Tom Hanks Ranked

Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Tom Hanks-whose latest project "News of the World" is in theaters now and will be available to rent via video on demand services on January 15th.

Tom Hanks' Filmography Ranked:

23.Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (D+)

22.Splash (D+)

21.Larry Crowne (D+) 

20.The Polar Express (D+)

19.Bridge of Spies (C)

18.That Thing You Do! (C+)

17.Apollo 13 (B-)

16.Charlie Wilson's War (B-)

15.A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (B)

14.Forrest Gump (B)

13.The Ladykillers (B)

12.Cast Away (B+)

11.Sully (B+)

10.Philadelphia (B+)

9.Toy Story 2 (B+)

8.Catch Me If You Can (B+)

7.Captain Phillips (B+)

6.Road to Perdition (A-)

5.Toy Story 4 (A-) 

4.Saving Private Ryan (A)

3.Toy Story 3 (A)

2.The Green Mile (A+)

1.Toy Story (A+)

Top Dog: Toy Story (1995)

Game-changer is a term that is probably thrown around too much-particularly in the world of entertainment, but in the case of Toy Story, it's completely warranted. John Lasseter and the animators at Pixar redefined what an animated film was capable of by using groundbreaking (at the time) computer-created visuals and having a story that has ideas/humor that will resonate with adults without glossing over the breezy fun elements that make it appeal to kids. The seeds of innovation that were planted here continue to flourish 25 years later as plenty of other filmmakers have gone onto make movies that share Toy Story's DNA and considering the warmth these titles continue to be met with, we're likely to see a whole lot more movies that are cut from this winning mold.  

Lowlight: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Even with the participation of Hollywood heavyweights like Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, Max von Sydow and Hanks, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close still manages to feel like a Hallmark or Lifetime movie of the week. With its use of 9/11 as the backdrop of this (fictional) story and relentlessly melodramatic plot beats, the film applies a sickeningly manipulative tearjerker touch to its attempts to explore loss and grief that is just maddening to watch.

Most Overrated: Forrest Gump (1994)

Is part of why Forrest Gump earned this distinction because I'm pissed that it beat out Pulp Fiction for the Best Picture Oscar? No question. However, the real catalyst for this take is my strong disagreement with the popular sentiment that this is one of the greatest movies ever made. While Forrest Gump is a solidly-acted drama that efficiently hits the bulk of its feel good narrative targets, it's not nearly profound, heartfelt or entertaining enough to warrant any special standing in the wide world of movies or even extensive rewatches.    

Most Underrated: Road to Perdition (2002)

Sam Mendes' (1917, Skyfall) seemingly forgotten mediation on the consequences of living a life defined by violence and a parent not wanting to their child to go through that same vicious cycle of pain, death and suffering that just happens to take the form of a gangster movie makes for a more poignant and cohesive project than Martin Scorsese's musings on similar themes in last year's The Irishman. The uncompromisingly bleak atmosphere does a great job of emphasizing the danger that could lurk around every corner in the world of organized crime as well as the psychological toll of being a professional killer, the performances are stunning (Hanks, Jude Law, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Craig, the late Paul Newman in what ended up being his final live action film role) across the board and unlike The Irishman, it doesn't lessen the impact of its message by needlessly padding the runtime (this runs a very efficient 117 minutes, which is 92 minutes less than Scorsese's film).  

Most Groundbreaking Espionage Movie: Bridge of Spies (2015)

Toy Story isn't the only innovative project Hanks has been involved in during his career. Not content with the sleek style, relentless mindgames and mounting suspense that tend to be cornerstones of espionage movies, Steven Spielberg set out to make the world's first mundane spy thriller and boy oh boy did he stick the bland landing. A Cold War-era legal drama told exclusively through perfunctory conversations/meetings until it arrives at a finale that features the first completely clean, tension-free military prisoner exchange in the history of cinema is a hell of a breakthrough for a genre that has relied too damn heavily on things like excitement, twists and suspense since its inception.

Best Sneaky Good Coen Brothers Movie: The Ladykillers (2004)

2020's relatively barren film landscape has given me the time to examine the back catalogues of some  filmmakers I admire and upon viewing the pretty widely frowned upon Coen Brothers remake of The Ladykillers back in April, I ended being very pleasantly surprised by it. The Ladykillers has the same dark, absurd sense of humor as all of their best comedic efforts, an underrated collection of scene-stealing goofball characters (Hanks as a pretentious Southern scholar who is heading up a casino heist, J.K. Simmons as a bumbling explosives "expert" and Irma P. Hall as a god-fearing widow who routinely outsmarts the criminals that are targeting her) and a great final act the features the bumbling idiot criminal protagonists getting what's coming to them in hilariously entertaining fashion.