Vanilla Sky
 

I was just wondering if anyone else saw Vanilla Sky this weekend. I have to say it was the most confusing movie I've ever seen. I left the theater scratching my head, as did the rest of the audiece I believe. When I first heard about the movie I thought it was a love story; then I saw the previews and thought it would be this suspenseful thriller; then I watched it and realized it was something totally different again. I wouldn't say it was a bad movie, but I wouldn't say it was good either. I'm just confused about the whole thing.

On another note, Tom Cruise gave a really good performance. But, Penelope Cruz was just horrible.

but hot...she was hot.

Actually, I didn't think it was confusing at all . . . it made me sad and melancholy though. I think it would hit a cord with anyones that hasn't had a perfect life, has missed opportunities, or has had tragic things happen to them for no seeming rhyme or reason . . .

What weren't you sure about we could discuss it . . .

I saw it got bad reviews...which usually means it's a good movie. My boyfriend and I went this past Saturday, and much like everyone else who went to see it, I had totally different expectations. However.....

I LOVED it! I thought I would be entertained (and I was), but I also had to think. Anytime a movie challenges me, it has turned itself from a "Hollywood movie" into a film......

It kinda confused me too. It was hard for me to follow. My friends thought the same thing. By the end of the movie, I figured it out...I think. :)

I TOTALLY agree!I was relating alot of the things that he talked about to life in general... I LOVED IT....it was a really confusing movie but it was something that just kinda made me sad when he was on the roof saying goodbye to her...the whole thing about in another life with cats!! omg i started to tear up...lol but it was definitly good... i think its one of those movies that when you see it again you catch things that you didnt see before...
great movie....:D

Have not seen the movie but I was soooo fed up with the trailors on t.v. - it seemed like they played every 15 minutes!!! If I saw Cameron Diaz ask Tom Cruise one more time "Do you believe in God" or him almost falling off the roof- I was going to go crazy!!! Is it my imagination or do they play these movie trailors on t.v. to death????

I saw it and loved it!

I feel it was like the matrix, I have to see it a few times to catch everything, but thought it was worth my $7.00...more so than any other movie I have seen lately!

I saw it over the weekend and enjoyed it. I didn't have any problem understanding it, but one of my friends needed it explained a few times. I can't offer any comments without spoiling it, though.
Go see it and then discuss it over coffee with friends!

CRAP!!!
 

This movie was total crap. It was exciting and interesting for the first hour and a half, because I expected there to be some great ending. Well, the ending was TOTAL CRAP. What a cop-out!

By far the best movie I've seen all year!! Of course, that new Russell Crowe movie comes out soon though :) But this movie kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time. And thankfully, they give NOTHING away in that trailor :)

I saw the movie tonight. On a scale of 1-5, I give it a 2. It was ok. I understodd it but I just thought they could've thought of a better ending. It seems as if the ending had just been thrown on there. It seemed as if the screenwriters had to wrap it up somehow and were just like, "Oh...here's an ending no one would've guessed....."

I saw this movie the other night. It was rather strange, not anything I am used to seeing. It was a bit confusing in the beginning, but I caught on quickly. It was a mind-puzzling movie, that I feel I need to see a couple of times more in order to make sure I understood everything. If you like that kind of thing, I recommend you see it. If not, don't see it! :)

It was not one of my all time favorite movies but I enjoyed it. I feel that this is the type of movie can have whatever meaning you read into it. I also feel that this is the type of movie I would enjoy more the second time through. Now that i figured it out I'd like to see it from the beginning again to see what i missed the first time through.

It's definitely not the worst movie ever, but I think it got a little ridiculous there towards the end. I understood it, but it just didn't make any sense. Penelope Cruz's voice did keep me entertained, though...if a duck could talk, that's probably what it would sound like. I'm just glad my boyfriend and I got in to see it free, because I'd hate to think I wasted six dollars on that.

I enjoyed it - I enjoyed (for the most part) the messages conveyed, and the actors gave b/w adequate and strong performances. The ending is a bit sudden, and could easily border on ridiculous, but actually this didn't take away from the message of the film for me.

Sure, it's an f-ed up movie - but I enjoyed it quite a bit, and took away from it more than I thought I would.

The 9th graders behind me didn't quite get the same effect though . . . a rousing chorus of "WHAT THE HELL?!?" from 5 teenage girls for over two hours . . . nothing better

I saw this movie last week...and I thought I was going to like it, but when it went into being frozen..I just thought that was stupid. I tried and tried to get into it...I understood it, and even though some aspects of the movie were interesting, I wouldnt recommend it to anyone I was friends with.

