Cloud Atlas mini-review

undefined

Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 1:51 PM by Dave Winer.

undefined

The critics didn't like Cloud Atlas, so I almost didn't see it. That would have been a mistake, because I loved the movie. Much more than some other movies that got universally good reviews -- Lincoln, Flight and Argo, all of which I thought were yawners.
I loved the way they wove all the stories together, and how they all reached the same places at the same time.
Most important, it's very much a continuation of The Matrix series. Hugo Weaving even plays the Agent Smith role in a couple of the segments. And like Argo, it mixes slapstick comedy with heavy action, but unlike Argo, they make it work.
- I think the nurse in one of the segments was played by Weaving in drag?
  - Update: Yes indeed!
I like movies that make simple political points, and I like the message of The Matrix, and I like that they picked it up in Cloud Atlas.
- The simple message -- non-conformist -- be original, don't be a clone!
Some of the reviewers said the story was confusing, but I wasn't even slightly confused. And I liked that it's also a love story, like The Matrix, but it's sweeter and grabs you at a more emotional level. Not to take anything away from The Matrix which is one of my all-time favorites.
NakedJen arrives tomorrow for our annual film festival, and I'm going to recommend that she see Cloud Atlas after we see the three Matrix movies. And if you've seen and loved The Matrix, I highly recommend seeing Cloud Atlas. Unfortunately it's probably too late to see it in theaters around the country. It's still playing in NYC on 42nd St and in Kew Gardens.
Moral of the story -- if critics universally pan a movie that don't mean they're right! :-)