Arrival

There are some films that transcend their genre. "Shane" was one of those films: A western, it was a film that was more about relationships than gunfights. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was also one of those films. Not just a war movie, it dealt with themes such as duty, honor, and betrayal. "Arrival" is a science fiction movie but it, too, transcends its genre. It is a film that deals with the philosophical ramifications of the way in which we perceive time but it also makes powerful statements about fear-based decision making, the inertia of government bureaucracies, and the very human tendency to mistrust "others" that do not look, sound, or act as we do. The premise of the movie is straightforward: Aliens arrive on Earth at various locations around the globe. Governments around the world immediately want to know why they are here and what they want. Among those chosen by the U.S. government to get answers to those questions are a language expert played - wonderfully - by Amy Adams and a theoretical physicist played by Jeremy Renner. Forest Whittaker plays the Army officer nominally in charge of the effort to discover the aliens' purpose. All three actors deliver stellar performances, though in my opinion Adams outshines everyone else in the film. She is vulnerable, sometimes frightened, often courageous, and - ultimately - comes to personify the absolute best traits of human beings. Despite excellent performances and marvelous writing, I fear this is not a film that will appeal to many sci-fi fans. There are no epic space battles ala "Star Wars" or "Star Trek," and that will lead many sci-fans to discount it. The special effects are well done but they are not as important to the story as are what the characters say and do. As a result, some science fiction fans, who have been fed a steady diet of mind-boggling CGI over the years, will likely be disappointed. That's too bad, in my opinion, because the great science fiction of the past was about characters, not rocket ships and bug-eyed monsters (although there were plenty of those, I must admit.) If you read some of the science fiction from what we now call "The Golden Age" you'll see that. Isaac Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" told the story, for example, of humanity's efforts to establish a stable society during a dark period in its future. There were space ships, of course, and a few battle scenes but it is primarily a story about people trying mightily to build a better life from the ashes of a failed government. The other giants of early science fiction - Ray Bradbury, Poul Anderson, Phillip K. Dick, and so many others - wrote movingly about the human condition as well. Their stories just happened to take place at other times and, often, on other planets. Technically speaking, "Arrival" is very close to being a perfect movie. The writing is excellent, the characters believable, and the direction is seamless. The cinematography is extremely well done, conveying the mood of the film almost as a supporting actor would. The aliens are truly other-worldly and their complicated language is well thought out. Taken all together, "Arrival" is a wonderful movie that is, in my opinion, destined to go down as a film classic.

Movie showed up in great condition and on time. Definitely one of my favorite SciFi movies with very interesting concepts explored. Must-have for Science Fiction fans to be sure!

Despite all the mindless action and sex that hits the big screen every year, every once in a while there comes a film that’s a little more . . . cerebral. Arrival (2016) certainly fits this category. Not only do you really have to pay attention to what’s happening in this film, it makes you question how we perceive our world as it is right now. Never before have I seen the topic of encountering alien life forms approached from such a realistic and logical way. It makes sense that we wouldn’t be able to understand them, so the first step in establishing an understanding is to establish communication. Much like Christopher Nolan, who has done a number of great, “cerebral” films including Memento (2000), Inception (2010), and Interstellar (2014), I have recently come to appreciate the directorial talents of Denis Villeneuve. From his previous films like Prisoners (2013) and Sicario (2015), I’ve seen him deliver powerful messages about who we are as humans and how we deal with evil. In Arrival, once again the enemy is humanity itself, and the angry and violent mistrust it has against anything it doesn’t understand. Fortunately, despite its repeated visual motif of black and white, Arrival shows that peace can be found in the gray area of language interpretation. While I don’t want to give away the twist of this film, I have to say that the way it was presented certainly makes for a powerful impact once it has been realized. I will simply attribute this to the talent of Denis Villeneuve and the superb screenplay used to guide the audience along to the stunning conclusion. If you haven’t seen any of Villeneuve’s films yet, now’s a great time to start. I certainly will look forward to his next piece, if this is the type of work he’s putting out right now. A fantastic, cerebral, and realistic approach to a classic sci-fi scenario, I give Arrival 5.0 stars out of 5.

I cannot sing the praises of this movie enough! If you want a more realistic what would happen if aliens contracted humans film then this is it. Please if you have not watched this do yourself a favor watch it any way possible but if you can buy it in 4K UHD it looks phenomenal!

日本語字幕なかった ジャケ買いでもいいかな デジタルコピー付いてるけど英語の説明わからない 結局スチール版、4K、国内版BD、こちらの輸入版全部Amazonで買ってしまった

Además de ser una excelente película de ciencia ficción, el producto llegó un día antes de lo esperado y en buenas condiciones. Lo único malo, (y la verdad no es algo tan malo para mi), es que la versión digital sólo es compatible con las tiendas canadiense y estadounidense de iTunes, por lo que, si no tienen cuenta en alguna de esas dos tiendas, no podrán descargarla. El otro lugar en donde también está disponible una versión digital de la película no lo conozco ni sé cómo funciona, tal vez ahí si se podría descargar en nuestro país, México. Lejano a eso, repito, me encantó la película, el excelente precio y que llegara rápido.

Depois de 28 dias chegou. É um bom filme mesmo sem portugues no blu ray e não consegui testar o dvd por causa da trava de região e não funcionar em leitor brasileiro mas sendo um steelbook por esse valor valeu a pena.

Llego en un excelente estado y en excelente tiempo y buenas condiciones sin duda recomendable al 100 una buena opción para coleccionistas. Una de las mejores películas de la década

Top notch quality from the steel book , and about the movie, well, just a masterpiece.