The Edge of Tomorrrow

Good morning, y’all. Ninety degrees in the mountains in May. My perspiration is covered in sweat. I confess it is hard to think about anything other than the heat right now. Of course people will say “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”. Well, I’ve never heard anybody complaining about the humidity when it’s in the 40’s. So yes, by golly, it is the heat. My vision of the future calls for more heat compounded by days of spontaneous combustion.

Speaking of visions of the future, Mulva pulled a rabbit out of the hat, or I should say the $2.99 video bin at Walmart, with her selection of the date night video this week. Mulva selected “The Edge of Tomorrow”, a sci-fi flick starring Tom Cruise. I am not confused by Mulva’s intentions here, she is not forgoing her aversion to all things sci-fi for my benefit. This is strictly a Tom Cruise play. I guess you could say Mulva feels about Tom Cruise like I feel about Jennifer Lawrence. I’d be happy just watching her eat a cheeseburger. The fact that Jennifer Lawrence has been in some really good movies is just icing on the cake for me.

Getting back to Mulva’s obsession, though, Tom Cruise is up in the list of all of the things that are wrong with Hollywood to me. Let me start off by being real petty. He is short, I don’t mean 5’9” short and with heel lifts he’s close to 6′, I mean he’s 5’4″ short. Even with heel lifts, they still have to put him up on a box to say his lines so he’s still in the same frame as his co-star. Now, you could say that his overcoming his vertical challenge is an example of his acting skills; he acts taller than he is. You could say that, but I wouldn’t.

Cruise’s status as a leading “man” has long been rumored to be as false as his height. There are rumors that Tom Cruise resembles Rock Hudson in his proclivities. The rumors were more pronounced during the filming of “Eyes Wide Shut”, when director Stanley Kubrick had to coax Cruise and Kidman how to be sexual with one another. Normally, one could expect there would be some awkwardness between actors playing sexual roles with each other. Cruise and Kidman were long married at the time. I guess the flame had gone out, if there every was one. Whatever his orientation, Cruise supporters will point out again that this is just another example of his fine acting skills.

Cruise made the news again recently in a tell all on Scientology. Cruise is like the number one head honcho most VIP member of Scientology. There is so much material on Scientology that I’ll save the rant for another time, just let me say that at its core it begins with aliens invading the Earth. Maybe with “The Edge of Tomorrow” Cruise is building a body of work supporting the Scientology premise, kind of like Charlton Heston did with all of the Bible movies. Who knows if  a “The Edge of Tomorrow” series would be as successful as “The Mission Impossible” series has been. The one thing in Hollywood that is always true, “money makes the pony run”. Unless “The Edge of Tomorrow” makes money, no one will be interested in seeing how the sequel plays out.

I’d watch a sequel, by the way. The movie had a fairly good premise, it was well acted and had good special effects. The added bonus was Tom Cruise gets shot in the head about a hundred times so he can relive his experience until he gets it right. A movie that has something for me and Mulva, a good date night pick.

Check out “The Edge of Tomorrow” after you re-watch the Dawgs spring game. I’m up to four replays now.

Go Dawgs.