Cloud Atlas

I watched Cloud Atlas last night, and I have mixed feelings about it. I mean, it was probably the best movie I've seen all season, but that's not saying much since I didn't watch many other movies. While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, the plot confused the fuck out of me, and at the end of the film I just sat there, thinking, "wtf just happened?"

It's not as if I'm particularly dense: I did understand what was going on... but I only understood the stories separately. To me it was like watching 6 disjoint stories... all merged into one film for no particular reason. It was only when the credits rolled and I saw the actors that I was like, "OHHHH, OMG THAT GUY PLAYED THAT CHARACTER OHHH I DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING, MAKE UP IS SO COOL". But like... I should've been able to pick that up in the story. The make up artists were fucking amazing, but it went to the extent where I couldn't even recognize that it was the same actor, so that kind of destroyed the "reincarnation" and "continuity" theme for me.

I can't decide whether my favourite story is the one with Robert Frobisher and Sixsmith or the one set in Neo Seoul with the girl whose name I can't remember because I couldn't pronounce it. I do remember my heart wrenching at the scene when Sixsmith searches for Frobisher frantically, and I was thinking, "maan this is a great love story". But incorporating that into Cloud Atlas seemed to diminish it a little... It would've made a great movie on its own though. Same with the Neo Seoul scene: they could've played the emotional-philosophical thing sooo much better. But they tried doing too much at once and it sort of tangled itself.

My least favourite story was the one set in the most futuristic time, with some guy from a tribe hiding from cannibals or whatever. Yeeeah, I did not understand wtf was going on. Why is there a green man in a top hat hopping around? Like, where the fuck did he come from and wtf is he doing? Where is this story going? Why is the most futuristic time the most primitive? It's like I didn't know what was going on, but I was no interested in the back story either, if it wasn't being spoon-fed to me. I'm in a cinema, goddammit, I demand instant gratification.

Anyway, even after the confusing story and the trippy events, I still liked the movie. Maybe the good just outweighed the bad. The actors were like, veterans in their field, and they were quite amazing. If it wasn't for that, the movie would've been so much worse. I also liked how they managed to find an entire cast of attractive people. Not ONE of the main characters were unpleasant to look at...

And yes, the 2 stories I enjoyed the most were also the 2 stories where I found the cast most attractive. Shut up, it's not as shallow as it seems. STOP JUDGING ME.

^I could not recognize that as Jim Sturgess...

Conclusion: while I wouldn't say Cloud Atlas is the bestest thing ever, it is very good and definitely worth my money. It's one of those rare movies where I'd actually consider watching twice, in a cinema. And that's saying something, considering how stingy I am with my money, and how I reckon movie tickets are a waste, because I can buy a DVD or even a Blu-Ray in some cases for the same price.

....So yeah, go watch this one on the big screen. It's worth it.