If the star and director are (kind of) worrying about the same middle-age falloff, Crowe’s specific fears are more compelling to me and responsible for what, intellectually, is the movie’s most fascinating idea.

Full Review | Nov 29, 2022

Doesn't make any more sense now than it did in 2001 (29th anniversary)

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 31, 2021

Likable and ambitious with great John Toll visuals. You want it to succeed but it doesn't always quite get there. (4K restoration Paramount Presents blu-ray review).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 26, 2021

This isn't a typically dumbed-down rehash and, as such, it dissatisfied the rank and file of multiplex moviegoers but earned the appreciation of adventurous film fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 21, 2021

Vanilla Sky starts off somewhat strong, but by the third act it dissolves into a sci-fi mess utilizing advanced technology to offer a twist that the viewer doesn't see coming.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 20, 2021

I now find Cruise tolerable only when he's in a movie that undercuts or ridicules his narcissism--as Eyes Wide Shut did and as this movie does even more noticeably.

Full Review | Feb 26, 2019

Crowe's baby-boomer fantasy tinkles with notions like a jostled perfume counter.

Full Review | Nov 29, 2018

Vanilla Sky is nearly identical to the 1997 Spanish film it's based on, except it's set in Manhattan instead of Madrid and has a much better soundtrack.

Full Review | Oct 25, 2018

Crowe asks the viewer to absorb this more viscerally than intellectually; how much one enjoys (or even accepts) the experience will likely depend on the extent to which one is willing to do so.

Full Review | Oct 25, 2011

Some surface appeal, but ultimately vacant.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 29, 2010

Cameron Crowe's vinyl-collector version of "Jacob's Ladder" is a daring gamble paying off even when ambition exceeds his grasp. The subconscious can boil over with too much pop culture poured in. Keep that in mind, and it will have you at "What the hell?"

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 22, 2010

Two and a half hours I'll never get back...

Full Review | Apr 29, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 7, 2008

The real mystery here is why a filmmaker as talented and unique as Crowe would want to devote several years of his life to recreating someone else's movie.

Full Review | Mar 31, 2008

It just makes things easier to believe that good-looking rich folks are just as miserable and unhappy as the rest of us . . .

Full Review | Nov 6, 2007

This is a whole new palette for Crowe, and his excitement rubs off on us.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jul 25, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 14, 2007

A classic case of what happens when a Hollywood studio and a star (Cruise) take a Spanish metaphysical thriller and turn it into a glossy, overproduced big-budget star vehicle that lacks distinct identity.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Oct 21, 2006

Vanilla Sky turns out to be a rousing, exhilarating entertainment, thanks mostly to Cruise's balls-to-the-wall performance.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 26, 2006

Vanilla Sky is one of the most challenging films of the year. It is thought provoking, mysterious, complex, nerve racking, beautiful, creepy, funny and a trip deliriously all its own.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 15, 2005