‘News of the World’ Interview with Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, and director Paul Greengrass

In “News of the World”, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) meets an 11-year-old orphaned girl (Helena Zengel) who lost her German and Native American families.  This Civil War veteran – who is now a newsreader traveling across Texas – decides that he will take Johanna (Zengel) to her aunt and uncle’s home in Castroville in writer/director Paul Greengrass’ affecting, soulful western. “News of the World” is a reunion for Greengrass and Hanks because they made “Captain Phillips” in 2013.  That film’s screenwriter Billy Ray hosted a Zoom call Q&A…

‘News of the World’: Hanks and his young co-star deliver a soulful western

“News of the World” – Three years ago, Tom Hanks starred as a newsman, and one of the 20th century’s most prominent, “The Washington Post” Executive Editor Ben Bradlee in “The Post”, a film about the publication’s attempt to publish the Pentagon Papers. In “News of the World”, Hanks plays another character tied to the Fourth Estate, although he’s worlds – and a century – apart from Mr. Bradlee. As the movie opens, Civil War veteran Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Hanks) greets an eager Wichita Falls, Texas audience in 1870 by…

Movie of the Week: ‘The Great Buck Howard’

John Malkovich is one of AHFW’s favorite actors, even though his characters wouldn’t be our BFFs.  For example, John has played a criminal mastermind (“Con Air” (1997)), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (“Mary Reilly” (1996)), an assassin (“In the Line of Fire” (1993)), and many other on-screen oddities. In 2008’s “The Great Buck Howard”, however, he plays a decent fellow, a magician of sorts, but he’s not without his quirks.  A lot of them. AHFW’s Movie of the Week is the fun family comedy “The Great Buck Howard”, and we…