![]() ![]() It lies somewhere in a middle ground, and anyone that tells you different. Vanilla Sky has moments of brilliance and bears a certain style, but the movie is neither simple enough for sheer popcorn-thriller fun nor complex enough for true psychodrama buffs. An interview with songwriter Paul McCartney, two featurettes, and assorted trailers round out the disc. bizarre.) Unfortunately, none of this can make Penélope Cruz a good actress. Crowe also phones up his stars during the recording. (Also of note, this is the first commentary I've heard with a musical score: someone (Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson) playing acoustic guitar. ![]() While he's overly proud of the middling achievement, he's honest about the tepid reaction from test audiences, and he does provide a little extra context for the various interpretations of the movie. Cameron Crowe's DVD commentary track is one of the best I've heard. Is Cameron Crowe, the permanent teenager responsible for perfectly good yet light-as-a-feather comedies like Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, up to the challenge of remaking a Spanish psychodrama? Crowe goes through the motions, and from time to time he proves that he can handle heavier material, but Vanilla Sky is too murky to be much more than a holiday distraction far from the cult classic that the original Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) has become. While Vanilla Sky is a solid effort, it's unfortunately short of genius. And there is something about it that only lucid dreamers will recognize. Great acting, trippy visuals, and a classic Cameron Crowe soundtrack wasn't enough to save this dreamy picture.Vanilla Sky is, fundamentally, a movie about lucid dreaming. I wasn't necessarily bored during the film, but it didn't grab my interest the way a film like this should have. Vanilla Sky is essentially a melodramatic soap opera disguised as a romantic mystery. It takes plenty of twists and turns to keep your interest enough, but what's the point of a twist if you don't really care where the characters end up? By that I mean that the film is only as interesting as you make it out to be. ![]() It's a dull screenplay that feeds off your attention span, or lack thereof. As much as I love their performances, it's difficult to become invested in any of the relationships when the script isn't where it needs to be. ![]() And of course, Penelope Cruz is great as Sofia Serrano. This may be the best Cameron Diaz has ever been, as the creepy but seductive Julie Gianni. You can see Tom Cruise's passion for this role dripping through the character of David. The performances were great all around, and became the main driving force for my dwindling interest as the film went along. It's a poor pun, but perhaps it isn't too surprising that this film feels very vanilla. But the way in which those themes are covered is less than impressive. The remake poses some thought provoking questions and themes, including questions centered around life, death, dreams, guilt, regret, and a few other heavy hitters. While I haven't seen that film yet, I can imagine it's probably a little more coherent. Vanilla Sky is an American remake of the 1997 Spanish film, Open Your Eyes. Vanilla Sky is by far his darkest feature, but also the one with the least amount of heart and pizazz. It's like an unexpected mixture of juvenile wonder and adult innocence that appeals to me about his films. I love the unique style and background Cameron Crowe brings to his films. ![]()
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