SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the will-the-sequel-be-called-departure dept.
The new movie Arrival is drawing sufficient praise as a smart and stylish science fiction film [AdBlock unfriendly] that Kate and I actually went to the trouble of getting a sitter so we could see it in the theater Friday night. It is, indeed, a very good movie, and probably the best adaptation one could hope for of the Ted Chiang story "Story of Your Life" (which is one of the best science fiction stories in any medium over the last mumble years). I was, however, disappointed that they left out nearly all of the physics that's in the original.
First, a brief, non-spoiler summary, before diving into the details: In the film, Amy Adams plays Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist who is recruited by the military to help them communicate with the aliens in one of twelve "shells" that have appeared at random locations on the surface of the Earth. She's paired with theoretical physicist Dr. Ian Donnelly (played by Jeremy Renner), and the two of them spend a lot of time writing messages back and forth to the alien "heptapods," who appear only on the far side of a transparent partition. As Louise figures out the heptapod language, it leads to a transformation in the way she sees the world, one with significant emotional costs to her, but that might be the key to saving the whole communicate-with-aliens enterprise.
What's your take on 'The Arrival,' Soylent?
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Tuesday December 06 2016, @02:54AM
I saw the movie with one of my daughters (the brainy one) and her boyfriend. I don’t mind slow movies, but this one starts veeery slow and then gets slow; some place it picks up and gets better and the end is very good.
I haven't read the book and as a matter of fact, I didn't know there was a book, so I don't know how close it is to the author's intentions.
I won’t say more because otherwise I would spoil the experience for you. My daughter didn’t quite like it (meeh) but I did like it; the boyfriend said it was OK (but I guess not to contradict either of us!)
IMHO, it is worth watching, maybe even a second time. YMMV.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday December 06 2016, @03:08AM
Slow isn't usually a problem, the problem is when movies have scenes that don't advance the plot in any obvious way. You can get away with some of that, but when movies do it the audience tends to get bored.
It's one of the reasons that you can have a movie that's got ton of action, but is still a snoozefest.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday December 06 2016, @02:06PM
Which is one reason I hated the new Star Wars... no scene in that movie advanced the series plot, except maybe Solo, Han Solo dying.
Really.
Did any part of that movie MEAN anything but "BIGGER.... SPLOSIONS.... SHINY!!!!"
Snoozefest with a capital SNOOZE.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 06 2016, @02:52PM
Solo dying didn't have anything to do with advancing the plot. That was so they could reduce the likelihood of needing the writers to work into the script something about Solo falling and breaking a hip.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Tuesday December 06 2016, @10:10PM
I hadn't specifically noticed that. But, that's probably because I was noticing that the pieces weren't really fitting together the way that they should. I hope that has more to do with the fanservice involved and the fact that this is part one of presumably 3 and as such things will make more sense when the other episodes are released.
I'm also a bit curious why they opted to release episode 3.5 this year.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday December 07 2016, @05:36PM
Part of the problem was i didn't care about Han dying.
Just didn't care.
Luke's aunt and uncle are killed and his 'home' destroyed: they built up the music, gave him a long facial slot where you could see anger building up, showed the smoke, etc... there was a build up and emotion and you could understand why he wanted to join the rebellion.
In the new one, there is a conversation and Han dies. Poo, he's dead.
Then mini-darth cries, someone gets him a kleenex and then there's lots of dance-fighting (like with the Sharks and the Jets: google it, youngsters)...
Remember with Darth and Obi Wan: there is a stand-off, some sword swinging, then Ben stands there and lets himself be martyrd for Luke's sake.
In the new one, there is dancing: lots of dancing and twirling. Lots.
"Let's dance-fight"
"Yes, but i will dance-twirl-fight"
"Oh, no... well i will do interpretive-dance-fight"
"Ah, so i will do interpretive-line-dance-fight! You cannot defeat my interpretive-line-dance-fight!"
"Yes, i can.... with my mime-interpretive-line-dance-fight-sequence! See, i am a mime-tree, standing tall against the empire, and i will gently sway my mime-tree limbs while i do my line-dancing, twirling dance fight choreography!!! Ah-ha!!!"
"Nooooooooo..... but Luke: I am your best friends (who is now dead) son who needs lots and lots of kleenexeseseses sniffle boo-hoo"
"And i keel you now. And... bow to the audience. Now shuffle-dance, and exit... stage left"
They need to bring back George Lucas' wife who edited (or whatever it was she did before he divorced her) his original movies so they were good and drew you in.
The movies after that just sucked... and still suck.
"but... but... dance-twirl fight scene!!" Meh.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---