...
Then again, as 'Vanilla Sky' approaches its inevitable plot-twist conclusion, it becomes obvious that all is not what it seems… yet the character remains the same, and suddenly becomes the everyman with whom the audience is expected to sympathise in his existential plight. It's an investment ... Read review
Vanilla Skyreunites director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) with the swoonsome Tom Cruise; ... more
adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure; and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted almo...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Vanilla Skyreunites director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) with the swoonsome Tom Cruise; ... more
adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure; and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted almo...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Young, handsome and wealthy, publishing tycoon David Aames (Cruise) can have anything his ... more
heart desires. Still, David's charmed life seems incomplete. One night, David meets the woman of his dreams (Penelope Cruz) and believes he may have found the mis...
David Aames (Tom Cruise) appears to lead a charmed life. Handsome,wealthy and charismatic, ... more
the young New York City publishingexecutive's freewheeling existence is enchanting, yet he seems tobe missing something. Then, in one night David meets Sofia(Penelope Cruz), the girl of his dreams, but loses her by making asmall mistake. Thrust unexpectedly onto a roller-coaster ride ofromance, comedy, suspicion, love, sex and dreams, David findshimself on a mind-bending search for his soul and discovers theprecious, ephemeral nature of true love. A film by Cameron Crowe, in a remake of 'Open Your Eyes (Abre LosOjos) '
Production Year: 2007 - Drama - Director: Mike Binder - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Mike Binder
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Carl Franklyn, Carl Franklin - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Meryl Streep, William Hurt, Renee Zellweger, Tom Everett Scott, Nicky Katt, Lauren Graham
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Thoughtful in places. Disadvantages: 'Relevations' out of nowhere tie everything up too easily.
It's hard to feel sympathy for Tom Cruise's character in this weakly surreal, lowest-common-denominator faux-high-brow sci-fi thriller, and I'm not sure whether this was the point. From the very start, David Aames (Cruise, in crafty 'beat Aaron Aardvark to alphabetical top spot' manoeuvre) is revealed to be a semi-talentless yuppie born into supreme wealth and status, who relies on this, along with his good looks, to have meaningless one night stands ... ...clearly, but one who is somehow respected by his peers, who unbelievably fail to see the funny side in his partial disfigurement following a car crash. Even David's best friend, whose girl he's unashamedly set about stealing, can only wish that 'the old David' could come back. The David who was pretty much the same, only with a very slightly less wonky mouth and eye.
Then again, as 'Vanilla Sky' approaches its inevitable plot-twist ... more
It's hard to feel sympathy for Tom Cruise's character in this weakly surreal, lowest-common-denominator faux-high-brow sci-fi thriller, and I'm not sure whether this was the point. From the very start, David Aames (Cruise, in crafty 'beat Aaron Aardvark to alphabetical top spot' manoeuvre) is revealed to be a semi-talentless yuppie born into supreme wealth and status, who relies on this, along with his good looks, to have meaningless one night stands with anyone he chooses. This is not a nice guy, clearly, but one who is somehow respected by his peers, who unbelievably fail to see the funny side in his partial disfigurement following a car crash. Even David's best friend, whose girl he's unashamedly set about stealing, can only wish that 'the old David' could come back. The David who was pretty much the same, only with a very slightly less wonky mouth and eye.
Then again, as 'Vanilla Sky' approaches its inevitable plot-twist conclusion, it becomes obvious that all is not what it seems… yet the character remains the same, and suddenly becomes the everyman with whom the audience is expected to sympathise in his existential plight. It's an investment I wasn't prepared to make, instead crossing my fingers that I would see the cocky character's two biggest fears realised: the fear of heights, and, by extension, the fear of being splattered over a wide area. David's superficiality may have been one of the film's themes, but no amount of tense hesitation before he pulls the light cord can make me care whether the face in the mirror is going to be handsome or malformed, albeit disappointingly. Sadly, we're stuck with him throughout every single scene (a necessity, once it's revealed what's going on).
