Cruise had a rocky mid-aughts to push through: episodes with Matt Lauer, Oprah Winfrey and, er, Sumn

Movie star Tom Cruise has been, somewhat quietly, passing through one of the high-water marks of his career as of late. In December, online student fare airline ticket sites "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" became his biggest box office success to date, which is saying something in a career that has included such blockbuster fare as "Top Gun," "Minority Report" and "War of the Worlds," not to mention three previous entries in the franchise; he managed to be just one of very few elements of " Rock of Ages ," currently in theaters, to come away unscathed; and, oh yeah, he's turning 50 today.
Cruise has been in the news a lot this week as a result of his (naturally online student fare airline ticket sites very public) divorce online student fare airline ticket sites from Katie Holmes. But I'll save the melodrama online student fare airline ticket sites regarding what the "real" story is behind all of that for those overly interested. It's unfortunate that this planned piece of commentary ended up coinciding with one of Cruise's personal low points, but so be it. As noted in The New York Times yesterday (beat me to the punch), he always bounces back.
Cruise had a rocky mid-aughts to push through: episodes with Matt Lauer, Oprah Winfrey and, er, Sumner Redstone to grapple online student fare airline ticket sites with in the media, a promising start only to be followed by an abrupt collapse of the resurrected United Artists label and an overall sense of having left his best days behind him lingering in the industry. online student fare airline ticket sites And yet, here he is, strong online student fare airline ticket sites as ever, with even a handful of potential franchises on the horizon (Paramount's " Jack Reacher " and Universal's "Van Helsing" reboot).
I've been pretty pro-Cruise throughout it all. He's still one of the hardest-working guys in the business online student fare airline ticket sites and yet he has somehow remained, over all this time, an underrated performer. (Interestingly, actors who have performed opposite Cruise have been nominated for six Oscars, seven if you want to count Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder," though online student fare airline ticket sites he didn't actually share any scenes with Cruise in the film. Three have won.)
So with that in mind, and as a salute to the star on his 50th birthday, I wanted to dedicate an installment of The Lists to Cruise's best work on the big screen. Because while he's brought in his share of dollars and cents over the years, he's also offered up his share of quality portrayals. He has, after all, three Oscar nominations to show for himself. And he's probably left a few on the table in his time.
In Contention , Academy Awards , The Lists , Tom Cruise , Jack Reacher , Rock of Ages , Magnolia , Born on the Fourth of July , Rain Man , Eyes Wide Shut , A Few Good Men , Collateral , Risky Business , Jerry Maguire , Knight and Day , The Color of Money
Kristopher Tapley has covered the film awards landscape for over a decade. He founded online student fare airline ticket sites In Contention in 2005. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Times of London and Variety. He begs you not to take any of this too seriously.
If anything, the character Cruise played in Magnolia online student fare airline ticket sites was great...this I attribute to Anderson's script. Cruise wholly owned the Kovic role. A question online student fare airline ticket sites - who do you think should have gotten the Tropic Thunder nomination - Downey online student fare airline ticket sites Jr. (who was the big "comeback" story of the year) or Cruise (whose performance was so much better and much funnier than RDJ's)
Speaking of underrated, I think "The Last Samurai" is actually quite a good film and, like so many others, online student fare airline ticket sites hasn't produced a fair share of praise for Cruise. I'd also throw "Minority Report" into the discussion, since it's another performance that didn't make your list, but that's generally a very respected film and I could see where Cruise's work in it could very somewhat secondary to the atmosphere Spielberg created.
"Born on the 4th" is getting released on Blu-ray this week, fittingly enough. "Minority Report" is the main addition I'd make to this list. A somewhat underrated movie (Spielberg produced a number online student fare airline ticket sites of films in the 00s that would have been considered crown jewels if it hadn't been Spielberg directing them).
I rewatched the movie recently. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are (were) some of the biggest stars of the planet and Knight and Day shows us why. It's all about charisma and confidence in tackling their roles. Their chemistry is amazing and it really shapes the film into an entertaining actioner.
My favorite online student fare airline ticket sites is Born on the Fourth of July, which I also happen to think is Oliver Stone's best work to date. Cruise is astonishing in that movie, and I may be in the minority here but I probably would have voted for him over Daniel Day-Lewis (also incredible) that year for Best Actor.
I just watched the Matt Lauer interview for the first time - I have never been interested in Cruise´s private life - and Christ, what a disgusting man Cruise seems to be. So much intolerance and ignorance coupled with so much hostility and arrogance! Horrible.
Yes, I also get really intolerant when people say racist, sexist or homophobic things. I don´t think that is a problem. Antidepressants are part of modern medicine, they increase the levels of serotonin, and other neuro transmittors, in people who have too low levels. They do not "mask symptoms", they restore "normalcy", to use an American online student fare airline ticket sites phrase. Just like insulin makes it possible for diabetics to function normally. If Cruise´s underlying point had been: "it´s bad when people abuse drugs or drug their children because they can´t cope", then it would have been sound. But that wasn´t his point. He states that there is no such thing as a chemical inbalance. He denies that there is any value in psychiatry. He knows this, because he has "studied the history of psychology", he keeps repeating. He sounds about as enlightened as those who say that intelligent design is a theory just as valid as the theory of evolution. I watched the interview again, online student fare airline ticket sites today, to see if I over reacted. I really don´t think I did. Cruise is an enjoyable actor, online student fare airline ticket sites he might be a great friend, loving father and good tipper. But this interview reveals that he is an ignorant fundamentalist.
"I have studied the history of psychology, Matt" - no you haven´t, sir. And "pills just mask the symptoms" of psychiatric problems, Matt. Yes, well, just like insulin masks the symptoms of diabetes. And just like antibiotics mask the symptoms of deadly bacterial infections. Let´s march back to the Dark Ages, then. Apparently, though, medical procedures masking the symptoms of aging in old movie stars, are OK in Mr Cruise´s book. Sorry. End of rambling. online student fare airline ticket sites Ex pharmacology student. Over and out.
Can't go with you on Knight & Day at all, but other than that, my list would look very similar -- and your #1 choice is bang-on. Particularly glad you rate his work in Rain Man so highly -- I think he's rather better than Hoffman in it, actually, and in the more difficult role to boot. I'd certainly include his work in Rock of Ages, and quite possibly the first Mission: Impossible film, too -- not the best of the series, but the most generously tailored for his charisma.
Cruise is undoubtedly one of the biggest movies stars of recent decades. I have to admit he's never been one of my favorites--I've always found him rather bland. Earnest but bland. I do tend to gravitate more to Cruise the star than the actor, online student fare airline ticket sites the early Cruise of Risky Business and Top Gun. Maybe it's a generational thing, as I was a kid then and he shone brighter than anyone in those years. But as for Cruise the actor, your list is spot on.
While Cruise online student fare airline ticket sites isn't close to being one of my favorite actors, I agree that he's certainly a lot better than most people are willing to acknowledge. And while some of the things he has done and said in his personal life have been questionable, the amount of absolute hatred online student fare airline ticket sites and disgust directed at him seems grossly exaggerated and unfair. At the very least, nothing he's said has been nearly as bad as some of the things uttered by Mel Gibson. I agree with "Magnolia" being his best performance as well, and I definitely think that of the nominees that year, he should have won (though my real choice for Best Supporting Actor that year would have been John Malkovich in "Being John Malkovich").
Of all his movies, that one film is when i believe he displayed a range of emotion that would have been hard for any A-lister. Incredible movie, and the level of sincerity in his role actually made me SEE him as that character more than most of the movies on your list. I guess it is subjective though....
online student fare airline ticket sites