LD movie pick of the Week....Cloud Atlas!

     Have you ever had that feeling when you meet someone....that it wasnt the first time...that feeling of Deja Vu. I have certainly had that feeling in my life and so it was easy for me to connect to the movie Cloud Atlas. Cloud Atlas is entirely about how our lives our connected through the past, present, and future and how every choice you make in your current lifetime will effect your next life. The idea behind the movie is so deep and poetic that you cant help but leave the theater wandering..."Who was I in my past life" and you find yourself looking more closely at the choices you make in this one. Every kindness and every cruelty become the factors that either enrich your next life or take away from it.

     The movie stars long list of talente actors including Tom Hanks and Halle Berry , Jim Broadbant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Susan Surandon, Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Keith David, David Gyasi, and Xun Zhou. Whew...just writing them all is exhausting! But I had to mention all of them because like in the movie...they all are extremely important parts and all are connected. Each actor has the challenge of playing 5-6 different characters all from the past, present, and future. Every single actor was phenomenal and so believable that you become apart of the movie..you feel the connections between all of the characters and you start to believe.

     I could see the only criticism to this movie is that it is hard to follow all the connections between characters and find the meaning behind their choices because the movie does jump around from different time periods and different character relationships. The highlight of the movie for me was the relationships between Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess) and Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) . Sonmi-451 is a droid like being in the future who tries to escape her captivity and save her people and is rescued by Hae-Joo-Chang who believes she is the key to saving the world. They have such a strong connection to each other and fall completely in love...the acting is so superb and the emotion conveyed by them makes every other character relationship between the two REAL. That is what you call AMAZING ACTING!

      I could go on and on about the acting but let me throw a nod to the makeup and costume design ....incredibly artistic , lightyears ahead of its time (literally), and also a key factor in making these characters believable.  I predict some Oscars are coming their way! With three different directors they better get an Oscar nod for directing too! Im on board for seeing this movie grab some gold statues. Even though the other reviews say its confusing, all over place, yada yada yada....who cares!? This movie is an ART PIECE with a core that makes you think about life, love, and choices. Every now and then you need a movie like this that makes you think....and this is the one.

SEE IT.