Cloud Atlas

digitalbeachbum
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Cloud Atlas

I went to see Cloud Atlas last night. I am usually pretty good at avoiding spoilers so you won't need to worry about my post.

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Be prepared. It is a three hour movie but it depends on the person because some people will have problems with the non-linear movement of the the multiple plots and lives of the main characters.

Yes, I said multiple plots cut across multiple characters in a non-linear way.

This means that you start out in one tense, then move back and forth with no apparent direction or timing. All plots are connected, but I won't give that away as it will take away the enjoyment of figuring it out yourself.

I will warn you. Don't get caught up in the "which actor is playing which character" in the various scenes. Some of the actors have a lot of makeup on and while I was able to figure out many of them, I found that it was more enjoyable to NOT LOOK through their makeup. Later though, my wife said that she was trying to connect the dots by trying to figure out which actor was under all the makeup.

This movie will win Oscars at multiple levels. The makeup and special effects are AMAZING; the cinematography is too.

The acting is very high on my charts but there are a few characters which lacked that extra substance to make them complete. Several scenes were left "unfinished" and I'm guessing the directors wanted to either save you another 30 minutes of film or they wanted to make you use your imagination. I think they could have spent a little extra effort to show more development but I'm nitpicking.

Speaking of nitpicking, I hate it when a movie comes out which has such a high level of complexity and then they screw up on stuff like "number of shots fired" or "safety glass doesn't break that way" type of mistake. I'm sure when I get the DVD that I will find more to nitpick.

Over all I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen. The sound and the high level of experience will make the movie more appealing than seeing it on a small screen. I saw it at a "fork and screen" and ate dinner while watching it. The cost was expensive but well worth the total experience.

Hang around for at least an extra ten minutes. They will show you who played which characters at the end of the movie. You'll be surprised.

8.5 out of 10