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Magnolia (1999)

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  This is where I would normally say this is Part 21 of my Tom Cruise rewind series, but COVID sort of ruined everything and I haven't updated it in two years because of how often the release date for Top Gun: Maverick was pushed back. This was the film that was next on that list, so it deserves something from me, I feel, even if my heart is not quite in it the way it once was. Just like I said for Eyes Wide Shu t, Magnolia required me to really mentally prepare myself to rewatch. The film itself is not why I delayed rewatching it for two years -- genuinely, I had a lot of stuff going on in the meantime, such as my 70 hour work weeks last summer -- but it is also true for me to say that this is a film I did have to be in the right mood to watch. And finally I was in the right mood, had the time to do it, AND wanted to actually see it -- so it worked out for me finally.  
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Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

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Admittedly, it took me a very long time (a year, in fact) to get myself ready to rewatch Eyes Wide Shut . The idea of giving my thoughts on a Stanley Kubrick film when people have already said so much about them was daunting, but it becomes even more daunting when it's his final film -- and one that people absolutely adore to theorize about. Eyes Wide Shut is a peculiar film indeed, one full of motifs and symbolism that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. So I'll take a swing at it, too.    
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Update #2

Almost one whole year later since the last post, and here we are. The COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out all across the world. Top Gun: Maverick has been pushed back. Again. For the fifth time, in fact. But I will not give up. I'm in the midst of writing a new review right now. While they might be posted a bit later than the day I watched the film, they'll still be coming nonetheless. Thanks for hanging in there. Onward with the Tom Cruise movies!
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Jerry Maguire (1996)

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At the end of the 80s, Tom Cruise finally proved to critics that he was more than just the teen film star-turned-action hero with his role as a traumatized war veteran in Born on the Fourth of July . Halfway through the 90s, Cruise was back on critics' radars, this time for a role that was quite opposite to Ron Kovic. In Jerry Maguire , Cruise plays a high-strung, commitment-phobe sports agent in search of real friendship and love after the loss of his job. While Cruise had appeared in comedies and romance movies before, Jerry Maguire is arguably the first real romantic comedy he starred in -- and it remains one of the best outings of his career.
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Brief Update

Long time, no see. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the release for Top Gun: Maverick has been pushed back by six months. While I was disappointed by this, I was also relieved, because my personal life has become extremely busy. When I reworked my movie watching schedule, I found that I was now ahead by a number of months. So, after a three month hiatus, I'm happy to say that I am back. This project is not over yet. We still have 22 years left to cover.
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Mission: Impossible (1996)

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As much as people criticize the entertainment industry nowadays for their constant reboots and remakes, it could be argued that this trend started back in the 90s with the countless film versions of classic media staples, generally either TV shows or comics. Tom Cruise wasn't immune to this trend; in 1996, he starred in the film adaptation of the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible . This movie had little in common with the original show, with only one shared character and a modern setting, but this doesn't matter much when Mission: Impossible went on to spawn 7 sequels. So how does it hold up 24 years later?
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Interview with the Vampire (1994)

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If I'm being honest, it's difficult for me to give an unbiased review of Interview with the Vampire as a fan of The Vampire Chronicles. The first time I saw it, I scoffed at the theatricality of it all and saw it more as a bad-but-enjoyable sort of movie; with each rewatch, however, there's something delightfully new that I discover. Perhaps this is a good summary for Cruise's career at the time, especially with the choice to play Lestat de Lioncourt, a bisexual vampire antagonist that seemed to be a far cry from his normal acting fare. But to start and stop there would be selling Cruise and Interview with the Vampire too short.
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