2012: Week 42: Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi

Main Players: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent

General Gist: A story about how individual lives affect one another in the past, present and future.

Deb's Take:  
This movie was another one of those “thinker” type of movies.  There is a lot going on with so many characters and so many time lines, the movie can get confusing.  I was a little lost most of the time.  I felt like I needed to watch the movie a couple times in order to really figure out who was who and what was what.  The movie followed the lives of so many different people/past, present and future.  I tried to find the connection in each but know I missed some of it. 

The most amazing part of this movie was how many characters each actor played.  Tom Hanks played 7 different characters, Halle Berry did 6, and most of the others had 5-6 as well.  Not until the credits were running did I see who was who as some of them were so unrecognizable.  There definitely is outstanding acting.  I sort of felt like I was watching a play vs a movie because the actors “acted” so well.

The movie was a little to long and drawn out for me.  I found myself wondering if there was really a point, luckily, things did  have closure..which I like of course.  Wonderful acting, but a little too much bouncing back and forth for my taste. 

Deb's Rate: Matinee

Tiff's Take:
Yeah, this definitely was a thinker.  I too, like Deb, was confused for a lot of it.  I wasn't sure how it was all going to tie together.  I don't think it was until the last 20 minutes of the movie that I had a little ah ha moment.  But I'll be quite honest.  That ah ha moment wasn't a real clear one.  There's still a lot I missed. 

It sounds like I enjoyed the whole journey of it a little more than Deb. I liked the bouncing back and forth between stories and times.  And I liked how some of the stories were more serious then others.  The present day story was especially entertaining and gave a little comic relief. 

The acting was great but more importantly, the makeup was wonderful.  I imagine it was fun for the actors to play all those different parts and be a completely different person for each story.

And yes it was long but it didn't feel too long for me.  The only beef I have is, again, what's up with these bleak futures?   

Tiff's Rate: Friday Night 

Preview: A few more pre-screenings in the works.

 

Week 42: The Ides of March

For week 42 we went and saw The Ides of March. I'll be honest.  This easily could have been a movie I overlooked.  Political movies aren't really by favorite.  But I heard it was good and nothing else was really jumping out us.

The story is about a presidential campaign and the "workings" behind it.  The main character, Stephen, played by Ryan Gosling is sort of the PR brains behind a campaign for a presidential hopeful played by George Clooney.  He's young and dedicated to the candidate but finds trouble along the way and gets to see how things really work.  This movie gave a very interesting perspective into politics.  I always wonder why a politician can't stick to their views and beliefs and just do what they think is right.  This movie gives a glimpse into why it seems like it is never possible.  There are too many ulterior motives behind everything.  And I thought it was funny that of all the things going on in this movie the one thing that gets the guy in trouble is a woman.  What is it about men who just can't resist temptation even when there is so much at stake?  I'll never understand that. 

As far as the movie itself, it was a little slow moving.  I felt like 80% of the movie was building up to this climax and then when the climax hit the movie was over.  It was a little strange.  Although, that being said, it wasn't a bad movie.  It was interesting but it wasn't super exciting.  As far as acting, Ryan Gosling did a terrific job.  The movie was basically all about him.  Everyone else was just support.  Even George Clooney. 

To Sum it up: Lots of dynamics, a different way to view politics but a little slow going.