Tom Hanks on Jimmy Fallon Last Night

Some people are funny no matter what they do. Tom Hanks appeared on Jimmy Fallon last night. Hanks has been everywhere lately. Making a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, working the phones on Jon Stewart's autism benefit, and then last night appeared on Fallon last night.

There might not be two more likable people in entertainment than Jimmy Fallon and Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks, now Hollywood Royalty, never seems to forget that he is the same person that we first saw on Bosom Buddies, or if you dig deep as the alcoholic uncle of Alex P Keaton on Family Ties.

Last night Hanks did a slam poem about the nineties sitcom Full House and as funny as that was the real highlight was just the stories he told while visiting with Jimmy. Telling the story of Jimmy's desire to appear on the Hanks HBO Miniseries Band of Brothers, and another story of Hanks almost playing guitar for Bruce Springsteen Hanks is just naturally funny. His ability to laugh at himself, combined with Fallon's constant joy in whatever he is doing made this fantastic television.

I watch a good deal of late night television. Only a few people are must see, Tom Hanks and Bill Murray are two of them. Hanks showed us why last night.

Bruno Mars on Saturday Night Live

A few observations on this week of Saturday Night Live. The cold open this week again featured a look at a Presidential debate, this one being the second held last week. It was funny in a different way than the first debate parody which we saw earlier in the season.

In this round the folks asking the question became part of the humor, the debate having been held on Long Island made for some easy to mock characters just in the asking of the question. For all the accolades Jay Pharoah gets for his performance on Obama the real star of these skits is Jason Sudekis, his take on Obama while not physically as similar is spot on with his speaking patters. When Sudekis as Romney says " Candy, Candy, Candy just let me make three more points" he is Mitt Romney. Perhaps the standout moment of the skit however, was the wry observation of when a voter asks what they two will do to keep AK-47's out the hands of the wrong people and both the fictitious candidates quickly agreed that the answer to that was " Nothing, Absolutely Nothing."

Tom Hanks as he is often want to do hung around Saturday night and appeared in a couple of skits. It must be nice for both sides, clearly Hanks has an open invitation to show up whenever he feels like it, and what a good day it must be for Lorne Michaels when he walks in the door.

The star of the show was, unequivocally, Mr. Mars. When he came out to do the monologue the first thing that I noticed was how incredibly short he is. This man is tiny, both small and short. He talked a bit about being the host and the musical guest and away the show went.

Mars appeared in a Pandora music skit that showed off his range and an incredible range it is, he sang a few lines of six different singes and did it amazingly well. Mars cannot not be listened to and not make one think of Michael Jackson. He is an amazing singer. His second performance of the night, of a song I have not yet heard, called Crazy Lost Girls, or something like that, was amazing. I assume that it is on a forthcoming album.

Another win was the short called Sad Clown featuring Mars and a return to the tunnel ride at an amusement park that breaks down leaving the amniatronic figures to menace those on the ride. Hanks made a special appearance in this role and it was solid.

There were misses, Weekend update wss subpar, I never find Stefan to be that funny and the Brad Pitt themed commercials did not strike gold.

Still another great week for SNL, they are on a roll.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This movie based on the book of the same name was released in late December, 2011 and nominated for Best Picture. This was a movie we watched on streaming one night in between videos being sent to us. I was not expecting much. I have to admit that quite a few years ago I had attempted the book but not completed it. At the time it just did not seem to be a well thought out book.

The reviews I had read for the movie were not that strong either. I am happy to report however that I might have been right about the book, but the movie adaption was actually quite good with some affecting performances.

Oskar Schell is a young boy living in New York City on September, 11, 2011. As the terrible events of that morning unfold Oskar's school is let out early and as he arrives home to an empty apartment the phone rings. He hears his father's voice on the machine as he does not pick up. He is scared. He knows vaguely that something is happening but as he hears the tremble in his father's voice and then turns on the television he sees the towers come down just a his father's phone call is cut off.

We meet Oskar's father in flashbacks. Played by Tom Hanks, his father is a German American who devises maps and puzzles for Oskar to have to solve. Both as a way to share something and as a not obvious way for Oskar to overcome his shyness it is something they share.

