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Carter Glace writes that there have been some decent video game movies, like 'Prince of Persia' or one of the 'Resident Evil' films but plenty of bad ones too just remember 'Super Mario Bros'. But Doug Liman's 'Edge of Tomorrow' shows how to take one of video games' most tried and true mechanics and use it to make an excellent and utterly creative film. In the film Tom Cruise plays a PR officer named Cage who, blessed with the power of infinite lives, has to continually progress through the day while figuring out how to win the battle and the war kind of a cross between 'Groundhog Day' and 'Starship Troopers.'
"The use of the words "infinite lives" is no accident," writes Glace. The premise of the film comes from a Japanese graphic novel titled 'All You Need Is Kill', but it is steeped in the classic video game lore: restarting the game over and over until you are prepared for every conceivable threat. This is a fact director Liman openly celebrates and it works here on countless levels. Cruise's efforts to train are all chronicled through an efficient, fun and fluid montage that serves as an excellent progression through the "levels," while cutting out the more mundane, frustrating repetition it "stands as an incredibly creative, intelligent piece of sci-fi filmmaking." "Taking inspiration from an underutilized resource, Cruise has made an incredible return to form," concludes Glace. "Unfortunately, 'Edge of Tomorrow' is already a box-office dud, but I implore you to support this excellent film."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 15 2014, @07:33PM
Yes, they lost me at "Tom Cruise" also because fuck Scientology.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Sunday June 15 2014, @07:58PM
You might be one of those people who would stab Jack Gleeson because King Jofrey was a dick.
I imagine you might not like any music, book, or film if you truly knew the people who made them. Tom Cruise is just famous enough that you know his personal life and beliefs.
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(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 15 2014, @08:29PM
Tom Cruise has two parts he plays. Tom Cruise in mega jerk makes good but is still a jerk... and Tom Cruise playing bad ass covert type.
The first type I find boring. The second one I usually enjoy but tend to forget. This movie seems to be of the second type and when it is quickly shuffled to dvd I will buy it. His acting range is fairly narrow. But he is very good at those two roles.
As for what he believes? I dont care aside from being entertained by people getting twisted up over it on the internet.
(Score: 2) by ArhcAngel on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:52AM
Which one of the two is Les Grossman? http://youtu.be/sr9_GfeoCjk/ [youtu.be]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday June 15 2014, @10:48PM
You might be one of those people who would stab Jack Gleeson because King Jofrey was a dick.
It doesn't work that way. I don't know anything about Jack Gleeson other than the fact that he played Joffrey, and he did a pretty good job of that. That's his job as an actor: to act like someone else, and to convince me he really is that character while he's on screen. Gleeson did just fine at that. The fact that I don't know anything substantial about his personal life helps with that. If I also knew that he was a murderer or some insane nut who tried to push his wacky beliefs on everyone, then that would ruin the suspension of disbelief for me, and make it so that I could no longer watch his performance as an actor and be entertained.
With Tom, he's made such a name for himself as a promoter of Scientology that I just can't watch a movie with him anymore without thinking of that, and how he runs around telling everyone who'll listen about how psychiatry is a fraud and how psychiatrists were in league with Xenu of the Galactic Confederation on Teegeeack and all that nonsense. With all that nutjobbery tainting him, it's no longer possible to just watch his performance as an actor.
Tom Cruise is just famous enough that you know his personal life and beliefs.
Wrong. I'd bet good money that Gleeson does not spend a lot of time and money pursuing some wacky alien sci-fi religion, or anything so abnormal. Furthermore, and more importantly, he obviously doesn't use his fame as a platform to spread his religious views. Tom does. That's the whole reason Scientology recruits famous actors.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday June 15 2014, @11:36PM
I thought it was because Scientology was supposed to help them find their way out of the fudge packing factory.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by tibman on Monday June 16 2014, @12:58AM
I can sum it up a little bit, Tom Cruise is crazy. If that prevents you from enjoying films that he is in, that's all you. But you are attacking the product and not the person. I have no desire to get sucked into a side conversation about the particulars of Tom Cruises personal life, i simply do not care : )
Also, Jack Gleeson played an awesome "bad guy"! I think he'll be known as King Joffrey for a long time. Sort of like when you saw Elrond in LOTR and thought "It's agent Smith!".
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(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday June 16 2014, @09:39AM
Think I read somewhere that he's not planning to do any more acting. Wikipedia confirms [wikipedia.org]. Shame, because he was great, but like you say it would be hard to escape a character like Joffrey. Probably a wise move, perhaps he took advice from Wil Wheaton.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Tuesday June 17 2014, @12:51PM
There is a youtube interview with him where he confirmed it. The reason he is quitting is because acting became a job, and not a hobby. When it became a job, it no longer was enjoyable. But he's still young so there's no reason why he can't find a way yo return to it on his terms.