Jonathan Melton

As Forrest’s exploits are expertly (and oftentimes nonsensically) woven through some of history’s most famous events, the messages of the film - that love knows no bounds and that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things - remain in their purest forms throughout the film. Hanks’ portrayal of this unlikely American icon lends credulity to his character’s extraordinary feats, keeping the unbelievable nature of his exploits closer to fantastical rather than inconceivable. Gump’s genuine nature grants us perfect accents of simple humor and heartwarming emotion, simultaneously ameliorating the audience from over-the-top gags and overly saccharine moments. The iconic soundtrack stretches across decades worth of music’s most influential names, though at times can be a little too “on-the-nose”. The selections could have benefited from a deeper dive into some of the artists’ catalogs in certain spots. Understandably, the idea was to capture certain moments and time through music, and in that regard, it does its job perfectly. When infused with Alan Silvestri’s epochal score, the film’s musical presence becomes another character whose presence we should all appreciate. “Forrest Gump” is what every moviegoer should get treated to whenever they step inside a theater, and its rare mastery of storytelling is why it remains one of the 20th century’s classics. It should continue to stand the test of time in the minds and hearts of movie lovers.

Spencer and Paul shine behind a veil of “meh”. It initially promised to be a gripping tale of true crime redemption, only to be revealed as a mediocre whodunit - with a “twist” that should leave no one surprised. The show could honestly have been condensed into 5 or 6 episodes, had they done without the wholly unnecessary storyline of Poppy’s family, which does little to develop her character, and really only serves as filler. The character of Poppy’s husband lends little to the show as well, and could have literally been “Actor X” to stand in the role - though Michael Beach’s performance was actually quite good. Beach would have been far better served to play Markus, which would have added the depth and believability to the character that Mekhi Phifer just couldn’t muster. Spencer is up to par in this series, and carries it honorably, but she’s just a victim of a lazy script. The writers counted on Spencer to carry the viewers from episode to episode, failing to add any real intrigue or interest into the main storyline - what really happened to Chuck. There’s a murder in the beginning, and eventually a killer in the end, but in between there’s a whole lot of not much. We get a solid performance out of Aaron Paul as well, but much like the fate of Spencer, any real intrigue in his character is shrouded in 6 & 1/2 episodes of fake mystery. Only in the last episode or so did he truly become interesting, and by then, you should have known for quite a while what the outcome of the season would be. It’s not bad, but also not great. It’s the most whelming show you’ll watch on Apple+.