Tag: actor

Will Tom Cruise Ever Win An Oscar?

Tom Cruise is one of the best stars to set foot in Hollywood. His risk-taking in films, performance, and versatility drew fans toward him. He’s been a fan favorite since Risky Business. Cruise has a lot of successful films under his belt. He’s won three Golden Globes (Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia), but he hasn’t won an Oscar yet. Will Tom Cruise ever win an Oscar?

Tom Cruise is one of the highest-grossing box office stars of all time. He has delivered so many impressive performances. Cruise is known for many films like Top Gun, Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Interview with the Vampire, Jerry McGuire, Collateral, Minority Report, etc. He’s been consistent and dominant for years. 

Tom Cruise should’ve won an Oscar for his performance in Magnolia. He won a Golden Globe but not an Oscar. No disrespect to Michael Caine. He’s one of the greatest actors of all time. He did a great job in The Cider House Rules, but Best Supporting Actor should’ve gone to Cruise. 1999 is one of the best years in Cinema: Magnolia, Fight Club, The Matrix, The Mummy; the list goes on and on. If you saw Tom Cruise in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, you saw how special he was in that pictures. There’s one scene where he took his performance through the stratosphere. The scene with him and his dying father solidified the movie. When you think about one memorable scene in Magnolia, you think about Tom Cruise visiting his father, whom he didn’t have the most significant relationship with. 

Cruise should’ve been nominated for his performance in Rain Man. It’s ridiculous that he didn’t get nominated. Cruise and Dustin Hoffmann were two-person shows in that film. Hoffman won Best Actor for his role. Cruise should’ve been nominated for Supporting Actor.

We hope that before Tom Cruise leaves this earth, he can win an Oscar. He deserves it. It doesn’t matter what you think about him and Scientology, but his track record speaks for itself. 

Hulu’s 90’s Kid Documentary

Hulu’s 90’s Kid documentary was released two days ago. If you’re an 80s and early 90s baby, then you will definitely enjoy this documentary. As a teenager in the 90s, actress Soleil Moon Frye carried a camera everywhere she went. In this documentary, you see appearances from Brian Austin Green, Mark Paul Gosselaar, David Arquette and more young actors whom Frye is friends with. Frye captured other actors in her camera such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kevin Connolly.

I enjoyed this documentary. Frye revealed a lot about herself that we didn’t know before. She has kept old tapes and diaries that she shared in the documentary. It was very bold and brave of her to share these things. Frye shared her struggles in Hollywood. The industry didn’t take her seriously because people would be focusing too much on her breast. Frye decided to take action and had surgery. She tried to get away from the “Punky Brewster” image that people couldn’t get rid of their minds.

I remember seeing Soleil Moon Frye when she made an appearance on Saved by the Bell. When I realized it was her in the documentary, I said to myself, “Oh snap! That’s her?” I also think it was good for both Soleil and Mark to mention that when you’re a teenager in Hollywood, they treat and look at you as an adult. Mark said that he doesn’t want his kids in the business because of the things he saw.

This documentary’s sad moment is when we see these young artists died so young and so suddenly. You had a lot of them commit suicide. Frye said that she couldn’t believe that she didn’t pay too much attention back then when she said some of her friends were feeling lonely to the point where they committed suicide. For example, Jonathan Brandis. He was a young actor and was good friends with Frye. Frye cried while going back and listening old voicemail from Brandis. He died by suicide in 2003. Frye feels some guilt for not seeing the pain he was going through.

Frye seems to be in a better life now. She’s married with four kids.

Natalie Desselle-Reid

Actress Natalie Desselle-Reid has died of color cancer. She was 53 years old.

I first knew who Natalie was when she did the sitcom ‘Eve,’ which ran for four seasons on the UPN Network. She had that funny and attitude personality on screen. There was something about her that made you want to like her. When I heard about her passing, it caught me off guard. I also haven’t thought about her in a long time.

What makes it so crazy is that she posted on her Instagram 15 hours before she passed away. It’s so unbelievable how death can be so close to us. We never know when our day will come.

Natalie is not just known for Eve; she was also in Def Jam’s How To Be A Player starring with actor and comedian Bill Bellamy. This was the second time I saw Natalie on screen. How To Be A Player came out six years before Eve, but I realized who she was the other way around. This usually happens to me. I find out who a particular actor is when that actor has been around for a while. Therefore, I’m generally late finding out “who’s this?” and “who’s that?”

I hate that cancer took away another actor this year. Chadwick Boseman also died of color cancer, which caught all of us by surprise. We felt like he had so much more left to give. It’s unfortunate. Many prayers go out to Natalie’s family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace!

Raising Victor Vargas

Raising Victor Vargas is a classic Romantic/Drama independent film. I can’t believe that it took me 18 years to learn about this film.

The 2002 film is about a Dominican teenager (Victor Vargas) played by Victor Rasuk, who has nothing but girls on his mind. He is very smooth-talking with the ladies, but he falls for a cute girl (Judy Jimenez) played by Judy Marte, who is out of his league. Victor tries to do everything to get her attention. He also has to deal with his grandmother’s strictness, raising him and his two other siblings. The setting takes place in the Lower East Side. One of the things I spotted in the movie is the Hamilton Fish Pool. I’ve been to that pool twice.

I enjoyed this film for many reasons:
1) The main characters are Dominicans in real life—great all-around performances.
2) It’s a natural coming of age story that is not stereotypical. Real and heartwarming.
3) The grandmother’s chemistry with the three teenagers reminds me of my grandmother raising me and my sisters. When my parents would go to work, she would take care of us. My grandmother was strict, but not overly strict, and she was very loving.

I first discovered who Victor Rasuk was when he appeared in the movie, Feel The Noise, starring Omarion. Seeing him in this film felt like I’m watching him backward because Raising Victor Vargas came out way before Feel The Noise. This also applies to Melonie Diaz.

Melonie Diaz is a supporting actress in this film. However, I first learned about Melonie in another independent film, and the movie I’m talking about is the heartbreaking Fruitvale Station, starring Michael B. Jordan.

Melonie is a talented actress, and she’s going to continue to be around for years to come.

Raising Victor Vargas is streaming on platforms such as Netflix, Tubi, and Amazon Prime. I highly recommend you should watch this coming of age film.

***I do not own the rights to the image