Interview with the Vampire (1994)

I have a love-hate relationship with Tom Cruise. I just love to hate the guy, whether he is Trapped in the Closet or embarrassing white people on BET, he drives me nuts. Honestly, with all the wives and braces and Scientology he is getting weirder every day. Tom Cruise is like the white Michael Jackson and I wouldn't be surprised if he starts turning black any day now.

On the other hand, I also hate to love the guy but he did star in Born on the Forth of July and Top Gun--a couple of pretty decent films.

Tom Cruise is also my only excuse for waiting 13 years to see Interview with the Vampire. No suprise, I absolutely loved and hated the movie. Brad Pitt is cool as shit as usual while Kirsten Dunst gives the best performance of her career. I just couldn't get behind Tom's blood sucking performance, it seemed way over the top and annoying to me. You could say he really jumped the couch. Definitely a vampire genre must see but if Dracula isn't your thing then I would pass it by.

3 stars out of 5

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Hearing good things about Thank You for Smoking I sat down to watch a no doubt indie take on the evil lies and deception of Big Tobacco. I could not have been more wrong. Instead, I got an entertaining inside look at the life of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a lobbyst for the tabacco industry. Nick is so smooth he makes Ferris Beuller look like a fumbling George W Bush. He can easily spin any issue and make it work to his advantage but is he good enough to convince America that smoking is ok? A life long non-smoker, I was could not believe the thoughts going through my head by the time the credits rolled. I am still not sure which side the makers of this film are on. Sidenote: I don't think I saw a single person smoking in the film--am I wrong?. Maybe the message of this film is to beware the spin no matter which side it comes from.

It is a petty crime that I let two years go by without seeing this film. Aaron Eckhart was not even on my radar but after this brilliant performance I need to check out his other work. Actually, everyone in this movie puts on a good show including the impeccable William H Macy as a liberal, birkenstock wearing Vermont Senator.

5 stars out of 5