Cloud Atlas

Set in the past, present and future, this is an epic story based on the 2004 book of the same name by David Mitchell. The film tells the story of how each action we make ripples through time and affects the past present and future. The story can get complex and confusing at times, and it can get difficult to tell just how the stories connect, but overall, I think this is a fantastic adaptation of an exponentially complex story.

Let me start by saying that I can see how people can love this film, and how others can hate it. It is unique and original, no doubt about it. I personally thought this film was fantastic. The acting was great, the story was interesting and the visuals were stunning. There were flaws, and I won't overlook them, but overall I think this film was a great epic that kept me thoroughly engaged throughout the film.

Let me start with the positive elements of this film. The visuals were amazing, from the clear waters and white beaches of the 1800's, to the futuristic Neo-Seoul. I even found myself enjoying the look of the 1970's timeline, as well as the eye candy that was the post apocalyptic distant future.

The music was, perhaps, the most epic part of this film. The "Cloud Atlas Sextet" complemented the story so well, and the melodic composition for me was one of the biggest hits of the film.

The acting was good. I thought that the best characters were Ben Whishaw's Robert Frobisher, Doona Bae's Sonmi-451, and I actually really enjoyed Jim Broadbent's performance as Timothy Cavendish. All in all, the overall performances were good, but I couldn't help but wonder about certain casting choices. For example, was it really necessary for Halle Berry to play this guy?

And did it make all that much of a difference to the story that Tom Hanks was the hotel manager in the Letters from Zedelghem timeline?




As far as the story, I thought that they did a good job keeping things moving along. There is a lot of ground to cover in this film, and that fact is made obvious in the film's run time! At almost three hours, this is one of the longest films you'll find in your neighborhood theater! That being said, I never found myself wanting the film to be over. I was engaged from beginning to end, and to keep me sitting still in a room for three hours is no small feat. For some, far to long, but I personally didn't mind.

Negatives for this film are of course, as I mentioned before, the "starring actors" playing rolls in which they really can't even be recognized. From an actors standpoint, I can only imagine that these characters would have been tremendously fun to play, but I as a viewer thought that it only made things a mit more confusing than necessary.

Another thing that I thought while watching this film is that I found it difficult to connect some of the different timelines. Some were easy, and actually quite obvious, while others were near impossible to connect. A puzzling reality for a film focused on telling the story of how different timelines are all inter connected.

So now we arrive at the inevitable. Yes, I have prepared a score for this film based on the various areas that I find make or break a film. And my verdict is as follows.

Story/Plot: 8/10
Acting/Cast: 6/10
Effects/Visuals: 7.5/10
Music: 8.5/10

OVERALL: 30/40 - 75.00%

UPDATE AS OF 12/19/2014

The verdict?
Pretty damn good / Recommend Heartily

7 out of 10

I Don't Know what IDK means!

Actually, I do. I simply chose that title to be ironic. But it brings up an interesting point. We spend so much time texting, IMing, and posting to social media, that we seem to be getting further and further away from "real English." But what IS "real English?" The English language is really just a melting pot of a bunch of other languages that it has crossed paths with over time. Latin, French, Greek, and many other languages have had an effect on the English language. Even among English speakers, there are differences. Someone from Great Britain might say something differently than someone from the states, who might say something differently that someone from Australia! Even within a country, language varies. In the south of the United States, words are spoken that mean nothing to people from the northern part of the U.S!

But that brings us back around to my point. How does the texting language interface with the "normal" English most people speak in day to day conversations? We don't often hear someone say lol out loud. Or do we? Just recently, I have been noticing people saying lol, wtf, idk, omg, and other textual references out loud when talking to other people. I guess actually laughing at a joke takes too much effort, especially when you can just say, "lol man, that was, like, super rad."

But now for the punchline question. Is that a BAD thing? I am inclined to think not. Now to purists out there, that sounds like sacrilege, but think about it. English, what is considered "proper" English anyways, is really just bits and pieces of other languages that people stole over the years to help explain new things and create new meanings to a word. Why can't we do that with text abbreviations? At least those abbreviations are original, and not ripped off from another language like Latin! And lets be honest. the spelling for lol is just that. l, followed by an o, and then another l. I can just picture the spelling bees of the future.

Guy running the spelling bee. "please spell the word, 'ttyl."
Student in the bee. "uh, ttyl."
Guy running the spelling bee. "correct!"

Ah, a time when I might just be good at spelling!

Anyways, that's my opinion on that. I'll write soon,

- David -

coffee

I am the person who gets a cup of coffee and adds copious amounts of milk/cream and sugar/sweetener. My coffee addiction is fairly minimal, as I only indulge in the bitter goodness 2 to 4 times a week. Is that an addiction? Who knows. At any rate, I douse my drink (if it's possible to douse a drink) in milk, and then thicken my coffee with sugar by the spoonful! I know I am painting a glorious mental taste picture of bitter/sweet/milky/pastie/gritty/glorious drug infused (caffeine) beverages and I must say, I really do enjoy a good cup of coffee.

