I picked earlier films like Taps because like most actors starting out, he was young and hungry (firing that machine gun: "it's beautiful man, beautiful!", great acting there). And later films like Cocktail and Rainman, in which his character evolves from selfish to an empathetic nature.
I don't dislike Tom Cruise but there are some slim pickings there. However, I enjoyed the following enough to pick up the DVDs: The Firm Interview With A Vampire Mission: Impossible
I love his performance in this one. Stellar, gripping, the way he intensifies every sentence. Love the voice over and soundtrack too.
Risky Business - this belongs in a time capsule for the 80's along with Fast Times At Ridgemont High and probably a host of other teen flicks; what keeps me interested here is the very cool score/soundtrack, a strong cast of supporting characters (The Outsiders had this too but Cruise was barely even given a cameo in that film), and an almost surreal tone to the whole thing as if it were all a big (tangerine ) dream sequence. Top Gun - after Legend threatened to end his career, and he very nearly was displaced by Kevin Bacon for a couple years there, Cruise bounced (or rather flew) back in this massive over-hyped/blown summer blockbuster that effectively provided the "2" in the "one-two" punch to make him an icon; if taken as pure popcorn entertainment, and a suspension of disbelief particularly regarding the completely absurd love story, this mostly delivers the goods. Rain Man - while Dustin Hoffman was the true star, Cruise stood right there with him, and I think was more effective here than opposite Paul Newman in The Hustler remake, The Color Of Money. This was an important film for Tom Cruise because it demonstrated his range (I thought he should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor), and kept him from getting overly typecast, even if oddly enough I do sometimes prefer watching those earlier movies occasionally (i.e. Taps, Losin' It, All The Right Moves, etc.). Born On The Fourth Of July - another Oscar worthy performance (at least he was nominated), this time in a lead role. By this time, Cruise had more or less proven he was a force to be reckoned with, and was not going to be just an outdated teen idol. A Few Good Men - given what I said above about Kevin Bacon, it was kind of cool to see these two together in a movie, even if Jack Nicholson pretty much stole the show with that great line: "You can't handle the truth!"; of course, I think Cruise himself could have delivered something similar, and I often gauge a Tom Cruise movie's success by how many hissy fits he has in them.
there are a whole lot of really good ****ing movies on that list, and about 5 oscar worthy performances. in fact, has cruise ever won an oscar?
Slim pickings for me. Could only come up with a couple which I kinda, sorta like: Risky Business The Firm I admire him as a businessman, and I think he's a competent actor. But I don't really like him at all as an actor. Maybe I shouldn't be commenting in this thread? Apologies....
A Few Good Men - one of only 2 movies where his being too aggressive (or earnestness) in chewing the scenery worked for the character. However, the other actors were all more fun to watch and compelling such as Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Noah Wyle, Kevin Pollak, etc. Rain Man - playing a horrible person pretty much right through to the end. His intensity is such that it seems as if he's trying to steal attention away from Dustin Hoffman. Again, works for the character and movie but his shtick gets old quick with me.
I actually like many of his later movies better. I feel he’s found his groove. Edge of Tomorrow is my favorite Cruise movie. The last couple of MI movies were great. I enjoyed the Spielberg movies. Valkyrie, Jack Reacher, Oblivion, American Made are all good to me. I even liked Knight and Day. The Mummy and Rock of Ages were duds.
I liked most of those movies when I first saw them but I think The Firn is the only one I’ll watch if I find if flipping around. Mission Impossible is still pretty fun too.
Rainman surprised me because the guy can act! I still think he is underrated and I'd like to see him in some things with a little more heft, at this stage of his career.
I went: Risky Business Top Gun A Few Good Men Jerry Maguire MI I need to revisit a few of the earlier ones though because I'm not really all that tied to Jerry and MI. Color of Money, Rain Man, Born on the 4th and All the Right Moves could easily knock the other two out, but it's been so long since I've seen them that I can't remember how well I like them.
I actually think his best period started with Jerry Maguire and continues to this day. I picked JM and Magnolia here, but several more in the 2000-2020 poll.
Tough one for me. I wasn't too big a fan until I got to know him a bit. He was my client from 1991 to 2006. I was only at one set and that was Jerry Maguire, but I was at 4 different locations for that one. Two were the scene at the OC airport where he's picking up his luggage at the Carousel and him and Renee are swinging the kid. The first time was in March, at which time I helped him set up his satellite dish to get the NCAA tournament, and then again a few months later when the reshot but with a new kid. It was only about 15 minutes from my house. I was also at the Beverly Hills restaurant where he got fired, and at the Colosseum when he was talking with Cuba while walking outside the venue. When I got the call to go to the set for Jerry Maguire, I was a bit disappointed. I had a great time and ate awesome food prepared by Frank Woodward from For Stars Catering who did most of Tom's pictures, but I was looking for more excitement. Funny thing is that I really wanted to go to a major scene like the land rush from Far and Away. That's the one him and Nic were working on when I first started working with them. I got to know his driver pretty well and he had great stories about filming that one. It took 40 days to film that portion, and Frank prepared 3 meals a day and never had a duplication. I was also a slightly bit involved with him while filming The Firm in Boston. His bus was parked under an overpass, and a snow plow dumped a lot of snow on it, damaging his satellite dish that I had installed. Rather than Tom paying for that, I got a check from Paramount from the budget of The Firm. That turns out to be my 2nd favorite of his films. As it turned out, Jerry Maguire was a pretty good movie. So other than the new Top Gun, which isn't on the list, I'd have to say that's my favorite of his films, but possibly I'm feeling that way because I was there. Btw, Tom did give me a hat from the film, that says Jerry Maguire on the front, and Ambassador Of Kwan on the back of it. Hard to say how I'd feel about him if I didn't have the relationship with him that I did. He was always great to me. When we were together at the 98 World Series, he was with Sam Mendes who produced Nic's play in NYC. We were talking about it and I told them I'd love to see it. Tom told me to call the office the next day and he'd arrange for me to get tickets and I did. That was extremely cool and much appreciated. Of course I had to fly to NY for it, but it was well worth it.
