Enter your site description here

Based on the bestseller by David Mitchell,  “Cloud Atlas” follows the stories of six people’s “souls” across time.  The six interrelated and interwoven stories take the viewer from the South Pacific in the 19th century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future.  The ambitious film is directed by the triumvirate of Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. It stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and others, playing multiple characters from the past, present and future. Each actor’s characters, however, are all inhabited by the same soul. “Cloud Atlas” has divided critics, some of whom believe it to be a pretentious and manipulative exercise not worth its 103-million-dollar budget, while others have lauded the directors for their sincerity, sensitivity and ground-breaking creativity.  In years to come, “Cloud Atlas” may be talked about in the same breath as “Blade Runner” or “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Running time: 172 minutes. Rated: R.

A coming-of-age film based on the 1999 novel of the same name, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is not your typical U.S. high-school movie. Charlie (Logan Lerman) starts out as the archetypal freshman loner, but when he meets Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) he begins to find himself. Avoiding genre cliches, director and author Stephen Chbosky employs a great alternative indie soundtrack and touches on serious issues ranging from love and friendship to suicide and sexual abuse. Watson gives a mature performance suggesting her post-Harry Potter career will be a bright one. 102 minutes.

Yann Martel’s ponderous adventure novel gets the big-screen treatment with this Fox 2000 adaptation. The coming-of-age story surrounds the son of a zookeeper who survives a shipwreck by stowing away on a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker. Director: Ang Lee. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gérard Depardieu. Rated: PG. Time: 2:05.

Bilbo Baggins joins Gandalf and a band of dwarves on a treacherous quest to a distant mountain in this epic fantasy adventure adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel by the creative forces behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Director: Peter Jackson. Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish. Rated: PG-13. Time: 2:49.