On July 9, It Begins Again.

I began this project just over three years ago. My intent was, as most of you know, to complete a viewing of all Tom Hanks' films in a year. I made a respectable showing at first, but then things happened. I had a miscarriage. I got pregnant with my second child. My first was potty training. I got a new job. I moved. I was laid off. My son turned two, and for those of you who have a two-year-old, I don't think that needs any further explanation. The world was blindsided with a pandemic, which both Hanx and his wife, Rita Wilson, were affected by. Protests arose over civil rights issues. In short, my world, and the greater world, was in chaos. I lost sight of my goal, and much like a beloved volleyball in Cast Away, drifted off beyond my reach.

Times are tough for everyone these days. There's no arguing that. And for quite some time now, I've been thinking about resurrecting this project. I've said for about half a decade that I wanted to learn Latin. Finally, this year, I'm about halfway through my first unit. I've become aware that I am, in fact, capable of finishing things. Given that, I want to revive The Year of Hanks and see it through to its conclusion. After that, perhaps I'll continue to document my thoughts on each of his subsequent films as they're released. I'll discuss the short stories in his book, Common Type. I also want to watch the full series of Bosom Buddies. There's still a lot of Hanks' catalogue that I need to explore.

So one week from today, July 9, 2020, Tom Hanks' 64th birthday (aka Hanksmas), I will officially recommence The Year of Hanks where we last left off, beginning with his uncredited role in Radio Flyer. My intent is to work my way through the rest of his filmography, however long it takes. I hope you'll join me.

Comments

Here Comes the Hanks.

We were sitting at a traffic light when it happened. My husband and I were in San Diego for the weekend, enjoying a belated anniversary dinner while my in-laws had generously volunteered to babysit our son. We were in the car, headed for dinner at a restaurant that we'd been meaning to try for months, and I was futzing around on my phone (as I do), when he spoke up out of the blue. "I think we should do a year of Hanks." "What?" "Neither of us has seen all of Tom Hanks' movies, and I know you're a huge fan, so I think we should watch everything he's been in over a year or so." It took me a minute to process this suggestion that had come from seemingly nowhere. It's an established fact among those who know me well that I love Tom Hanks. It's not a movie star crush (I'm looking at you, Chris Pine) or a simple appreciation for the craft (Morgan Freeman, you inspire me). In a previous life, I was convinced, beyond the s...

He Knows You're Alone (1980)

You know that feeling when you're at a birthday party and there's some mediocre music being played and the snacks are just sort of meh and you don't really know anybody so you just sort of hide in the corner and wait for someone to bring out the cake? This movie was kind of like that. Hanx didn't show up until about 58 minutes into the 93-minute stabfest, so in the meantime, we had plenty of time to get to know a whole lot of people in freshly creased jeans and crocheted tam-o-shanters, and one jilted dude wearing eyeliner who just can't seem to let go. I'm just going to warn you right now - if you don't want a very, very cheesy 80s horror flick spoiled for you, you should probably stop reading now. I've never been what you'd call a horror movie buff, so I have no idea if all slasher flicks of the era are this inherently cheesy, but if they are, I might have to give it another look. I rather enjoyed heckling the characters fro...

The List

Tomorrow's the big day. I'm more excited than I should be about watching a movie, but I've built this up in my mind as a pretty big deal. I'm kind of notorious for starting things I can't finish, and in the past, blogging about a project has been a surefire way to guarantee that I'll actually get it finished rather than abandoning it halfway through when something shiny caught my attention. I've managed to finish a couple of big projects this way, so I'm confident that I'll accomplish it with this one as well. I feel like I'm going to need some kind of medal or something when this is over, sort of like having completed the Seven Summits. I'd like a Hanks-themed certificate of completion of some sort. I suppose I've got a year to figure it out. At any rate, here's our hit list. On average we'll be doing one per week, but due to previous commitments and such, we'll have to double up here and there. We haven't quite w...

The Year of Hanks

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