Arrival (2016)

Sylas

Sylas

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no it's not a hard idea to wrap your head around. You just said what I said, no matter how you phrase it. My question still stands. She teaches the earth their language. Now everyone can hit fast forward and see everything that happens to them in the future. dafuq? Reminds me of that episode in black mirror where everyone has that chip in their head that lets them tivo every memory they've ever had. Shit went real bad there, that was good scifi. This premise could of went somewhere, but it didn't, cus this wasn't a scifi film.

the story is a tear jerking story about love and kids and shit, just wrapped in a long winded yet weak, and dare I say, unnecessary scifi narrative. Still a good film, not criticizing it's merits as a drama. But I was kinda expecting a scifi film, not the notebook dressed up as the day the earth stood still.

The story asks a simple question, if you knew bad things would happen would you still go through with it? Like if you could see the future, knew that you would have a child and that child would die young of some rare uncurable disease, and all the pain that would cause, it would cost you your husband/her father, etc, would you still go through with it?

Yes? Ok so let's figure out a way to tell this story. Psychic abilities? voodoo? spiritualism? technology? nah all that's been done before. I Know, lets do:

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Vanderhoof

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The Heptapods don't experience time linearly. They point out that when they write a sentence, they spit the beginning, middle and end of the thought out all at once. They don't experience past, present or future, so when Louise begins to understand their language, she begins to experience time similarly. With that in mind, is mankind's inability to get along or our lack of understanding of interstellar travel rooted in our concept of time? Is free will even a thing? If she knows all past, present and future, is Louise exercising free will by not attempting to alter her destinies? I thought the movie was great and captured the spirit of the short story.
 
ex-genj

ex-genj

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Was OK but wouldn't recommend theater IMO.

2 jarring things: Adams would have been 55-60 when her daughter died and she didn't look a day older.. zzz. Also just the whole concept - wtf? Kids are not that magical that you are knowingly bringing a child into your life that is going to die by age 15. So its implied that she tells Renner that she can see all time right after the aliens leave. So they have their kid and then at age 5ish she tells Renner "oh btw kid dies in less than 10 years" and he nopes out of there?? How does this make sense?
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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I loved it. Thought they did a pretty great job of expanding the short story to full length. Some of the additions I could have done without, the pace was great for me. Reminded me of Solaris (Soderburgh) in more than a few ways.Was pretty sure I accidentally spoiled the movie in one of my earlier posts, but it looks safe?

Still recommend reading it if you haven't. Very quick read, not a lot of investment. It wraps a better ribbon on the whole language vs. time thing if you don't completely grasp what the movie was trying to say.

Also was funny that like every preview we had before the movie involved a kid dying. They really set up the theater hard.
 
ham

ham

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no it's not a hard idea to wrap your head around
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That's weird because I'm still not entirely sure you understand. You two definitely didn't say the same thing either.

I mean you're also claiming you knew the film based on the opening scene, so yeah, I don't think anyone is going to debate this film with you. We are not worthy.
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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Vanderhoof said:
The Heptapods don't experience time linearly. They point out that when they write a sentence, they spit the beginning, middle and end of the thought out all at once. They don't experience past, present or future, so when Louise begins to understand their language, she begins to experience time similarly. With that in mind, is mankind's inability to get along or our lack of understanding of interstellar travel rooted in our concept of time? Is free will even a thing? If she knows all past, present and future, is Louise exercising free will by not attempting to alter her destinies? I thought the movie was great and captured the spirit of the short story.
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For me the worst part of the change from the book was that very heavy implication that she's changing her own past or whatever with that call to the Chinese general. It moves it past what I took away from the short story and the differences between experiencing time linearly and how the heptapods do. I don't think they every wanted to imply she can use information from the future to impact her destiny, or that this power in the hands of the rest of humanity makes us all super time travel all knowing beings.

It was always just about the way they experience it and live. Just like her daughter's name, Hannah, being a palindrome has no beginning or end, out forward or back, it just exists. Anyways, that scene kind of was unnecessary and is what I think the movie didn't need. That and the soldiers trying to blow the ship up.
 
Juvarisx

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Aliens Arrive -> Recruited -> Learned Alien Language -> Called Chinese General -> Renner falls for her -> Relationship -> Meats Chinese General -> He wants kid she says yes knowing consequences -> Has Kid -> Tells Renner she knows her fate he ends it -> Child dies -> Writes book -> Uses this moment to interpret the langue in the "present" ->begins to teach others aliens language

This film basically insinuates free will is out of the question and your life is laid out to where you can view it beginning to end. Her calling the general makes since in this scenario since she can view his number and his wife last words at any point and uses them when necessary thus there is no paradox. If you are living outside of time past present and future are essentially meaningless
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Chanur

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I know it's inconsequential to the film but does the book ever say what the aliens needed from us in 3000 years? I got the impression from the movie their water dried up or something.
 
meStevo

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The ending felt like the extended Blu-Ray version, kind of wallowed it in a bit. Otherwise fantastic movie, and similar to the above posts wife and I were talking about it all the way home and then some.

As a father I have no intention of watching it again though, that was rough.
 
Brad2770

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I'm dying here. Do you get to see the aliens completely or is it always in the foggy room? I'm debating seeing this in a couple of days or waiting a few weeks. If the aliens are in it and you get a good look at them, I'm going within the next couple of days.

I'm sucker or Si-Fi alien movies.
 
A

a_skeleton_02

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Saw it last night was an interesting movie.

Called the twist/ending the second they introduced Checkovs Phrase of "Did you know you can rewire your brain when learning a new language" combined with "If you want science call your dad"
 
spronk

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Saw it today, only the second movie I saw in theaters this year but with all the buzz and high ratings I just had to see it. About 1/2 way through the movie I was feeling a bit disappointed and the movie was too emo-y for me, but it redeemed itself in the second half to me. The sci fi ideas presented are pretty radical and interesting and I don't think I have honestly seen it done as well in any book or movie to date. While there are quite a few plot holes the general theme and flow of the movie I thought worked really well. Similar to Gravity though, its a movie I would watch once and never really watch again, although Gravity really was fantastic in theaters due to the effects whereas I think this movie will be just fine watched at home since the effects are fairly minimal and its more a talk/emotion movie than visual.
 
TJT

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spronk said:
Saw it today, only the second movie I saw in theaters this year but with all the buzz and high ratings I just had to see it. About 1/2 way through the movie I was feeling a bit disappointed and the movie was too emo-y for me, but it redeemed itself in the second half to me. The sci fi ideas presented are pretty radical and interesting and I don't think I have honestly seen it done as well in any book or movie to date. While there are quite a few plot holes the general theme and flow of the movie I thought worked really well. Similar to Gravity though, its a movie I would watch once and never really watch again, although Gravity really was fantastic in theaters due to the effects whereas I think this movie will be just fine watched at home since the effects are fairly minimal and its more a talk/emotion movie than visual.
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Uhhhh, this sci-fi concept is definitive in both Watchmen and Slaughterhouse 5.
 
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Xarpolis

Xarpolis

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I tried to watch this last night. Tickets were sold out, so I went to see Hacksaw Ridge instead. It was an afterthought, but a very good one at that.
 
Sylas

Sylas

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You see the aliens, it's neat that they aren't typical little green/grey men, but the sci-fi elements aren't the strong point of the film
 
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