Tom Cruise has returned to save movie theaters once again by delivering another perfect movie: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. We compare Dead Reckoning to other "part one" movies from this summer (especially Fast & Furious, over and over), talk about how the movie nails the blend of returning and new characters, and revel in the fra…

For the first time in four years, Tom Cruise has felt the need... the need to make a new movie! He's back with Top Gun: Maverick, and we're here to cover it in full spoilery detail. We talk about Tom Cruise's triumphant return to movies in a role that seems to reflect back on his career and in a movie that seamlessly continues the story from 36 yea…

At long last, the time has come to (once again) don our tuxedos and roll out the red carpet. Welcome to The Cruisies: The Tom Cruise Awards! All podcast long, we’ve talked about our favorite (and least favorite) parts of Tom Cruise’s movies, and we announced our official selections for the best and worst of what Tom Cruise’s filmography has to offe…

Before we take a few weeks off to let the votes tally up for the Cruisies (The Tom Cruise Awards), we're working our way through one more episode, and we're ranking Tom Cruise's movies. As always, there's a weird alchemy here that doesn't quite make sense, as we combine the movie's "quality" with Cruise's performance, add a dash of how much we like…

We may have covered every movie that stars or features Tom Cruise, but there's a whole body of work that he's done that we haven't covered. Welcome to the Tom Cruise Clip Show! In this episode, we're working our way through a cameo appearances in movies and TV shows, as well as some stunt videos and late night appearances that surfaced on YouTube. …

We've watched and podcasted about all 42 movies that Tom Cruise has made so far. Each episode, we've talked about our favorite and least favorite moments, and we've ended each episode by nominating that movie for awards that showcase the very best (and very worst) that Tom Cruise's filmography has to offer. We've pared down our lists, and -- at lon…

It's all led to this. Not only is Mission: Impossible - Fallout the final installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise (so far), but it also marks the final movie in Tom Cruise's filmography (also, so far). All we can say is... what a way to go out! We're joined by Zack DeZon to HALO jump out of a plane and talk about all the action, excitement…

We're running drugs, guns, and "freedom fighters" from Arkansas to Nicaragua to Panama -- and back again -- as we take off and chat about American Made! We're, ahem, running out of runway on #CruiseClub, with only one more movie to cover after American Made (a little indie called Mission: Impossible - Fallout), but we're going out in style as Cruis…

While the Dark Universe never came to fruition, we'll always have The Mummy. But is Tom Cruise the Mummy? By the end of the movie, the answer is unclear. The world may never know what this ragtag bunch of misfits' series of adventures would entail, but joining us to talk about the first installment is Kate Hudson (#HudsonFive). In this episode, we …

Aside from the Mission: Impossible series, Tom Cruise isn't one to dabble in sequels, which makes Jack Reacher: Never Go Back all the more unusual. Based on the 18th (!!!) novel in the series, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back feels like a much later entry in the franchise than a first sequel. How could the creative team possibly be out of ideas already?…

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation has to do some serious heavy lifting, far more so than any other movie in the franchise. Not only does it have to tell an engaging, standalone story, but it's asked to follow the events of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol more closely than any previous installment has done, while also setting things up for Mis…

It's truly a shame that Edge of Tomorrow didn't do well in theaters -- so poorly, in fact, that it was later retitled Live Die Repeat -- because it's one of Tom Cruise's best movies yet. With the benefit of hindsight (as well as tastes that almost perfectly align with what this movie's trying to do), we're able to see Edge of Tomorrow as the master…

One year before Tom Cruise starred in Edge of Tomorrow (and blew our collective minds), he found himself in another big-budget sci-fi movie: Oblivion. The finished product doesn't quite hold up as well as his next film will, but there's a lot to admire here, and even more to pick apart. We're joined by Matt Delhauer (The Ginger Geek Podcast) to tal…

Jack Reacher is a by the book action thriller. Jack Reacher is an action movie that subverts your every expectation. What *is* Jack Reacher? We're trying to figure out why the latest new franchise for Tom Cruise works as well as it does, almost in spite of the overwhelming odds its script hurls against it. We also talk about the palpable sexual ten…

Rock of Ages marks the beginning of the end for #CruiseClub, in a way. For the final time (to date, anyway), Tom Cruise is not the star of a movie. Joining us to talk about all of the chaos of Rock of Ages are both of the co-hosts of The Contenders: Aislinn Addington and Tobin Addington. In this episode, we talk about the many types of chaos in the…

Going from Mission: Impossible – Ultra Lite (Knight and Day) to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol offers one of the more eye-opening turnarounds in #CruiseClub so far. The latest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise (to this point in the podcast's timeline, anyway) may mark both the franchise's high-water mark, as well as the podcast…

What if Ethan Hunt had to drag you along while on a mission to save the world? Does Ethan Hunt (or, in this case, "Ethan Hunt") ever truly go rogue? Should you trust a stranger? What if that stranger looks and acts like Tom Cruise? What if Gal Gadot shows up out of nowhere? These are just some of the many questions Knight and Day asks, and we're de…