Now. This morning, I awoke at the early morning time of 9:00 AM, and I was in need of a dose of caffeine. I brewed some coffee, broke out the sugar and milk and, through careful calculations and precise measurements (luck) I found myself drinking a delicious mug of pristine coffee (except for all the milk and sugar, but, never mind.)

Anyways, I just wanted to share my story of coffee deliciousness.

- david -   :D

Atlas Shrugged Part II

I have just returned from watching Atlas Shrugged Part 2, and I must say, I thought it was a significant improvement over the first film. The story was more engaging, the plot was more interesting and the overall flow of the film was much better. I was at first surprised that the cast was entirely different from the first film, however as the plot developed, it seemed that this was the case in order to show that the events of part 2 were later in time than the events in part 1.

The story continued the search for an answer to the question "Who is John Galt" and relieves new information to who or what he is. Watching the first part is not a prerequisite to watching this film, although many references are made to part 1, such as the John Galt rail line, and of course all the characters are the same. The story also focuses on the issue of government control, collectivism and big businesses relationship with the government.

The filming was good, the acting was good, the effects were good. Nothing spectacular, but nothing all that bad. If you are looking for an interesting story, this is a good movie. It makes you think, and seeing as how the US 2012 elections are fast approaching, the release of this film comes at an interesting time! This film really made me question some things about governments role in society, and, while I am not going to Washington DC tomorrow to protest, I may look at things slightly differently in the future.

So if you want a good movie, an interesting story and a thought provoking plot, this may just be a film you will enjoy. Not amazing, but not bad either.

FINAL SCORE:

Story/Plot: 8/10
Acting/Cast: 7/10
Effects/Visuals: 6.5/10
Music: n/a (not much music in this film)

OVERALL: 21.5/30 - 71.67%

UPDATE AS OF 12/19/2014
The verdict?
Pretty damn good / Recommend Heartily

7 out of 10

M*th

It is the subject of much terror, hate and loathing, as I am one of many who, well, lets just say I am no fan of the mathematics. Even times tables are evil in my opinion, and it seems as though it just gets worse as time goes on. Despite the obvious good math has done for our society, I just cannot seem to fathom how people could actually stand to do math for a living. I guess what I am saying is that yes, math is important for people like engineers, scientists, computer programmers and the like, but a comm/art major like me? Really? 3 years of math just to get a BS in communications!!!!! Well, anyways, my ranting and raving must stop somewhere. At any rate, I hope you are well, and I will talk to you soon.

- David

I Dream of Colored Bubbles

Addicting android games and a lack of things to do are to blame for me pouring hours and hours into a app game called Shoot Bubble, a game where the goal is to match up similarly colored bubbles so that they "pop" and you need to pop all the bubbles to move to the next level. O.K, now that we have established what the game is all about, I can continue with this story. So, last night I was laying in bed, trying to go to sleep, and as I closed my eyes, I began to see bubbles floating in and out of my brain eyes. Now, bubbly dreams are not all that uncommon in my life, but there was something different about these bubbles. These bubbles were the same ones from the app game shoot bubbles. Yes. This game has worked its way into my brain enough so that my dreams are now filled with colored bubbles. Colored bubbles of EVIL and ADDICTION and EVIL.

If I do not make another blog entry, it is because these bubbles have taken over the world.

I'll talk to you guys next time. Maybe.

- David

Summertime

Summer is a supposed to be fun, relaxing, and peacefull, right? Well, while mine is fun (ish) so far, it is severely lacking in the latter 2 ideals of what summer should be like. I am doing an internship for 15 hours a week, 2 online classes, working and trying to keep up on my YouTube channels and this blog. Add to that a potential tutoring job and you have a chaotic summer that is ever so busy.

But like I said, my summer so far is going well, and I generally enjoy the different things that I am doing. I would like to get a website up and running if at all possible, so we'll see how that goes, but for now, I wish you all a terrific rest of the summer! :D

JUNE!

This month I hope to be much more active here on my blog. I would like to start posting stuff about design, as well as more writing projects that I undertake. I will hopefully serenade you with design, short stories and videos on my YouTube Channels. I think June will be a great month, and I wish you all a superb summer.

Talk soon,
David

impermanence

Earlier today, I had one of those "I'm gonna die" moments. Not like I'm gonna die right now, but it just struck me that someday, I will die. Now, you always know somewhere in the back of you mind that you are going to die someday, but every now and then, for me, at least, I get a very lucid moment where I feel like that fact really sinks in. It makes you want to do something, anything, just go outside and enjoy being alive! I think the impermanence is one of the things that makes life so great. If you were going to live forever, there would be nothing to make us do things. I don't know, just thought I'd share. Talk soon. :D

Well, 2012

So yah, another year has come and gone. And what a ride! I for one had an amazing year, and am looking forward to 2012. What will the new year bring? We'll have to wait and see. But I think it will be an interesting and enjoyable year. Well, except for the fire, death, and destruction in December. (jk guys :D) So, here I am, wishing you all a very happy 2012.