ARRIVAL: Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture - NO SPOILERS PLEASE

[ImpulsE69]

It's good, but....eh, Close Encounters, or even Contact is better. It's message was good, but it was very forced and they basically hand it all to you. I did think the aliens were interesting, but the idea sure seemed taken from Torchwood.

 

[EvilYoda]

Absolutely worth a viewing, IMHO. It's a gorgeous film and even though the ultimate reveal doesn't quite hit the target, at least he went for it.

 

[OutHouse]

I really liked it and I really like the brand new recliners the AMC theater put in and the reserved seating.

 

[Eug]

So, the first weekend receipts for this movie are estimated to be $24 million domestic. For a sci-fi flick out of Hollywood, that may not seem like much, but for this movie it is. The movie was shot for less than $50 million which is 1/3 to 1/4 the amount of the big summer blockbusters. Furthermore, the movie was projected to hit $16 million, so $24 million is a huge bonus, roughly 50% higher than originally projected.

With these numbers, the movie will likely hit at least $60 million domestic, and possibly $70+ (if Amy Adams gets nominated for an Oscar), which is a major win for Paramount, considering they only paid $20 million for the North American and Chinese distribution rights.

Forbes: Box Office: Amy Adams' 'Arrival' Snags Out-Of-This-World $24M Debut, 'Shut In' Bombs

BTW, I hadn't even heard of the movie "Shut In" before I read this article. I just checked and it is tracking exactly the opposite of what Arrival did. Whereas Arrival was 100% after 40 reviews (and is now 93% after 214 reviews), Shut In is exactly 0% after 16 reviews.

Ouch. Too bad. I usually like Naomi Watts.

Anyone here read the short story ("Story of Your Life")?

I'll have to check it out. BTW, Ted Chiang said he never in a million years would have pitched this as a movie, but that's partially because he has very little understanding of scriptwriting and movie making.

Ted Chiang interview

McCarron: “Story of Your Life” concerns a linguist’s personal transformation in the process of learning an alien language, and now the story is being made into a movie. What has it been like seeing the story transformed into the alien language of film?

Chiang: That’s a good way to put it! Film really is an alien language. Or at least it’s a language that I have some fluency in as a listener, but one that I don’t speak at all. I’ve always been aware of this at some level, but I was definitely reminded of it when I was first approached about the adaptation of “Story of Your Life,” because it’s not a story that I would have ever pitched to be made into a film. And this ties in with what we were saying about how deeply the written word is embedded in our consciousnesses. Because when a story idea crystallizes in my mind, what I’m thinking about are sentences. I assume that if I were a screenwriter, I’d be picturing scenes, and it makes me wonder about how deep are the differences between these two modes of storytelling.

The process of adapting a book for film is also mysterious to me. In particular I’m thinking of the differences between the movie L.A. Confidential and the James Ellroy novel it was based on. I read the novel after seeing the movie, and was really surprised by it. The plot of the movie is fairly complicated, but it’s nothing compared to the vast, sprawling conspiracy in the novel. If I had read the novel first, I would have said it was impossible to adapt into a movie. But what the screenwriters did was take the protagonists of the novel and construct a completely new plot in which those characters could play the same basic roles. The resulting movie is faithful to the spirit of the novel even though it’s radically unfaithful to the text. That’s an approach that would never have occurred to me; I think I’d be too reverent of the original to adapt anything to film.

And then there’s the whole industrial-production side of movies. Based on the tiny bit of the process that I’ve become aware of, making a movie seems like trying to plan the invasion of Normandy and creating a piece of art at the same time. It’s kind of a miracle that any movie turns out well, given the logistical nightmare that’s required to make one. The process for the “Story of Your Life” adaptation has been relatively smooth, I think; not fast — it’s been five years since I was first contacted — but there haven’t been too many cooks involved. It seems like the project has managed to avoid the typical Hollywood disasters you hear about. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

EDIT:

HOLY FSCK. The hardcover for Stories of Your Life and Others is CAD$195. WTF?!? The paperback is < CAD$20 though.

 

[Anubis]

It's fall, time for a well received hard Sci-fi movie. Observe:

Fall of
2013 Gravity - 7.8 IMDB 96 Meta 96 RT
2014 Interstellar - 8.6 IMDB 74 Meta 71 RT
2015 The Martian - 8.0 IMDB 80 Meta 92 RT
2016 The Arrival....

We should be happy that Hollywood has realized they can put out at least one brainy, non sequal, Sci-fi movie a year that makes money and receives nominations.

still dont understand why Gravity is rated like it is, was a horrible movie

 

[Eug]

I think this bodes well for Blade Runner 2049. Same director as Arrival, and he seems to do darkness well. The main concern for me though is that he doesn't have final cut on that movie.

still dont understand why Gravity is rated like it is, was a horrible movie

Gravity was awesome.

Great Dolby Atmos track too on Blu-ray.

 

[Eug]

Stephen Wolfram did the math for Arrival, and his son did the code for the translation.

http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2016/11/quick-how-might-the-alien-spacecraft-work/

 

[Cappuccino]

And why did they arrive in a banana?

I bet the banana taste like chicken too.

