Yar, you be here: Vanilla Sky > Customer Reviews

Vanilla Sky Customer Reviews (64 - 66 of 96 Reviews)

Intelligent but too ambitious
The Cameron Crowe remake of the 1997 Spanish movie "Abre Los Ojos" is ambitious and brings out the best in its cast but in the end may try to do too much.

Tom Cruise plays the heir of a publishing empire David Aames. Young, wealthy, charismatic and hollow are all things Cruise should and does play well. Aames, involved sexually with Julianna (Cameron Diaz), falls romantically for the charming cute-as-a-button Sophia (Penelope Cruz). Julianna becomes enraged over Aames' new found love and drives Aames and herself off a bridge, apparently killing herself and disfiguring him. The rest of the movie is a mix of reality and dream leaving both Aames and the viewer confused as to what is real and what is not. Aames must now try to get his life back together: the empire and the love affair while coming to grips with his physical and mental injuries. Love, sex, friendship, betrayal, and insanity ensue as Aames finds himself in prison charged with murder and trying to piece together what really happened and what only happened in his mind.

The strong points of the movie are many. The casting and acting are nearly as flawless as you will find in a blockbuster. Cruise plays Aames well, even when the character changes from cocky and brash to deformed and disturbed. There are a few melodramatic moments by Cruise that the film could have done without, but what is Cruise if not attention grabbing? Diaz is frightening and makes the audience uncomfortable as the disturbed Julianna. Cruz's character is not particularly deep but is charming and the viewer will probably empathize with Aames' attraction to her. Jason Lee's acting continues to improve with yet another take on the role of the lead's best friend. And Kurt Russell rounds out the Hollywood regulars as the doctor who is trying to help Aames figure out what has happened.

Other strong points of the film lie within the sound and visuals. The soundtrack is an amazing mix of sentimental acoustic and infectious techno. Among the artists on the soundtrack are Radiohead, Leftfield, Peter Gabriel, Jeff Buckley and even Diaz herself. The filters and effects used on the film added greatly to the atmosphere, from the Monetesque colors used on skylines to the cold dark blue filters used during Aames' darker moments.

The downfalls of the film come in the writing and length of the film. Like many of Crowe's other works, the film is just too long. Crowe needs to learn to not love his work so much and allow it to be edited to a shorter form. The actual writing is too ambitious and it changes direction on the viewer to much. First the movie is a suspense. Now it is a love story. Now it is sci-fi. And after putting the viewer through all these plot twists and changes the movie then decides it has a serious message to give to the audience. The film moves slowly enough that the audience becomes invested in what is happening only to be left behind and moved onto the next, completely different, segment of the film.
Overall the film is good and is worth seeing in the theater. You will enjoy it more if you check your critic's hat at the door (ironic coming from me, I know), and let yourself become involved in the movie. But don't be surprised if what you are involved in at the beginning or middle is not there at the end.

"TECH SUPPORT!!!!!!"
Watching this after viewing the convoluted mess, MULHOLLAND DR., was like a breath of fresh air. Here is a convoluted film with BIG IDEAS and an actual pay-off at the end. AND IT'S FUNNY!! Some [people] claim this movie made no sense and was full of holes. Huh? The whole thing is spelled out in it's conclusion. Cameron Crowe practically leads you by the hand. ... Having seen this PSYCHOLOGICAL MASTERPIECE 3 times so far, I couldn't find a single hole in it's superbly delineated plot.

Not being a fan of Penelope Cruz or Cameron Diaz, I went into this film with low expectations. I was wrong. Cruise and Cruz have great chemistry together. Obviously because of their off- screen chemistry. And Cameron Diaz' performance is chilling. I have a newfound respect for her. Next to BORN ON THE FORTH OF JULY, this is Tom's best performance by far. He says, it's his favorite film to date. No kidding!! His performance is sad, hilarious, and profoundly touching. BRAVO!! Jason Lee is always great and he's a riot in this film. Hope to be seeing more of him, now that he's mainstream. Kurt Russell in a marvelously understated role.

