Vanilla Sky

oakmanc234 · March 05, 2003, 12:13:20 AM

Pedro the Wombat said: Not to be mean at all...but you actually did have trouble with the film? Interesting, you're the first person I've known to say that...hmmm, wasn't that a Critic's problem, though?

I had problems with stuff like: Why is Diaz back from the dead? Why are 6 different pop songs playing during the sex/rape/murder scene? Why was Cruise suddenly screwing Cruz who is now Diaz? Did he murder someone? Why has the film turned into a f***ing sci-fi flick all of a sudden?

You just dont know what to make of it the first time.

And then the twist comes...and you feel a bit ripped off.

Then you watch it again and just run with it all, enjoying all the bizarre-ness.

©brad · March 05, 2003, 05:32:09 AM

I really liked Vanilla Sky. It makes me mad when I hear the "I thought it was a love story but then it turns sci-fi and weird" complaint. (I don't see how anyone who claims to love PDL could make a comment like this). I think that's what so great about it! I love movies that bend genres. Wouldn't you rather see something like this instead of a formulaic romantic comedy a la Sandra-mutha fuckin-Bullock?

children with angels · March 05, 2003, 10:14:48 AM

I can't comprehend why people think the music is used badly! It's probably the music that gets me most about this film, and was one of the reasons I looked forward to it so much... Sigur Ros' Nothing Song is such an amazing final tune, Spiritualized's Ladies & Gentlemen We're Floating in Space makes me cry every time I watch the movie, and how cool is it that the song titles (Everything in its right place, Sweetness Follows, Last Goodbye, I might be wrong) completely correspond with their placement...? Maybe obvious, but in a good way, I think. Plus: the over-saturation of the soundtrack just contributes to the intentional pop culture overload of the film in general.

Pubrick · March 05, 2003, 10:19:47 AM

Quote from: children with angelsPlus: the over-saturation of the soundtrack just contributes to the intentional pop culture overload of the film in general.

this is true.

Quote from: children with angelsSpiritualized's Ladies & Gentlemen We're Floating in Space makes me cry every time I watch the movie

u should see sumone about this.

Sleuth · March 05, 2003, 02:11:52 PM

That is a rather sad song (Ladies and etc etc)

Sleuth · March 05, 2003, 03:50:02 PM

Quote from: Sigur Rós
or the way they used great music very badly

Did you think The Nothing Song was used badly? And what do you think of Jonsi from Sigur Ros not liking VS at all?

children with angels · March 05, 2003, 04:57:12 PM

It doesn't surprise me at all that Jonsi didn't like the film: I think that hearing your music tied down to certain images - particularly when you make the kind of etheral, unexplainable music Sigur Ros do - has got to be a weird, and probably negative experience. What are the chances of you thinking someone's captured the meaning of your song with visuals totally? It's not going to happen. But for me: I think it works absolutely perfectly...

RegularKarate · March 05, 2003, 04:58:53 PM

Quote from: children with angelsI can't comprehend why people think the music is used badly! It's probably the music that gets me most about this film, and was one of the reasons I looked forward to it so much... Sigur Ros' Nothing Song is such an amazing final tune, Spiritualized's Ladies & Gentlemen We're Floating in Space makes me cry every time I watch the movie, and how cool is it that the song titles (Everything in its right place, Sweetness Follows, Last Goodbye, I might be wrong) completely correspond with their placement...? Maybe obvious, but in a good way, I think. Plus: the over-saturation of the soundtrack just contributes to the intentional pop culture overload of the film in general.

I get what you're saying, but most of the music used in this film is really visual music... I close my eyes and I see something completely different every time - the images that go along with the music in VS are so fucking DULL... I caught how the song titles match the scene... real clever trick that's been used a million times before, but the scene has to deserve the music and this movie didn't deserve these songs.

children with angels · March 05, 2003, 05:17:46 PM

You think the visuals at the end of the movie are dull? I find that rooftop goodbye and the jumping montage amazing - seriously fucking moving. Maybe that's just me.

RegularKarate · March 05, 2003, 05:46:30 PM

Quote from: children with angelsYou think the visuals at the end of the movie are dull? I find that rooftop goodbye and the jumping montage amazing - seriously fucking moving. Maybe that's just me.

Probably not just you, but I'm certainly not on that list.

oakmanc234 · March 05, 2003, 07:20:58 PM

children with angels wrote: You think the visuals at the end of the movie are dull? I find that rooftop goodbye and the jumping montage amazing - seriously fucking moving.

I agree, that sequence was beautifully done. Probably my favourite moment in the film. It had a great, whimsical quality and ended the film on a high note, whereas the original's rooftop goodbye was portayed frighteningly (no music or slow-mo, the guy screams his f***in head off all the way down). I prefer 'Sky's end but then again, 'Abre Los Ojos' and 'Sky' have a different tone. 'Abre Los' is a f***in great movie but I personally believe that 'Sky' feels much more alive, is more riveting, humoured, enjoyable and less murky.

Thats just my opinion, dont bite my head off for it.

Quick question: Who did that song in 'Sky' when Davd is falling? (is it Radiohead, it sure sounds like them).

Sleuth · March 05, 2003, 08:02:39 PM

No, it's actually Sigur Ros and the song is called Njosnavelin or The Nothing Song

oakmanc234 · March 05, 2003, 11:57:05 PM

It should've been on the soundtrack (R.E.M. are on it twice).

'Where Do I Begin' from the Chemical Brothers RULZ (and was awesome in the trailer).

While I'm yapping about the soundtrack, I'm glad Paul McCartney got an Oscar nom for the song 'Vanilla Sky'. Cool little number.

ProgWRX · March 06, 2003, 05:23:59 PM

I guess ill have to disagree, as I personally thought the music choices were GREAT. They were mostly perfect for the scenes they were in. (Ex. "Everything in its Right Place" right at the beginning) Sigur Ros's music is perfectly haunting for the end sequence. Maybe the soundtrack doesnt click well with the majority of people, but personally it is one of the things that MAKES the film for me. I have since bought the official soundtrack, and hunted down each song used in the film to make myself a "Volume 2" of sorts.

Dont get me wrong, Abre Los Ojos is great in its own right, but its a colder, less emotional film. I really like the Cameron Crowe "warmness" that Vanilla Sky has, it takes a common thriller and takes it one step further. BtW the ending isnt really more spelled out than in Abre Los Ojos, we just get more info, but its not so we can "understand it" , because in Abre los Ojos the french dude tells him explicitely everything that was going on, but Cameron Crowe choses to add a bit to the story, to give us closure on what happened to Sofia, for example. And IMO that one scene with David Aames's wake is one of the most best in the movie.

All of this being said, My favorite Cameron Crowe movie is still Almost Famous.

Redlum · March 06, 2003, 06:07:54 PM

It would be completely wrong to do it but I would love to have seen/heard the rooftop goodbye using the To Kill a Mocking Bird score. When I hear it during the elevator montages I dont want it to end. Its one of the most beautiful scores in cinema history.

Oh and amazing use of Todd Rundgrens "Can we still be friends"!