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Arrival is based on Ted Chiang's "The Story of Your Life." If you want to see it in the theaters, you might want to hurry up. It appears to be fading fast.
When we arrived at the theater, I cursed, because I forgot my hearing aids. And as it turned out, they would have been very helpful. There's a lot of talk amid background noise in the movie that I didn't quite catch, and Amy Adams is in full murmur mode throughout. So, yeah. I missed some stuff.
Everyone I know in the science fiction field is rooting for this movie -- to my mind, a touch too overzealously.. It's very cerebral, which I like. It wins points just for that. But I did find it slow going and without any big scenes. No, I'm not asking for Independence Day mayhem, just a little more dramatic high points.
I'll leave it at that.
I'm nobody's pony.
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Spoiler alert
Slaughterhouse five with alien octopi sans one tentacle
End spoiler.
Good performances from Adams, Renner & Whittiker. Shadowy, mostly lit by computer screens. Strung out in that lack of sleep way. Figured out the mcguffin early tho, because the reference in my spoiler is one of my favs.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
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I felt like I had to watch this movie because it was good for me. I'm not a big fan of Amy Adams since she plays such wispy whiny characters. I think I started the DVD figuring I would give it 30 minutes before I switched it off. This seems to be how I approach a lot of movies these days.
I was pretty disappointed for most of the film. Ug Amy Adams. I think a glacier passed the window while I was watching. I did like Forest Whitaker. Renner didn't have a lot to do so he doesn't make much of an impression.
But the third act changed it for me. It had that Memento feel to it where suddenly the whole movie comes into focus and makes sense. It wasn't as powerful as Memento but it did bring the movie up to satisfying.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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10-22-2018, 03:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-22-2018, 03:57 PM by King Bob.)
I thought it far inferior to the story. Renner was kind of just along for the ride, while in the story the physics is what allows them to crack the language. And the idea that learning the language allows you to see the future is pretty hokey. The Sapir-Whorff hypothesis may have inspired the story, but it's largely discredited - Whorff totally misunderstood the Hopi language - so to make that the key thing bugged me. The story was (to me) more about how the structure of the story matched the non-sequential language of the aliens. I thought the story was stunning; I got to the end and realized the narrative I'd created from the intercut scenes was not the way they fit.
READ THE STORY. Actually read the book (now retititled Arrival); it's really good.
the hands that guide me are invisible
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I liked it. Thoughtful movies are hard to come by. DM’s spolier alert is spot on (glad I didn’t read it becuase it was very correctly announced).
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
