This movie truly was overrated tripe.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Arrival
Ihatemillenials — 9 years ago(January 30, 2017 01:23 PM)
Nice cinematography doesn't hide the fact the writing was god awful, and the characters were bland and depressing. Does boring and depressing equal brilliant now? I guess that's why movies like this succeed these days. People don't feel anything unless they're depressed. So make the audience as depressed as possible and call it "art." So edgy. So pathetic.
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hponik — 9 years ago(January 30, 2017 09:20 PM)
I'm going to agree, I think this movie is a bit overhyped. I just watched Sicario the other night, and enjoyed Prisoners so I wanted to check this out in anticipation of Blade Runner 2049. The look of the film is not the problem, it looked great. Sadly I think the story is just underwhelming. Pacing for me was also a problem. I don't think it's a terrible movie, but it surely isn't the best sci-fi film ever made.
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WalterSoprano — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 07:08 AM)
Not overhyped just not everyone's cup of tea. The themes and story led to me being hit hard with powerful emotions and at a particularly perfect time when it was needed. Just because those themes and emotions flew way past you doesn't mean the movie is overhyped. Also what's so bad about it being depressing? I've seen movie after movie with optimism and happy endings and sure I love them but some movies work best with a melancholic tone.
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kenny-164 — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 07:18 AM)
The OP is subconsciously part of the cultural conservatism of our time. Implicit in his view is that movies should be of a certain type, meaning upbeat and uplifting. And not deviate from that.
Also implicit is that he in effect fears that a movie will make people depressed that in fact ends with the aliens departing, an increase in human knowledge, a successful interaction with an alien culture, and the comraderie shown between Louise and the Chinese leader. Yet this is depressing to our OP here. Perhaps the OP is fearful of his own depression?
Imo this was the best film of 2016, and Amy Adams should have won the Oscar. It was in any event nominated for best picture, so obviously some disagree with the OP. No wonder. Not everyone is a depressed person insisting only on films with happy people and happy endings. More accurately a happier ending than here, which ending here was certainly not as bad as it oculd have been. -
Ihatemillenials — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 07:52 AM)
My own depression? Have a laugh, son, I don't have a mental illness. I just believe life is hard enough for many to endure without movies like this which focus on such depressing aspects on life. Not to mention, the writing is just piss poor. I understand math. These filmmakers obviously don't.
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kenny-164 — 9 years ago(February 01, 2017 06:43 AM)
"life is hard enough for many to endure without movies like this which focus on such depressing aspects on life."
Heh! You apparently have not lived life long enough to realize how revealing this statement is about yourself.
Ftr, I don't think "life" is too hard to enjoy a film like Arrival. I am not even sure what it is that is so "hard" about it. -
bluersun — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 12:12 PM)
I'm watching this now and I think I get what the OP is saying - it's a bleak film, the scenes with her daughter, the different countries not working together - I'm not saying that's not realistic, but as he says in reply to you, life is shyt enough at times
Anyway it's looking like a 6/10 for me so far, obvs that might change - I've about half an hour to go! -
Pequod88 — 9 years ago(January 31, 2017 12:35 PM)
Arrival seems to have disappointed those expecting a typical sci-fi genre exercise. The film is so much richer than this. The complexities of language, non-linear perception of time, and loving in the face of certain loss and heartache are handled deftly and with nuance. This kind of storytelling is all too rare in mainstream cinema. The novella is adapted for film with very little sacrificed, much gained. Amy Adams, always good, is a revelation here.
The creative use of time is at the heart of the successful adaptation. I recommend David Bordwell's thoughtful piece on Arrival, and larger issues of chronology and storytelling:
http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2016/11/23/arrival-when-is-now/
Arrival is absolutely one of the best films of the year. -
kenny-164 — 9 years ago(February 01, 2017 07:00 AM)
Pequod,
I agree.
Part of the problem is the way the whole industry has to deal with the marketing of these films. They want to draw in people who they think by (especially in the trailer) pushing buttons of expectations that that will lead them to go to the Cineplex and lay out their money.
So some of those people, people who prefer a more conventional sci-fi genre film, do go and are not pleasantly surprised but are disappointed. And then some of those people come here to complain that Arrival did not meet their expectations of what the film "should" have been about.
I get all that. But I would prefer that those people would be more open minded and not insist that films adhere to tight genre conventionalities. -
kenny-164 — 9 years ago(February 01, 2017 07:05 AM)
I plead innocent to being arrogant. I am instead tired of negative trolls posting here how the film failed to live up to their expectations. that some film that on its merits is a very good film nonetheless failed to meet such expectations is hardly a valid indictment of the film itself.
I totally understand the problem of misleading marketing of films, but Arrival is hardly the first film to be so accused. Maybe read a review or do something other than rely on the studio's marketing to decide what to see.
Or enjoy the film for what it is rather than complaining about how it did not accord with your expectations.
And to say what I said is false is itself a lie. I accurately characterized the OP's objections, as he himself confirmed in his very revealing response. -
itziktamar — 9 years ago(February 04, 2017 01:34 PM)
This is a brilliant post, captures the movie perfectly.
For me it was a 6/10. The concept is quite cool but the delivery and character choices were so very terrible and mind numbingly slow. You know a movie is done wrong when you find yourself staring at a screen for 15 seconds waiting for the image to change.
Also, sticking the shells in every poster and trailer and then keeping as a "surprise" in the begining of the movie was so stupid We know what it looks like, move on please.
Move on please should actually be motto for this movie.