"VANILLA SKY"

Remember this movie?

It came out about 1½ years ago but didn't do well, plus the critics ripped it despite its impressive cast of Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Kurt Russell.

Well, because of the negative reception, I admit that I went into it with a certain bias. I decided to not expect much (and hope that Penelope gets naked!). I am now thrilled to say that my expectations were utterly blown away (plus, I got to see Penelope naked!!!!!).

I had no idea what this movie was about. All I knew was that Diaz goes psycho on Tom and Tom's love interest is Penelope. So what, right?

As it turns out, this film was LOADED with messages, suggestions and philosophy. But it was the primary suggestion that kept me glued to it for 2 ½ hours…..'Lucid Dreaming', which is having a dream and being aware that it IS a dream, thus being able to control it. But that's not all…..imagine that lucid dreams control YOU. Imagine that your dream state seems as real as your awake.

I imagine we've all had dreams that seemed SO real that we were either completely relieved or terribly upset when we woke up. Now, imagine if this state of mind controlled your daily life, your existance. Imagine that one minute you are upset over your parent dying….but then they are alive the next, only to be deceased again a few minutes later. And with each scenerio, you're never certain if you're awake or asleep, and eventually it begins to affect your behavior and the people around you.

Ok, that's some of the idea behind this film, now here are the players……

Tom is a successful career guy in the entertainment business. Diaz is his psycho friend of whom he fondly refers to as his 'f*ck buddy'. Tom eventually discovers a love interest played by Penelope. Because of all this excitement, Cruise needs a shrink, played by Russell.

Now, Tom's issues with lucid dreaming have gotten him into serious trouble with the law, so its Russell's job to sort it all out with Tom who is in jail.

That's as little as I will say. There are too many twists and turns, which you need to experience for yourself. In fact, I found myself lost and confused several times throughout, though the intrigue of the subject matter kept my utmost attention. And I was thrilled to see that it all came together near the end. I realized the messages it was sending out, and I LOVED it.

As I mentioned before, I could very much relate to this concept, and I'll explain how on a personal note…..back when I was married, I often had nightmares about losing my marriage and they seemed all too real. I would then begin screaming out and eventually be awaked by my (then) wife. I would tell her of the nightmare and she would reassure me that it would "never happen".

(uh….OOPS, Ex-wife)

Well, at times, I now have a nightmare that I am still married and that the whole divorce thing was a LONG nightmare. I find out differently when I awaken.

But here's the scary part….when I am having a nightmare but am unsure if that's what it is, I will scream out at the top of my lungs, and that usually wakes me up. Well, I have had some pretty traumatic things happen over the past couple of years, but for all I know I am DREAMING. Therefore, should I scream/cry out anytime that happens? Afterall, I may actually be truly awake.

Welcome to "Vanilla Sky".

B+

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