Tom Cruise

Brian G Turner

Brian G Turner

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I find myself developing a healthy respect for Tom Cruise, as being a pretty decent serious actor. His seems to have a good choice of scripts he takes, and he seems to do a pretty good job of covering emotions - in Last Samurai I found him to be pretty excellent. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how he plays in the new War of the Worlds film.

Is this a generally accepted view, or is this a sign of premature dementia? :)
 
I'd vote for dementia :p

I find Cruise very limited as an actor, all too often relying on standard mannerisms.
 
I have to say that I never have been much of a Tom Cruise fan. I will admit that he did a very good job in "Born on the Fourth of July", but other than that I can't say that I like his work much. Although, I suppose he didn't ruin "Interview With the Vampire" as much as I was afraid he would, but still.

His current silliness isn't doing anything to redeem him, either. I don't care so much about the Katie Holmes thing. I think he's probably having a midlife crisis or something. But I have to say that I was very disappointed by his public criticism of Brooke Shields for her proclaimed use of anti-depressants after she suffered post-partum depression after the birth of her child. I don't think it was his place to do that publicly, no matter what his religious or philosophical feelings on the subject of drug therapies.

Okay. Sorry. Rant over. It's just that this has been all over the news here in the States recently, and it's been really bothering me.
 
In my view no public personality should use his/her leverage to promote a religion or faction.
 
I've never really been too fussed by Cruise. I don't love him, I don't hate him. My Mum can't stand him, to the point where she won't watch a movie if he's in it unless she's really pressured too. I also know others who have seen every picture he's been in. I've always been ambivalent. I don't think he's fantastic, but I did enjoy The Last Samurai.
Its funny how people can get so worked up about particular actors...
 
I think he's getting a "better" actor as he gets older, but that could just be the fact that the longer you do something the more practised you become.

A lot of actors of his 'generation' are trying to break out of their usual stereotypes I notice (Jim Carrey, Bruce Willis etc)

There's a lot better actors than him out there though. I mostly watch movies for themselves, not for who's in them (Although I will admit to a blind irrational hatred of Leonardo DiCaprio and refuse to watch any of his movies :) )
 
Did anyone see the news report about his being sprayed with water at the War of the Worlds London Premier?
 
Yeah, pretty sad. Not much "comedy" in the "prank".

As for Cruise as an actor - what I like is his - - - timing. I've especially noticed how his timing, of how and when he uses dialogue, has been pretty decent. Maybe that's down to good direction, though.
 
Films I've liked with him are few and far between...

Mission Impossible and Jerry Maguire... [EDIT] And Interview With A Vampire!!! Though preferred Brad Pitt in that!!! ;)

But really, since meeting him, I found that I haven't really been wanting to watch his films... :D (and I have his autograph!!!)
 
I'll be looking forward to the War of the Worlds film, but I'm not a huge fan of Cruise as an actor...
 
Never been a big Cruise fan, something about him really bothers me and it bothers me even more that I've never been able to isolate that 'something'. I don't avoid his movies as much as most of them just don't appeal to me. I will say that I enjoyed The Last Samurai but admittedly the actors surrounding him did such a good job that he didn't need to do much other than look silly/brooding/angry at any given time...

Don't give a hoot about him and Katie Holmes or him and whomever or whatever some silly person does with a fake microphone...actually, I don't much go in for all the hype over celebs. It's all a bunch of hooie. Give me more meat about the movies and how they were made and what's coming next and forget about telling me that B. went to McDonalds and pigged out or C. married a man 20 years her senior...blah, who cares.
 
Winters_Sorrow said:
I mostly watch movies for themselves, not for who's in them (Although I will admit to a blind irrational hatred of Leonardo DiCaprio and refuse to watch any of his movies :) )
Click to expand...

I'll second that sentiment about Leo DiCaprio. However, I did watch "The Aviator", and I'm glad I did. It's a great film, and I found it fairly easy to forget that it was him in the role of Howard Hughes.

And as far as Tom Cruise goes, I think the thing that bothers me so much about him is that he comes off as so smarmy. In the interviews I've seen with him, it just seems like he tries way, way too hard to play the "nice guy", so hard that he comes off as fake. Reminds me a lot of Eddie Haskell - for those of you who don't remember "Leave It To Beaver", he was the kid who always tried to act so kissy-faced to Beaver's and Wally's parents ("Have I told you lovely you look today, Mrs. Cleaver" was a common line), but he's really just a trouble-maker.
 
DiCaprio's actually quite good - he was good in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Catch Me If You Can and Gangs of New York. Hmm. Perhaps he's at his best playing off a better actor (Tom Hanks, Daniel Day Lewis, etc)?
 
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