"I admit it, I’m a Tom Cruise fan. Well, maybe not a fan-FAN, but I do think that he’s more than just a pretty face. I really do think he can act, and it’s just so sad that the various award-giving bodies in the US do not think much of his acting ability– at least not enough to give him a trophy or at least a citation. Sure, he’s not of the same calibre as, say, John Malcovich, but he’s better than Nicholas Cage and on par with Val Kilmer.

I haven’t read a single movie review about any of Mr. Cruise’s movies, none that have given proper notice or comment regarding his ability to project his character’s contradictions and internal difficulties on screen. Maybe most reviewers can’t see beyond the drop-dead gorgeous facade…

Actually, it was only the other night that I’ve acknowledged that the man can actually act. I watched Jerry Maguire, and it was not of the typical brainless Hollywood formula that makes one want to throw rocks against the screen and rip the cushy theater seats to shreds. It was a good film, straightforward and a little predictable, but good all the same (yeah, yeah, I’m like a decade late; but what the heck, better late than never),. O appreciate the film’s attempts at delivering a specific message of keeping one’s humanity intact amidst a materialistic, power-driven and money-oriented world, one’s priorities in life in a straight line.

Mr. Cruise was not annoying, his portrayal of a man trying to redeem himself was not cloying, and his physical beauty was not distracting at all (maybe a little). He should, I think, be given better roles — roles where he doesn’t have to be beautiful or well-dressed and predictably cute; but I guess most producers think his best selling point is his face. Sheesh. Just because he’s cuter than Sean Penn or Benicio del Torro doesn’t mean he can’t act as well as they.

(Nicole Kidman won an an Oscar for playing Virginia Woolfe complete with prosthetic nose. She wasn’t exactly beautiful there, but her portrayal had the elements of vintage Kidman –luminous. Did she win because the bodies think she was great, or because she was wilingly to ‘uglify’ herself? Go figure. )

Just a random idea here — good looking people are often though off to be not as smart as their less physically gifted peers. Strange. It’s like to be both beautiful and gifted is a rare occurence in nature. I guess it all depends on one’s idea of what’s physically beautiful."