... Granted what at first appears to be a psychological thriller, which it is, ultimately becomes a science fiction odyssey of the mind. [For those] who couldn't understand why Tom Cruise gets in the car with Cameron Diaz: Diaz offers Cruise sex. This is the important choice that Cruise makes which ultimately changes his whole life and the direction or conflict of the story. And he doesn't "punch her in the face" because he's trying to talk her down. ... It's about the male libido. It's about thinking with one's head and not one's.....ahem. "It's about choices" is stated several times in the film. As for the identities changing during Cruise's nightmare nothing could be more obvious: his subconscious is playing out his tortured feelings of guilt about Cameron Diaz' character. "The subconscious is a powerful thing" is stated several times in the film. Psychology 101. Pretty simple stuff when you see it unfolding. ... As for comparing this to MEMENTO: OK, a psychological thriller with an unusual timeline device. But MEMENTO had a fill-in-the-blank pay-off. What was the motivation behind it all? Why was this guy manipulating this other guy's mind? We'll never know. Doesn't really matter. These two films are pretty far apart in their intentions.

This script could have come from the mind of Phillip K. Dick- sheer paranoia, except for the ending, which is full of redemption and hope. Stunningly put together and masterfully directed by Cameron Crowe. The music is wonderful. One expects the music in a film such as this to be haunting and weird, ala David Lynch, but the choice of tunes is a reflection of the main character's taste in music. GOOD VIBRATIONS?- man, that was out of left field.

The DVD format is artfully done and the extras are good, although the MAKING OF segment, PRELUDE TO A DREAM, could have been more extensive. DO NOT watch PRELUDE TO A DREAM before watching the film. It gives away a part of the plot ... You do get a COMMENTARY by the film maker which I haven't clicked on yet.

Not as psychologically disturbing as FIGHT CLUB, but close.

Wow, I thought the meaning of this MASTERPIECE was fairly obvious, but after reading some of the other reviews, I guess I have to say, go into this one with an OPEN MIND.

BRILLIANT!! Thanks, Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise, for helping to restore my faith in Hollywood. This movie is one of the reason's why I love film. One of the 2 or 3 best films of 2001.

Vanilla Sky: A Visually Gorgeous but Pointless Film
Tom Cruise is a superbly gifted actor. He deserved the Academy Award for his performance in "Jerry Maguire." The malicious slur that Cruise is nothing more than a pretty boy probably had something do with his not receiving this honor. Unfortunately, our beloved Tom has recently squandered his enormous talent on making movies to satisfy the Liberal pseudo intellectuals. The banal "Eyes Wide Shut" and the so-called thought provoking "Magnolia" were both a complete waste of time. "Vanilla Sky" is another film on Tom Cruise's existential trip to nowhere.

"Vanilla Sky" is a beautiful film. New York City was never more lovely to look at. Alas, Director Cameron Crowe did what he could with a pointless and tedious story line. The music track is interesting but not memorable. The acting of Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz demands little from either actress. Jason Lee, however, is fantastic as the close friend of the protagonist. "Vanilla Sky" became increasingly boring whenever he was not in a scene. It wasn't Kurt Russell's fault that the audience had already fallen asleep by the time he appeared on the screen. What is the movie about? The gods of the universe couldn't answer that question. Tom Cruise portrays a spoiled and self absorbed thirty something brat who seemingly cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. Is he alive, or is he dead? Does his life have any meaning? Is good sex sufficient to make it all worth while? I'm normally hostile towards Marxist ideology, but Cruise's David Aames character is a strong argument for not allowing the sons of the wealthy to inherit the wealth of their parents.

Anyone desiring to save their sanity should consider avoiding "Vanilla Sky" at all costs. One should recommend this movie only to their worst enemies. There are numerous Tom Cruise films that you must see at least once during your lifetime, but "Vanilla Sky" isn't one of them.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Next Page