Arrival

[meridannight]

Have you guys seen this film? I saw it today and it was exemplary! Extremely well-made. Confident and intelligent direction. Stable pace and plot to the film. Masterful sound (this film actually has the best sound I've ever heard on film). The whole added up to something that can be summed up thus: powerful and poetic. Rarely have I seen a truly poetic film (All Is Lost with Redford is an example), and this was it. It was beautiful and soulful (I don't think there is a science fiction film out there that can be described as soulful).

It was very well balanced, every little component was within the limits and nothing was overdone. And that is refreshing in 2016. They usually overdo with gusto. I was wary about this before going in, I know they fuck most of these major films up by recycling old plots and never daring to do anything truly uncommon and new with them, but Villeneuve did it. And it felt good. Most blockbuster films these days are barely even an entertainment anymore, but Arrival was an experience. This is how films are supposed to be. You can feel this film when you're watching it. And more -- you can feel almost every single minute of its near two hours.

I recommend you to see this when you get the chance. It is art, delivered by one of the best contemporary directors.

[Ibex]

I watched the trailer just now.
Seems interesting.
Hope it's not another where the aliens will try and destroy us. Would be nice if it was something new.

[meridannight]

Hope it's not another where the aliens will try and destroy us.

Can't tell you if it is or isn't without ruining it for you and others who haven't seen it, but it is new. Maybe not a pioneering-quality new, but it's very refreshing. And it has a strong emotional context.

[Dan1980]

I so want to see this movie!

[Cuddly]

The trailer is intriguing.

Much of what you write makes me think of interstellar though, which I thoroughly enjoyed too.

[NativeSon]

Haven't had a chance, but so looking forward.

[meridannight]

Much of what you write makes me think of interstellar though, which I thoroughly enjoyed too.

Interstellar was very good. I liked it too.

Other than the genre, though, the two are very different films. Arrival is more 'internal', Interstellar 'external'. The latter is conventional in every way (plot, development, etc), Arrival is more refreshing and novel in those aspects. Where Interstellar was dealing with multiple story lines, Arrival is intensely focused on one. Interstellar is more maths- and physics-oriented, Arrival is intuitive. The former is expansive and collective, the latter discrete and individual. Arrival is definitely deeper than Interstellar, though, and it's just raw human being all over the place. (Something I am very susceptible to).

Both are very good, but for very different reasons. And I have a liking for Arrival that I don't have for Interstellar. Interstellar was very good entertainment, Arrival touched me.

And I don't want to hype it up to make you think it's more than it is. This is my personal fascination, the film touched all the right spots with me and the result is that for me it's the best of its genre (Pandorum would come next, if I had to choose a close favorite). Please keep your expectations sober when you go see it. It is a very strong high quality film, nothing can take away from that. But don't let my passion distort your sobriety. I can't help but express it, that's what I'm like. Truth is, you probably will like it, but you might not. But it is worth seeing.


Arrival was actually very cheaply made (regarding films its caliber) -- ca 50m*. Proving again my point, that currently, the cheaper films are of higher quality and more interesting than blueprint-blockbusters with budgets upwards a hundred mill.


*In comparison, Interstellar was made with 165 mill. (I pulled the budget numbers from IMDb for both films).

[meridannight]

On a related note, Jeremy Renner is fucking hot. I have a hard-on for that guy.

[Dan1980]

On a related note, Jeremy Renner is fucking hot. I have a hard-on for that guy.

He sure is!

[meridannight]

Arrival has received altogether 8 nominations for this year's Academy Awards: Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Adapted Screenplay.