The Career of Tom Cruise

I just watched 'Valkyrie' staring Tom Cruise. Cruise is easily one of my favorite actors of all time, right up there with Harrison Ford. I don't care about his Scientology, I don't care that he's a little weird. I love most of his movies.

So that got me thinking about which were his best. So here are my top 10 Tom Cruise movies:

1. 'A Few Good Men' (1992)
2. 'The Last Samurai' (2003)
3. 'Top Gun' (1986)
4. 'Mission: Impossible' (1996)
5. 'Jerry Maguire' (1996)
6. 'Rain Man' (1988)
7. 'Mission: Impossible III' (2006)
8. 'The Firm' (1993)
9. 'Valkyrie' (2008)
10. 'The Outsiders' (1983)

What a fascinating list, spanning 25 years, and crossing roles from a Nazi rebel to a spy to a military lawyer. Cruise brings his trademark intensity to every single one of these roles.

Now, my least favorite, starting with the worst:

1. 'Days of Thunder' (1990)
2. 'Risky Business' (1983)
3. 'The Color of Money' (1986)
4. 'Minority Report' (2002)

Don't like any of these movies, all of which I've only seen once (though I've seen parts of 'Risky Business' many times).

'Valkyrie' just confirmed Cruise as one of my favorites and made me want to break out some of the other Cruise top ten. It was a very watchable movie, based in reality with good acting and a compelling story.

I'm always up for a good Cruise flick.