Rating: 
Summary: Open your eyes wide shut
Review: The first question that begs to be asked, is why was this movie made? Abres Les Ojos -Open Your Eyes, is a clever, intelligent film that is a good companion film to various virtual reality & dream oriented films. This is a pale, commercial remake of the film.Tom Cruise plays cocky, self assured men in action films best. He has a decent physical presence that works well in comedies & action films. He was decent in Jerry Maguire & Eyes Wide Shut. Perhaps he was attracted to the film because it is supposed to be a psychological thriller & has a similiar title to Eyes Wide Shut. However, it doesn't work here. The character is supposed to be a shallow, confused young man who is still trying to find his identity. He has all the superficial success, but feels empty & incomplete. He ends up being a tormented Goethe/Dostevsky type character, but Cruise does not know how to play this type of character. This is a film about shaping your dreams, about discovering your identity & really living your life. But this version does not acheive that. The actors play the story too light heardedly and are not complex
and multi-dimensional. Crowe's decisions to alter some of the details of the plot don't make sense. He attempts to make the female characters more sympathetic & less manipulative & the main character less violent. Usually I applaud a feminist version, but it doesn't work this time. The original version is much darker. If you don't like reading subtitles, you can get the dubbed version of Abres les Ojos. I also highly recommend The Lathe of Heaven, Brazil, Existanz, Dark City & City of Lost Children.
The Lathe of Heaven is much more subtle, but acting is far superior & that was a made-for-TV film.
Rating: 
Summary: First half: great; Second half: horrible
Review: When I saw previews for this movie, I expected an awesome movie, and maybe that is why I was so disappointed. The first half of this movie was really well done. It got me so excited to see what happened... I loved the initial chemistry between Cruise and Cruz. I also loved Cameron Diaz in this movie, and she really made the first half great. The second half of the movie was lower than rock bottom. Not only was it confusing, but wholeheartedly disappointing. The storyline did a complete 180 from the first half of the movie and, to top it off, it was boring. I found it hard to stay awake, let alone follow the ultra-confusing ending. My suggestion: For a good "fall asleep to" movie, rent it just before bed time, because the second half of this movie is better than any nyquil for putting you to bed.
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