Arrival (2016)

[clovis-man]

And, of course, as with most all SF films, it will get stiffed by the Academy Awards. Except perhaps for getting a crumb thrown to it for, say Sound Editing.

 

[J-Sun]

And, of course, as with most all SF films, it will get stiffed by the Academy Awards. Except perhaps for getting a crumb thrown to it for, say Sound Editing.

Ironically, that's the last thing it should get, IMO. But maybe it was just a problem with my theater. Either way, much of the dialogue was hard to make out. Maybe I'm being Charlie Brown to the Academy's Lucy but I wouldn't be surprised if it actually got something this time - critics seem to love it, anyway - more than general viewers, even. Of course, I also wouldn't at all be surprised if it just got Best Makeup or whatever.

My extended ramble is here but the gist is that the story was great (not that I'm in philosophical agreement, btw) and got a decent adaptation which produces a good film worth seeing but not quite a film I can love. I feel kinda weird about it but I'd rather see Rogue One again. One of these days somebody's going to combine action and thought even better than Blade Runner, Aliens, or Terminator/T2 and create the truly mind-blowing ultimate movie.

So a question then - what do you think is the best hard sci fi movie of the LAST 10 YEARS? (Primer was 2004, so is excluded...)

The Martian (2015) or Europa Report (2013). Arrival gets an honorable mention along with Ex Machina (2015).

(So it seems like there should be something from 2007-2012 I'm forgetting, but that's what springs to mind. A quick look around seems to indicate there was just stuff like Moon, Inception, District 9, etc. So, yeah, The Martian or Europa Report.)

 

[RX-79G]

Good SF stuff from the last 10 years:
Sunshine, the Man From Earth, Cloverfield, Iron Man, Wall-E, District 9, Watchmen, Source Code, Chronicle, Looper, Gravity.

I think Arrival is a good film, because it is well acted and edited, has attractive effects and a small but compelling SF story. But I don't think it is an astonishingly great film. Just a very solid, well done film (which are rare enough). I could see effects, editing or best actress, but I think you'd need some pretty weak other films for a best picture nomination.

 

[GCJ]

I read an article about Westworld and the bicameral mind last night, directly after reading into what Arrival was was attempting to present.

The article pressed on how it is language and the complexity of language that may have driven the technological revolution.

One, so they said, must be able to describe complexity before it can be tackled.

It was a new concept for me, but one I immediately bought into.

 

[RX-79G]

I read an article about Westworld and the bicameral mind last night, directly after reading into what Arrival was was attempting to present

Do you have a link to the article?

 

[GCJ]

Back on point, though, The Martian was fantastic. I'm a keen grower of spuds, so I can relate to his pain when a biting frost brings about their demise.

Don't bother until April, my Dad told me.

 

[GCJ]

Do you have a link to the article?

I'm not sure I'm allowed to post links for a while. I'll dig it out and PM you if that doesn't break any rules.

 

[GCJ]

https://www.inverse.com/article/142...rld-julian-jaynes-origin-of-consciousness-hbo

It appeared to work!

 

[ProxySciFi]

I loved it too, Finally Aliens done right.

 

[GCJ]

I loved it too, Finally Aliens done right.

Nothing wrong with The Tribbles though.

 

[clovis-man]

One of these days somebody's going to combine action and thought even better than Blade Runner, Aliens, or Terminator/T2 and create the truly mind-blowing ultimate movie.

A problem for me is that we seem to have a tendency to compare SF movies just with other SF movies. Personally, I feel that Arrival stacks up okay with other Oscar nominees this year. But because of the SF label, it is likely to not be seen as sufficiently worthy by Academy voters. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[clovis-man]

Shamelessly quoting myself:

And, of course, as with most all SF films, it will get stiffed by the Academy Awards. Except perhaps for getting a crumb thrown to it for, say Sound Editing.

I hate being right all the time.

 

[Judderman]

This is, quite simply, the best sci fi I have seen since Primer. It is spectacular, emotional and the hard science is superb. Go see it. I won't say anything else because the film relies on you not knowing anything about it before you've seen it. Stay spoiler free, people.

Arrival as with Primer are definitely both on the thinking person's sci-fi end of the scale. Primer was as I recall very slow for about half the film. Arrival is exceptionally slow. I wouldn't call it great. But its portrayal of the aliens, the difficulty in understanding, the spooky atmosphere, the scale of the scene when meeting with the aliens, the fancy alien writing and the theme are all memorable. There was definitely some interesting ideas about the importance of language and evolution.

