Vanilla Sky
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Vanilla sky is a terrible movie,
I was expecting more. It kicks off showing us
a
proud
lad who
has
it all: power, looks (if not height) and
riches,
cheesy grin, oh and he's
in
bed with a
sex-mad
Cameron Diaz as a "fuckbuddy". Yes,
we are
jealous.
Yes we
hate
him. Doubly so, because he's played by Tom Cruise.
So when bad things happen to him we are delighted,
cheered, contented. The movie itself knowingly
caricatures his smug grin in such away that
my suspension of disbelief was ruined - it became
unsuspended belief. The fly in the ointment
of Cruise's existence is that he suffers nightmares
- don't we all?
Then he goes and seriously irks a woman. Irking
women is never a good idea. He pays dearly.
Monumentally dearly. The tone of the movie becomes
very dark, and more interesting at this point.
The biggest downside to
Vanilla sky
is Penelope Cruz. She is stiff, stifled, stunted
and stilted. She wants for charm, allure and
charisma; besmirches every scene she is in;
crucifies every line she utters in that dalek
voice; and murders all the momentum as we dread
her dismal reappearance. Cruz made Cruise's
and Cameron Diaz's performance seem virtuoso
in comparison, quite an achievement.
The other flaw of
Vanilla Sky
concerns the plot. More on this in the spoilers corner below.
Unlike the charming, wonderful
Amelie
I saw just a couple of days ago,
Vanilla
Sky movie didn't move me in any way.
It neither engaged me emotionally nor on an
intellectual or philosophical level. Even Hollywood's
supposedly thoughtful movies are dumbed down
these days. Vanilla Sky pretends to be deep
and thoughtful, but actually it is just a Big
Mac and fries served in a pseud's cafe.
PS. I read no reviews or hype prior to seeing
Vanilla Sky and didn't realise
it was a remake of a Spanish movie,
Open
Your Eyes, which I have yet to see.
But I imagine something went badly wrong here.
Surely
Open Your Eyes, even if
everything else was identical, must be better
- it doesn't suffer from having Cruise in it.
But - Oh no!
Open Your Eyes apparently
has Cruz in it. Hmmmm. I wonder if she is better
in Spanish movies.
 |
|
|
spoilers corner
Spoilers!!!!
Warning: this box contains a movie post-mortem analysis that freely gives away important plot twists and details. If you have not yet seen this movie and intend seeing it, avoid this spoilers box until afterwards. Bookmark the page, see the movie, see if you agree with my review then write an arsy comment saying I am talking total b*ll*cks :-)
|
| |
First - a minor quibble - Vanilla
Sky tries to explain the plausibility
of cryogenics by hinted a dog revived
from being frozen in a block of ice for
three months. Impossible - when flesh
freezes sans antifreeze, ice crystals
rupture the cells causing irreversible
damage. Oh well.
So Vanilla Sky was all (or
maybe nearly all) a dream then, depending
on how you interpret the evidence. This
twist, if that is the word, was brain
damaged. The riddle just wasn't entertaining.
It's a cheap ploy - anything can be a
dream, there is no rhyme or reason to
it. It was all a dream! Yeah, right! He
made it all up in his head? Bleugh! What's
he waking up to? A dream within a dream
still? Who can know, who can care?
|
|
There are no more spoilers below this
point, except maybe in any user talkback
comments.
End of spoilers corner
|
|
|
The eyes don't open.
Add your comment to this page
| | | | |
| From: |
Jenny | Subject: | 2002-05-26 03:15:06 |
| | | | |
| From: |
JGR | Subject: | 2002-07-07 22:15:49 |
| | | | |
| From: |
JGR | Subject: | 2002-07-07 22:20:22 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Michael | Subject: | 2002-07-31 16:35:37 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Darrell | Subject: | 2002-08-31 13:13:53 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Daniel Garcia | Subject: | 2003-06-09 16:00:01 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Isaac | Subject: | 2003-10-07 19:35:17 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Daniel Alando Garcia | Subject: | 2006-03-22 17:56:49 |
| | | | |
| From: |
B4i4gethat | Subject: | 2006-10-16 20:50:34 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Vanilla Option | Subject: | 2007-01-21 18:21:23 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Dave | Subject: | 2008-12-26 10:03:56 |
| | | | |
| From: |
dave | Subject: | 2008-12-26 10:04:55 |
| | | | |
help: how to add your comment Page hits: 12938
