this is irritating....

Rating: 1/10 (2 March 2003)

Vanilla Sky is a very irritating film. You know sometimes you see a film that is so bad that you become embarrassed to watch, because you know that your smarter, better self is dissapointed in what your doing? This is the kind of film.
Tom Cruise, well, after seeing him reinvent himself and go for interesting roles (Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia), he has now gone back to formula, playing shallow yuppie, spoiled upper class, Hollywood bird magnet brat (himself?) and obviously this is the intention, no fault of the 'Cruiser', its Cameron Crowes' (writer/ director) for having such a bland view on relationships and the even more irritating Penolope Cruz, whom you want to place faeces on her head and smack more than you'd like to make love to.
The love affair between the two, the 'chemistry', is like a really, really disturbing horror film, that can take a while for the after effects to heal and natural, healthy sleep to reinhabit itself and overcome the trauma. It is so unremmitingly shallow (like episode of Freinds' without the canned laughter) and makes a shambles of superior (I'm talking 'God Like' proportions) remake Open Your Eyes that approached its themes with more depth and panache (don't they always).
For 'cake and wine' fanatics and fans of the 'pyjama with popcorn party' only, and for them they are bound to say, 'wow, wasn't that deep? good but a bit weird at the end, don't you think? but what does it all mean? did he really do this?' e.t.c. At which point you vomited. Then leave the room. And let them clean it up. And chuckle your a** off on the way out.
no stars (out of infinity)