It is far better than the overhyped and boring Gravity from a few years ago but I wouldn't put it at the top in the last 10 years. Even if there hasn't been a lot of great sci-fi films. For the big budget films Interstellar was probably better.

 

[Stewart Hotston]

I'd be interested to know your top ten then @Judderman

 

[Judderman]

Oh I forgot this post when I went on vacation. Stewart, it's true that there are slim pickings for great or even very good sci-fi films in the last decade. Although not top 5 Primer and Arrival probably do make top 10. I have no doubt missed some decent films but here goes:

1) Inception (pyscho sci-fi dreamy brilliance).
2) The Martian (man alone on Mars.)
3) Looper. (Time travel and action).
4) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (ok it is more action, CGI and drama but still sci-fi)
5) Her (dating AI. Only slightly futuristic drama)
6) Coherence (lots of weird goings on)
7) Interstellar (space exploration)

8) Primer (First half extremely slow but gets good. Proper sci-fi).
9) Arrival (Slow but thought provoking. Feels realistic.)

10) Oblivion (reasonably entertaining Tom Cruise movie. Has some good ideas).
11) Predators (sci-fi action. Far inferior to Predator but still entertaining).
12) Transcendence (AI shenanigans. I suppose Resident Evil has a similar basic premise but with added crazy creatures. Not a great movie by any means.).

Ok maybe Primer and Arrival are reasonably well up the list! Also some of the above are not hard sci-fi whereas Primer and Arrival are. I would give Guardians of the Galaxy an honourable mention too as it is close to science-fi, kinda, and is better than many of these listed. I haven't seen Ex-Machina but based on reviews it would be high on the list. I should watch that, and also Moon.
For others the recent Star Wars movies are not bad but too repetitive from the originals. Galaxy was a dull drama apart from showing impressive effects early in the film. Prometheus was so disappointing. I don't really remember the last Star Trek.

 

[Stewart Hotston]

@Judderman I did not think Looper deserved to be up there - the science was pretty much irrelevant plus there's a massive flaw in the mechanic not to mention the deus ex machina ending. Fun to watch but not to think about.

I don't think of inception as Sci-Fi. What, in your mind, characterises it as sf? I agree that the Martian should be up there. I thought Her was also deserving as was Interstellar - although the utterly unnecessary plot twist at the end introduces an unforgivable bootstrap paradox that damages its credibility as a story which, to that point, is superb.

However, no love for Ex Machina, Midnight Special or Monsters?

I didn't like Transcendence in the same way I didn't like Lucy - written by people who don't understand either logic or physics. The Sunny Delight of SF.

I like your thought about Primer - I've been thinking about the structure of the movie and I wonder if the slowness of the first half is an attempt to ground the characters, whose travels later on run the risk of becoming difficult to distinguish because it moves so quickly. It also feels quite dream like all the way through and combined with the slow, character focussed, first half makes it feel a little syrupy I guess.

 

[Judderman]

We could definitely debate what is real sci-fi. If we get really strict about it then maybe there isn't so many sci-fi films about. But as you put I have some missing so haven't looked hard enough. I want to watch Ex Machina. I haven't seen Midnight Special or Monsters (or Moon) so will add those to the list!

Inception involves some futuristic technology related to the mind. Though not particularly well grounded in real Science. Futuristic at least.

Sunny D is a great comparison for Transcendence! I watched Looper on a plane, maybe I was in a good mood..

Possibly if Primer was faster in the first half the latter part wouldn't work so well. Still I think maybe they went a bit too far that way. Though to be fair it is low budget which may have had some influence. We get accustomed to Hollywood throwing in action.

 

[AlexH]

I haven't seen Ex-Machina but based on reviews it would be high on the list. I should watch that, and also Moon.

Without thinking about it, Moon would easily top my list. But I thought about it, and I think WALL-E would just beat it. I thought Ex Machina was good, but it wouldn't trouble a top 10.

I hadn't heard of Coherence before, so will have to check that one out. Reading the synopsis made me think of The Man from Earth.

 

[Stewart Hotston]

Moon is great with a surprising story.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Just finished watching Arrival with my family - everyone loved it.

The only slight criticism is that the statement at the opening effectively clued me into what the film was actually going to be about.

It was very atmospherically filmed, though - everything remained focused on Amy's character, so you felt like you went through her experience. The sound was great, too, but at times I wasn't sure whether I was hearing the aliens, or the soundtrack - though I suspect that in view of the ending there may not be an intentional distinction.

Either way, a great film, and a great story - even though it pretty much turns on a paradox

Spoiler

The phone call to General Chang