Rating: 
Summary: Open Your Eyes Wide Shut
Review: A large part of the problem with the general reception of this movie is its cast: the presence of Tom Cruise probably makes a lot of people expect a feel-good romantic comedy. In fact, 'Vanilla Sky' has definite elements of the Arthouse genre. It works on many levels: it's a thriller, it's about happiness and about making the right choices, it's about new frontiers in virtual reality/entertainment. But more importantly, and on a more philosophical level, 'Vanilla Sky' is a movie about man's hubris (arrogance) in the face of life's big questions: it's about man's eternal desire for immortality, about running away from yourself and God's will in order to become the Creator of your own life and destiny, about science's quest for an ever prolonged and enhanced life - as well as the futility and dangers inherent in such a quest. It's this richness of meaning that makes 'Vanilla Sky' rewarding.
So again, don't expect a lovely straight-forward movie, or you're bound to be disappointed, as so many people obviously are. This movie has a surreal, surrealist quality that reminds me somewhat of Kubrick. For a prepared audience only, but an outstanding movie!
Rating:
Summary: Open Your Mind
Review: This is one of the most complex and rewarding movies I've seen in a while. Many reviewers compare it to 'The Sixth Sense'. In my opinion it has a metaphysical dimension that makes it much more similar to 'The Truman Show', another fantastic yet underrated movie with many hidden layers of meaning. I do not understand all this fuss about 'not getting it', it being 'confusing' etc. Have people who say those things ever considered that movies can be more than just shallow, brainless, escapist entertainment ( even though 'Vanilla Sky' is very entertaining as well). They can be works of art: they challenge, question, expand horizons, uplift - and they do not necessarily have to spell everything out as though we were in kindergarten! A challenging movie for a mature audience - and one that gives us renewed faith in Hollywood filmmaking in the midst of a lot of mindless garbage!
Rating:
Summary: A Misunderstood masterpiece in a class of it's own.
Review: Tom's performance in Vanilla Sky is arguably his best yet. It showcases every emotion a human being is capable of. The role of David Aimes really is a great actors dream, a role that only a brave and true actor would even attempt. David is a man who starts out with it all, and has it all stripped away. What looked like (at least, from early reports) a posturing vanity piece has proven itself quite the opposite, as it doesn't show Tom in the movie star light that many of his films do, it shows him as a true cinema great, which he is. He and director Cameron Crowe took a risk; they stepped into darker, unchartered territory (unlike there more safe pairing "Jerry Maguire") and have created a true masterpiece. Due to the films luke-warm reception by many, critics and audiences alike, it seems there one mistake was putting trust in the masses, they asked us to go in open minded but alas, most went in with eyes wide shut (I'm surprised that line hasn't been used more often). But to the people out there who did go in open-minded, I'm sure you found it as mind-blowing as I did.
Rating:
Summary: TRUELY A THRILLER FOR YOUR MIND
Review: Directed by Cameron Crowe this film is everything cinema should be and more. I was enthralled from the moment it began until the second it ended.Aside from the futuristic plot of the film you witness a beautiful relationship unfold between Sofia(Penelope Cruz)and David(Tom Cruise).You really believe that they are madly in love the on screen chemistry between them is that powerful.(who knows it may have been the real thing since they were rumoured to be dating during filming, and still are for sure now) The plot at times gets confusing but everthing is explained and that is why I left the theater so satisfied.Go see this moive you won't regret the eight dollars you spent.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Different: I Loved It
Review: Ok, let me stand out from the crowd and say that I unreservedly loved this film and had no problems with it whatsoever. Usually I do not like American remakes of foreign films either. I consider this right brain filmmaking, where the principals involved went out on a limb and abandoned staid, stodgy storytelling and its predictible ideas and embraced reflecting ideas through filmmaking instead. I went to this film on friends' recs and I'm glad I did not know the plot line going in. I think it is best to see this film fresh and without any ideas of what's coming. It moves around in time in a non linear fashion but I'm used to that so had no problem following it. Tom Cruise is superb. He has been taking much riskier roles at this stage in his career, such as the ones in "Magnolia" and "Eyes Wide Shut" and what an improvement over some earlier tripe he made like "Top Gun" and "Days of Thunder." The essential concept to the movie is what is going on in the life of David Ames (Cruise); what is really happening and what is not. That's all you need to know to get into it and anything more said will spoil it for you.
Rating:
Summary: We all have killed Sophia once in our lives.
Review: I feel sorry for those of you who went to see this film and know nothing of symbolism in art and literature. I also feel sorry for those of you who do not believe that Tom Cruise is capable of highly dramatic acting. First let me state that the most important thing to understand about this movie is that the very first voice you hear on the alarm clock is Sophia's, not Julie's, the symbolism starts immediately. Second you need to understand that Sophia is a symbol of a man's truth to himself. If he had killed Sophia, it was more a statement of how he had let love die within himself where he spends most of the picture anyway. The mask, come on, what was that but absolute symbolism of his attempt to hide behind the plastic facade he himself had been an instrument in the creation of. I've seen the movie twice now, I understood it immediately, but was so impressed that I went a second time. The movie only gets better when you see it again. One last thing about Tom at the nightclub, if you think its easy to portray your character as a complete out-of-place jerk then you really have never done any acting. Anyone can play the hero.