 

[Pulsar]

I just saw this movie. I'm going to give it two HUGE thumbs up. It's not your average sci-fi / alien flick at all, and if you're more the shoot-em-up type rather than the thinking type you may not like it as much. But the real key is the storytelling and the way it is laid out. You don't really begin to understand what you just watched until 10 minutes from the end, and then you peace it together and realize what happened. It's so different, I really enjoyed it and am planning on watching it again.

 

[Eug]

Updated scores:

RT: 93%, after 237 reviews (220 fresh, 17 rotten)
Metacritic: 81% after 51 reviews
IMDB: 8.5/10 after 31128 reviews

I said earlier that I'd rate it between a 4/5 and a 4.5/5 so 8.5/10 seems just about bang on for me.

I really hope Amy Adams (or producers or whatever) chooses this movie for a submission for Best Actress. Right now people are saying it could be this or it could be Nocturnal Animals, but it's not anywhere near as well rated as Arrival, and it'd be nice to see sci-fi get nominated again in categories like Best Picture and Best Lead Actress.

It's so different, I really enjoyed it and am planning on watching it again.

This is a must-buy for me on Blu-ray.

Which reminds me. I finally received my Sony VPL-HW45ES projector over a month ago, but it's still in the box unopened. I wonder if I'll be able to get time this weekend to install it.

EDIT:

Bah! Here are the predictions:

http://www.goldderby.com/article/20...7-emma-stone-natalie-portman-taraji-p-henson/

They predict Amy Adams might get a nomination for Best Actress in a Lead Role for Arrival, but most likely won't win. The odds on favourite is Emma Stone in La La Land.

Person - movie - odds

Emma Stone - La La Land - 2.1/1
Natalie Portman - Jackie - 3.3/1
Ruth Negga - Loving - 5/1
Annette Bening - 20th Century Women - 7/1
Amy Adams - Arrival - 14/1

The next 5 on the list range from 50/1 to 100/1 so they probably won't get nominated.

So if she does get a nomination but loses, that would put her in a tie for most Oscar nominations without a win (6) for Best Actress.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I don't know..maybe supporting actress. The aliens had the best lines.

 

[thejunglegod]

She was Jim's girlfriend in the The Office as well. The last episode in the first season I think. Michael Scott called her Pam 2.0 which was apt I feel. Incredibly hot in that episode.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Plan to see this .... in theaters maybe.

 

[slag]

I want to go see this tonight. Looks good!

 

[Kazukian]

I really need to avoid reading spoilers before I see a movie.

 

[MaxDepth]

You know, I actually thought the two women in American Hustle out-acted the male leads. I thought Christian Bale was channeling Burt Reynolds and Bradley Cooper was just being Bradley Cooper.

I never realized that was her in Junebug--probably before she was a known quantity.

as for Amy Adams in American Hustle--she should have earned 2 (maybe 3) Academy Awards for that, considering the 2-3 roles that she played. :sneaky:

 

[MaxDepth]

Based on the novella (short novella at that too), "Story of Your Life," by Ted Chiang. I really like how it read. I've seen other stories like it but it was a good story nonetheless.

Spoiler

You can find it online.

 

[ViRGE]

I was a little let down with the ultimate reveal, but in the end it was a good movie. And Amy Addams absolutely killed it.

 

[K1052]

Saw it last night and was pleased. Nice to see a science fiction movie with a story and plot again.

The film itself was beautifully made. Cinematography, pacing, and score were top notch. All the cast did a good job and I already liked basically everybody in it but Amy Adams put them to shame, she'll be seeing multiple award noms.

If Villeneuve can do this and Sicario I'm becoming much more optimistic for Blade Runner 2049.

 

[deadlyapp]

Saw this movie yesterday and enjoyed it immensely. Cried like a little bitch for some reason - I dunno why it hit me so hard.

 

[Tequila]

Saw it today and really enjoyed it especially the ending. Amy Adams was incredible. However, it is one of those movies I can only see once.

As for sci-fi I enjoyed Interstellar much more and have a feeling I'm going to like Passengers a lot. Nothing like being stuck in space with JLaw who is looking as hot as ever!

 

[drbrock]

I am in the minority here obviously but I hated the movie. I understand what happened but I did not enjoy the journey that much. My gf went with me to a fancy theater to check it out however we both left VERY disappointed. Def waste of $60. I was expecting Contact and got Batman vs Superman.

I thought the memories part of the movie from was too forced. Probably the biggest reason I disliked. Amy Adams did a good job I just stopped caring half way through the movie.

 

[Linux23]

And why did they arrive in a banana?

i thought it was a dirty gross contact lense

 

[Eug]

I am in the minority here obviously but I hated the movie. I understand what happened but I did not enjoy the journey that much. My gf went with me to a fancy theater to check it out however we both left VERY disappointed. Def waste of $60. I was expecting Contact and got Batman vs Superman.

I thought the memories part of the movie from was too forced. Probably the biggest reason I disliked. Amy Adams did a good job I just stopped caring half way through the movie.

Nothing wrong with a differing opinion, but Holy Hell, $60?!?

 

[drbrock]

Nothing wrong with a differing opinion, but Holy Hell, $60?!?

We have cineopolis and iPic here both are 20 per ticket plus two drinks equal 60 bucks.

For a good movie it is amazing. Pillow and blanket with great chairs/beds. But when a movie doesn't go the way I want it to, it is brutal lol.