That's not to criticise Cruise's acting, which is adequate, even if it didn't blow me away. He portrays Aames in various stages of sanity, hospitality and drunkenness, and his delivery of cheesy chat-up lines has the right mix of arrogance and slight awkwardness ('I work in a dental surgery.' 'Boy, do I go to the wrong dentist!') He spends parts of the film framing the narrative from behind a latex mask, and is at his most sinister and least irritating here. The film is populated by big-name stars which will probably be viewed as a good thing, but for me is always a little distracting. Cameron Diaz is given some exciting and also quite sweet dirty talk, but this failed to hit the spot, as for me she'll always be that blonde who made out with The Mask. Penélope Cruz doesn't have that much to do as Sofia, David's other woman, despite having already played the very same character in the original Spanish version of this film. The character's best scenes are all given to Diaz as the film shifts into weird mode and those characters become jumbled. Elsewhere, Kurt Russell plays an over-sympathetic psychologist and does the best he can with the material, while the most entertaining casting decision is Timothy Spall as one of David's loyal and well-paid assistants, though his role is largely without comic merit aside from an extreme close up of his ever-bewildered face on a webcam.
The familiar faces, flashy camera angles and sex scenes make this more approachable than the majority of films that tackle similar themes, but it's clear once the 'real world' is revealed that this is pretty much the same plot that's been done countless times before, despite setting itself up to be something quite interesting in the first few scenes. The major problem I have with the film is its patronising attitude to the audience in the final scene, in which a monotonous drone-representative-of-the-corporation type explains the last hour of the film in far more detail than is strictly necessary, and in a manner that allows the filmmakers to show off about the two or three quite clever visual jokes they inserted, rather than insert more subtle visual clues that could actually serve to encourage multiple viewings. Instead of being shown an album cover of a man and woman in brown coats walking down a road shortly before seeing Cruise and Cruz re-enact the scene in their 'real life,' we are explicitly told that they did so because of the scene's similarity to said album cover (a reference that particularly annoyed me, as the characters wouldn't see themselves from a third person camera angle anyway). It's a bit like the similarly over-explanatory scene in 'The Matrix Reloaded' with the Architect, and really drains any sense of interpretation from the film, not that there was a whole lot to go with in the first place. After it finished, all I could think was that so much more could have been done with the format and the premise, and I felt let down. I may still have been thinking about the dirty talk a bit, too.
Even viewed as a pretentious film, which it really isn't (it would have been a lot more interesting if it was), 'Vanilla Sky' is able to hold its own a little bit. There were limited instances of subtle foreshadowing, despite the final revelation being unprecedented by any kind of real information or clues whatsoever. My favourite came in the many instances of inappropriate music on the soundtrack, which at first appeared to be a pointless but enjoyable quirk but which is eventually hinted at in the part of the film just before the revelation, when the clever viewers suss out what's going on about a minute before the less clever people, and feel insulted that the lower classes are pandered to by such spoon-feeding. The soundtrack itself is mainly bright and cheery in an acoustic-indie manner, but could easily have been replaced by a creative score or something and possibly improved. It works to further hide the evidence that this is partly a sci-fi film, in order for it to still seem cool. And while the car crash a quarter of the way through doesn't look that exciting or dangerous, the insane rape scene later gets it all right, and is probably the film's most powerful moment.
I was disappointed by 'Vanilla Sky,' but only because I was expecting something a bit more thoughtful. I'm not really sure why. There's definitely a moral, but it's such a watered down combination of those from 'The Matrix' and 'Total Recall' that the character's stereotypical decision only heightened my anger. Both of those afore-mentioned films are far more deserving of your viewing time, especially 'Total Recall,' which keeps the themes of artificiality and freedom of choice, but adds Schwarzenegger, loads of head-shots and, of course, a mutant stripper with three breasts. Cameron Diaz is wrong; four isn't the magic number. It is three.
...first week of release.
Vanilla Sky is the story of David Aames – a spoilt rich kid (that’s unlike you, Mr Cruise!) who wants for nothing and cares for no one. Having inherited his father’s business, he lives an opulent lifestyle in a swish city apartment, and has plenty of casual friends and lovers. His role at the helm of his father’s company meets with great disapproval from the board of directors – affectionately ... ...really give much away either. Vanilla Sky is a decidedly strange movie – a mysterious concoction of mystery, fantasy and romance. Oh – and did I also mention that it is painfully, tirelessly dull?
