cloud atlas
 

saw this. enjoyed it. have not read the book.

some will complain about its messages and how it's premise is cliche. some will complain about the length and/or that it's bloated. some will say it seems to lose its way midway through. they may not be wrong.

i quite liked it, though. there aren't many movies like this out there. yes it has flaws. in addition to the above, some of the makeup was especially distracting. however, for a movie jumping all over the place- many scenes barely last 1-2 minutes- i thought it was fairly easy to follow. the constantly changing scenery never got frustrating, and was actually fun to watch- what movies can claim to have british drama, sci-fi, quirky comedy, post-apocalyptic epic, and crime thriller settings all in one movie and have it make sense in the overall film? some of the acting was bad, some good (occasionally both types from the same person), but i do think the fact that the actors played so many roles actually helped to keep the story straight. had they used visual cues only (like the birthmark), i'm not certain it'd have been as easy to follow. visually, apart from the makeup issue, the movie is great to look at. see it on a good screen.

grade: B.873

i wanna see this. i loved the visuals in speed racer!

i'm going to see it with somebody who's really hyped about it. i'm not quite on his level... skeptical its not overly ambitious and all. but i'm seeing it on the largest screen available in the city so i'll get the full effect regardless

How come you've already seen it, Andy?

the walker art center had a sneak preview thing last night. best thing was that it was free- just had to show up early and get tix.