Arrival | Nov 11, 2016 | Villeneuve/Adams/Renner | First Reviews Have Arrived.

[MovieMan89]

Have only seen Prisoners, Sicario, and Arrival out of his efforts, and each has been a step up from the previous for me. Definitely becoming a new fav. 

Edited November 19, 2016 by MovieMan89

[4815162342]

10 hours ago, Jake Gittes said:

Kinda muted on this. Maybe it's cause I'd read the short story first, but I had my problems with the adaptation

 

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First of all, while compressing the daughter's story to what appears to be a flashback is very clever, but the film then focuses so much on the procedural/mystery aspects of the aliens' arrival, and the subtext of the communication between the species, that the daughter's part ultimately feels tacked on, like the movie didn't have enough drama and decided to add some the fastest way possible. In the short story the two storylines constantly intercut and work together much better, and the reveal that one half of the story is all in her future hit me much harder emotionally. 

 

The daughter dying an angelic sad death from cancer is the most sanitized, Hollywood version of that plot turn possible, in that no one is remotely guilty of her death. It provokes some uncomfortable questions - like, if Louise saw that her kid would get killed by a drunk driver or randomly stabbed in an alleyway or something, would she still accept it in the end? The short tory makes this work because it has her die when she's 25 and mountain climbing, so at least it makes it clear that she's consciously risking her life. 

 

I wish we could see some actual attraction developing between Adams and Renner. In the short story, he asks her out and they sleep together, while the movie is so single-mindedly focused on staying on that field and maintaining its mood that it tries to sell this by simply telling us they'll get married and with one bit of laughably hokey dialogue ("It wasn't meeting them... it was meeting you", etc). That whole part really did remind me of Nolan at his weakest - just sterile and sexless and dull. It's not like Villeneuve couldn't do this, either - one of my favorite scenes in Sicario is when Emily Blunt and her partner decide to ditch everything for an evening and go get drunk in some bar. It doesn't break the tension, and it's thrilling in its own way, because you don't normally see that in movies. Sure, then it turns dangerous, but here it wouldn't have to.

 

 

Also someone should have told Villeneuve that Shutter Island forever owns "On the Nature of Daylight". 

 

I make it sound like I didn't enjoy it at all, but no - Adams is excellent, Villeneuve knows how to keep the narrative tense and intriguing even when little happens, it's got a compelling message about communication and in terms of visuals and sound it's impeccable. It's solid, and the kind of film studios should be actively doing (I didn't learn until after the fact that it's essentially a big independent movie, which is kinda dispiriting), but it won't really stay with me. As far as Villeneuve is concerned I like Enemy and Sicario a lot more too. 

 

Remind me where in Shutter Island that music is, because I cannot remember.

[Jake Gittes]

9 minutes ago, 4815162342 said:

 

Remind me where in Shutter Island that music is, because I cannot remember.

 

 

And in the end credits:

 

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Jake Gittes

[Ethan Hunt]

I need to see it again right now

[Krissykins]

Taking my Mum to see this on Tuesday, I think she'll love it. She likes mature sci fi and loves a twist.  

[SofNascimento]

So, I was bathing yesterday and I realize the ships from this film really look like a half-used soap! 

[Ethan Hunt]

2 hours ago, SofNascimento said:

So, I was bathing yesterday and I realize the ships from this film really look like a half-used soap! 

Astute observation

[SofNascimento]

28 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

Astute observation

You know, it might be less dumb than it might sound. Not much, but a bit less. If we pick iconic things from films some are bound to have very weird inspirations. The mimics from Edge of Tomorrow for example, were partly inspired by a grape stem. 

[trifle]

4 hours ago, SofNascimento said:

So, I was bathing yesterday and I realize the ships from this film really look like a half-used soap! 

 

LOL!

 

I saw this last night and I really liked it.  Amy Adams was quietly enchanting; I am partial to subtle acting.  It is much harder to do, imho (at least you see so little of it. Maybe it is hard to direct.)  I think she absolutely deserves a nomination and I hope she gets it -- that will get more eyes on this as well.

[Hiccup23]

So it is at 43M right now. Is 75M+ out of play?

[Jake Gittes]

16 minutes ago, Hiccup23 said:

So it is at 43M right now. Is 75M+ out of play?

 

75m will happen. 

[Jayhawk the Hutt]

18 minutes ago, Hiccup23 said:

So it is at 43M right now. Is 75M+ out of play?

Should hit 75m. It will play well over Thanksgiving week.

[Ethan Hunt]

Yeah can't really see it missing 75M

[aabattery]

Taika Waititi posted his thoughts on the movie.

Spoiler

 

 

[AniNate]

I hope Google Translate adds the language

[DeeCee]

46 minutes ago, tribefan695 said:

I hope Google Translate adds the language

It was always there. 

[MikeQ]

Just saw this film tonight. Loved it. I will write a longer review if I have the time, but I wanted to comment on one thing discussed:

 

*WARNING: SPOILERS*

Spoiler

 

I read a couple comments from people earlier in the thread about how they felt the "time loop" element of the film was just a "lazy" plot device - specifically, the instance with General Shang - and I must strongly disagree. To refer to this moment as simply a "time loop" situation is to mischaracterize the film. The film very carefully lays out the idea of linguistic relativity - the idea that language influences our perception and understanding of the world. And we learn that the aliens' language is significantly different from any on earth and that this is connected to how they perceive time very differently than we do. Through linguistic relativity, through the acquisition of this new language and the neurology of her brain reshaping itself, this perception of time allows Dr. Banks to more readily move around in time as we are able to freely move around in space. Tyrian posted an article earlier that explains this fairly well, when it says:

 

"She is always watching her daughter be born, watching the aliens fly away, and suffering through the “memory” of her daughter’s death. This is explicitly depicted in the film when Louise uses different events throughout her life to affect other occurrences, regardless of their non-sequential order. We repeatedly witness Louise interact with events in the future and the present by being simultaneously aware of both. By talking with Ian in 2016 Montana about zero sum games, she is able to help her daughter Hannah with her homework in the future. And again, with perhaps the whole future of humanity (and the heptapods 3,000 years hence) at stake, she is able to discuss with the high Chinese General Shang the details of their fateful phone call from 18 months ago… while simultaneously having that conversation at gunpoint in Montana.

 

[...] Now, there is likely a reading of Arrival which might argue that this means time is circular, and all things are predestined to occur in a certain way. That there is no free will.

 

It is the old “time is a circle” adage of science fiction. And for the record, Interstellar is very susceptible to this reading. However, Arrival is not. Rather, Villeneuve’s film (and the Chiang story it is based on) suggests free will and choice exists if one chooses to do nothing. Time is not immutable, hence why the aliens’ presence on Earth is still high stakes for them. Presumably heptapods have long lifespans if they can perceive events 3,000 years from now, but humanity will only save them if we as a species work together right now to learn what Louise’s future book coins as “The Universal Language.”"

 

Peace,

Mike

Edited November 26, 2016 by MikeQ

[Noctis]

Just saw this film tonight, and I loved it. I'm still trying to absorb everything. It demands another viewing.

[baumer]

34 minutes ago, Noctis said:

Just saw this film tonight, and I loved it. I'm still trying to absorb everything. It demands another viewing.

 

Agreed.  

[MovieMan89]

42 minutes ago, Noctis said:

Just saw this film tonight, and I loved it. I'm still trying to absorb everything. It demands another viewing.

Second viewing was worthwhile, however I feel the first half moves very slowly once you've seen it already. Enjoyed it more the first time, understood more the second time.