Rating: 
Summary: Story okay but poorly edited
Review: The story as it was would probably be better suited for television. They really dragged it out and there was at least one big "tell" as to what the ending was very early on in the movie where Tom Cruise is watching TV. The voiceover at the beginning annoyed me and was unnecessary. I think a lot of the bad reviews stem from the choppy editing and just plain poor execution. The movie is really a pity because it could have been so much more exciting, suspenseful, and interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Cruise's Streak of Great Movies Ends ABRUPTLY!
Review: I've been a major Tom Cruise fan since he slid across the hard wood floor in his briefs, and into Americana, nearly 20 years ago. I've seen every movie he ever made and thought highly of each (OK, except "Eyes Wide Shut"). Now, when he finally has the respectablilty to maybe win an Oscar, he pisses it away on this abysmal mess. Not only is this the WORST movie Cruise has ever made, it may be among the worst Hollywood has ever foisted on the public. Adding insult to injury, Mr. Cruise, who routinely tells anyone interested in his life, on or off screen, to mind their own business, didn't object to becoming a media bimbo, prostituting himself on each and every talk show portraying this travesty as "a love story." It is anything but. Shame on you, Tom!
From the opening moments, the viewer is assaulted with flash-forwards, flash-backs and dream sequences. At no time are you aware what is supposed to be real or not. This goes on for 2 hours and you are still no closer to, nor no longer interested in solving the riddle. Any viewer wishing to preserve their sanity, at this point, will either pass out or run screaming from the theatre. I did the latter (though my screaming was not aloud--or was it? A dream/nightmare sequence perhaps?) I guess we'll never know. Let's hope "Minority Report" is better than this mess. We love you Tom, but for God's sake, get a decent script or retire to Malibu.
Rating: 
Summary: Why is weird bad
Review: Hello
I love the super intelligent people who say that because a movie
is weird, its bad..that is really brillant..personally, I loved this movie, because it wasn't about the twists and turns and the dreams, but it was about a choice..what made this film great
were the last few minutes..when it all comes back to the human
aspect of the story, and the decisions to be made. There it becomes fantastic. Its not about surprising us, and if some
people could truly open their eyes, they would understand that this film is about is what is truly important in life. I don't care if you didn't like the film, but first realize what it is truly about.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply Personal...Often Misunderstood
Review: What is with the polarized response to this movie?!? ;) Vanilla Sky is a powerfully conceived sci-fi layering one of the most relevant set of deeply personal issues of our day all in one. What?!?! Yes. So, some are stirred by the questioning of their deeply held beliefs, others reject it like a 3 year-old: "I don't want it!" Both responses are perfectly understandable. I just hope to shed light on it for those using these reviews to help them decide whether to see this movie or not. If you put in the effort to follow this movie, you will be rewarded. In response to some of the negative reviews, I would like to note that almost all of those reviews say something to the effect of "too confusing...I couldn't follow...how stupid." Perhaps some people have confused lack of understanding with quality of art. Of course, I could be totally wrong...you decide. This film will hammer home the essential meaning of these worn-down however true ideas:
1. Life is what you make it.
2. *You* have total choice.
3. The focus of your attention determines the quality of your life.
4. 70% of all human communication is non-verbal. If the phrase "anything worth-while requires a little effort" means something to you, go see this stimulating movie. If you want another flat sappy "love" flick, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Movies Ever!
Review: I see a multitude of movies, and rarely do I ever add one to my top ten favorite movies. This one not only made it to my top ten, but it made it to number 2. This is an excellent movie!
Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT *****SPOILER ****
Review: This movie was not a science fiction piece to me because it's real, your subconcious creates the world you live in. This movie is deeper than just mugs of Tom Cruises face (which even I will admit may have been too many). You have to see this twice, even though I got it the first time, I'm going to see it again tonight. I will be buying this movie. Understand this he created his entire world thru these Life Extension people, in real life you create your entire world the same way thru your subconcious. Everything that you see, taste and smell (except for man) was a thought, an idea in someone's head before it came into existence. Read the book Creative Visualization, to understand more of what I was saying. I admit midway thru I was like okay, what happened but the end was splendid, spectacular and for me a reaffirmation that you are only limited my your mind.