There were lots of things about this movie that I didn’t like – many of which are particular to a genre, but this is one of my main criticisms of the film. I was never really sure what this film wanted to be. At times it seemed ...
LostWitness 14.09.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vanilla Sky (DVD)
Advantages: Makes you think, Very challenging storyline, Good cinematography Disadvantages: What was that all about?, Penelope Cruz, Slooooooow
...first words you hear in Vanilla Sky and in a way, you as the audience have to. The trailer for the film muttered these words too and after watching the trailer, you would be forgiven to think that it’s just a normal bittersweet love triangle type turn murder storyline. No chance! Open Your Eyes! This is a Cameron Crowe movie starring Tom Cruise and produced by Tom Cruise, so prepare yourself for a very self-indulgent movie! Vanilla Sky is a ... ...it. There were times within Vanilla Sky; I just wanted to jump off the train. One thing that has played on my mind though, is the ability of the film to actually make you think about it. I know a lot of films recently have had the same effect but trust me, even if you think this film isn’t any good when you finish watching it, you will spend the next day or days thinking about what the hell the movie was about. Cameron Crowe has said this in ...
rayliu 30.01.2002 (04.02.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vanilla Sky (DVD)
Advantages: Mind-bending drama Disadvantages: Mind-bending drama
...boys and girls, prepare for Vanilla Sky…
***THE PLOT***
David Aames (Tom Cruise) is a spoilt brat of a publishing magnate who inherited his father’s business, much to the chagrin of the board of directors (“The 7 Dwarves”). Currently involved with the slightly clingy Julie (Cameron Diaz), he seems to have the moon on a stick. At his select birthday party (to which the increasingly dodgy Julie has not been invited), he encounters ... ...Besotted, he plans to make her his, but as things are starting to swing his way, he encounters Julie once more, who decides that if she can’t have him, nobody will. She promptly drives them both off the road, leaving her dead and David disfigured. The accident seems to have a serious effect on David’s mind too, as he tells his tale to prison psychiatrist Dr McCabe (Kurt Russell). Revealing more about the events following the crash, the ...
peppersinclaire 30.01.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vanilla Sky (DVD)
Advantages: Visually stunning; interesting story Disadvantages: Slow at times and very confusing
...remember reading rave reviews of Vanilla Sky when it was released back in 2001. Even the tagline on NTL read "a Cameron Crowe masterpiece". Heady stuff, indeed and so I sat down to take in this inspiration amongst movies to see if it could possibly live up to such a billing.
-----------------------------------------------------
Principal cast:
Tom Cruise .... David Aames
Penélope Cruz .... Sofia Serrano
Cameron Diaz .... Julie Gianni
Kurt Russell ... ...Recounting the story of Vanilla Sky is difficult without defaulting to the sequences towards the end of the movie. Of course, any review will not want to give away the ending so suffice to say that there is an element of cryogenic freezing that provides the rationale to what’s gone before (if that helps at all).
I honestly thought Cruise did well in the lead role. With his pretty boy looks and flashy smile, Cruise is destined to attract as many ...
Marandina 19.05.2003 (25.05.2003)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vanilla Sky (DVD)
Advantages: Enigmatic, Intelligent, Multi-layered Disadvantages: It's what you make it
I don't know what I think of Tom Cruise. I certainly can't stand all that rich, gorgeous, powerful, heroic stuff he does in most of his movies, and the way the camera always shoots scenes not on what would be best for the scene, but what would be best for Cruise. However, since seeing him in 'Magnolia' some years ago, and witnessing what he really is capable of, I do find myself pulled towards any film he stars in that goes against his norm.
And ... ...Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), it's a Hollywood remake of the acclaimed Spanish movie 'Open Your Eyes', made by Alejandro Amenabar in 1997. Cruise plays David Aames, a rich, spoilt publishing magnate who inherited the company from his father and is constantly engaged in cynical battle with 'the seven dwarves' who make up the board.
