ep313: Cloud Atlas (2012) - HANKSgiving

Last week, the podcast was headed in one direction. This week, it is headed in another. When we initially came up with HANKSgiving as our theme for November, I don’t think any of us ever expected CLOUD ATLAS (2012) to be one of the films covered in our series on underappreciated Tom Hanks films. But the hand of fate has pushed us into the path of what is arguably the most ambitious and polarizing film Hanks has ever been a part of. Nathan, Eric, and Dan yibber about how we ended up covering this film, the brilliant approach it takes to adapting the novel, how well it blends together so many different genres and tones, and the controversial decision to have the cast play multiple characters of varying age/race/gender. We’ll also highlight some of the themes that resonated with us: fate vs free will, how personal prejudice stems from systemic oppression, the power that art/storytelling has over us, and so much more. So button up your vest, grab your journal, take a big swig of soap, and ear up close because today the Video Monsters are going to yarn you about the time we met eye to eye with CLOUD ATLAS. If you enjoyed this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord!! Hangout episodes are live (and unedited!) every Tuesday night starting around 9:00pm EST. Listen and chat along with us in the Discord chat and we’ll even give you a shoutout on the episode! Video Monsters is brought to you by the Chattanooga Film Festival and Central Cinema in Knoxville, TN. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or online at chattfilmfest.org and centralcinema865.com. Links for each of these can also be found on our pages, so be sure to follow us at videomonsterpod on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well. music for Video Monsters by Evan Simmons