Quote:
Originally Posted by crashjr
It was a cookie cutter feel good movie with a formulaic approach typical of the era and genre. It wasn't bad, it was just unremarkable. How it has endured and thrived over some of the tom hanks films of the same time is beyond me. How it gets so much airtime on cable seemingly every weekend for several years is baffling. That it is splooged over on everyone's top 100/25/10/5/1 list makes me hate it.
I'm not exactly sure how you get Shawshank being a "cookie cutter feel good movie with a formulaic approach typical of the era and genre." What genre is that? Can you list a few other movies that fit the same genre?
Re: Hanks -
Shawshank was 1994. Notable Hanks movies from the same time:
A League of their Own 1992
Sleepless in Seattle 1993
Philadelphia 1993
Forrest Gump 1994
Apollo 13 1995
Toy Story 1995
First off, I'm not sure which of these movies you think hasn't endured or thrived over time? They're pretty much all considered iconic. If we narrow this down to the ones with like, dominant male leading roles or ensembles that aren't cartoons, we get Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, and Apollo 13. I don't get the butthurt. Which of these do you think has been hugely snubbed by history? I guess it would have to be Philadelphia?
In conclusion, I think that a reasonable amount has been splooged over Forrest Gump and Apollo 13, and that you're largely, as accused, coming in in the range of obnoxious coffeehouse hipster guy.
That said, the pivot from slapstick comedy into more serious roles + comeback from the career suicide attempt of Joe Versus the Volcano directly into that run of movies above (and continued pretty steadily since) is one of the more impressive career arcs ever. Hanks is great.