Live. Die. Repeat.—Edge of Tomorrow

Set in the near future as a brutal (and seemingly invincible) hive-like alien race—known as the Mimics—invades Earth, this exhilarating, action-packed sci-fi thriller stars Tom Cruise as U.S. Army Maj. William Cage, who handles military public relations for the United Defense Force. Terrified and totally inexperienced in combat, Cage is dispatched from London by Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) to the front lines on Normandy beach in France, where he is immediately killed. Inexplicably, Cage is then thrown into a confusing, yet continual time loop, in which Master Sgt. Farrell (Bill Paxton) forces him to re-live the harrowing bloodbath again and again in Groundhog Day fashion. But with each enemy encounter, Cage becomes more skilled, while also teaming up with a super soldier, Special Forces Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). Unlike his usual heroic roles, Cruise's character here starts out as a cocky, inept, cowardly underdog who discovers that he cannot talk his way out of this fight. But the sniveling Cage subtly undergoes a compelling arc, punctuated by slyly self-deprecating humor, while working with the merciless Vrataski on their objective: the destruction of an alien device called the Omega. Directed by Doug Limon and based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka's 2004 light novel All You Need is Kill, this mind-bending film (re-titled for home video release) is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Weapons of the Future” (8 min.) and “Creatures Not of this World” (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an “On the Edge with Doug Liman” behind-the-scenes featurette with the director (43 min.), a “Storming the Beach” making-of featurette (12 min.), deleted scenes (8 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray extras package for an entertaining sci-fi film.] (S. Granger)