Minority Report

Starring: Tom Cruise, Collin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max Von Sydlow, Tim Blake Nelson, and Arye Gross.
Directed By: Steven Speilberg
Rated: PG-13 (Blunt warning: There's real creepy stuff in this - leave the wee ones home)

WANT THE SOUNDTRACK? EMAIL ME (while supplies last- courtesy of Dreamworks Music)

Minority Report is major entertainment and truly mesmerizing science fiction!

This may be, perhaps, Tom Cruise's finest role. And Steven Spielberg, who is by far one of our greatest celluloid story tellers, delivers his tall tale head held high like the master craftsman of make believe he's become. Heck he seems to have always been.

Story goes..... it's 2054 and an organization called the Department of Precrime has developed an infallible way of preventing murders; they simply interrupt perpetrator before they actually get to the killin'. How? Well, I don't want to ruin that for you, but I will say, it involves three creepy semi-submerged uber beings that survived from genetic testing gone bad….

From their watery liar they spit out detailed, yet cryptic, visions. These visions are more like short films, if you will, of a victim being done-in and the killer red handed. The information is streamed from these glowing sci-fi mind wave reader gadgets perpetually attached to their heads.

The Precognants, as the three are called, are able to give the Precrime facility the victim and the killer's name, as well as the date and time within all the horrific images. The department's "pre-cops" then peruse the images, search databases and piece together the puzzle with the goal of getting to the scene before the event actually happens. They then burst in and the would be killer is arrested for the crime he was a nanosecond from completing and stored in a test tubey thingy prison cell back at the Department of Pre-Crime.

The top pre-crime cop at the facility is John Anderton (Tom -looking hunky there Mr.- Cruise). He whips through the visual file the Precognants have spit out for him from their precious life saving minds.

Today however they say it is John Anderton who will absolutely kill Leo Crowe in less then two days. They are never wrong…..

John can't think of anyone he would need to kill in the next couple of days, but as a man disclosed by the all-seeing three as a killer, he must flee if he hopes to save himself from getting the "halo" and being thrown into the test tube for killers back at the department. Can he find out why, suddenly, an infallible system of pointing out criminals of heinous crimes has suddenly made such a dramatic and obvious mistake? Mmmm, could be.

Okay does that story sound great or what? Talk about an exciting and original premise! And as if the sci-fi squared tale were not tall enough, you get the exalted Grand Poobah of directors behind the lens, Spielberg. I will say though, Stevie always has to go and Spielberg up his stories…you know what I mean; wacky comic relief and oh-so-perfect- fluff-n-nutter parts that make you want to upchuck!

Which reminds me you may want to pack your MPB© (Movie Puke Bag) for this one. There's an operation scene that will go down in the film archives within the top ten " nausea and uncontrollable squirming by audience members causing scene" award. And for the film buffs in the readership watch for the LA Confidential scene…you'll know it when you see it!

Tim Blake Nelson has a smaller but wonderful role as Pre-crime's kind of gatekeeper Gideon. Just off enough to make you feel something's fishy.

Colin Farrell is mesmerizingly handsome. It was hard to focus on his character, the weasely McCathy-era esque Ed Witwer, with all that protein - heavy studmuffinness filling the screen. His career is taking off and rightfully so because sure he's delectably edible like kebabs gently grilled and dripping with succulent juices urging you to nibble slowly to keep the magic of the moment as long as possible, but he's also a talented actor who diversifies and delivers with each character shift. Yum-o-rama!

Tom Cruise is all beefcaked up and running around so much he makes the M.I. guy look like a spy- hack. Minority Report's John Anderton is a great, great role for this guy. For this handsome, handsome honey glazed donut of a guy!

Minority Report is sci-fi so don't pick away at the story too deep. Go in with a child-like belief and enjoy. The team with Spielberg has created another futuristic world that is less ominous, much smoother, more believable and a genuine hoot to peak at than last year's A.I..

Be sure to pay no attention to how fast Cruise seems to heel after a particularly dramatic surgery. Just go along for the ride and break open that left side of your mind for a few hours!

Snack recommendation: Ben and Jerry's Pepsi float paid via American Express.

Official Site great details on the behind the scenes stuff!