Cloud Atlas

[FloridaJudy]

I'm just finishing the book, and can't wait for the movie. The previews and stills have been breath-taking. I'm pretty sure this qualifies as SF, since much of the book takes place in the not-so-distant, and also in the far future.

I can also make a pretty good guess as to the author's political allegiance, and it's a safe bet he's not a Republican!

[SheilaT]

1. There's a book???

O.M.G.!

I've been seeing the previews, and I'm planning to see the movie. . . . Okay, just went to my library's website and I now have the book on reserve. Of course, there are currently 21 people ahead of me on the hold list, sigh, but the library does have five copies.

I am so glad you happened to mention this. Thank you.

[FloridaJudy]

2. I hope he had some say-so about the script

It would be so refreshing to see an SF movie where the writers had a clue about continuity.

[SheilaT]

3. I honestly think the problem with most SF movies

is that the people making them know how to make movies, but know little or nothing about actual science fiction.

[The Wielding Truth]

4. I just ordered the book. I won't see the movie for a while. I'm excited.

[moobu2]

5. I just checked my local library

and there's a copy available so I know what I'm going to do in the morning. It sounds fascinating.

[FloridaJudy]

6. I finished it.

Thought "Well, that was pretty good, but a bit over-rated". But then I found some some of the images haunting me - the Sonmi 451 part especially. They were horrendously disturbing in the book; I don't know how they'd play out on screen. And I found the future dialect monologue in the middle something of a trial. Not that it wasn't interesting, just that it wasn't easy to follow. Think "Clockwork Orange" meets "Huckleberry Finn". There were times I wanted to slap the author "Write English, dammit!" Except he was. From the far future.

The first movie reviews have come it. They called it a gorgeous and ambitious mess. I still want to see it bad.

[FloridaJudy]

7. According to the reviews

You need to read the book to make sense of the movie. The book is in chronological order, sort of. 19th Century ->1930s->1970s->Present day->near future->far future->near future->present day->1970s->1930s->19th Century. Sort of like taking apart and reassembling a set of Russian nesting dolls.

According to the New Yorker review I read, the movie of "Cloud Atlas" is all over the map (if you'll forgive the bad pun) chronologically. Must make it even more difficult to follow than the book!

[dogknob]

8. Did not read the book. Saw the film today.

If you can follow Annie Hall, you can follow Cloud Atlas. The post-apocalyse section is the toughest because of the dialect spoken by Hanks/Berry/Sarandon, but if you could follow A Clockwork Orange you can follow Cloud Atlas. The "This is hard -- Stop it" reviews are bogus and typical. This film would never have been produced in the US. It is more revolutionary than V for Vendetta (which was predictably savaged by the MSM) was.

[FloridaJudy]

9. Ebert *loved* it!

And I've always found his reviews correspond most strongly to my own tastes.

[codjh9]

10. Yeah, I gotta read it first too - currently #6 on my library's waiting list nt