War of the Worlds

For about the 10th time this weekend, Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" is on TNT. I know it has Scientology-era Tom Cruise in it, and I know it's not the greatest movie of all time, but seeing it in the theater was a great movie-going experience. I recall literally being on the edge of my seat and completely distraught during the scene where Ray (Cruise) and his son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) get into an altercation with a mob of pedestrians who want to take their minivan -- all while daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) is trapped in the back seat. So intense. And man, can Dakota Fanning scream.

Speaking of Justin Chatwin, I'm surprised that kid's career didn't take off after this movie. He was in one episode of "Lost" (a John Locke flashback episode, "Further Instructions," from season three) and had a starring role in the fantasy thriller "The Invisible," but otherwise hasn't done much. And according to IMDb, he's studying commerce at the University of British Columbia. Good on you, buddy.