“Forrest Gump,” in IMAX, at the TCL Chinese Theatre

The philosophical phenom goes big -- very big -- for its 20th anniversary.

When movie buffs visualize watching something in IMAX, they're inclined to see asteroids zipping across the vast screen, and robots as tall as skyscrapers stomping on robots as tall as buildings slightly shorter than skyscrapers, and monsters of every stripe.

But gentle philosophizing? Family bonds? The sharing of homespun wisdom? A crackerjack spin back through major moments dotting a few history-vibrant decades?

Not IMAX-ready stuff, typically, but "Forrest Gump" may change our thoughts on this front. The '90s weepie-cheerie -- it's a bit of both, yes? -- is marking its 20th anniversary with a rather notable return: It's screening in select IMAX theaters around the nation, including our own TCL Chinese Theatre from Sept. 4 through 11.

Nope, no asteroids to shriek over in this flick, a film that regularly lands on lists listing quintessential '90s stories. No city-devouring robots, either. There will, however, be one of the most famous benches in the annals of benchdom up on the gargantuan screen, and what has to be the most-referenced box of chocolates of all time.

Well. Wasn't Forrest's momma pretty much right on the "you'll never know what you're gonna get" front? Hard to argue against that.

Tom Hanks spoke that oft-repeated line, his momma is Sally Fields, and a host of other greats fill out the cast. Are you getting a little damp-eyed, thinking of Jenny? Make sure the sleeves of whatever shirt you wear to Chinese Theatre are super-absorbent.

Forrest Gump was known as a man who ended up in some extraordinary situations. Could this rather unusual situation -- a movie lacking robots but containing a whole bunch of hugs and history -- predict the IMAX of tomorrow? Where dramas might regularly show on the jumbo screen?

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