Just saw Joe Versus the Volcano again for the first time in ten years, and it still holds up pretty well. Back in 1990, I thought it was a visually striking, original, and quirky comedy with some great dialogue ("I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?", "I have no response to that"), and, of course, Tom Hanks was the Jim Carrey of that time -- a truly funny comedian starting to branch out into serious material while still doing his schtick. Watching him at work in Joe, I really miss that Tom Hanks, before he got pudgy and serious. I still love watching his work, I greatly enjoyed his latest films, The Green Mile and Cast Away -- they're both part of my DVD collection -- and I'm really looking forward to Road to Perdition. But it was nice to see a younger Tom Hanks who didn't take himself very seriously again, and while the flick -- I'm talking about Joe -- didn't live up to my memories of it, it was still a very enjoyable hour and a half. The first two thirds are actually very good, with some sharp dialogue, fine direction, and quite daring shots -- there's one that lasts a couple of minutes, with the camera just pulling back as Hanks emerges from the doctor's office after being diagnosed with "brain cloud"; it's beautiful -- but the lousy effects and first-time director Shanley's obvious lack of experience with action scenes, as well as a flat conclusion (and a pretty unfunny bunch of South Pacific islanders of Hebrew descent), screws up the ending. Too bad.

Oh, and Meg Ryan was amazingly beautiful back then, as well as a lot more interesting to watch -- playing three completely different women; if you didn't know she played all of them, you'd be fooled -- than she's ever been since.  ¶ 00:54