How Oskar deals with his father's death, how his Mother ( Sandra Bulluck) tries to help him, and the incredible last puzzle that Oskar's Dad sends him on from beyond the grave leads to the major plot point of the movie.

Some reviews said that the boy Oskar, played by Thomas Horn, is not a likable character. He is a challenging character, he also is a young boy whose father was ripped away from him on live television. I think expecting a cuddly warm character might be a little too much.

The supporting cast in this movie is very strong. Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis, and the incredible John Goodman. Every character Goodman takes, big or small becomes a highlight of a movie, he is, one of the great character actors of his generation, one who is amazingly underrated. He has come a far distance from Dan Connor on Roseanne.

I myself do not think this is a great movie, it is certainly not Oscar worthy. It was however a good movie, and it told what could have been a fairly conventional story with a very unconventional angle. With movies in general following so much cookie cutter formula these days the directors who attempt to go off the beaten path should be acknowledged as well as the actors and actresses who take on less certain, less sure thing roles. Well worth watching.

Charlie Wilson's War

Directed by Mike Nichols, written by Aaron Sorkin, this 2007 movie had a pedigree that made it stand out. With a cast of Tom Hanks, Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, Julia Roberts and Amy Adams the movie was not lacking for top notch acting.

As a commercial release however the movie did not do that well. Hoffman was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor but did not win.

The movie tells the story of Texas Demcocratic Congressman Charlie Wilson and his efforts to help the rebels in Afghanistan fighting the Russians who have invaded their country. Wilson portrayed accurately as a hard drinking, fun loving Texas Congressman is convinced by a wealthy Texas socialite Joanne Herring (portrayed by Roberts ) to look into doing more to help the Afghan people and in particular the refugees that are streaming into Pakistan.

Tom Hanks gives a strong performance as Wilson. Realistically does Hanks ever give a bad performance. I, myself, would like to see him play against character once, play a true bad guy but at this juncture it might not work, he is too ingrained in our minds. Wilson visits Pakistan and is moved by the refugees and their plight. He is shocked that the weapons we are supplying are as good as useless against the gunships that the Russians are using.

When he returns home he uses his position on the Armed Services Committee to raise the allotment to help the Afgan people from five to ten million dollars. When he asks for a CIA agent to brief him on the situation on the ground he is presented with Gust Avratokos, a CIA Agent of huge passion who, because he really does not have anything else to do, becomes Wilson's main accomplice.

Over the course of a couple of years Wilson keeps pushing on the committee for more money for weapons and training until we see him at an appropriation's meeting asking for the budget for the rebels to be raised to 500 million. A colleague asks him where this appropriation started and he says with a sheepish grin, five million. So Wilson gets the job done.

It is a very good story, for me the movie works on all levels. The scenes of negotiations with the Israeli's and Egyptians to gain the Russian made weapons that must be gained for the rebels are very strong and gives one a peek at what the Covert ops world might be like. Why Russian made weapons? So that there can be plausible deniabiltiy on the America's behalf.

The end is telling as well. Of course the movie being written in 2007 gave the makers a clear chance to add a prologue with the benefit of time that hints at what becomes of Afghanistan. When the Russian army leaves America celebrates, Charlie Wilson celebrates and all feel good. We see Charlie winning an award, the first civilian given an award from the Covert Services. However at the end of the movie we see Charlie fighting still for monies to help the Afghans. Schools, hospitals and other non military help. He fails and fails miserably. With the war over, the Russian army gone America's interest has gone elsewhere.

Philip Seymour- Hoffman is fantastic in his role. If it is possible for an actor that wins as many awards as he does to be underrated he is.


Wilson never one to mince words said that " we fucked up the end game" Those soldiers fighting in Afghanistan for the last ten years would be sure to agree with him.

Toy Story

A couple of weekends ago Toy Story was rerun on one of the Disney Channels and my daughter and I came upon it. The first thing I noticed is how wonderful the movie looks on HD, when this movie was first released on VHS and then DVD the movie was great, but the sharpness of the picture on HD is amazing.

Perhaps one needs a nature show or a animated movie to see how impressive crisp HD is. The movie itself, however many times you see it, is amazing. This movie is wonderful. It is funny, it has humor for young children, but in many ways this movie has just as much to offer to adults.

Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are great actors but they are so well known that their voices alone are identifiable. As a child of the seventies toys like walkie talkies, remote cars, bo peep, and of course Mr. Potato Head and the now politically culturally relevant etch a sketch again, the toys themselves bring a comfort and familiarity that makes one embrace the movie before seeing the story.

Once the story lays out you are fully in. I watched this movie tons of times when my children were young, but the truth is last weekend when watching it I still laughed out loud. It is a rare movie that can do this the first time, much less forty two times in.

This is a fantastic movie.

Larry Crowne

First off I should state that I love Tom Hanks. From Forest Gump to his many movies, his involvement in numerous HBO shows that were wonderful to his always stellar turns as a guest on Letterman to Saturday Night Live ( I always chuckle at the thought of Mr. Short Term Memory) Hanks is one of my favorite people.

So it was not a hard decision to take the wife to see his new movie. Co starring Julia Roberts leading an extremely likable cast it seemed like a sure bet.

The verdict: Good not great. Certainly with a few chuckles, and for me a few laugh out louds. The scene of his firing or downsizing from U Mart and the feelings felt after are certainly ones I and too many middle aged American men can relate with. I have heard critics complaining that his feelings and angst were not mined enough but I think it is aafe to say the movie was more concerned with the recovery than the depths.

Prodded to return to college by his game show winning, eternal yard sale proprietor Lamar ( Cedric the Entertainer) Crowne's likable every man soon wins over the most cynical of people including his professor Mercy Tainot. ( Roberts)

Mercy has her own problems including a porn obsessed husband who as they break up remarks how much he likes big knockers and calls her a washboard. Not much for your self esteem in those comments.

This cast in very likable. Gugu Mbatha- Raw as Talia the queen of a group of scooter riding students who befriends Larry and assists him out of his post divorce funk. George Takei as an economics professor who admires everything about Crowne except his penchant for cell phone use in class, Willmer Valderamma as Talia's boyfriend, and for me the most winning turn as Steve Dibiasi by Rami Malek. Dibiase a seeming moron who ends up in the same speech class actually learns soemthing along the way. Watching the movie I tried to place where I had seen him before and once home googled and came up with him being Snafu in The Pacific, another Hanks effort. Clearly Tom takes care of his friends.

The movie is much better than some critics will tell you, not all movies have to say a great deal. Some movies just have to be likable and make you smile. This movie is full of likable people doing likable things. I think we could use a few more of those.

Forest Gump

I have watched this movie at least ten times. Of course it being on television practically every week on some cable channel makes that easy to do. I actually remember going to see it the weekend it came out on a sneak preview on a Saturday night only. It was a movie to remember.

It was witty and the practice of the special effects inserting Forest into situation after situation through the sixties and seventies was very new.

I still like the movie. We often quote parts of the movie around the house. " You ain't got no legs Lt. Dan, Get Down Shut up!, Run Forest, I was Running, and others are lines that get a chuckle be it me or my kids who say it.

The soundtrack was wonderful. Perhaps one of the most jarring moments comes when we first see Forest and Bubba in Vietnam and the scenery changes so quickly and we hear John Fogerty and Jimi Hendrix introducing us to this new location.

A great movie then. A great movie now. Underrated in this movie also was Sally Field. She is a great actress.

Toy Story Three

We do not go to the movies often. Yesterday, however, faced with a rainy day my wife, daughter and I went to see the newest Toy Story. My daughter is 11 now but was still excited to see the movie.

It was great. Maybe it is just that the characters are like old friends but Tim Allen and Tom Hanks make Buzz and Woody feel more fleshed out than live action characters we have seen.

An added twist in the movie is when Buzz gets put into Spanish mode and needs subtitles, a funny but intelligent nod to the millions of Hispanic children.

The movie delivers one hundred percent. The end of the movie is bittersweet, and can be emotional for some. It was for my daughter. As the lights came up she was sobbing and said she just could not stop. I loved her more than ever seeing her have such a big heart. It was a moment we will never forget. Thanks Pixar

Tom Hanks on The Tonight Show

Watching Tom Hanks on the final episode of Conan the other night it made me again ask myself this question. With his left of center slant and universal appeal am I the only person who wonders why Tom Hanks has not gone into politics?