Vanilla Sky, 2001

Though Tom Cruise is mostly known for his starring roles in action flicks these days, I think his best movie is easily the sci-fi drama Vanilla Sky. The thing is that I cannot give away exactly why it is such a moving sci-fi movie without spoiling tons of it. I can at least set you up though: Cruise plays David Aames, a typical New York socialite playboy whose life comes together and falls apart as two major events happen, his meeting with Sofia (Penélope Cruz) and a car accident that disfigures his face and sense of self. As he reels from the impact of both, David begins to question himself and the reality around him.

Vanilla Sky is deeply sentimental and low-fi by all measures, which are not typical merits of what folks might deem the absolute best sci-fi movies, but I think the way that it manages to wrap up its psychological thriller trappings in the larger genre work. It also gave us one of the best movie soundtracks of all time and introduced me to one of my favorite songs, Spiritualized’s “Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space.” But ultimately, I think it just uses sci-fi to tell a story anyone can relate to: how do you deal with the loss of the love of your life? — Moises Taveras