We continue our journey through the "lesser known" portion of #CruiseClub with Valkyrie, a movie where Tom Cruise tries to kill Adolf Hitler. Joining us to talk about this film is John Brooks, fresh off his appearance last week on our Toy Story 2 episode on #HANX for the Memories! We discuss Cruise's portrayal of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, how…

Four of the next five movies we're covering in #CruiseClub -- Tropic Thunder, Valkyrie, Knight and Day, and Rock of Ages -- along with our last episode (Lions for Lambs) represent most of the biggest unknowns (to us, anyway) for the rest of #CruiseClub. Tropic Thunder continues this mini-run with a very uncommon role for Tom Cruise: supporting acto…

By this point in Tom Cruise's career -- we're barely over a decade away from catching up -- there are very few surprises left. We've seen (and love!) just about everything that's coming up for the rest of this show's run. Then, there's Lions for Lambs, a movie neither of us had ever seen, and neither of us knew anything about. What a world this is …

Your mission, once again, should you choose to accept it, is to listen to our #CruiseClub episode about Mission: Impossible III! In this episode, we're joined by Dan Colon to help us figure out how the third installment in the franchise compares to the other Mission: Impossible movies, and whether it lives up to our hype our memories had created. W…

Three years after teaming up for Minority Report, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise reunited once again for War of the Worlds. To talk about their second (and, to date, final) collaboration, we're welcoming in Jeremy Kelly, our (brace yourself for this hyper-specific title) resident mid-2000s sci-fi remake expert. In this episode, we talk about the w…

Rarely in his career does Tom Cruise play a villain, which is part of what makes Collateral so special. The other special part: this movie rules! Joining us to talk about Michael Mann’s film is Tobin Addington of The Contenders podcast. In this episode, we talk about Cruise’s ability to blend into the background, the seemingly arbitrary distinction…

It’s time to tackle another historical epic on #CruiseClub, and we’re heading to Japan in the 1870s to talk about Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. Joining us on this journey back in time is our resident Japanese expert, Holly Gore. In this episode, we talk about whether or not this movie falls victim to the white savior syndrome, whether or not it “…

With Minority Report, we’ve officially entered the Steven Spielberg era of #CruiseClub, as two of Tom Cruise’s next four movies will see the two legends of the big screen team up. We saw this one coming, though, even before it was made. Joining us from the milky depths of our precog tank are two first-time guests to the TomTom Club: Nicole Sweeney …

Open your eyes... it’s time for a new episode of #CruiseClub! Tom Cruise teamed up with Cameron Crowe once again for 2001’s Vanilla Sky, another movie falling squarely into this era of challenging movies and roles. To help us make sense of the dream logic in this one, we’re joined by two brand new guests to the TomTom Club: Zack DeZon and Alissa La…

All we wanted to do was spend our "holiday" free soloing some mountains in Utah, but we got a rocket shot at us, telling us to do a podcast episode about Mission: Impossible II, so here we are. To help us break down the second installment in one of the best franchises in cinematic history is Austin Wolf-Sothern of Cinema Stories on YouTube. In this…

We continue to mount the world from the lofty heights offered by #CruiseClub as we talk about Magnolia, our second movie in a row made by one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time. Joining us to talk about Paul Thomas Anderson’s sweeping epic are Tobin Addington of The Contenders, as well as our religion expert, John Brooks. In this episode, we ta…

#CruiseClub has been nearly a flawless journey so far, and we’re still ascending! In 1999, Tom Cruise released what many people consider to be two of the best movies of all-time: Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia. We’ll get to Magnolia in two weeks, but the time has come to finally cover Stanley Kubrick on the podcast network, and boy was this discussion…

After the action-fueled highs of Mission: Impossible in our last episode, it's time for Cruise to wade into the romantic comedy waters and snag himself a Golden Globe for his role as the titular Jerry Maguire! We're going guest-less in this episode, but there's more than enough to talk about, like our admiration for the breakout performance of Rene…

Your mission, should you choose/decide to accept it, is to listen to this episode of #CruiseClub about Mission: Impossible. In this episode, we officially (and sort of unknowingly) enter Phase II of #CruiseClub! While Tom Cruise had already been in major movies, his emergence as Ethan Hunt elevates him to another level in his career. In this episod…

Tom Cruise goes full horror as he becomes immortal and complains about Brad Pitt’s whining in Interview with the Vampire! Nick Jenkins of Reel Bad and Darcy DuBose of KeanuClub (no relation, kind of) stop by to talk about the theatricality of Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt, Kirsten Dunst acting far beyond her years, and whether or not Brad Pitt and …

If it didn't immediately follow A Few Good Men, seeing Tom Cruise as a lawyer in The Firm may have been a revelation. Instead... it's a bit of a mixed bag. But, importantly, a mixed bag we all mostly like! Joining us to talk about a pre-make of The Devil’s Advocate (minus the supernatural elements) is Tobin Addington of The Contenders. We discuss t…

