Cloud Atlas
October 29, 2012
4 stars out of 5
The reviews of this film are all over the lot. I haven't listened to the Fresh Air review, but I think the title, "You'd be better off reading the book" kind of gives away where it is going. The New Yorker kind of liked it, as did the San Francisco Chronicle. Rotten Tomatoes shows 61% critic approval, 78% audience approval (compare that to 93% for Looper). I try to review neither the reviews nor the budget (in this case $100 million), but I like the Chronicle take on the film's central points: you can triumph over evil, but evil always reappears, and souls rotate through many lives. The makeup and special effects are amazing, and I cried. Now, I admit it is easy for me to be manipulated, but I was bawling by the end; in short Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis that deeply moved me with the help of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon and even more all-star cast). Go see it. You'll either think it is great or pretentious, but you're likely to enjoy it. You know how I hate long movies; this one was three hours and I still loved it. Hello Oscar!
The reviews of this film are all over the lot. I haven't listened to the Fresh Air review, but I think the title, "You'd be better off reading the book" kind of gives away where it is going. The New Yorker kind of liked it, as did the San Francisco Chronicle. Rotten Tomatoes shows 61% critic approval, 78% audience approval (compare that to 93% for Looper). I try to review neither the reviews nor the budget (in this case $100 million), but I like the Chronicle take on the film's central points: you can triumph over evil, but evil always reappears, and souls rotate through many lives. The makeup and special effects are amazing, and I cried. Now, I admit it is easy for me to be manipulated, but I was bawling by the end; in short Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis that deeply moved me with the help of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon and even more all-star cast). Go see it. You'll either think it is great or pretentious, but you're likely to enjoy it. You know how I hate long movies; this one was three hours and I still loved it. Hello Oscar!