Arrival

[TigerClaw]

Check out the trailer for this new alien invasion movie called Arrival, it stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker, it looks like its gonna be a good one.



Here's the Synopsis.

When mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I'll admit, I'm curious. It's been on my radar.

[Utrommaniac]

Seems interesting enough. And certainly a representation on what would happen if/when we do have an alien encounter on Earth. (All things considered, it would be more likely to be the reverse on Europa, should we go under the ice. I feel terrible for any sapient life whose minds would be blown right open).

I, for one, want to see a movie about systemized human ambassadorship for extraterrestrial visitors. A "Hi, I'm a human, you'll be living with me and I'll show you what life is like in my little corner of earth" and antics ensue.

[NinjaPug]

Looks good to me but I'm in for anything Villeneuve directs these days. I'm pumped he's doing the Blade Runner sequel next.

[drgon78]

Hopefully this one will offer something new or at least add something interesting to the alien invasion category.

[TigerClaw]

Here's the International Trailer, it shows a bit more.

[TigerClaw]

Arrival wins the 1st Oscar for Sound Editing.

[MikeandRaph87]

I enjoyed the film, a think piece and well plotted. I do have to ask though, what is the difference between sound editing and sound mixing? Cutting and pasting sounds is the same thing to me.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

The sound editor is the guy who adds every tiny sound effect you hear in the film.
The mixer is the guy who layers dialogue, music, and sound effects all together and make sure everything is balanced.

[Krutch]

I think I'm the only person who thought this movie was stupid.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

The sound editor is the guy who adds every tiny sound effect you hear in the film.
The mixer is the guy who layers dialogue, music, and sound effects all together and make sure everything is balanced.

So the sound editor adds sound effects while the sound mixer fixes everything at the preferred volume?

Not everyone can like the same thing,Krunch. Its okay.Opinions are what makes the world go round.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

So the sound editor adds sound effects while the sound mixer fixes everything at the preferred volume?

Pretty much. With 7.1 surround sound being the norm, it's also the sound mixer's job to manage all that too.

Originally Posted by Krutch

I think I'm the only person who thought this movie was stupid.

I used to think that too until five seconds ago!

[Krutch]

Oh, I know. Wasn't bashing anyones opinions, just generally had a moment where I realize I don't know anyone who agrees with me haha

[TheSkeletonMan939]

My two biggest problems with Arrival were its "music" (which I suspect was achieved by holding a tape recorder next to a Porta potty for a couple hours) and its pseudo-intellectual, smarmy screenplay.

[Krutch]

The biggest problem I had with the script is it's presented as a thinking man's movie but when you actually start to think about it, the whole thing just falls apart.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

My big question is: the movie seems to suggest that Amy Adams cannot change the future; she can only see into it. Why then does she 'remember' the future, when the Chinese guy shows her his phone number, but in that slice of the future, she does not remember that she made the phone call at all? Am I making sense at all?

[Krutch]

I was under the impression that the movie portrayed time as always present, we only understand how to read/sense it in a forward motion. So time is kind of like a big choose your own adventure story but you can see the switches and where different choices lead. But you're present during all of it. So she's not so much remembering the future as much as she is experiencing it.

The problem is it opens up a whole bunch of problems such as, for one, if the aliens knew that the only way we'd learn their language is through visual patterns why did they waste a month or so trying to communicate with us via sound? Not to mention if the aliens can see a million years into the future and that they will need humanities help, wouldn't they inevitably learn our language along the way? And wouldn't they just use that(our) language instead of doing this abstract pattern communication thing? And couldn't the aliens have prevented the bomb the military guy planted from going off by knowing ahead of time? Or at least avoided death by knowing not to be adjacent to the bomb at the time of detonation?

And then there's things like being presented as a smart movie but also feeling the need to speak down to the audience at the end: "You want to make a baby?" Like, yeah, we got it. Thanks.

I don't know. There's some cool concepts in the movie and a pretty nice visual style to go with it. Just kinda falls apart when you think about it longer than two seconds.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

If the aliens were so desperate for our help, why did they put the onus all on us? They drop their probes all over Earth and then make no effort to learn our language; instead they just spray their cryptic ink and expect us to figure it all out. Come on, if you want our help you've got to meet us halfway. Maybe earth-speak is too linear for them, I dunno.

[AT-Man]

I think whatever they will need help with, it needs humans also being able to communicate how they do, so they had to teach their language to get the right kind of help in the future.