Tag Archives: David Mitchell

The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon
Sequel to: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, Lambert Wilson, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, Chad Stahelski
Seen on: 22.12.2021

Plot:
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a video game designer. He became famous with a game that has, by now, achieved cult status, and there is huge pressure for him to recreate this success with a new entry into the franchise. He doesn’t want to do that, though, and escapes as much as he can into a coffee shop where he is too shy to talk to frequent patron Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss). But that’s not the only thing Thomas is struggling with. He has frequent dreams of a different life, one where he is Neo. And maybe that life is more real than he thought.

We were a group of three people watching The Matrix Resurrections in the cinema. One was very excited about this film, one was somewhere in the middle, and one was rather bored with it. Unfortunately, that third person was me. But obviously, impressions of it vary greatly. I just wish I could have gotten more out of it.

The film poster sowing the central characters standing in a V formation, Neo (Keanu Reeves) front and center. All are wearing sunglasses and look very cool.
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Cloud Atlas (2012)

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Cloud Atlas
Director: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Writer: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Based on: David Mitchell’s novel
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D’Arcy, Xun Zhuo, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Robert Fyfe, Götz Otto

Plot:
Cloud Atlas tells six interlocking stories where the same set of souls cross paths over and over again. In The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, we follow the young notary Adam (Jim Sturgess) on his way back to the US on a ship in the mid 19th century where he meets a doctor (Tom Hanks) and a slave (David Gyasi) who both greatly influence his fate. In Letters from Zedelghem, the young composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw), who finds himself in financial difficulties, comes to Belgium to work with Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent), a famous but ill composer. In Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, we read about the journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) who uncovers a conspiracy regarding a power plant which puts her in grave danger. In The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) is a publisher who asks his brother (Hugh Grant) for help to get out of his debts. When the quiet getaway turns out to be a senior home, he seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. In An Orison of Sonmi~451, the clone Sonmi~451 (Doona Bae) tells an archivist (James D’Arcy) her life story from the fast food joint Papa Song where she worked as a waitress until her life took a turn in a very different direction. In Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After, Zachry (Tom Hanks) is one of the few people in the world who survived The Fall. His life with his family gets disrupted when one of the Prescients, who still have technology from the Old Uns, called Meronym (Halle Berry) comes to stay with them.

I didn’t love the book, but I liked it overall. I thought that I would probably feel the same way about the film, with the added advantage that the film would provide me with the stunning visuals the trailer promised. Unfortunately the movie did not work for me at all.

[SPOILERS]

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Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)

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Cloud Atlas is a novel by David Mitchell.

Plot:
Cloud Atlas tells six interlocking stories. In The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, we follow the young notary Adam on his way back to the US on a ship in the mid 19th century where he meets a doctor and a slave who both greatly influence his fate. In Letters from Zedelghem, the young composer Robert Frobisher, who finds himself in financial difficulties, comes to Belgium to work with Vyvyan Ayrs, a famous but ill composer. In Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, we read about the journalist Luisa Rey who uncovers a conspiracy regarding a power plant which puts her in grave danger. In The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, Cavendish is a publisher who asks his brother for help to get out of his debts. When the quiet getaway turns out to be a senior home, he seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. In An Orison of Sonmi~451, the clone Sonmi~451 tells an archivist her life story from the fast food joint Papa Song where she worked as a waitress until her life took a turn in a very different direction. In Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Ev’rythin’ After, Zachry is one of the few people in the world who survived The Fall. His life with his family gets disrupted when one of the Prescients, who still have technology from the Old Uns, called Meronym comes to stay with them to learn about their ways.

Cloud Atlas was pretty good, but it didn’t blow me away. My enthusiasm for the different stories varied widely and I did not enjoy all of them, but I liked most of it.

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