Review: Cloud Atlas

Maybe We've Met Before – Somewhere in Time

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: October 26, 2012 – U.S.

Rating: R

Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Comedy, 

Romance, Thriller, War

Running Time: 172 minutes

Directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, 

Lana Wachowski

Writers: David Mitchell (novel), Tom Tykwer, 

Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, 

Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, 

Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Zhou Xun, 

Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, 

Hugh Grant

"Cloud Atlas" isn't a movie that's meant to be written or read about – it simply has to be experienced! Spanning six different time periods and featuring an international cast of world class actors in multiple roles, it's utterly breathtaking in its sheer size and scope. It's a historical drama, an action movie, a conspiracy thriller, a love story, a comedy, futuristic sci-fi, a post-apocalyptic war film, and a mystery.

Even though it incorporates a wide variety of genres, it's definitely not for everyone. Great art never is.

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Here is a list of the impressive cast and the many personas they play (courtesy of IMDB):

Tom Hanks: Dr. Henry Goose / Hotel Manager / Isaac Sachs / Dermot Hoggins / Cavendish Look-a-Like Actor / Zachry

Halle Berry: Native Woman / Jocasta Ayrs / Luisa Rey / Indian Party Guest / Ovid / Meronym

Jim Broadbent: Captain Molyneux / Vyvyan Ayrs / Timothy Cavendish / Korean Musician / Prescient 2

Hugo Weaving: Haskell Moore / Tadeusz Kesselring / Bill Smoke / Nurse Noakes / Boardman Mephi / Old Georgie

Jim Sturgess: Adam Ewing / Poor Hotel Guest / Megan's Dad / Highlander / Hae-Joo Chang / Adam (Zachry's Brother-in-Law)

Doona Bae: Tilda / Megan's Mom / Mexican Woman / Sonmi-451 / Sonmi-351 / Sonmi Prostitute

Ben Whishaw: Cabin Boy / Robert Frobisher / Store Clerk / Georgette / Tribesman

Keith David: Kupaka / Joe Napier / An-kor Apis / Prescient

James D'Arcy: Young Rufus Sixsmith / Old Rufus Sixsmith / Nurse James / Archivist

Xun Zhou: Talbot / Yoona-939 / Rose

David Gyasi: Autua / Lester Rey / Duophysite

Susan Sarandon: Madame Horrox / Older Ursula / Yusouf Suleiman / Abbess

Hugh Grant: Rev. Giles Horrox / Hotel Heavy / Lloyd Hooks / Denholme Cavendish / Seer Rhee / Kona Chief

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A brief breakdown of the various time periods featured in the film:

1849: South Pacific High Seas

A lawyer, Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess), vouches for a runaway slave (David Gyasis) to the ship's captain (Jim Broadbent). Eventually, Ewing becomes deathly ill. Can the doctor on board (Tom Hanks) save him?

1936: Cambridge and Scotland

Two gay lovers, Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) and Rufus Sixsmith (James D'Arcy), correspond via letters after Frobisher leaves Cambridge to seek out the great Scottish composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Broadbent). Together, they will create a musical masterpiece, the Cloud Atlas Sextet.

1973: Los Angeles, California

Roving reporter Luisa Ray (Halle Berry) gets stuck in an elevator with an older Rufus Sixmith (D'Arcy), who tips her off to a shocking conspiracy. Will the help of a scientist (Hanks) and her father's old friend (Keith David) be enough?

2012: The United Kingdom

John Travolta lookalike Dermot Hoggins (Hanks) becomes a bestselling author after he tosses a critic off a building – leading to trouble for his publisher, Timothy Cavendish (Broadbent). Cavendish turns to his brother, Denholme (Hugh Grant), who puts him in a nursing home – where he's imprisoned against his will. From there, a comedy of errors follows.

2144: Neo Seoul

Fabricants – a series of subservient slave drones cloned and engineered to please Consumers – are unchanging in their routine and unwavering in their beliefs. But one of them, Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), eventually desires more. With the help of Hae-Joo Chang (Sturgess, playing an Asian man), she breaks away and discovers the deeper, darker truth.

106 Winters After The Fall: The Valley

A simple goat herder, Zachry (Hanks), tends to his family in a post-apocalyptic, prehistoric world. When his village, The Valley, is invaded by a violent tribe, he's helped by a mysterious, sophisticated woman, Meronym (Berry), who has access to technology. She wants him to take her up to the mountains, where "the devil" is believed to live. 

