movie review- Vanilla Sky

edit: I must have been smoking crack when I wrote this, Stanley Kubrick had no part of this project, as it wasn't even started until after he had died. The Stanley Kubrick/Tom Cruise project was Eyes Wide Open which also starred Nicole Kidman. /edit
(note: the term smoking crack is a euphamism, such as I voted republican, which denotes a boo-boo of an oh-so-obvious nature.)
There was a lot of hype for this movie before it came out. As with most Tom Cruise movies there was a buzz, though that may have been more about Tom and Penelope than about the quality of film being made.
Then, before it's in the can, Stanley Kubrick dies. Truly one of the greats, I can only hope that he had a lot more to do, and that in finishing up in his place, they (the producers and director, Cameron Crowe) knew not what they were doing.
I didn't like this movie. It was too long, with the story really dragging in the second half. There wasn't a lot of character development, though they spent enough time with conversation to have done it had that been their goal. Tom Cruise plays David Aames, a spoiled rich kid who is a...jerk. Character or caricature? Cameron Diaz, as Julie Gianni, is his "friend" who he "fucked four times in one night" and because of this falls in love with him. Penelope Cruz plays the part of Sofia Serrano, is an immegrant dancer brought to a party by best buddy and novelist, Jason Lee (whose characters name I've forgotten and can't find online for some reason). With out giving away the movie, complications ensue in all of David's relationships.
It's only fair to say that I don't like Tom Cruise in most movies, because he is always Tom Cruise and never believable as the character. But, he's got a lot of passion. Cameron Diaz on the other hand, would have a hard time acting her way out of a wet paper bag that was already partly torn open. The rest of the cast does an okay job, and I even found myself liking the rolls played by Lee and Kurt Russel. Sadly, their contribution was way too little to counteract the Cruise/Diaz dynamo.
Interestingly enough, I dind no mention of Kubrick's name tied with this movie, so I guess I give all the blame to director, Cameron Crowe.

Grade: D