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petersimpson's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This reminds me of recent Stephen King novels. Mostly because it seems like King and Hanks both seem like they could really do with a good editor to go to town on their books. Tighten it up and chunk out some of the chaff. But there was also hints of King’s style in this, filling out characters and backstory.
It’s readable and it’s keeps you engaged, but it’s a little all over the place. It chops around a bit and has a few different beginnings that don’t really connect for a long while. And by the time they do link back in it’s kind of too little too late. Hanks tried a few different writing styles and even uses footnotes to tell us things that most of the time we don’t need telling. If I sound like I’m not really giving much praise it’s because whilst I enjoyed the book I think if a few things were tightened up or done differently it could have been much better. After reading his short story collection I should have been a bit wearier about a novel, but I was tempted by the premise. If Hanks continues to write I’ll be interested, but hope that his style gets a bit better.
It’s readable and it’s keeps you engaged, but it’s a little all over the place. It chops around a bit and has a few different beginnings that don’t really connect for a long while. And by the time they do link back in it’s kind of too little too late. Hanks tried a few different writing styles and even uses footnotes to tell us things that most of the time we don’t need telling. If I sound like I’m not really giving much praise it’s because whilst I enjoyed the book I think if a few things were tightened up or done differently it could have been much better. After reading his short story collection I should have been a bit wearier about a novel, but I was tempted by the premise. If Hanks continues to write I’ll be interested, but hope that his style gets a bit better.
p0tter_man's review against another edition
5.0
What a Hollywood Epic.
Tom Hanks flourishes here as a writer.
An Steven Spielberg-esque overview about the making of an epic superhero film.
But the focus isn’t on the film itself, it’s about the hard work and effort from the whole creative team (actors, writers, directors, producers, runners,etc) behind the making of the film.
Spanning 80 years, from the inspiration for and creating of the comic (the film is based) to today, creating the film like Casting, Production (Pre & Post) and Release.
Lots of great characters here. All with their own (very) interesting stories.
Very descriptive, nostalgic, tender and ultimately, heart-warming.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Tom Hanks flourishes here as a writer.
An Steven Spielberg-esque overview about the making of an epic superhero film.
But the focus isn’t on the film itself, it’s about the hard work and effort from the whole creative team (actors, writers, directors, producers, runners,etc) behind the making of the film.
Spanning 80 years, from the inspiration for and creating of the comic (the film is based) to today, creating the film like Casting, Production (Pre & Post) and Release.
Lots of great characters here. All with their own (very) interesting stories.
Very descriptive, nostalgic, tender and ultimately, heart-warming.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
slawlereads's review against another edition
4.5
I loved the multiple view points and Tom Hanks is the best.
lcs1984's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thebookishnarwhal's review against another edition
I wanted to love this book because of how much I love Tom Hanks. I was gently reminded that acting and writing are not the same craft. I found The Making of Another Major Motion Picture by Tom Hanks jumped around in the beginning and gave too much precursor information before getting to the meat-and-potatoes of the story.
The story follows a film director and his crew as they film the next big hit superhero movie. The filming takes place in the small town of Lone Butte, California, and the story strives to enlighten readers that the making of a movie is a creative, unpredictable, and chaotic experience.
Hanks has a pleasant, upbeat tone to his writing yet while I appreciate well-written and complex characters, it seemed as if every character in this story was given a full backstory. As someone with a writing background (journalism school was my formal training), I found the number of run-on sentences to be annoying. I almost took out my red pen but then remembered I was reading a digital copy.
There were also an obscene number of footnotes, in my humble opinion. If it were a work of non-fiction I would understand, but this is general fiction Mr. Hanks and I found the footnotes to disrupt the flow of the story. The editor needed to hear the wise words I was given before interviewing my first notable: everybody poops. This book read like the editor was afraid, to be honest and give constructive criticisms, or that they were given yet ignored.
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Knopf Canada for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
The story follows a film director and his crew as they film the next big hit superhero movie. The filming takes place in the small town of Lone Butte, California, and the story strives to enlighten readers that the making of a movie is a creative, unpredictable, and chaotic experience.
Hanks has a pleasant, upbeat tone to his writing yet while I appreciate well-written and complex characters, it seemed as if every character in this story was given a full backstory. As someone with a writing background (journalism school was my formal training), I found the number of run-on sentences to be annoying. I almost took out my red pen but then remembered I was reading a digital copy.
There were also an obscene number of footnotes, in my humble opinion. If it were a work of non-fiction I would understand, but this is general fiction Mr. Hanks and I found the footnotes to disrupt the flow of the story. The editor needed to hear the wise words I was given before interviewing my first notable: everybody poops. This book read like the editor was afraid, to be honest and give constructive criticisms, or that they were given yet ignored.
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Knopf Canada for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
pandaorb's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
No. Nope.
I have a strict rule of putting down a book if I don't like it by 50 pages. Unfortunately for me, I started to get interested in this around page 47, only to quickly lose interest again. For 16 hours, this spectacularly narrated story could only be described as a glacially paced beast meandering between segments that I couldn't get enough of and segments that, frankly, should have been edited out entirely.
I'm working through Wheel of Time. I'm re-reading Stormlight Archives for fun. It is hard to convince me that I don't need any more characters or any more backstory about those characters, but wow, I did not need 90% of the backstory for 90% of these characters. If I hear the phrase "dot dot dot" one more time I will throw the nearest Tom Hanks movie I can find against a wall with all my limited strength.
There was a good story in here, heck, there was even a great story in here! But no editor did Hanks the favor of telling him what to cut so that the diamond would be visible without readers chiseling through layers upon layers of irrelevant character building. Tom Hanks is a successful actor. He should know that the finished product only needs to display the bits of the iceberg that move the story forward, however, he does not exercise this knowledge as an author, instead opting to drop the entire iceberg upon readers in the name of informing them about the reality of showbiz.
Big props to the talented cast of narrators who made it possible to get through this book. It was a pleasure to listen to every single one of you, Mr. Hanks included, but I can't bring myself to have even marginally similar sentiments about the contents of what you narrated.
I have a strict rule of putting down a book if I don't like it by 50 pages. Unfortunately for me, I started to get interested in this around page 47, only to quickly lose interest again. For 16 hours, this spectacularly narrated story could only be described as a glacially paced beast meandering between segments that I couldn't get enough of and segments that, frankly, should have been edited out entirely.
I'm working through Wheel of Time. I'm re-reading Stormlight Archives for fun. It is hard to convince me that I don't need any more characters or any more backstory about those characters, but wow, I did not need 90% of the backstory for 90% of these characters. If I hear the phrase "dot dot dot" one more time I will throw the nearest Tom Hanks movie I can find against a wall with all my limited strength.
There was a good story in here, heck, there was even a great story in here! But no editor did Hanks the favor of telling him what to cut so that the diamond would be visible without readers chiseling through layers upon layers of irrelevant character building. Tom Hanks is a successful actor. He should know that the finished product only needs to display the bits of the iceberg that move the story forward, however, he does not exercise this knowledge as an author, instead opting to drop the entire iceberg upon readers in the name of informing them about the reality of showbiz.
Big props to the talented cast of narrators who made it possible to get through this book. It was a pleasure to listen to every single one of you, Mr. Hanks included, but I can't bring myself to have even marginally similar sentiments about the contents of what you narrated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
ruubarbcrumble's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
womanobsessed's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5