Rating: 
Summary: Vanilla? Think Chocolate
Review: If you love confusing turns and the pretzel-type twists of movies like "Memento", you'll love this film.Cameron Crowe's ambitious film races backwards and forwards, ricocheting between reality, dreams and moments that can only be described as "who knows what?" at such breathtaking speed that it's often impossible to tell what's what. If you're an impatient person, forget this film, as there's no way to figure out what's going on until about fifteen minutes from the end, where the completely unpredictable, unfathomable, and somewhat far-fetched explanation of the whole rollercoaster comes into place. All the mismatched pieces of the whole thing will fall into place. As several people exclaimed when I went to see this film: "AHA! So that's what's been happening!!"Tom Cruise's David Aames is a boy publisher who has inherited a magazine empire following the untimely deaths of his parents. David, a self-centered narcissist, loves all the perks and attention bestowed on him. He hates the sour-looking board of trustees who help run the company. He calls them the Seven Dwarfs. In his personal life, he's involved in a sort-of romance with the lovely, but unbalanced, Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz). David sees their affair as an ongoing casual fling. Julie sees it as much, much more. Unfortunately David is an emotional zero, more in love with himself than he ever could be with anyone else. So when he's suddenly bowled over by the sprite-like Spanish beauty Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz), stealing her from the arm of his best friend (Jason Lee), there's no grounding to his feelings. The film's central romance never convinces. Penelope Cruz is amazingly annoying, and hardly ever touches or appeals. The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz, however, is much for convincing. It is a great pity that Diaz disappears as a character for the greater part of the film. You'll notice I said, "as a character". Much of the film is told in flashback by David, who wears a prosthetic mask to hide his facial disfigurement that's the result of a horrifying accident. The mask also hides David's emotions as he talks to a psychologist (Kurt Russell) in prison. David is being held there on a murder charge. What? It's one of the film's many puzzles, which are unraveled slowly as we try to figure out how David got there and who it was that he is accused of killing. So there we have it: a slightly confusing drama with a main character liable to explosions and two rather electrifying women who are interchangeable at any point in his memory. But the film's twilight-zone-type ending makes up for the tears, the shakes and the mental frustration this movie puts you through. Open your eyes. See it your way.
Rating: 
Summary: Spare me.
Review: Oh lord, does it get any worse? Cameron Crowe what have you done to us? Tom Cruise gets his pretty boy face all hurt. Penelope is soooooooooo annoying in this film, I couldn't wait for it to be over. The positive? A new form of drinking game. Let's match up celebs with the same sounding name. Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise. Cameron Crowe and Cameron Diaz. That's two drinks.
Rating: 
Summary: A bad translation into English
Review: If you don't understand what this film is trying to achieve, watch the original, "Open Your Eyes". If you don't understand the original, have in mind that its director is half Chilean, and shares the heritage of Markes, Borjes and other magical realists from South America. However, "Vanilla Sky" leaves one with the same awkward feeling as Holywood's "A Midnight Summer's Dream" with Rupert Everett. It is just a bad American translation of a Spanish masterpiece. The director isn't right and Tom Cruise isn't right for this part. I agree that the scene when he meets Sofia for the first time is just laughable, he is so pathetic in his efforts to portray falling in love at first sight. Seems to me that the main reason to remake this movie was Penelope Cruz. Tom must have seen her at the Oscars and said, wow, who is this babe. It is obvious that he is very much in love with her in real life. It is funny how she is just the opposite of Nicole Kidman: she is short, with dark hair and dark eyes, and gives the impression of somebody rather stupid. In any case, the movie was a bold step and an effort towards serious film making. But sorry, guys, you simply don't have the culture and the sophistication that such a complex piece of art that "Open Your Eyes" demands. I give Vanilla Sky two stars, one for Cameron Diaz (she is incredible in this movie, I was surprised to see how far she had gotten), and one for Jason Lee.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Looking Mess
Review: Cameron Crowe recently told Empire Magazine about his thriller remake "Vanilla Sky": "I wanted one interpretation of the movie to be somebody's lucid dream, where they are played by Tom Cruise". Remade from Alejandro Amenabar's Spanish language original "Arbe Los Ojos" ("Open Your Eyes"), credit must go to Crowe and Cruise for embracing the weirdness of the foreign indie curio and amping it up considerably with a massive Hollywood budget and cast. However, the extravagant opulence of the film represents everything that's wrong with Hollywood treatment of revered cult classics: in the pursuit of making money, or even making a lot of credible sense, the audience is treated like a whole mentalhouse of idiots. An example Crowe should draw upon when it comes to directing a movie that plays with reality and dreams so restlessly is that of David Lynch's recent stunner, "Mulholland Drive". In that movie everything was there for the audience to understand, and yet it let them try to figure out why certain people did certain things and what was real and what was not. "Vanilla Sky", despite starting boldly by delineating what was real and what wasn't as well as jumping back and forth threw time consistently, veers off into typical dumb-down-for-the-masses territory come journey's end. Rather like "A.I.", but seeming so much longer and dull, Crowe has gone ahead and done the audience's hard work for them by giving an ending that explains everything ... and that's an exaggerated everything! Throw in a couple of thankless roles for the otherwise very good actors Kurt Russell, as Cruise's fatherly psychiatrist, and Noah Taylor (boy do you want to just smack Crowe for what he makes this guy do for the film!), and the film loses some considerable edge that would have turned it into a long-debated gem. It's telling that Spielberg himself has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the film. As well as a wholly expository final 15 minutes, Crowe being the lover of bland romantics as he is, we're treated to long scenes of Cruise and Cruz falling in love and out of it again and then back in. For me, the wonderful Cameron Diaz could have been given far more sinister work to do as Cruise's jilted .... Despite Crowe's lack of balls and having to wrap things up all too nicely, "Vanilla Sky" does have its moments. Many of them belong to the demented Diaz, but the rest of the cast acquit themselves well. Cruise isn't exactly Oscar worthy here, basically because a substantial amount of charm is missing from his character, but the fact that he holds your attention for a two-and-a-quarter hour film is a feat in itself. As for Cruz, there are those who can't get past her thick Spanish accent and there are those who see her as the sweet disarming figure she is; I serve in the latter category and thought she was genuinely good in this role (of course it must have helped playing the same part in Amenabar's original). Jason Lee, as he does in every film after "Mallrats", stands by and screams for the lead role in a movie of his own, his character being the one the audience most probably ends up taking a shine to most, and of the bit parts, Timothy Spall is memorable as Cruise's work aide, and, as ever, Tilda Swinton commands the paltry five minutes of screentime that she has. After the stellar ensemble work in "Jerry Maguire" and especially "Almost Famous", Crowe further cements his reputation as a unique actor's director. It's just a shame that these performances are stuck in such a film which guarantees to be overlooked come awards season. As for handling the tricks of the fantasy/horror genre, aside from a few flourishes (his placing of Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends" on the soundtrack is especially good), Crowe is on uneven ground handling the switches in mood, as well as in his use of shock flash cuts and fast edits (you can see all of Diaz's jump-out-of-your-seat moments from a mile away). He is more comfortable with his sentimental forays into romantic circumstance and slight than with ths attempt at an edgy, hip thriller. Leaving the cinema, I just left wondering what David Lynch would have done with the same film; that would be fun for the whole family!
