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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MOVIE
Dystopian future combines with character metamorphose
Tom Hanks and Halle Berry play multiple characters in the sci-fi epic "Cloud Atlas." The movie opens Friday
LANDON MCDONALD
lmcdonald@kansan.com
"Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future."
"Cloud Atlas" is a film driven by an ambition that borders on euphoria, a sprawling sci-fi sextet that bridges the gap between science and spiritualism by exalting the divine sparkplug that is the human heart. The subject of the movie, co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski ("The Matrix" trilogy) and Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run"), is nothing less than the nature of existence itself, following the karmic trajectory of several souls as they embark on a centuries-spanning waltz of life, death and rebirth.
As the cycle turns inward, a killer is redeemed, lovers are betrayed and cyberpunk revolution is waged. This is audacious, grand-scale cinema on the level of "Inception" and last year's brilliant, similarly divisive "Tree of Life."
Based on David Mitchell's acclaimed 2004 novel, "Cloud Atlas" encompasses six main narratives, each strung together like a chain of cosmic pearls, where every actor appears in a multiplicity of roles that transverse the boundaries of language, race and gender. For example, Halle Berry plays everyone from a Jewish socialite to a male surgeon from South Korea.
The first story concerns the diary of a notyart (Jim Sturgess) who's fighting a terrible illness while sailing home from a 19th-century slave colony in the South Pacific. Another segment involves impoverished musician Robert Frobisher (Ben Wishaw),
who leaves his longtime boyfriend (James D'Arcy) to become the amanuensis of a famed Belgian composer (Jim Broadbent).
From there the movie turns into a more traditional sci-fi, casting its gaze to the far-flung future where a dystopian revolution is being orchestrated by Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), a genetically engineered "fabricant" waitress turned nascent social prophet. The outcome of her Neo Seoul uprising leads to a stopover in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, where Hanks plays a humble goatherd whose tribe is visited by a beautiful emissary (also played by Berry) from a technologically advanced civilization.
MCGIATCHY TRIBUNE
If you feel like you should be taking notes, it's not a bad idea. "Cloud Atlas" is the kind of movie that could easily dissolve into a pretentious migraine if it made the mistake of being too overwrought
or self-serious. Thankfully the film manages to balance its weightier themes with moments of bracing humor, especially during a comic interlude where Broadbent, playing an adable-brained literary agent, is tricked into a nursing home by his brother. This section, which combines elements of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Great Escape," also features the unforgettable sight of Hugo Weaving essentially playing Nurse Ratched in drag.
Although the makeup quality varies from transformative to ridiculous, the performances in "Cloud Atlas" are uniformly excellent. Berry and Hanks fare the best, never letting their star power outshine the characters they embody. Hugh Grant, an actor whose appeal escaped me for years, also impresses in roles ranging from a smarmy power plant owner to a bloodthirsty cannibal chieftain. Broadbent is the film's trump card, an actor who can shift from pompous to befuddled at the drop of a hat.
"Cloud Atlas" represents a return to a kind of filmmaking long ignored by Hollywood: the spectacle of substance. The Wachowskis and Tykwer reportedly raised the bulk of the $100 million budget themselves, making the film the most expensive independent production of all time. In an ideal world, audiences experiencing blockbuster malaise would be flocking in droves to see this. Creative independence comes at a heavy price these days, and efforts like this should be rewarded. This is a singular cinematic achievement, one that will be enjoyed and analyzed for years to come.
MUSI
FINAL RATING
'Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City'a genre triumph
DUNCAN MCHENRY
dmchenry@kansan.com
Attention all naysayers who still think "rap music" is an oxymoron: Kendrick Lamar would like a word with you.
Lamar's major label debut album,
"Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City," is a remarkable combination of hip-hop storytelling and hard-hitting West Coast beats. With hit wizard Dr. Dre often at the production hum, Lamar is the Bob Dylan of
the streets. His songwriting guides listeners on a vivid tour of the Compton, Calif., neighborhood of his youth, in which Nintendo and orange soda exist alongside 9 mm pistols and prostitutes.
Not since the earlier days of Outkast has a hip-hop artist managed to fuze the bolder, "gangsta" side of rap with socially cognizant lyricism so successfully. Talented encees such as Common and Talib Kweli have never quite managed to escape from the "conscious rapper"
stereotype — a term with somewhat negative connotations in the rap world.
But Lamar has sidestepped that label with "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City" and proved himself worthy of the hype spurred on by two pre-released singles. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a party jam that practically dares the neighbors to call in a noise complaint and showcases the tonal range of Lamar's voice as he personifies an internal warning from his vodka-drowned
conscience.
The voices of Lamar's family and friends are a constant presence in skirts at the end of each song, adding further continuity to the narrative about growing up in urban Los Angeles. In a way, the entire album is a brilliant character act as he shifts effortlessly from confused youth to desperate delinquent to confident rap star.
Kendrick Lamar, an upcoming rap artist, will release his first album, "Good Kid, m A D A city" on Oct. 22 on Dr. Dre's label, Aftermath Entertainment.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
On the song "M.A.A.D. City", he convincingly plays the role of a killer, exuding gangster menace in his voice, whereas "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" is really a thoughtful prayer for lost souls in the city. Lamar raps, "Channel 9 / Cameras looking / It's hard to channel your energy when you know you're crooked."
The album isn't all work and no play, as evident in "The Recipe," which is a syncopated tribute to the famous "Women, weed and weather" of California. In fact, the
production team's biggest mistake may have been pushing this meticulously arranged track to the album's deluxe version.
"Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" is more than just a collection of rap songs. It's a triumphant, roughed story of an ordinary city
kid's rise to his rightful place in the hip-hop pantheon.
FINAL RATING
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