Cloud Atlas - Yes, Please

The Cloud Atlas trailer seemed very promising, but has the film adaptation of the novel by David Mitchell been able to deliver?

When watching this movie, there are a number of precautions you should take. 1. Turn off your phone. 2. Get rid of any possible distraction, including but not limited to the following: tasty food, friend or partner, land line, if you are one of the few who still have one, door bell. 3. Concentrate. 4. Concentrate more.

With six different story lines unraveling simultaneously in front of your eyes, you are already hard-pressed to follow the goings-on. Since this story however looks at six different people's souls throughout time this means additional confusion to cloud your mind. For one, every famous actor plays multiple roles throughout the movie and you spend half your time trying to recognize whether it is Hugh Grant, Tom Hanks, Matrix' Agent Smith aka Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess pretending to be Asian or Xun Zhou pretending to be European.

Cloud Atlas Movie Poster - Warner Bros. Pictures

If you think this sounds confusing, just wait until you try to find all the connections that further exists between the 6 different story lines, since each story includes allusions to the one that went before it chronologically (while still running simultaneously). It is all connected of course by the Cloud Atlas, that certain piece of music that you are trying to find throughout the chaos of characters and chronicles. Yes, I did feel the need for an atlas to uncloud my mind.

If you are able to watch this film in full concentration mode, it is a trek through time (not stars) providing you with amazing imagery spanning from the 1800s to the vision of a distant, post-apocalyptic future very similar the "Time Machine"  setting and storyline. My personal highlights were probably Hugh Grant as a scary tribe member/monster and Jim Broadbent reenacting his version of Prison Break. If you can manage to stay away from your phone for long enough, this movie is definitely worth 172 (!) minutes of your time.

Sen Nin Teppanyaki Restaurant in Camden Town

Stepping into Sen Nin, the Japanese Teppanayaki Grill on a Saturday at six, the last thing I expected was to be the only guest in the entire restaurant (especially since the online system had told me any other time slot was booked out - they should call those tech guys). Ah, well it made us feel like VIPs in a very large private room.

The decoration was typically Japanese, simple elegance in tones of black and red. I instantly felt comfortable in this lovely surrounding. Aesthetics generally seems to be a point Sen Nin are eager to make, as a meticulously symmetrical arrangement of a starter sample was placed in front of us only minutes after we had ordered it. 

We went for one of the Teppanyaki meals including a deliciously savoury miso soup and a mix of starters, i.e. sushi, gyeoza chicken dumplings, spring roll and salad. The main course of our choice were soba noodles fried with veg, steak and tiger prawns and the dessert a very generous piece of cheese cake.

While initially slightly sceptical at the grill, seemingly slightly tattered and unkempt, our very own personal chef made sure to clean it before use and after, putting suspicious culinary minds to rest. He then went on to gives us his own little show including juggling knives and a hard boiled egg which landed in his hat (the egg, not the knives). On to the main course. Noodles, meat and seafood were drenched in garlic butter, which to me means heaven on earth, the British meat grilled to soft perfection. 

Admittedly, the prices at £48 per menu are steep and probably the cause for a lack of guests throughout our two hour stay in their Camden location (one of three in London). However, there seem to be various 2 for 1 and half price offers going on to make it a lot more affordable. Especially for London standards.