Man, I loved it, but consider that some of my favorite movies are PI and Requiem, so obviously, I prefer really strange movies. Mrs Cruz I thought did a really good job, and Cameron was a perfect psycho. Everyone did wonderful, really.

I loved the way that they changed in all the crazy scenes who was who, screwing cameron, then penelope, then cameron...etc. I thought that was crazy, but riddling. I'm not sure why Tom envisioned himself killing penelope though.

curious...


anyway. great movie. two thumbs, and two big toes up!

cory

I thought that this movie was strange, but I totally was into it. It kept me thinking throughout the entire thing...it was the coolest! I am so glad that I went to see it on the big screen. All the actors did an outstanding job!

ULChiOCutie:D

KSigRc...your posts always seem to amuse me.

I'm not a big Tom Cruise fan...and I don't see the fascination with Penelope, but ok...but after this little thread I think I just may go see it...with full knowledge it may have to be explained to me later! ;)

Monica

I saw it tonight and thought it was weird. Not bad, just... well, it made some interesting points and commentaries on how to live life, but at moments it seemed awfully cliched and left me going oh they didn't just say that...

But...


SPOILER AHEAD----



DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE---






































Did anyone else think the very LAST scene, after he jumps off the bldg to end the lucid dream-- when he opens the one eye and you hear the voice go "Open your eyes David" Was that Cameron Diaz's character again -- meaning the WHOLE thing was a dream and he was waking up next to her a la the very first scene in the movie?????

I was wonderig that also, or wondering whether it was Cruz's voice and he was going to start the hole dream sequence over from when he awoke on the pavement.

Amycat, you'll have to get us copies of the working screenplays so we can see what they had in mind.

I could be wrong, but I think James is somewhat on the right trail (I watched it again last night).

There are a million clues that you pick up watching it a second time, and in the beginning virtually everything that happens (such as the very first alarm being Penelopes voice to him telling her later that "I can never wake-up" in the park) alludes to something later. He really is in real life up to the passing out scene, but the rest of the movie (I think) is that nights dream session. I believe that the voice he hears the following morning is Penelope (Sofia) Cruz's voice, and that the next thing you might hear her say is "this is a lame attempt at sympathy." The whole L.E. thing...all that was the dream that he knew it was....after that night in the club....but it was in a different context.....he was still just sleeping.

My only other thought is what if he died in the car wreck. It's immeadiately after that that he notices he can never wake up (in the park)....And Sofia repeatedly says "I wish you never got in that car with that girl." Did he die right then? Anyone?

This was one of those movies, where, when it was over, I thought: what was that? And, who cares. It seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird and not because of a complex plot. I felt cheated. Definitely, a thumbs-down for me. I wouldn't put myself through it a 2nd time to try to figure out the whys and wherefores.

I thought Vanilla Sky was a really good movie. I like movies that make you think.

HELP ME!!!!!!
 

Speaking of confusing Tom Cruise flicks, can somebody please tell me what the heck happened in "Eyes Wide Shut"? I have never been able to figure it out. Can somebody tell me what the secret was?

Re: HELP ME!!!!!!
 

I was just going to post about this!!!:eek:
I've watched this movie over and over again and I just can't figure out what or if I'm supposed to "get" something. I'm convinced I'm missing something. For example, is it a joke that's being played on Tom Cruise? Is Nicole Kidman a part of it? Remember the dream she has about having sex with many different men and other people watching? There are so many questions!!??!!

At the same time I wonder if it's one of those movies that's just weird for the sake of being weird (as someone previously mentioned).

Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If anyone one has any thoughts, ideas, comments, etc. regarding Eyes Wide Shut, POST THEM!!!!!

The thing about Vanilla Sky is that it's not so much of a confusing movie, it takes a certain mind who is interested in such sorts of things (and not the typical moviegoer). It's based on another film (Open Your Eyes, in which Penelope Cruz stars as the same role), which I haven't seen. The Cameron Crowe version owes itself, in a rather shallow way, to Jack Finney's Time and Again.

I couldn't watch Eyes Wide Shut all the way through.:confused:

i had to dig this thread out...
i never saw vanilla sky in the theaters, but i just rented it. DAMN...WOW...what a movie. i wish i saw it in the theaters. i love movies that make you think...it stimulates your mind. this movie was so rad. i just finished it so i'm not making sence right now...you know when you finish a movie or book that makes you think and you just love it and all these thoughts are floating around in your head?? well thats where i'm at. anyway, i'm going to watch it again tomorrow to see if i can spot any signs.

How ironic, Josh.

I rented Requiem and Vanilla Sky last night and at 2.30 AM, I found myself signing on to find this thread as well. I tend to have very vivid dreams (I keep a journal of all my dreams), and after watching both these movies on the same night, it was odd that I awoke not remembering ANYTHING of my dreams. Especially odd when reflecting on the nature of these films.

