One hell of a way to bring the year to a close. I hate to use this term as it has completely lost it's meaning thanks to the multitude of people who use it to describe their breakfast, but Cloud Atlas is epic. Its ambition and scale elevate it above the level it would reach when judged by its excecution alone.
I should mention that your results may vary. My personal cinematic tastes can best be described as left of centre, seeing as how I consider both Crank and The Third Man to be among the best movies ever created. It must be said that Cloud Atlas definitely seems to be fairly polarizing. It's one of those movies that don't really have a middle ground. You either click with it, or you don't.
It may have taken 13 years for the Wachowkis to get their shit together again, but boy was it worth the wait.