Tag: tom cruise

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Movie Advent Calendar #18 – Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow, also known simply as Edge of Tomorrow, is a thrilling and thought-provoking science fiction film that explores the concept of time travel and the consequences of reliving the same day over and over again.

Tom Cruise stars as Major William Cage, a military public relations officer who is thrust into battle against an alien invasion and quickly finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over again. With the help of a warrior named Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt), Cage must use his newfound knowledge and skills to try and end the loop and defeat the aliens once and for all.

The film is full of intense action scenes and special effects that make it a visual feast, but it’s the thought-provoking exploration of time travel and the moral dilemmas that it creates that truly sets it apart. Cruise and Blunt have great chemistry on screen, and their performances are top-notch.

Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow is smart, exciting, and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Get Live. Die. Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow from Amazon.

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Cinematic Advent Calendar #21 – A Few Good Men

Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessup

“You can’t handle the truth!”

Though featuring Marines and Navy officers, this film is a legal drama, it’s about a courtroom battle not a military battle. Of course this is Hollywood, so it probably bears no resemblance to reality, but does that matter? It’s a film not a documentary. For example most courts martial take place in plain simple rooms, not ornate courtrooms, and those dramatic lawyer moments just don’t happen. Despite that, this is a great film.

Of course part of the reason is that the screenplay (and the play the film was based on) was written by Aaron Sorkin, who in my opinion has written some fantastic screenplays and television. I really liked Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and the West Wing. I was disappointed when Studio 60 was cancelled, as I thought it had a lot of potential. The West Wing was also excellent television and extremely well written. A Few Good Men was of course written well before these televisual delights.

This for me is Jack Nicholson’s best film, likewise Tom Cruise and Demi Moore are really good, and though they could dominate the film, they don’t. They share the screen with their co-stars and as a result this isn’t a star driven picture, this is a story driven one.

Get A Few Good Men at Amazon.

Download A Few Good Men at iTunes.