Rating: 
Summary: Someone wake me up, please!!!
Review: Until I saw this movie I thought Eyes Wide Shut was the worst I had seen in awhile. I kept hoping someone would wake me up and let me go home. This movie deserves a minus five stars.
It is just plain stupid. I am worried that those who are suffering from depression or other mental health problems and watch this will have a serious need for counseling.
Tom Cruise needs a hair cut, better taste in women and should stick to dancing in his underwear.
Rating:
Summary: superb. Don't let anyone tell you the end.
Review: If you are like me, you love films like David Fincher's "fight club, or films like momento or Darynn Aranofski's "requim for a dream." Films like this have a certain essence to them that hollywood rarely takes advantage of when making films like "the mummy." Every now and then it's nice to sit back and relax with a popcorn flick...but with those types of movies, more often then not, you can walk away without any thoughts or feelings at all. Thats because you arent required to use your God-given brain. Now if you are like me and are a fan of David Lynch's works (lost highway, mulholland drive, twin peaks, etc.) you love the movies but always walk away with many a question unanswered. Vanilla sky has a touch of a david lynch in it. The first half of the movie would lead you to believe its sort of a drama/romantic comedy film. The second half, takes what you thought about it during the first half, and throws it into a flaming pit of wrongness. Don't get me wrong. the entire movie is interesting from begining to end. ( I refuse to give away the end, on behalf of those who have yet to see it) all im saying is that the begining cannot prepare you for the end. You are really not likely to figure out whats going to happen until maybe the last 10 minutes of the film. Tom Cruise does a decent acting job in this film. If you liked his performance in Kubrick's "eyes wide shut" and Magnolia, you should enjoy this is as well. If you are a big hollywood movie fan , you may notice a character in the film who resembles a character from Lara Croft: TOmb Raider. That's because its the same guy. I enjoy many hollywood movies, but in the end i want my plate heaping, not half full. Decide for yourself. All im here to say is that i thought this movie was excellant. If you have been a fan of cameron crowe, or a fan of independant or artsy movies, this could be your new favorite. I also recommend: Fight club, momento, requiem for a dream, muhlholland drive, lost highway, the crow, assualt on precinct 13, and so many more! God I love movies!
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: This movie sucks, don't waste your time and money. Many
people in the theatre didn't understand it, including me, and I watched the movie in one of the most upscale towns in the US.
The only reason I'm glad I went is that I missed the Raiders
beat my favorite team, the Jets, in the playoff game.
Rating: 
Summary: A combination of "A.I.," "The Sixth Sense" & The Matrix...
Review: ... and it's not pretty. I don't want to put in any spoilers like some other reviewers have done, but that won't be too hard because the true "surprise" so to speak is in the last 10 minutes of the film... and unless you've read spoilers already (whether you knew it at the time or not) or you're doing some serious hallucinagens, you will not figure out the end before it happens. The first hour and a half is a mesh of sex, foul language and some really messed up people and scenes. Your mind will be seriously messed with, but you almost won't care. I love a cerebral movie and there are some cerebral moments to be sure... but ech... this movie was pretty awful. Kurt Russell does a great job as the psychiatrist and his part in the film was very believable. Cameron Diaz was superb at portraying a total nut-case, but Penelope Cruz left much to be desired in a number of scenes. The story behind the film is really a good concept and has the potential for being a stellar production, but this particular rendition is not that animal. Considering the screenplay, Cameron Crowe did the best he could. This story just was just too rough on the edges to be a final draft. Some of the make-up is fantastic, but there is a scene when you first see Cruise's character, David Aames, after he's been in a horrific accident and he's got some weird scar makeup on his nose that looks like the fake ear wax stuff you get in the Halloween aisle of Kroger in the fall. You really don't know what is going on until the last 10-15 minutes of the film, but it's not exactly what I would call an epiphany. It's more along the lines of, "oooh, now I get it... I spent $7 to sit here for 2 hours and -this- is how this weirdo movie ends?" Good acting and an interesting concept do not a stellar movie make. The elements are there, but the story needed much more work to make this fly. Considering the money and talent involved in this project, it's a true shame that it wasn't better. I have heard mixed reviews... some saying it was fantastic and others saying it was not suited to be an after-school special. After seeing it, I understand why there is such a diversification in opinions... it's a weird movie... AND it's not that good, so not only are people confused, they're also annoyed at having spent money on the film. This is NOT a film for children, hence the R rating. I just saw this in the theater and was horrified to see 6, 7 & 8 year old children watching sex scenes, murder scenes, nudity, violence, etc. The only possible benefit to taking a child to this movie is that it demonstrates some pretty horrific consequences to having sex outside of marriage. Seriously though, this is NOT for kids... if you can't get a sitter, wait until video and watch it when the kids are asleep... this will mess you up... you don't have to mess up your kids as well.
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