nelsonmuntz
Point Center
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 44,485
- Reaction Score
- 34,029
Really interesting movie with Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forrest Whitaker. It is about contact with aliens, and covers some interesting scientific ground.
Reviews were very good overall, although I would only give it a B+.
Things I like:
It is definitely an original take on a topic that has been covered elsewhere quite a bit. The movie makes a good point that the first challenge of alien contact is to figure out what they actually want.
Jeremy Renner is one of the better actors out there right now, and can play all kinds of roles. The same guy that stole the show as Ben Affleck's crazy best friend in The Town is completely credible as a physicist in Arrival.
I liked how the plot developed and how the stress kept ratcheting up on all the characters in a way that was logical and would explain increasingly illogical behavior.
Things I didn't like:
A pet peave of mine is "over-directing" a movie. Let the story tell itself, rather than throw in all these crazy camera angles and closeups to show what an 'artist" the director is. There was a bit of this. I also think directors need to trust the story and not over-use music to beat us over the head with what is happening. I blame Christopher Nolan for this trend in movies.
I like Amy Adams, don't love her, as an actress. She is like a solid 13/6 small forward that doesn't screw up but isn't going to win a lot of games for you. She clearly has a great agent, because she is getting all the roles that used to go to Julia Roberts. I get that they needed a bankable actress for a movie like this, but I would have preferred someone who is a little less mousy and had a more confident voice. Jessica Chastain would have been good, but she did Interstellar. This would have been a perfect role for Emma Stone. Amy Adams was just not quite right.
Overall a very good movie.
Reviews were very good overall, although I would only give it a B+.
Things I like:
It is definitely an original take on a topic that has been covered elsewhere quite a bit. The movie makes a good point that the first challenge of alien contact is to figure out what they actually want.
Jeremy Renner is one of the better actors out there right now, and can play all kinds of roles. The same guy that stole the show as Ben Affleck's crazy best friend in The Town is completely credible as a physicist in Arrival.
I liked how the plot developed and how the stress kept ratcheting up on all the characters in a way that was logical and would explain increasingly illogical behavior.
Things I didn't like:
A pet peave of mine is "over-directing" a movie. Let the story tell itself, rather than throw in all these crazy camera angles and closeups to show what an 'artist" the director is. There was a bit of this. I also think directors need to trust the story and not over-use music to beat us over the head with what is happening. I blame Christopher Nolan for this trend in movies.
I like Amy Adams, don't love her, as an actress. She is like a solid 13/6 small forward that doesn't screw up but isn't going to win a lot of games for you. She clearly has a great agent, because she is getting all the roles that used to go to Julia Roberts. I get that they needed a bankable actress for a movie like this, but I would have preferred someone who is a little less mousy and had a more confident voice. Jessica Chastain would have been good, but she did Interstellar. This would have been a perfect role for Emma Stone. Amy Adams was just not quite right.
Overall a very good movie.