Friday is movie day on the Takeaway, and this week the most talked-about movie is “Cloud Atlas,” based on the layered, multi-plot novel that skeptics claimed could never be made into a palatable film. Were the skeptics right?
Also on the roster: “The Sessions,” starring John Hawkes as a disabled man seeking to lose his virginity, and Helen Hunt as the woman who helps him do it. Finally, just for fun, the surfing adventure: “Chasing Mavericks.”
Our Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer weigh in. In addition to hosting the podcast, Rafer is film critic for Newsday and Kristen is culture producer for The Takeaway.
“I absolutely loved this movie,” Kristen Meinzer says of “The Sessions.” “I laughed and laughed and laughed through half of it, and cried and cried and cried through half of it. It was so sex positive and so life positive… The whole time you’re watching the movie, you’re just cheering for him to have sex.”
The big release this weekend though, is “Cloud Atlas,” based on the novel by David Mitchell. Guzman and Meinzer were not convinced by the adaptation, though it was well-acted. “I just didn’t buy the underlying idea,” Guzman says.
They do recommend “Chasing Mavericks,” however, if you want a film that is all uplift, no drama.
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