He is a smooth, arrogant unfeeling brat, and a playboy who toys with the emotions of his 'friend' Julie ...
sandrabarber 13.10.2002 (14.10.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Vanilla Sky (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Vanilla Sky (DVD)"
Advantages: Three good films with good casts and soundtracks Disadvantages: None
I would recommend all three of these Tom Cruise DVD's to any avid film buff or indeed, any avid Cruise follower, even more so, the fact that the three DVDs are available as a Box Set.
VanillaSky has an intriguing, if somewhat sometimes difficult plot to grasp, the type of film that switches back and forth between current day, past and future. I found it quite difficult to follow at times - it's not a relaxing type of film, you do need to concentrate somewhat. An excellent cast, however, including Cameron Diaz and Kurt Russell. Action packed drama, sometimes lacking in its 'grip' factor. Excellent accompanying soundtracks.
The Firm is a superb legal thriller packed with drama from the beginning to the end. Tom Cruise, I think, at his best in this film; perhaps recommended to view The Firm first, before viewing VanillaSky or Mi2 ...
Advantages: Still impressive visuals, great cast Disadvantages: Pretentious, confusing, my copy's out of sync
"The book is always better than the film. Discuss."
Even after over twenty years, Dune is still a very very weird film. Cult director and probable insane genius David Lynch helmed this 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's doorstop science-fiction novel.
Specific gripes first: my copy of the DVD is a bit glitchy. The transfer seems to have been a pretty ropy job in places with freezes, pixellation and skipping (that might just be my copy) and the sound is out of sync with the actors by up to about half a second in some scenes (which is probably the same for everyone). I only paid £3.99 in a clearance sale, but even so.
Also, this is a vanillaDVD taken to ridiculous extremes. There's a particularly poor picture of Paul Atreides gazing at the sky for the menu, and the options are either 'play film' or 'scene selection' without even ...
Olly_Plimsoll 22.09.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dune (DVD)
Scene Selection, Commentary By Director Cameron Crowe And Composer Nancy Wilson Featuring A Conversation With Tom Cruise, Prelude To A Dream Featurette, Hitting It Hard Featurette, An Interview With Paul McCartney, Music Video Afrika Shox By Leftfield And Afrika Bambaataa, Unreleased Teaser Trailer, Photo Gallery With Audio Introduction By Photographer Neal Preston
Aspect Ratio
Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Every bet as strange and creepily effective as the original..." (Box Office, p.60, 01/02/2002)
"...Mr. Cruise so dominates the film with his taut, intensely focused drive that VANILLA SKY takes on an autobiographical resonance..." (New York Times, p.E28, 14/12/2001)
"...Crowe's version is lustrously well textured, impeccably produced....Engrossing..." (Sight and Sound, p.63-4, 01/02/2002)
"...Strikingly well-made....The picture has vitality, a fine cast and excellent craft..." (Variety, p.32, 10/12/2001)
DVD Description
Director Cameron Crowe (JERRY MAGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS) teams up with Tom Cruise once again in an adaptation of Alejandro Amenabar's 1997 Spanish film OPEN YOUR EYES. Cruise plays David Aames, a playboy publisher leading a seemingly charmed life. His most recent playmate is his "friend" Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz), who cares for David more than he realizes. When David meets the fetching Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz) at his birthday party, he awakens to the possibility of what true love can feel like, leaving Julie distraught. However, after an accident that changes David's life, he is forced to rethink his choices. This psychological thriller becomes roller coaster ride of flashbacks as David tries to make sense of all that has happened, relaying some surreal experiences to a psychiatrist (Kurt Russell) after being charged with murder. The film's message may differ for each viewer, but it does make one bold point: every action has consequences. Crowe gets exceptional performances from Cruise, Cruz, and Diaz and the alluring pop soundtrack features songs from REM, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel. Amazingly, the scene of Cruise running through a completely empty Times Square was shot on location, a major feat in and of itself.
Compare Vanilla Sky (DVD) to other similar Drama »
![Vanilla Sky [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78528466.jpg)
