'Vanilla Sky' tastes not so sweet

Director Cameron Crowe will always be known for his insatiable fervor in the film industry and his incredible talent as a director but, unfortunately not for latest effort Vanilla Sky. The film has a great deal of potential, but leaves the viewer with a feeling of inconsistency and the belief that creativity has gone horribly wrong. The beginning of the film is very promising. There is an amazing scene in which Times Square is completely devoid of loud traffic and hoards of tourists, with Tom Cruise the only thing in plain sight. Unfortunately, the film seems to go downhill from there. Vanilla Sky is actually a remake of the 1997 Alejandro Amenabar Spanish film, Abre Los Ojos, which translates as "open your eyes." Incidentally, this is rather humorous because at times it is rather difficult to keep your eyes open during the film. The movie stars Cruise and Penelope Cruz along with other greats like Cameron Diaz and Kurt Russell. There is no disputing the beauty of Cruz, but her looks could not disguise her mediocre performance. Cruise has moments in the film that are actually quite believable in his role as a rich self-involved guy, however, much of the dialogue is uninteresting and hokey. The basic synopsis of the film is as follows: David Aames (Cruise) is a slacker rich fellow who inherited a fortune from his father's publishing empire. He is infatuated with looks and the gratification of his every need, but his narcissistic manner will eventually be tested after a horrible car accident disfigures his beautiful face. The accident was incidentally perpetrated by a vengeful psychotic lover (Diaz) who decides to take David down with her to seek retribution for his lack of respect and slighting as a significant other. There are many repercussions of this tragic event but Tommy has only one thing on his mind - his Spanish goddess Sofia (Cruz.) The rest of the film is a puzzling mix of dreams and reality thrown in with a poor bit of silly science fiction. The soundtrack is another piece about the movie that seems slightly bizarre. Its interesting and eclectic array of music includes songs from Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan and the Monkees. Rating: D+