• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

'Cloud Atlas' (2012) Wachowski Brothers rumors/info until release

This movie blew me away. A narrative containing six different stories should feel incredibly disjointed, especially when the connections are tenuous. This managed it, though. Each story was just as engaging as the next. I was never annoyed when they cut away to a different story because I was interested in every single one of them. And the makeup, oh man the makeup. If any other film wins the Oscar for makeup this year, it will be a travesty. This is one of my favorites of the year, and I certainly need to go see it again.
 
It's decent. Some of the changes made to condense the story work fine, others try to make it more "Hollywood" and lose some of the original's appeal (particularly pronounced in the Sonmi and Zachry stories).

Jim Broadbent (the most convincing multi-part player in the cast) and Bae Doona were the cast standouts. I'm not sure Tom Hanks or Halle Berry really have the kind of chameleon quality this sort of film calls for (though Hanks as a Cockney thug isn't something I'd ever expected to see).
 
Saw this saturday night. made the mistake of getting up at 5 am and going to a 10pm 3 hour long movie. Going to need to see it again. Hank's accents were pretty mumbled and it's tough to pick out the "true true" Future Language. Maybe with time this will become something special
 
Saw it Saturday. Id have sat thru 10 hours more.

Same here. I was surprised when some people said it was hard to follow if you hadn't read the book. I haven't read the book and I was able to follow it quite easily. It just took a little time getting used to the future speak, but even that became second nature after a while.

The narratives themselves were actually pretty straightforward, and it wasn't hard to keep track of them at all.
 
You simply cant turn your brain off and watch 'sploshuns....

This is a thinker. Thank Gods. Finally Highbrow Sci Fi.
 
^ About that...

It was character names like 'Bill Smoke' and 'Boardman Mephi' (as in Mephistopheles) that sold it for me. Also, isn't "Ol' Georgie" a popular nickname for Satan?
 
I was assigned the book as part of my university studies (my DoS was a fan). I had no idea a film had been made. How do I miss these things?

I'd better make sure I see it at some point.
 
^ About that...

It was character names like 'Bill Smoke' and 'Boardman Mephi' (as in Mephistopheles) that sold it for me. Also, isn't "Ol' Georgie" a popular nickname for Satan?

While I agree that those are deliberate references to the Devil, it doesn't mean he was playing the Devil. Given the thematic fabric of the film, all you can say for certain is that his characters were allusions to the Devil. I just don't think this is the kind of film where you should take everything so literally--because even the film itself doesn't do that.
 
Saw it tonight. Not too bad, though I agree with some of the critical reviews I've read that the pacing could have been better. The film runs segments of all the stories simultaneously, and does do a good job of periodically switching between them, but I can see where viewers would find it confusing. I'm unfamiliar with the book, but the pacing seems different and somewhat more manageable.
 
Saw it today and liked it a lot. Didn't read the book and knew almost nothing about the story but I was able to follow it pretty well thanks to some deft editing. Really enjoyed the last quarter of it in particular. The story really came together nicely. Wouldn't mind seeing it again because I liked it so much and I know I missed some stuff.
 
So far, my favorite film of the year. It's not for everyone. A lot ot people' won't like it.

I like the ideas, that it had ideas at all, in a time when so few films have real ideas. Perhaps there was too many that balance was off and slightly more plotting might have worked well... and I kind of wish that there was something a bit more in the narrative and the imagery that connected these stories together in a very basic way.

But that's neither here nor there. What I liked was to sit down in a movie without knowing the whole story, or the characters ahead of time. Just totally get lost and be in the hands of the filmmakers.
 
I loved it. I loved the fact that it felt like I was watching seven different movies that were deftly woven together.

What it left me with was a feeling that I wanted MORE...especially of 2144. That was such a story rich environment that I wanted to know more about that world.
 
I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. It's a whole lot of movie and I need to see it again.

And it's definitely not for everyone, a couple in front of me got up and left about 2 hours into it.
 
I like the ideas, that it had ideas at all, in a time when so few films have real ideas.

See, these kinds of comments are starting to bug me.

There are LOTS of films with ideas that are released...but for whatever reason people don't know about them or don't go see them. "Films" aren't just movies made by Hollywood.

We Need To Talk About Kevin
Red Tails
The Grey
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Where Do We Go Now?
Moonrise Kingdom
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Take This Waltz
Cosmopolis
Robot & Frank
The Master
Looper
Argo
Holy Motors
...and yes, Cloud Atlas.

These are all well made films, with wonderful ideas, interesting themes and intelligent narratives. And these are just the films I know of. And they're not obscure. I've been able to see every one in the small Canadian city I live in.

That's a lot of movies in one year that have arguably lofty ideas for a time when, supposedly, "so few films have real ideas.

Don't just go see movies you see commercials on the TV for...get out there and discover some.
 
And it's definitely not for everyone, a couple in front of me got up and left about 2 hours into it.

It is a scientific fact that time is more precious these days than it used to be. Also, that crack ain't gonna smoke itself.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top