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Those small summaries barely scratch the surface of "Cloud Atlas's" ambitious story, powerful themes, and central message.

Connections form across time in both big and small ways. Jim Sturgess's character from 1849 makes decisions that will shape his actions in 2144. Halle Berry and Tom Hanks meeting and falling for each other in 1973 will ripple through ages and beyond the fall of civilization. A comedic observation made in 2012 about something from 1973 will have sinister implications in 2144. And there are countless other examples...

Each segment has one or two (or more) major characters, but almost all of the main cast members are featured in some way. Sometimes they're easy to spot, even under heavy costuming and makeup – such as the Asian actress Doona Bae portraying a Caucasian redhead in 1849 or Halle Berry as a European white woman in 1936. But don't expect to catch all of them: Berry, again, is unrecognizable in the 2144 timeline as a male Korean doctor.  

The aforementioned prosthetics aren't always convincing. Doona Bae doesn't look or sound like a white woman, and Berry's appearance as one is equally as strange. However, Jim Sturgess pulls off the role of an Asian man surprisingly well. Everyone will have their own favorite performance and one particular actor they consider the "star" of the film. For me, it's Sturgess.

As I thought more about the jarring appearances of Berry, Bae, and others in some of their more disparate roles, it dawned on me that I can come up with countless examples of people from my own life who look nothing like their actual nationality. Have we, too, been "Cloud Atlasing" through the ages? 

Sometimes we make connections of such great power that they instantly seem otherworldly. Have you ever just met someone, and yet it feels like you've already known them your whole life? According to "Cloud Atlas," maybe we have – for all of our lives.

Review: Skyfall

Old Dog. New Tricks.

By Chris Sabga

Release Date: November 9, 2012 – U.S.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Action, Adventure, Spy Thriller

Running Time: 143 minutes

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, 

John Logan, Ian Fleming (characters)

Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, 

Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, 

Bérénice Lim Marlohe, Albert Finney, 

Ben Whishaw

"Skyfall" is phenomenal in every possible way. It simultaneously acts as a love letter to the past 50 years of James Bond while masterfully catapulting the iconic spy franchise into the future. If "Bourne" took the crown as the king of this genre for a few years, make no mistake, 007 is now back on top. "Skyfall's" dazzling action sequences, stunning cinematography, impactful score, and tight script all come together to create an absolutely mesmerizing experience.

In a world that increasingly values the points and clicks of computerized espionage over good old-fashioned spy work done on the field and in the shadows, Bond (Daniel Craig) and M (Judi Dench) find themselves being phased out.

According to another agent, Q (Ben Whishaw), "I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pajamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field."

The head of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), even offers to allow M to "voluntarily" leave her position with dignity. "To hell with dignity," she fires back. "I'll leave when the job's done."

Q does concede that "every now and then, a trigger has to be pulled." That is the dilemma facing M at the beginning of the film. Bond is doing battle with an enemy who has stolen a drive containing the whereabouts of every agent working undercover. Their identities could be compromised if that information remains in the wrong hands. M orders one of her field operatives (Naomie Harris) to take a shot. But against two moving targets, there's no guarantee the bullet will end up where it's supposed to. If the possibility of losing Bond means protecting the other agents, that's a calculated risk M is perfectly willing to take for the greater good.

It's not the first time M has had to make such a difficult life-and-death decision about one of her agents. As attacks continue to mount, both in the real world and online, it quickly becomes apparent that someone inside the agency is responsible.

Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) used to be M's favorite. However, Silva's bad blonde hairstyle makes it immediately obvious that something is amiss. After all, the last time Bardem sported an ugly mop on his head, he portrayed one of the most compelling cinematic villains in recent memory – Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men." For the role of Silva, Bardem channels a completely different kind of psychotic intensity.

What makes Bardem's Silva character so compelling is that he and Bond are two sides of the same coin in many ways. Both men have faced similar situations throughout their careers. The difference is in how they each reacted. Those very decisions are what have shaped their personalities and defined the course of their lives.

The 007 series has been shaken by ups and downs, but "Skyfall" stirs it back to life. It's an incredible ride from beginning to end – and one of the best action movies in years. Just go see it!