I share Scrappy's love for That Thing You Do and am still impressed with Hanks' work on it.

Historically I'd say that Hanks has made more good choices for roles than not, but these last few years have brought his average way down from what it was.

It wouldn't surprise me if he's offered more guff stuff than good stuff nowadays due to the age thing.

Personally, I don't mind Tom Hanks. The only time actors start to annoy me is when I know more about their personal lives than I do about their acting ability. Then instead of seeing a new character I'm sat thinking 'God, do they believe in aliens?'.

"That Thing..." was really cute.

I like Hanks. He strikes me as an actor who paid his dues and is a hard worker. He hasn't always made what I consider great choices in his roles but I like his range and have been impressed with his dramatic roles and depth.

That Thing You Do is one of my favorite movies and I like him in it.

Polar Express doesn't bug me, thank goodness, since Owen's watching it for the eleventieth time.

I love Tom Hanks, but I'm a total plebeian and shouldn't be referred to for issues of taste.

I'm so glad you all love "That Thing You Do" though! Because my boy Rick Elias did the music for it, and he is made of awesome underneath his standoffish exterior.

I kept expecting his Layered Cake/James Bond voice to show up, and then I get something that sounded... Midwestern? New England? Very strange.

???

afair, his accent was unremarkable in the movie. I may have to rewatch.

Matt, I totally think you should meet Gerard in person and establish whether he pings your gaydar. By which I most emphatically mean porn. (Have you folks seen Dear Frankie ? It's terribly charming. Probably my fav...oh, no, I just remembered Reign of Fire, which contains The Best Scene In Any Movie Evah, where Gerard Butler and his boyfriend Best Buddy In All The World, Christian Bale, re-enact the "Luke, I am your father" scene. Actually, I really quite surprised myself by how much I liked Dracula 2000 too. I was braced for much greater awfulness than actually happened onscreen. I mean, don't misunderstand, it's a BAD film, but still - really quite an enjoyable Crap B Movie, imho. Like Deep Blue Sea. And they actually gave the whole vampire mythos an original spin, which - whodathunk?

...why yes, my former flatmate did have a massive crush on Gerard Butler, and we DID watch pretty much everything he's been in, including (God help us) Atilla. Why do you ask?

I loath Tom Hanks movies, as a general rule of thumb. But sometimes there are exceptions.

Went to the pictures the other day, and ended up watching Enchanted because, well, it was on. Overall I thought this was a pretty calculated and unlikeable movie, struggling to catch up with the post-Shrek sensibility but there were several genuinely funny moments. (And, okay, one very enjoyable Big Musical Number. Sigh. I am a sucker.) And all of the actors (including the wee girl) were putting in perfectly good performances. It was just... charmless, for the most part, in conception and execution. But I have to say that I thought James Marsden was absofuckinglutely hilarious. Between this and Hairspray, I find myself liking him really rather a lot at the moment.

(...okay, and also I did find myself considering getting my tailor to make a variation on the vaguely Regency dress that Giselle wears at one point. Um.)

Timeline, Fay. Also has Thewlis. And some other people. But Butler, and Thewlis. Num.

This History Channel has been running a documentary about Charlie Wilson's War. I watched it even though I want to see the movie, so I think I can guess pretty much everything that's going to happen, but it doesn't matter. It's kind of like knowing the whole of Apollo 13 and watching it anyway. Charlie Wilson is such a character. I just want to see how much that will carry over in the movie.

Fay, if you really want to develop a crush on Marsden rent the movie Interstate 60 and listen to the commentary. He comes off as one of the most likeable performers I've run across in that. Which is true to some degree of all his interviews.

Watched Eastern Promises last night after the kids were in bed. Wow. It's a pretty good movie and the ending was MUCH better than the ending of History of Violence.

I think Mortenson and Watts both did excellent work and the storyline was compelling.