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12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Vanilla Sky
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MPAA RATING: R for sexuality and strong language
Starring Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, and Tilda Swinton
Snowboarding through life, David Aames (Cruise) appears to lead a charmed life. In one night David meets a girl of his dreams and loses her by making a small mistake. Thrust unexpectedly onto a roller-coaster ride of romance, comedy, suspicion, love, sex and dreams, David finds himself on a mind-bending search for his soul and discovers the precious, ephemeral nature of true love. (Paramount Pictures)
| GENRE(S): | Suspense/Thriller |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Cameron Crowe
Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil (film Abre Los Ojos) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Cameron Crowe |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: May 21, 2002 Video: May 21, 2002 Theatrical: December 14, 2001 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 115 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
Cameron Diaz picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 112 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Eric T gave it a9:
This movie is amazing, although it's sometimes intense and painful to the point of being hard to watch The negative reviews are hilarious; they remind me of AI, in particular the complaints about "too large of scope". If you can't wrap your head around epic, high-concept scifi, then go watch Animal House or something. This is a fantastically made and riveting film. Those scoring it on par with "The Hottie and Nottie" is deeply clueless.
Marc J gave it a10:
One of the best movies I have seen. Raises many questions and evokes even more feelings.
Michael L gave it a5:
A film which makes an attempt to pattern itself on the fantasy vs. reality films that had become popular at the turn of the new millennium - David Fichner's "Fight Club" and M. Night Shamalan's "Sixth Sense" both from 1999, Christopher Nolan's "Momento" from 2000, and David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" released the following year (all of which don't surpass the reigning king of this genre when Terry Gilliam released his 1985 masterpiece "Brazil") - by no means fails in this respect since I found it both entertaining and intriguing for the most part, but is noticeably long and certainly may confuse the average '2hr-max-movie-goer'. Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz both stand out playing their respective, 'good gal/bad gal roles and Jason Lee is quite appealing as the best friend of our dashing lead Tom Cruise. Yet Cruise may be viewed as stretching this performance given the physical challenges that are demanded. I hesitate to reveal these challenges to those that have not seen the picture as they are indeed the focal point of the plot. Many good things like the witty Cameron Crowe retrospective soundtrack that is weaved into clever culture references and tributes which are indeed enjoyable and even necessary to solve the riddle presented in 'what's is going on?' scenario of the main character's pressing dilemma which may not be easy to access with a single viewing. But still the ride can be entertaining as Tom runs away and into trouble as he often does in quasi-action films that are laced with mystery and intrigue like Sydney Pollack's 1993 "The Firm", Brian De Palma's 1996 "Mission Impossible" and even the more cerebrally dark, "Eyes Wide Shut" from Stanley Kubrick. As noted by many educated critics as well as the tasteless tabloids Mr. Cruise may be biting off more than he can chew as he dives into the land of independent production. I applaud Tom for his efforts and are rooting for his 'comeback' yet do believe that his choice for future roles should include a return to comedic territory as a deviation/diversion to selecting elaborate/complicated efforts which could be prove a bit too risky and result in a poor reception at the box office.
Carlos S gave it a10:
A wonderful movie. Cameron Crowe really gets the perspective of the original "abre los ojos" and focus all the main ideas in this picture. Vanilla Sky make humans realised the meanning of their existence, it try to achieve a new level of understanding of the human mind by incorporate anormal fenoms in cuatidan life. As Cameron Crow said about the movie. "life, sex, emotion, sadness, love, crazyness, dead".This is Vanilla Sky.
Steven. gave it an8:
Cameron Crowe really has outdone himself in some of the movies he's made. This movie is no exception. Let me just make a personal note before I make this review. I'm one of those people that saw this movie for the first time and understood everything, and something I have to note about is that this movie is a true Cameron Crowe masterpiece if you actually understand it. I really went through a lot of emotions when I watched this movie, this is one of the more cinematic movies I've seen. From the music to the very clever lines, and to the story pulling all together on one very well made elevator scene. This movie has a really cool vibe to it from the moment it starts. Plus the ending is mind blowing. I really love Paul Mccartney's song played in the credits, it really brings you down to earth after seeing such a breathtaking ending. If you want to watch this movie go ahead, I think that some of the critics were a little rough on this movie. Heres a hint to watching this though, when you reach a scene that shows Tom in an Elevator with a man in a suit, pay attention to this scene, because it explains everything about this movie. Happy Watching.
Andrew O gave it a10:
Superb, highly moving and deep when understood. Vanilla Sky is not a movie to watch just once and requires your full attention. Not everyone will get it; few will appreciate it on the first viewing. This is not a "Tom Cruise" movie, but definately one to watch several times if you enjoy complex movies.
Donna S. gave it an8:
I'm still confused by whatever went on in that movie, but I loved it, and I was blown away by the ending which was made even spectacular by Sigur Ros' '"Njosnavelin". This movie toyed a lot with my emotions, and I don't think I can spite Tom Cruise for his role as David Aames, even if I loathe him (Tom) with a passion as of now.

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