You want the truth? You can’t handle how good this movie is! #CruiseClub keeps on churning out one hit after another. This time: A Few Good Men. We’re heading down to Guantanamo Bay to begin our investigation — and pick up Tobin Addington of The Contenders along the way — then heading back north, grabbing our thinking bats, and diving deep into the…

It’s a testament to the incredibly deep filmography of Tom Cruise that Far and Away is as great as it is, and yet no one talks about it among Cruise’s best films! Looking down the barrel of a nearly 2.5 hour Irish epic may be intimidating, but #CruiseClub hasn’t let us down so far, and this is no exception. Joining us on this episode is Michael Dom…

Don’t you dare call Days of Thunder “Top Gun on the ground.” It’s so much more than that! Crack open your Mello Yello and join us in Victory Circle. In this episode, we welcome back Greg MacLennan of the Alamo Drafthouse to talk about a Tom Cruise movie he loves so much that he bought a 70mm print to screen at a Cruise Control marathon. We discuss …

The hits keep on coming! Born on the Fourth of July is an important marker in the history of #CruiseClub as it represents Tom Cruise's first Academy Award nomination, and joining us to talk about this movie is Jeremy Kelly. In this episode, we discuss the studio's hesitation to cast Cruise -- and why they shouldn't have worried -- as well as Tom Cr…

Rain Man represents a pretty wild departure from the roles Tom Cruise has taken so far in his career, but we’re not complaining! Joining us to talk about the Cruise role that Michael Caine says is one of his all-time favorite is Jordan Polan-Clarke of Wistful Thinking, who is sparkly and looks like a holiday. In this episode, we talk about Valeria …

Cocktail, winner of the Razzy Award for Worst Picture, has been called Tom Cruise’s worst movie of all-time. But is it really that bad? Joining us to answer that question are Kyle Reinfried of Foodie Films and Austin Wolf-Sothern of Cinema Stories on YouTube. In this episode, we discuss the highs and lows of Cocktail, admire the way Elisabeth Shue …

After a series of movies starring Tom Cruise, The Color of Money puts him in the co-pilot’s chair as he cedes the spotlight to Paul Newman. Or does he? The Color of Money masterfully tells the story of two grifters, hustlers, and pool sharks, and we’re joined by Greg MacLennan to gush all about it. In this episode, we admire Tom Cruise’s samurai da…

We've got the need... the need to podcast about the Academy Award-winning film Top Gun! Joining us to take down these bogeys is our resident action film expert, Dan "The Duke" Hayden. Our egos are writing checks that our bodies can't cash. In this episode, we talk about the timeless cool of Tom Cruise as Maverick, how this movie is pure propaganda …

Legend is, by far, the weirdest movie that stars Tom Cruise so far in his career, and may be the weirdest movie he’s ever done. But is it any good? To make sense of this fabulous world (and its many, many acting choices), we brought in Darcy DuBose and Jess “MonTEZ” Collins. Legend is Jess’s favorite movie of all time — and one of Darcy’s ten or so…

While we don’t have our resident Yinzer on the podcast to talk about the set-in-Pittsburgh film All the Right Moves, we’ve welcomed in our resident high school expert to talk about Tom Cruise as a defensive back on his high school football team. Brian Rodriguez of High School Slumber Party drops by again as we discuss the realism of the football ac…

Risky Business is Tom Cruise’s first Very Important Movie in his career, so we had to bring in some big names to talk about it! We’ve got Brian Rodriguez (host of High School Slumber Party) and Walt Hickey (of Numlock News) sliding into frame in their underwear, button down shirt, and Wayfarers. In this episode, we talk about Tom Cruise’s baby fat,…

Losin’ It marks Tom Cruise’s first starring role… and also his worst movie to date. While it’s not a terrible movie, it’s a bit of a mess and doesn’t know whether it wants to be a sex comedy or an emotional, heartfelt drama. To help us make sense of Losin’ It, we’re joined by Christian Larson, the co-host of Monkey Club. We’re packing our bags, rob…

The Outsiders marks Tom Cruise's final supporting role for more than 15 years, which both fits right in line with our two movies so far and sets up an exciting future ahead! In this episode, we welcome in Aislinn Addington of The Contenders to discuss Cruise's character, his teeth, and his ravenous love of chocolate cake. We also wonder what this m…

#CruiseClub keeps on trucking with Taps, Tom Cruise's second role. While he's not yet the lead, he's once again a crucial (and manic!) part of the plot, and he can be found in far more of the movie than his 48 seconds of glory in Endless Love. Join us as we watch Cruise transform from a rigid military man (military boy?) to one entrenched in a war …

While Tom Cruise pops up in just one short scene of (the very problematic) Endless Love, it's hard not to admire this movie for the sweet, sweet trash that it is. The sexual tension is in the air on this inaugural episode of #CruiseClub as Joey and Mike discuss Tom Cruise's first role, the uncomfortable age disparity between our two leads, and the …

Joey and Mike have covered the ups and downs of the careers of Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and more. Then, they had an epiphany: why not watch good movies? In January 2019, they'll start watching every Tom Cruise movie, whose hits far outweigh his misses. Join them! The first episode drops January 4, 2019!…