Rating:
Summary: Flashbacks and out of sequence narrative = weak storytelling
Review: ...at least that's what a screenwriting teacher constantly tried to drill into my film classes back in university. Sure, at times someone like Tarrantino comes along and makes a "Pulp Fiction" in which the out of sequence narrrative structure is the very heart of the film. But, as a rule, flashbacks are big penalty flags that something has gone wrong with the dramatic line of action and the film is in trouble. These out-of-sinc films are put together as if they are pulling off some kind of fancy, artsy editing which only the truly savy film goer can understand and appreciate. What they are really doing is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the viewer. So the film's constant message to "open your eyes" may be an appropriate one.
Another sign of weak story telling is the use of expository scenes in which characters have to explain everything to each other (and by default to the audience). This is what happens at the end of this film when the (Matrix agent-like) man in the elevator explains everything to Cruise after the film makers seem to have painted themselves into a corner with such a convoluted story. If you're just going to have talking heads explaining everything why make a film at all? Make a radio play.
This movie is also covering thematic ground that has been quite well traveled by movies such as "The Matrix", "Total Recall", "Brazil", "Angel Heart" and by that old short story "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" with much better results.
Finally, I think the real themes of this movie are NOT the questions of "What is mind?", "How do we know reality?" or "How does consuming mass culture affect our notions of happiness?". The real theme of this movie is that the rich and famous have the chance to live on after death (at least on film).
Rating:
Summary: What's going on in this movie?
Review: The opening scene finds Tom Cruise driving down New York's bustling Time Square only to find it - completely empty! In an age where people marvel at digital effects where thousands of "extras" are digitally painted into a film, it was eerie to see the exact opposite. But it all goes downhill from there. Vanilla Sky was nearly 2 1/2 hours of complete and utter incoherence. It was like a poor man's "The Game," except Michael Douglas and Sean Penn were infinitely more effective than Tom Cruise and Jason Lee (whose talents were basically abused here). The plot is a complete mess, and its attempts at a Usual Suspects/The Game/Memento type of twister end just failed miserably. The movie doesn't know whether to be a romantic drama, a bad thriller, a hoakie sci-fi cult flick or a VH1 documentary. Cruise can act, but I don't think the movie will find anyone to sympathize with his pretentious character. The soundtrack, too, was just horrendous - splicing a rendition of Joan Osborne's "What If God Was One of Us?" by a morphined-up Cruise into the actual song only made it sound that much more miserable. When I left the theater, I felt like I had been in there for three weeks.
Rating:
Summary: Leaves you in awe
Review: I have never seen a movie that so eloquently combines action/suspense, drama, romance, all with an extreme psychological edge. This movie is simply amazing. To be truthful, there is a good chance you'll hate the movie. But if not, then you'll force yourself to watch it over and over again. It's simply amazing how incredibly layered this movie is, on so many different plains. When I left the theatre, I found myself just lost and fixated on the movie--I couldn't concentrate on anything else. This movie is just out of this world--I'm at a loss of words.
Rating:
Summary: All the horses
Review: I must confess to not really taking a liking to many of Cameron Crowes movies. I never saw the mastery in Almost Famous or Say Anything. I didn't really like Jerry Maguire either. But I wanted to see Hollywood remake a Spanish film with huge stars, it could only go badly. It actually surprised me, it wasn't that bad, and was a revelation at certain points. Cameron Diaz has really grown on me over the years, and here she is absolutely amazing, she made me root for her while being scared of her at the same time. She is in the movie far too little. Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise show surprisingly little chemistry considering their supposedly tumultuous off-screen relationship. Dialogue scenes between the two just don't have the spark that Diaz brings. The reason this movie just doesn't work for me was the lack of suspense. For some reason Crowe would edit the scenes completely wrong, and the suspense would be squandered. I'd seen the original before, but not in a while so I didn't remember every single shot and detail. An example is the scene in Central Park in the trees, I remember that scene having a very eerie quality to it in the Spanish version, in VS it just lacks that. I'm not saying "Abre los ojos" is a masterwork, it isn't. To tell you the truth, I don't really see why it was remade in the first place. But now I must say that the last 2 minutes are absolutely ravishing. Cameron Crowe has been complimented for his placement of music on lots of occasions, I haven't really been taken with it, but now I can see why he is. He plays a Sigur Ros track to coincide with the climax, and the blending of the scenery, emotion, and song is really something to behold. I utterly respect him for capping the movie impeccably. No one could have done it better. If it hadn't been for the ending, I would have outright hated the movie, but for that last 2 minutes I felt I knew what Tom Cruises character was going through, and that is so very rare to actually feel for a character that much these days, even for that short a time. I'm not even that big of a fan of Sigur Ros either. But hey, I recommend the movie as a rental and a visit to the theater isn't totally out of the question. Watch and make up your mind.
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