Vanilla Sky (2001)

After Tom Cruise separated from Nicole Kidman I feel he started a different path that allowed him to explore more of his acting. Where he did not have to rely so heavily on his good looks and winning personality. In all honesty I actually like his films and the characters he portrays. I had tried to watch Vanilla Sky years ago and could not see where it was going and gave up about 15 minutes in. Anyway on the second watch I actually knew what was happening and was able to follow it pretty well.

Tom Cruise plays David Aames a rich publishing heir who is a playboy around town, he starts with a weird dream and then wakes up next to Cameron Diaz, this could be many people’s dream. At his birthday party his best friend brings Penelope Cruz and there is a spark. He leaves her in the morning and makes a mistake by getting in the car with Cameron Diaz who feels jilted and she causes an accident that leaves Tom disfigured. You then follow him as he tries to regain his life and recover from the accident.

This film was captivating and kept me enthralled to the end and I have to say that I was not exactly sure where it was going but the ending really worked for me and I have to say that they way it all worked out in the end ticked all the right boxes for me. Overall this comes under the strong three star recommend catagory for me and I think most of you will actually enjoy it.

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Film of 2012 #60


After watching the original Planet of the Apes and the recent release of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes which I reviewed here, I revisited the remake from Tim Burton. Starring Mark Whalberg as the lost astronaut and Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth, Paul Giamatti and Michael Clarke Duncan taking the roles of Apes. While this film is a remake in basic terms it is a very different film, there are some homage's to the original and the idea behind it with a human discovering the Planet ruled by Apes is the same concept but what it explores is a different idea. 

The film explores some of the ideas of the original with Humans being the weaker race but the ending is vastly different and the overall idea behind the film misses something of the original. If this film had been an original idea or at least had taken a different name I could almost accept this as a film, however it simply plays on the name of the original. As a remake it does not stick to the original idea which in itself makes a different movie but it gets lost in the comparison to the original so is not judged fairly. 

I have to say that I like what the film does with the ending with the statue at the end but overall the film annoys me specifically with the decisions that the Mark Whalberg character makes. This film is an interesting idea behind what a remake could be taking an original idea and taking it in a totally different direction rather than as a shot for shot remake, overall I cannot get behind Mark Whalberg and the decisions or the direction the story goes. This is a 2 star avoid, worth seeing if you are interested in Tim Burton's take on the Planet of the Apes but no more than that.