I wondered the same thing about the last part of the film where he hears Cameron's voice say "open your eyes."

EXCard-

I had the same notion that he died in the car accident. But in the last "life flashing before his eyes" scene, certain elements of the pop culture of his youth were shown, forcing the viewer to find similarities in his dreams...how the figures and situations of his dreams were formed. In that sequence, we are shown Audrey Hepburn and a woman dancing as well as a woman with a hispanic accent. From this, I gathered that these were the components that formed Sophia. If he died after the accident, then how could he have met the Hispanic gamine Sophia the night before and revealed that she was a dancer if she was only part of his dream?

I felt that the moment that he died was such an awkward and arbitrary moment to choose. Maybe it's just me. And I am still struggling with the whole LE idea. EXCard, are you saying that the entire institution was part of his dream?

Oh, and that whole Penelope murder, I believe the elevator LE rep explained that he treated Cameron poorly and that emotion was reflected in his dream as guilt got the better of him.

I need to watch the movie again and write down the questions I have.

I'm not 100% sure on what I think....but here is what I'll say.....

Sophia is the voice you hear at the very end of the movie...the very last 'open your eyes.' The accident is real, and therefore there seem to be only two points that are up for being the sleep point....the accident and the night after the club. Since I began this post I've changed my mind on where it's going to go...I think he may or may not have died in the crash, but that everything after it is a dream. Reason one, the very next scene he sees Sophia in the park and declares that he can never wake up...even the night of the club the nightmare seems to be present when he imagines Sophia and his buddy being together...thus I feel that is part of the dream and is prior to the second option of when his dream world began (and while it could simply be suspicion, I feel it is the nightmare beginning). I think as he's a completely self-righteous guy that's part of the reason in his nigthmare that his face was disfigured...

My thoughts are confused, but I'll leave with this...
He never woke up from the car wreck IMO, but he didn't die either...maybe Sophia was visiting him at the hospital after the crash...a part of the movie that had never come.....???

I watched the film again last night and your interpretation seems perfectly sound. Why didn't I realize these the first time? Thank you!

Maybe I need to watch this movie again. After reading everyone's posts it kind of makes me wonder...

In the movie the guy from the lucid dream place tells him that he chose the morning after the club as the place for his dream to start. In his dream sophia comes back for him (and they were able to fix his face) in real life he never sees her again and they even show a scene of his friends having a memorial party for him.

If you take everything exactly for face value then, yes....but that makes for a dull movie, does it not?

We watched this on DVD last night, and I just didn't like it. It moved too slowly and I couldn't keep my attention focused.

I will say, however, that the director's commentary on the movie was enlightening. He discussed what he was actually trying to get across, and he even talked about the alternate theories viewers have come up with...which he encouraged, too.

BTW, according to Crowe the last "Open your eyes" was neither the voice of Penelope Cruz or Cameron Diaz. It was a third actress. Although it sounded like Cameron Diaz to me.

New thought. Virtually the entire film was a dream. As the first scene where David is driving to work turns out to be a dream. It is actually a nightmare in which the streets are empty. Then he wakes up next to Cameron.

I believe that the last "open your eyes" is the voice of Cameron Diaz, recalling the very first scene. The entire movie had been a dream. Even if it was the voice of a third woman. He could have dreamt everything about his success and good looks, sleeping with a beautiful actress, etc.

Hmmm, okay, Penelope's role confused me when Tech Support (in the elevator) said that she was generated from his memory based on other characters and other women, etc. and in fact he had not known her well in his actual life. So, how is it that they are in the club together reuniting after the accident? If that is real, why is he so enamored with and distraught over a woman he hardly knows (if that is the real life part)? That thoroughly confused me because I couldn't get how he could start his dream after the club IF she was never really in his life in the first place. That would negate the part where he stays over her house all night long, because he never knew her well. And, if that did not happen for real, how do they resolve his leaving her place and getting into the car crash? :confused:

I loved the premise of the movie, but the interwining tales just never seemed to come together at the end. And the explanation of a glitch in the system just did not suffice for such a complicated movie. And why, the hell would they need a third actress at the end, where's the closure? I guess I will have to rent the DVD to figure it out. :(

You know, I was thinking the same thing about it, but I wasn't totally sure about it. Not to mention I couldn't post about it because my damn keyboard was broken.

Watching that movie really reminds me of a short story that I have read maybe 1000 times and is probably one of my favorite writing pieces. It is called An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. I would suggest reading it, and if you do, let me know what you think about it, pm me, email me, something. It's a pretty tripped out story depending on how you view what is going on.