I’m sure I’m not the only one who has described this as Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers. During a war with an invading alien race, Tom Cruise is a public relations officer for the military who is forced into combat after angering General Brendan Gleeson. During his first mission, he’s squirted with alien blood which causes him to reboot back to the same day any time he is killed. It’s a surprisingly entertaining bit of sci-fi adventure, making great use of Cruise’s charm and advancing age paired with Emily Blunt as a somewhat unlikely super soldier, that manages to maintain a level of humor amidst its high stakes.    

When Jean Arthur’s soldier husband Lee Bowman returns on leave for the first time, they feel they have nothing in common and find themselves in divorce court. Her father Charles Coburn convinces the judge that they just need to rediscover what got them together in the first place and they are sent to relive their first days together in San Francisco. It’s a very silly premise that it doesn’t even bother holding true to half the time. It still remains light and cute with a couple of sweet romantic touches, but does not make enough use of Arthur’s talents nor does it feature enough of Coburn. It strikes me as very weird that their child is put into protective custody when his parents are forced to go to San Francisco when there’s a perfectly capable grandfather at home.  

For six years despite reservations, Kristen Stewart agrees to act as the embodiment of her sister-in-law Laura Dern’s literary persona/avatar. Other than reading the blurb for the film, I was previously ignorant of the actual J.T. LeRoy controversy and the story is interesting enough that I’m curious how a documentary would handle it. The leads are expertly cast as Dern is completely believable as the quirky, pushy, new-agey writer, as is Stewart as the awkward, unsure, gender fluid relative who is pressured into continuing the charade.