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Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wonderful
Review: forrest gump is a triumph of the human spirit. it shows you that even if you are different, you can still lead an eventful, courageous, and happy life. it is not an over rated movie in the slightest! tom hanks does an almost flawless job playing forrest, a mentally retarded man who is trying to lead a normal life. robin wright penn is magnificent as jenny, forrest's child hood friend turned hippie. a wonderfu movie overall-i highly recomend it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Stupid is as stupid does...
Review: & the over-the-top praise this movie received certainly certifies that bromide. But it has its funny moments, kind of an extended R-rated Gomer Pyle. However it just goes on & on & on & on & on for so long & it slathers on shameful amounts of sentimental goo plus every conceivable film cliche without being in any way witty. Oh well, as my mama used to say, that's just like us, ain't it? It's worth 2 1/2 *s actually.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: One of the few times the movie was better than the book.
Review: OK, maybe 3-1/2 stars. Good acting on Tom Hank's part, and an interesting, if schmaltzy, story. In contrast, the book had less emotional impact and more focus on Forest Gump as this guy who goes through the boomer era either starting or becoming a part of the fads and trends of his time unselfconsciously, apparently as a way for the author to write a boomer trip down memory lane for those who have forgotten the mileposts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "My name's forse gump, my friends call me forse gump..."
Review: Hailed as a classic when it first came out, "Forrest Gump" now appears to be looked upon as a travesty, a shallow celebration of America's innocence. Yet this retrospective view is somewhat missing the point. For while the character of Forrest Gump is portrayed as being genuinely innocent, the American "innocence" he represents is not, nor is it ever intended to be.

In this, the film works well both as life story and as unique commentary on the last 30 years of American history. As played by Micheal Connor Humphreys and then Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump is a slow-witted but good hearted young man raised in Greenbow, Alabama by his feisty housekeeping mother(Sally Field). Forrest's good intentions, his ability to run at great speeds, as well as his love for his abused and misguided best friend Jenny (who grows up to be Robin Wright) drive and define his life. Forrest goes to college, enlists for the US Army and survives a posting to Vietnam and his various encounters with prominent historical figures, including JFK. Forrest recounts all of this to others whilst sitting on park bench awaiting a bus.

This is far from a perfect film. The many numerous spottable gaffes and mistakes put the Academy to shame for naming it Best Film of 1994. The digital effects have dated, as has the tinkering of the various real video footage. Yet this is largely superficial when considering the film's graces.

The film's direction and use of music for scenes are very good in places, particularly for the scenes in Washington D.C with Forrest's triumphant reunion with Jenny after returning from Vietnam.

Yet the film's defining point has to be it's acting. Sally Field and Robin Wright give solid support; Field always the supportive and caring mother (who isn't above boffing the headmaster to get Forrest entry into a 'normal' school) and Wright as his loving, but self-destructive soulmate. Gary Sinise also turns in a fine performance as Leiutenant Dan, who is crippled in Vietnam but whom, with Forrest's help, finds redemption and regains a sense of self.

But this is Tom Hank's film. However gushed his Oscar acceptance may have been, he did deserve the award for a performance that is alot more complex than first appears. On the surface and to the core, Forrest is naive but essentially good individual. Yet his park bench recollections continually undermine the idea of American innocence, rather than celebrating it.

Forrest wistfully recalls his absent father being a member of the Klu Klux Clan. Anyone with even a smattering of knowledge of American history will know the Clan were a gang of vicious white supremacists, rather than "people who dressed up ghosts, or spooks or something". Forrest continually comments on the history he encounters in a very simplistic way that invites to both laugh at Forrest, as well as with him.

This irony is repeated throughout the movie, even in throwaway moments. One such moment is Forrest and Leiutenant Dan's encounter with two whores in a bar just as New Year dawns on 1972. One of the whores says with sadness in her voice "Don't you just love New Years? You can start all over. Everybody gets a second chance..........."

Hank's triumph is to combine the ironic aspects of Forrest Gump with the genuine warmth and sentimentality that is a part of the character. With his much-quoted lines and awkward body language, he evokes sympathy from the audience. His best moments in this come when he tells Jenny "I'm not a smart man. But I know what love is", meeting his five year old son for the first time, and his final graveside speech to Jenny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Salute to human decency
Review: This film has so many little things going for it. Little things that add up to one big masterpiece. The story of the slow-witted man who triumphs works, of course, because of the performance of Tom Hanks. But there are a lot of other things that contributed.

First was the script. I have a big problem with books being altered for movies, especially when they change the physical appearance and essence of the character. They do that in this film, but I still make an exception because it took the character to new levels. The book was funny and somewhat farcical, but that character was basically still a Southern hick. This move adds a lot of dimension to this by showing the feelings this man has.

But what I like most about the movie is that Forrest ultimately triumphs, but not because of his physical skills, or the amazing coincidences of his life. He ultimately triumphs because of his basic decency. His determination to do the right thing, and stick with those he believes in gives him his ultimate rewards. A world full of Forrest Gumps would not produce super-computers, but it would be a world where people get along a lot better than they do in the current one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shrimp Shrimp and More Shrimp
Review: Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There's, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich... That's, that's about it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BEST TOM HANKS MOVIE EVER!!!!
Review: I own this movie on video cassette and I still watch it from time to time. This is a true classic. In my opinion, it's Tom Hanks best movie ever! He even won the oscar for best actor. This is a very moving, heartwarming comedy-drama that takes you on an incredible adventure. Forrest Gump (Hanks) is often way too smart to be handicapped, and way too fast to be slow. How anybody could not like this movie is beyond me. This movie is an easy five stars. The acting, plot, script, characters, and everything is perfect and just plain enjoyable.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates?
Review: Of course you know what you're gonna get, chocolate, duh! Tom Hanks delivers the best performance of his career as "Forrest Gump." The director, Robert Zemeckis was creative and brilliant with his vision. It's about a slow-minded man who did everything. Ran away from bullies, fought in Vietnam, got shot in the but-tocks, met the president, played ping-pong, ran some more (this time around the country) and ate shrimp. Yes, what a life. And then he finally got Jenny (Robin Wright Penn) and had a little Forrest. You could tell by a person's shoes what kind of a life they had. If you look at my shoes, you'll see dirt and dog stuff all over them. What does that mean?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I bought this accidentally...
Review: ...but I find no reason to regret!

Yes, I heard about this film already years ago. Just I did not find the time to see it. In fact, in '94 I was going through some equally unbelievable happenings as the main character in this film.
My advice: Get it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This Movie Is Nonsense!
Review: Forrest Gump is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There is simply no way to make a good movie based on such a ridiculous concept. The movie expects us to believe that a person with an IQ of 75 can graduate from high school and college and join the military. I don't believe it for a minute. The plot of the movie is preposterous, and the script sounds like it was written by the same people who write greeting cards. This is not a compliment. The same gimmick is repeated over and over, and the movie drags on and on. Forrest is extremely lucky. Forrest is in the right place at the right time. Other people do things for Forrest. Forrest just says and does whatever pops into his head, and other people have the talent and intelligence to turn his words and actions into something entertaining. Tom Hanks is incredibly irritating in this movie. I never liked him anyway. Even a horrible movie can have something good about it. The only thing I liked about this movie is Gary Sinise. He plays a believable character and gives a good performance. Other than that, I would say don't waste your time with this nonsense.


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