Rating:
Summary: How could they?
Review: With a cast like this and seeing the preview, you are disillusioned that you are about to see a great film. Please do not waste time buying, renting, or seeing this film. The plot totally lost me, especially at the end. The first part of the movie is great until the accident and from there it is downhill!
Rating:
Summary: I heard that this was aweful, I didn't listen.
Review: Everyone I knew who had seen this film said it was one of the worst movies they had endured. I didn't listen; but I wish I had. It is aweful. Watch a fly crawling up a wall, it is more entertaining than this film! This film is as bad as the film Amelie is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing break from the mainstream
Review: As a not-so-regular moviegoer I found 'Vanilla Sky' a refreshing experience. The storyline is unusual, still the acting and the total package made me step over that without second thoughts. Not that I didn't like the story. It was great in all its shockingness. Let's say this movie is like David Fincher's 'The Game' (I hope I'm not giving away too much now), but with addition of funny, touching, shocking, intelligent ánd erotic ingredients which make this movie much spicier than the previously mentioned movie.
Lead man Tom Cruise was more impressive than I've ever seen him. He's still improving as an actor, although 'M:I-2' suggested otherwise, and you got to give him credit for keeping on picking the right movies. You can give him even more credit for being in thís movie, because if it hadn't been for him this very accessible Hollywood interpretation of the Spanish original might never have been made.
This is the first movie I saw that included Penelope Cruz, and I have to say she convinced me. She got almost 100% out of what the script gave her. Cameron Diaz actually does that, although her screentime isn't that fabulous. 'Charlie's Angels' and 'There's something about Mary' haven't flattened her acting talent. Kurt Russell gives a top-notch performance. He convinces as an incorruptible shrink, who has 100% faith in his patient. Jason Lee adds all he can to the story as Tom Cruise's best friend.
The music plays a big part in this movie, although there isn't a real score. Most music in this movie consists of pop songs from different era's, which gives the movie a timeless feel from the start, and it must be said that the selection was very well done. Are there any down sides to this movie? Just one serious one. As much I enjoyed the film and respect the intelligent story behind it, I can't shake the impression that the next time I see the film the story will collapse. Don't ask how or why, I might be wrong. Still, it's first impressions that count when watching movies in the theatre and 'Vanilla Sky' makes most of that.
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the Best Movie I've ever seen
Review: I dont really know how anyone can say that this movie is bad, unless you just dont get it. Its amazing, ive already seen it 3 times.. Ive seen "open your eyes" as well i dotn think it is quite as good, but it was still great. Everything about "Vanilla Sky was perfect, it had a great story line, awsome acting, and an absolutly unbelivable soundtrack. Plus it had Penelope Cruz, who is just unbelivable. I think that everyone should see this movie. From start to finish, this movie is really mysterious and just leaves you wondering what the [heck]?/ I think there is a really good character developement in it too. you just really get a feel for the characters, you know what they are about, Sofia (cruz) was abosolutly amazing, i recomend this movie to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Film of the year!
Review: "Consequences, David- consequences," says Ed Ventura (tech support) to David Aames in the final scene of this remarkable film by Cameron Crowe. Films just don't get much better than this. And that statement so beautifully sums up what I believe to be the point of Vanilla Sky. Like the rest of us, young and arrogant David Aame must learn that our actions DO have consquences.
The acting is superb from beginning to end. Cruise and Cruz (ha ha) have real chemistry and Penelope Cruz herself delivers a top-notch performance that is sure to tug at your heartstrings. Jason Lee provides the comic relief, but even he is necessarily solemn from time to time and even his comic relief lines have deeper meaning.
The film is complicated, so be prepared to do a lot of thinking. THIS IS NOT AN ESCAPIST film. I have seen Vanilla Sky three times and each time I begin to understand more and more- and I still don'tunderstand it all yet. I don't want to give anythign away, but trust me when I tell you this movie is worth even the outrageously high ticket prices of New York City. Oh, and one final note- the soundtrack is EXCELLENT- from the Red House Painters to Sigur Ros. Every song in the film is so appropriate to the scene. ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: Rivals Ed Wood
Review: Rivals Ed Wood for one of worst movies ever made....if only it were as laughable....
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