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American cultural icon Thomas Jeffrey Hanks is an actor and filmmaker who achieved stardom for his comedic and dramatic roles. He first gained popularity as a lead in comedy films such as ‘Splash’ and ‘The Money Pit’ in the 1980s, before tackling more dramatic roles in movies like ‘Philadelphia,’ ‘Forrest Gump,’ ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and ‘The Green Mile.’ With the turn of the century, Tom starred in multiple biographical dramas, including ‘Saving Mr Banks,’ ‘Sully,’ and ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.’ He has led multiple franchises, like the ‘Robert Langdon’ series based on the literary works of Dan Brown, and the wildly popular animated franchise, ‘Toy Story.’
Under the banner of his production company Playtone, Tom has been involved in various limited series and television movies, such as ‘Band of Brothers,’ ‘John Adams,’ ‘The Pacific,’ and ‘Olive Kitteridge.’ Hanks has received numerous accolades, including the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Primetime Emmys. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2020. As such, Netflix lists many of his works on its platform. If you’re wondering where to begin, the following list caters to your needs.
5. Dragnet (1987)
In Tom Mankiewicz’s ‘Dragnet,’ LAPD homicide division cops Pep Streebek (Hanks) and Joe Friday (Dan Aykroyd) are tasked with looking into the robbery of a pornographic magazine called ‘Bait.’ The breadcrumbs lead them to a cult called P.A.G.A.N., an acronym for “People Against Goodness and Normalcy.” While dealing with each other’s polar opposite attitudes toward investigation, the detective duo has to get to the cult before it kills the magazine publisher, Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman), using toxic gas. However, they do not know that an LAPD officer is a member of Bait, who informs the latter about everything going on within the department. Based on the eponymous TV show of the same name, ‘Dragnet’ is a hilarious buddy cop comedy that gains as much from the script as it does from the chemistry between Hanks and Aykroyd. The cult classic can be streamed here.
4. A League of Their Own (1992)
In Penny Marshall’s ‘A League of Their Own,’ Hanks plays the role of Jimmy Dugan, the manager of a women’s baseball team, the Rockford Peaches, as part of a new women’s league bankrolled right before World War II, after a threat to Major League Baseball is perceived. The movie presents a fictional portrayal of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It depicts how Dugan trains a group of young women, each of whom is struggling with her own personal issues. How the team moves forward in the league while navigating personal and professional demands is what we find out. The cast also includes Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Anne Ramsay, Megan Cavanagh, and Ann Cusack. A thoroughly entertaining and heartwarming movie, ‘A League of Their Own’ has earned a spot among Hollywood’s best sports dramas ever. You can stream it here.
3. Apollo 13 (1995)
Adapted from the non-fiction book ‘ Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13’ by astronaut Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, ‘Apollo 13’ presents a dramatized retelling of the Apollo 13 lunar mission undertaken by NASA in 1970. The trio that participates in the mission is astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon). While the launch goes smoothly and the vessel reaches orbit without a fault, it is the explosion of the oxygen tank thereafter that forces the moon landing to be called off, and leaves both the astronauts and mission control racing against time to ensure safe re-entry to Earth. Directed by Ron Howard, ‘Apollo 13’ is a cult classic drama that has become a cornerstone of the sci-fi genre ever since its release. It was nominated for nine Oscars, winning two, among other accolades. It can be streamed here.
2. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighorhood’ follows magazine writer, Lloyd Vogel (based on real-life Esquire journalist Tom Junod), who is tasked to do an article on Fred Rogers, host of the popular children’s TV show ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.’ When Vogel meets Rogers for the first time, he believes that he is fake. But as he gets to know Rogers better, his perspective starts to change as Rogers helps him cope with his own sorrows and become a better person. With a powerful portrayal of empathy, kindness, and forgiveness as delivered by a man loved across generations, ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ is a must-watch. It is directed by Marielle Heller and stars Hanks as Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys as Lloyd Vogel. You can watch it here.
1. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Directed by Nora Ephron, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The story follows two people: a recently widowed single father named Sam Baldwin (Hanks), who lives in Seattle with his eight-year-old son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), and a news reporter named Annie Reed (Ryan), who feels like her relationship with her fiancé Walter lacks the romance she dreams of. When Jonah convinces Sam to open up about his deceased wife’s absence from his life on a radio talk show, Reed is one of the listeners who later writes to him. Jonah reads the letter and, thinking she is the one for his dad, devises a plan to get the two to meet atop the Empire State Building in New York City on Valentine’s Day. A beloved rom-com that remains a go-to binge for Valentine’s Day, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ is an Oscar-nominated movie you can stream right here.
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