This week, the second in Cruise’s high-concept sci-fi double-header: Doug Liman’s Edge Of Tomorrow! Are time-loop stories still a fun idea? Is Cruise at his best when he’s playing a con man? Are the Olympics the unexpected cradle of optimism for the modern world?

Unanswered Questions:

• Let’s talk about the kiss! Is it justified emotionally? Is it justified for the audience? Is it defensible simply because people should kiss more in movies?
• Is there anything to be made of the connections to World War II? Does the concealed, ambush-heavy environmental warfare of the mimics evoke more modern conflicts?
• If the movie were smarter, would it be worse?

Further reading:

• All You Need Is Kill
• Doug Liman hopes his wild loop means a hit with ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (LA Times)
• Emily Blunt Says Living With a Stutter Is Like Having an ‘Imposter’ in Your Body ‘Who Doesn’t Pay Rent’ (Variety)
• Twisters
• Starship Troopers
• The Danger Room
• The Louvre Pyramid
• Paris mayor swims in Seine as river is cleaned up just in time for Olympics (The Guardian)
• Kevin Piette
• The Last Star In Hollywood Definitive List Of Tom Cruise Films
• The Last Star In Hollywood: Production Schedule

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Join us next week for the return of Ethan Hunt and Christopher McQuarrie’s first directorial effort in Cruise’s biggest franchise: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

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