“Cloud

Atlas”

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives affect one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time.

The buzz: Its sprawling, ambitious blend of narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas prove impossible to ignore.

Length: 163 min.

Showtimes: 7 p.m. Friday; 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Maiden Alley Cinema, 112 Maiden Alley.

“Lincoln”

With the nation embroiled in yet another year of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) brings the full measure of his passion, humanity and political skill to what would become his defining legacy: to end the war and permanently abolish slavery through the 13th Amendment.

The buzz: Daniel Day-Lewis delivers in this witty, dignified portrait that immerses the audience in its world and entertains even as it informs.

Length: 149 min.

Showtimes: 12 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m. at Cinemark.