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Arrival (2017)

Started by Goaty, 09 August, 2016, 08:37:39 PM

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Keef Monkey

I loved it, found it really brilliantly executed in every way. I'd seen a few 'You'll feel [spoiler]uplifted[/spoiler] afterwards!' posts all over Twitter etc. which I worried was a bit spoilery, just because in a film where [spoiler]a lot of the intrigue hinges around what the possible motivations of the visitors might be, and whether they're hostile or not, to tell people it resolves itself in an uplifting way is a bit too much info to go in with (at least I think so, but I've been told many times I'm too sensitive to these things)![/spoiler]

In the end that didn't spoil my enjoyment at all, and [spoiler]we both cried a couple of times watching it, and it feels very special when you find a sci-fi movie that has that kind of emotional tug for you[/spoiler]. Thought it was fantastic, and an instant classic for me!

By-Jove

I was thinking of that Charlie sheen movie about a Alien invasion, but it's The Arrival.

Theblazeuk

Can't remember the last time a 2 hour movie gripped me from start to finish without the slightest lull in attention.

Quote from: dweezil2 on 10 November, 2016, 11:01:06 PM
Quote from: Goaty on 10 November, 2016, 10:15:39 PM
Well it got great reviews. So better see subtitled version soon!

Saw it today.

Amy Adams gave an amazing performance and the film asked some thought provoking existential questions, but I found it slighty underwhelming dramatically, with a rather muddled climax.
Tonally and aesthetically it struck me as Independence Day.as directed by Terrence Malick.

As a rare slice of intelligent science fiction though, it is required viewing.

I think the concept inherently makes a climax difficult. Film is, even more than reading, a strictly linear medium. For my money it does an extremely good job of balancing the demands of the medium against the rather complex abstract ideas at its heart. Exploring linguistics through cinema is hard enough even before you introduce a non-linear conceptual narrative. I think the weakest point is [spoiler]the conversation with the future, as it's essentially the same as Bill and Ted breaking out of jail with their time machine ("We'll come back and leave the keys.... here! Thanks Future Me!"). It's also a little inconsistent as 'Future' Amy Adams possesses less knowledge than her past self, thus undermining the whole point. Still, I completely forgive this.[/spoiler]

I recommend everyone read the short story for a less dramatic but slightly more focused exploration of the idea. In some ways the source material is even more personal, though written from a slightly more distant position than the drama of the movie.

Funnily enough I had never made the connection between Story of Your Life and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, though S5 is one of my most treasured books.

Mattofthespurs

For me the weakest part of the is [spoiler]the part with the bomb. Seems incredibly unnecessary and show that the aliens don't have the presence of fore thought they actually should have. Or am I missing something?[/spoiler]

Pyroxian

Quote from: Mattofthespurs on 21 November, 2016, 05:26:51 PM
For me the weakest part of the is [spoiler]the part with the bomb. Seems incredibly unnecessary and show that the aliens don't have the presence of fore thought they actually should have. Or am I missing something?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I assumed that, although the Aliens see time as non-linear, they can't actually affect it. Also, Louise not being able to do anything about her daughter's disease.[/spoiler]

Mattofthespurs

[spoiler]But surely that's the crux of the matter. Her daughter has a disease that is incurable, but they try. She goes into hosptial and has treatment. The aliens do see they have a bomb on board and yet wait until the final seconds to dispel Louise and the bloke (I forget his name) from the ship. Louise can't do anything about her daughter except accept the fact. The Aliens could have acted sooner thus saving Abbot and not giving the two leads concussion...Or am I STILL missing something?[/spoiler]

Theblazeuk

The movie undermines the idea with[spoiler] the bomb [/spoiler]and furthermore with the phone, but the idea is more that time isn't something to change. From their perspective, this is how the story goes. They came to meet the humans and teach them their language, and during the course of this one of them dies. Abbott's story does not end there, because there is no such thing as an ending. So It Goes.

The [spoiler]bomb is also monumentally stupid from a completely practical point of view, and the security within the cordon seems ridiculously lax with just about anyone able to wander up unscheduled and unauthorised.[/spoiler]

I do love nitpicking :)

I, Cosh

[spoiler]
                                                                                                                                                                 
                                     

                                                                                                                                         
                                                                     .
[/spoiler]
We never really die.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: I, Cosh on 22 November, 2016, 11:15:58 AM
[spoiler]
                                                                                                                                                                 
                                     

                                                                                                                                         
                                                                     .
[/spoiler]

I agree.
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Theblazeuk

Sadly I missed one important thing out of the spoiler tags despite all that. Doh.

Eric Plumrose

Let's talk picture contrast. Saw it earlier today and, Lawks, was it murky. Upseated myself twice during the bastard showing only to meet with indifference from three members of staff at Cineworld. Breathed fumes on some poor couple on the escalator afterwards who simply supposed (as I had thought initially) it was stylistic. Well, y'know. Maybe. 'Cuz it was that kind of film.

So. Desaturated, intentionally? Or just one more reason why multiplexes suck.
Not sure if pervert or cheesecake expert.

dweezil2

At my showing at a Cineworld, the whole picture appeared out of focus!
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