Cast Away

\"Cast Away" will find itself stranded with "Gladiator" as one of the biggest and best movies of the year. It's an emotional, dramatic adventure with beautiful scenery pulled off by star Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis. But from an overview standpoint, one would think this movie should've sunk faster than the S.S. Minnow. \n Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a Federal Express executive in love with Helen Hunt. Noland's plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, stranding him on a small deserted island. Noland figures out how to live off the land and eventually, after losing more than 50 pounds, builds a raft to get back to the rest of the world.\n "Cast Away" starts as a 20-minute Fed Ex commercial. Hanks' character tries to motivate a Russian Fed Ex team into a better work ethic as the audience is flashed inspirational landmarks with the Fed Ex logo somewhere in the shot. \n Next, after becoming stranded on a deserted island, Hanks talks to a volleyball for 45 minutes. Yes, he carries out complete conversations with an inanimate volleyball named Wilson he accidentally made a face on. Not many people could sell the audience on an emotional relationship with a volleyball, but Hanks' consistent acting actually makes audience members upset when he loses the volleyball at sea. \n "Castaway" is also an educational movie. The audience learns a few things. For one, crab meat must be cooked, or it comes out as goo. Also, if you need to go to the dentist, go ASAP. You never know when you'll get stranded on a deserted island. Finally, you can make things out of broken port-a-potties.\n Some people might find a movie with a man talking to a volleyball, a continuous plug for Fed Ex and a sad ending to not be worthwhile. But "Castaway" is a roller coaster of high and low emotions. Despite an upsetting ending, the movie will be a classic and after "Forrest Gump," the second huge success for Zemeckis and Hanks.