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Watched Cloud Atlas

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It’s not a movie, it’s a time machine. I don’t say this because Cloud Atlas is actually six stories in one that spans past, present and future, but because the movie started at 1:05, I blinked and then it was 4:00. The Wachowskis do such an amazing job of weaving the tales in and out like a tapestry, you hardly notice the time go by.

The film as a whole is about breaking out of the roles that society imposes on us. It’s about the patterns that humans seem to repeat, of those with power taking from those without, in order to grow their power. It’s also about love.

Like many of their previous movies, Cloud Atlas is very dense in dialog and rich in imagery. Each time period is distinctly portrayed in costuming, set design and dialect. Instead of telling the six parts one at a time, the filmmakers mix and match shifting from one to the other, like a well choreographed dance routine. It’s hard to describe the masterful job they’ve done here. You never get bored or distracted, even in a movie this long. I could easily have watched each story line as a separate movie. Especially the one in Neo-Seoul. I love Ridley Scott, but after this weekend, I desperately want Larry and Lana to do the Blade Runner sequel.

I don’t think anyone needs to be told that with a cast which includes no less than three Academy Award winners (Tom Hanks, Halley Berry and Jim Broadbent) the acting is superb. Every character is unique, wholely fleshed out and three dimensional, despite cast members each needing to play 3, 4, 5 and sometimes 6 different parts. Special mention needs to be given to Jim Sturgess. The man is a chameleon. He inhabits each person he plays so wholely you scarcely recognize it’s the same person playing them all.

I think with future viewings I’ll find even more layers, and when it is released on Bluray I will certainly make room for it on my shelf with the Matrix movies, Assassins and V for Vendetta (not Speed Racer though, sorry, everyone makes a mistake once in a while)

I have not read the book upon which the movie was based, but after I hit post on this blog entry, I’m heading to the Kobo store to see if it is available in e-book format.

 

Saw Dredd

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Jurys. Executioners. Judges. Real actors aren’t afraid to leave their masks on.

I liked this movie a lot and will definitely add it to my collection when it is released on Blu-ray. I have never read the comic book, but the movie has inspired me (unlike the Stalone version) to see if there any tpb or graphic novels I can get my hands on, since the disappointing box office showing makes it sound like there will not be a sequel.

The movie plays like an 80s cop movie in the vein of Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours, just set in a dystopian future. It starts with a crime to solve and ends with a hail of bullets and explosions. The pacing is great. Not once in the movies hour and a half did I feel like it dragged or felt the need to look at my watch. I also appreciated that the writer and director went with a “show don’t tell” approach to the story, letting the audience figure things out for themselves and keeping exposition scenes to a minimum.

The violence is graphic and brutal, some of it taking place in slow motion. Now, I watched Suckerpunch a couple of months ago, and the over use of slow motion was one of the many things I did not like about the movie. In Dredd the slow motion is a) used sparingly and b) punctuates the violence. It also has a purpose in the movie itself. Bullet time in the Matrix movies showed points where the characters were able to get their minds working fast to overcome the artificial constraits of the simulated world they inhabited. In every movie since, the directors used it just ‘cuz it looked cool. In Dredd the slow motion is used when someone is under the influence of a drug called Slo-mo.

What really stands out for me though is the acting. It is a rare actor who will allow themselves to have their face hidden, or intentionally made ugly for an entire movie. Here we had two. Karl Urban is able to project emotion and presence with 3/4 of his face hidden and Lena Headey’s beauty is completely submerged in the scared drug addict she portrays. I’m not sure people realize how hard it is for an actor to perform when their face is hidden, it’s why you’ll see less capable actors like Stalone or Andrew Garfield keep taking their helmets and masks off, but the more skilled performers like Urban and Tom Hardy will see it as a challenge. I mentioned this to my brother, and he likened it to Kane Hodder as Jason in the Friday the 13th movies. Jason has been played by several different actors, but people always seem to remember Kane’s portrayal best, as he is able to convey a sense of menace, danger, even evil, all without saying a word or even being able to see his face.

Like I said at the top, I loved this movie and only wish more people had gone to see it, just so that I could selfishly get to see sequels.