characters were doing. Once you finally notice it, it is terribly distracting from the story and the scenery. Without the "product placement" beast I would have enjoyed this movie enough to buy a copy, but in the theatre I was actually turning from the screen when next 3 minite period elapsed and it was time for another FedEx logo to appear. Truly, it severely hurt the movie and instead of adding a little realism to it, it came off like a big FedEx commercial, even the ending which would have been touchingly sweet was more a FedEx endorsement (neither rain, nor snow nor deserted island can ...) Tom Hanks was brilliant but he played second fiddle to the FedEx logo. Helen Hunt played - er, well she played Helen Hunt. Whatever movie HH plays in she always plays the same character, only the name and circumstances change. Too bad really, she can be charming, but she needs to explore a little and play something besides the sweet, semi-innocent, semi-feminist, semi-emotional, all-American girl. Just once, I would like to see her cast as a baddie, or a vamp, or anything else.

Rating:
Summary: This isn't Gilligan's Island
Review: I'm really not a huge fan of the big budget hollywood movie, but I have to say that Castaway was very well done. The most likely reason is the masterful direction of Robert Zemeckis who continues to create quality motion pictures time after time. Tom Hanks gives one of his stronger performances as Chuck Noland, a Fed-Ex higher-up who gets stranded on a desolate island after his plane crashes. There is little dialogue during Hanks' time on the island, but it is not needed as Zemeckis tells his story through the camera. It becomes quite interesting to see the de-evolution of this man as he gets back to primal survival skills. Castaway is chock full of memorable moments and will stick to your ribs, it is a movie you will not soon forget.

Rating:
Summary: Cast-Away Your Doubts: It's a Great Movie
Review: Gilligan's Island was a cute show, but CASTAWAY is the real thing and a great movie. It is a change from the seven stranded castaways, for Robert Zemeckis simply threw the "cast away" and rode the waves with Tom Hanks. The Gilligan's Island jingle could have gone something like this:

The plane set down in the ocean somewhere, Near an uncharted Pacific Isle, With Tom Hanks, and Wilson too, the millionaire, Tom Hanks, The movie star (Tom Hanks), the Professor (Hanks), and Hanks again, Here on Tom Hanks' Isle!

So much for my parodic attempt to be funny, but it is true. If you like Tom Hanks, whom I do, you will love this movie. Only Russell Crowe's outstanding performance in Gladiator prevented Hanks from holding the golden statue again. He plays the part of a FedEx consultant, Chuck Noland, who often travels across the world on business, yet one day meets peril on a flight across the Pacific. He winds up on an island, and this is where the survival story ensues, not only for Chuck, but for the movie as well. An actor on an island must be very creative, especially with little background music, no conversation, and only natural sound effects like the wind, rain, and waves.

The real question is why Helen Hunt accepted the role of Chuck's girlfriend, Kelly, a limited one in this movie. Excuse me, but is this "As Good as it Gets" for her? They must have paid a good nickel to secure her services, but she certainly made the most of her part; nevertheless, the best supporting actor goes to Wilson. This is Chuck's wild-haired, blood brother, and confidant, the person that kept him from losing all his mental faculties. In fact, Tom had a ball with this little fellow and you will be impressed with his performance.

The movie reveals to us the importance of the human relationship. Can a person live alone in life as on an island? Do we need others to survive and to what extremes will mankind go to have connection with another human being? The movie answers these questions, and even brings God into the picture. Do we really have angels watching over us? Thus, the movie deals with some very real and delicate human issues, issues that we cannot so easily "cast away"!

Rating:
Summary: Cast Away Your Doubts About Zemeckis
Review: After the gutsy first five minutes of "Contact" (showing how insignificant we all are on this little planet!), director Zemeckis outdoes himself with "CastAway" with many inventive and exhilarating scenes of loss, joy, and a little madness. Hanks delivers an indelible character who runs the gamut of emotions and physical torment in over two hours. The DVD has exceptional sound/picture. One of the pure joys was Zemeckis' decision not to use music; only the sounds of the ocean and nature take precedent and shape the character and the story. The DVD comes very close to capturing the theatre experience. The extras are great and add a lot to the overall package. This one is a keeper and sure to be a classic years from now.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: This movie could have been much better. Its really only interesting when Chuck Noland's(Tom Hanks) Plane crashs and he has to survive on a desert island by himself. The movie is beleivable. If your buying the movie because you think its a nice movie about survival on a harsh desert island then dont because even though thats included you have to deal with the depressing moments when Chuck returns home and the dissapointing ending. If the movie kept you on the island more and at least had a satisfying ending it could have been perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Best Actor
Review: Having not yet seen CASTAWAY at the time of the Oscars, I was pleased when Crowe won Best Actor. Gladiator was one heck of a fun flick. However, I have since viewed the DVD of this latest Hanks' film and I am ready to declare him not just the best actor of 2000, but the best actor of our generation. I bought him as time-obsessed. I bought him as "feeling" the loss of his best friend beachball Wilson. I was amazed at his physical transformation (I pray that I never read somewhere that it was a special effect). I gave the film only four stars because the film, despite Hanks' efforts, became a bit too sappy at the end. But you know what? I watched it to the end. The very end. And that is another sign of Hanks' great talent. He will not allow you to turn away from him. You just can't do it. He is the most watchable man in film these days.