War of the Worlds, 2005, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg

A comedian was making fun of Ellen Degeneres. On her sit-com which I've never seen, she played an employee in a store of some kind. As the show became successful, she decided she was too big to play a mere employee and that her character should OWN the store. Like if Charlie Chaplin became a huge star and thought his Little Tramp should start wearing a well-fitting suit. If Sergeant Bilko decided he should be CAPTAIN Bilko. If Mary Tyler Moore decided Mary Richards should work at a big successful TV station.

War of the Worlds starts with Tom Cruise as a crane operator unloading shipping containers at a sea port. He's their ace crane operator. No one is as good a crane operator as him. They desperately need him to work because no one can unload shipping containers like he can. It had nothing to do with anything to come in the movie. He doesn't use his advanced crane abilities to defeat the Martians.

We can blame Tom Cruise and his massive ego for this. And Spielberg obviously.

If you don't like Steven Spielberg, people will accuse you of insincerity. They can't imagine anyone not especially caring for his work. It's just GOT to be an affectation. I can't put my finger on what I can't stand about him, but trying to sit through this movie, I feel that I don't hate him nearly enough.

Oh, and here's the scene. Tom Cruise starts acting crazy saying "funny" things then throws a tantrum. He does it in every movie. In this case he starts making peanut butter sandwiches making "funny" comments, then throws one of them against a window. There's a YouTube video of him in A Few Good Men yelling funny things at his co-counsel, talking like he's a funny game show host, then sweeping breakable items off a table in a fit of rage. I think it's a Scientology thing because Will Smith and John Travolta keep doing the same thing. The rubes commenting on the video thought this is fine acting.

Sitting here watching the giant robots marching on humanity, I suddenly heard a loud, loud roar outside. It kept getting louder. I have my window wide open. I got up and looked out and there were four F-15's flying low over the city. And now it sounds like they're coming back.

In the movie they're hiding in a ruined house wondering how long their food will last, something a lot of us can identify with. I'll need to put on a mask and rubber gloves and go to a store in a day or two.