Michael Nyman

Film & Reviews

25 Points: Cloud Atlas

Let’s start smashing, shall we?

1. Dear God did I want to like this.

2. I’m something of a fan of the Wachowskis. Bound and Speed Racer are fun, and I adore the Matrix Trilogy (yes, even the sequels). And I have nothing against Tom Tykwer, either. I enjoyed Run, Lola, Run, and admired his stab at making a Kieslowski (Heaven). I wish there were more filmmakers out there like the three of them.

3. Cloud Atlas is pretty well-directed. It presents six different plots across six different timelines, and (speaking for myself) it was easy to follow, narratively. That’s not nothing.

4. I’ve long argued that Titanic is a very well-made film. It’s three hours long, with dozens of characters, and it never becomes confusing, never drags.

5. This will not be the first time I compare Cloud Atlas with Titanic.

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24 Comments
November 26th, 2012 / 8:01 am

The Best Music Books?


Last month I initiated a discussion about film books.  Now I’m wondering about music books.  Following the template of the question from last time:

Which are the most inspirational five books about music ever written?

Here are my four — sadly, the scope of music books I’ve read and really enjoyed is so limited I haven’t got five that I can think of — so I’m super thrilled to get recommendations from you:

Michael Nyman – Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond
Alex Ross – The Rest is Noise
Paul D. Miller, ed. – Sound Unbound
Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman – No One Here Gets Out Alive

Music / 187 Comments
August 18th, 2010 / 12:18 am