Movie Review: Arrival

ARRIVAL - is a masterful sci-fi movie which makes a badass out of linguistic expert Louise Banks (Amy Adams) as she tries to communicate with aliens who have landed on Earth-and she must do it before time runs out. The film is an intriguing puzzle, hidden behind layers and layers of little clues, which makes it fun to solve as you go along in the movie. Once you come to the culmination, it is an overwhelming feeling of world politics and personal struggles. Director Denis Villeneuve creates a movie experience you should not miss. Truly deserving of all its accolades. 

-is what I wrote weeks ago as a requested short reaction after the film's press screening (yes, we have those). Unfortunately I haven's been able to follow it up with a full review. Not because I didn't like the movie - on the contrary - I loved it! And I just hate myself for the delay in the review as it does a great disservice to the film. 

You see the baby in my belly has been very demanding on the number of hours of sleep I get (yeah, right blame it on the baby) but seriously, I can no longer do my 5-6 hours of sleep on the weekdays and I literally spend my weekends sleeping (no kidding). 

I've finally worked up the strength to get off my butt and to actually do some writing - so here I am telling you dear reader that Denis Villenueve's "Arrival" is indeed worthy of all the praises and raves it has been receiving. 

Aliens have arrived on Earth in twelve giant spheres scattered across the world, the Army asks the help of Dr. Banks to study the language of the aliens and to translate for them. It may seem an absurd request but Louise is up to the task. They arrive at one of the twelve 'shells' in Montana where Louise works with a team, along with Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) - a scientist.  

Louise and Ian work tirelessly to come to understand the inhabitants of their 'shell' two giant squid-like aliens with seven legs, earning the name "Heptapods", Louise and Ian name their Heptapods 'Abbot' and 'Costello'. While working on understanding aliens is hard enough, there is an incredible pressure in a global political level since other countries are also dealing with their own shells and heptapods and of course as nations are tend to be known - each nation was keeping their own studies and discoveries to themselves. As if a possible alien invasion is not reason enough for human kind to put their differences aside and work together right? 

What I liked best about the "Independence Day" movies is the part where all countries get together to help each other beat the bad aliens and in "Arrival" we don't see that as each country is still looking for their own interests. 

In a race against time and with the fate of the human race on the edge, Louise finds something deep inside of her, a power she does not know she has, to unravel a great mystery. To reveal anything more about the movie would rob the viewer of the pleasure of enjoying the movie. All I have to say is that - it is a film which will have you thinking, the good kind of thinking. 


8.5 out of 10. What makes "Arrival" stand out from other Science Fiction movies is its deep rooted connection to very human themes that you can't help but feel that overwhelming feeling inside you. That despite advances in science and technology, it is human nature which pulls you in to  be lost in the incredible performance of Amy Adams whose strength comes in her perseverance hidden behind her being seemingly-delicate nature. 

MOVIES: AMY ADAMS DECODES EXTRA-TERRESTIAL LANGUAGE IN “ARRIVAL”

Five-time Academy Award®-nominated actress Amy Adams mesmerizes as linguist Louise Banks in Columbia Pictures’ critically acclaimed and Oscar contender, Arrival from director Denis Villenueve.

“Amy was the actress I was dreaming of for this part because I knew that the audience would believe in this movie if the actress believed in it—everything is happening through her eyes,” reveals the director.

“We meet this civilization, those beings coming out from outer space, through her eyes,” continues Villeneuve, explaining the importance of the main character. “I needed an actress that would be strong enough to make us believe that—someone with the vulnerability, sensitivity, strong intelligence and range to bring that onto screen. Her character at the end of the day is going through a very strange mourning process and there are a lot of different, subtle layers of that mourning process that I wanted expressed in the movie. I needed a strong actress. Amy fell in love with the screenplay and got on board right away, to my great surprise.”

Adams wasn’t planning on taking on any new projects but she couldn’t refuse the part because she instantly fell in love with the story. “It was the heart of the story,” says the actor. “I didn’t know what I was going be doing next and it was at a time where I really wanted to take a break and just be a mom for a while. Then I read the script. It spoke to me really deeply in the core of who I am and I felt that I really had to do it.”

MOVIES: JEREMY RENNER, A MAN OF SCIENCE, SUBSTANCE IN “ARRIVAL”

“It’s a very insular story told through the eyes of Amy Adams’ character, a linguist who’s hired to try to communicate with the aliens,” says Jeremy Renner of Columbia Pictures' new sci-fi film, Arrival.

“My character is hired on as the other side of this team, as a physicist to deal with communication through mathematics,” the actor continues. “Part of the character that was interesting to me was that it was very far from anything I’ve ever done. It was very left-brain, very mathematical and scientific.”

Director Denis Villeneuve says that the role of Ian Donnelly was a bit different than the usual roles Renner is offered. “It's very unusual to cast Jeremy Renner, who is more of a James Bond or Jason Bourne type of an actor, into [the role of] an intellectual,” says the director. “I think he liked that challenge. It was funny because, from time to time, on set he had to jump around like a rabbit because it was too contained. But, seriously, Jeremy came on board because he was dreaming of working with Amy Adams again. They love each other.”

“Jeremy and I have wanted to work together for a while, so there was an opportunity there,” says Villeneuve. “He came full of generosity, because he's there to support Amy, I was amazed by his talent and strong instincts. He was able to bring that dimension of a scientist in a very dynamic and funny way. The movie owes him a lot.”

MOVIES: ONE OF YEAR'S BEST FILMS, “ARRIVAL” HOLDS SNEAK PREVIEWS FEB 6 & 7

Nerdist calls it, “The smartest blockbuster since The Dark Knight,” while NY Magazine describes it as “An eerie, tantalizing, altogether superb puzzler.”

The subject of these praises is Columbia Pictures’ Arrival – the critically acclaimed film that's up for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay.

And now, Philippine audiences can catch it in sneak previews on Monday and Tuesday, February 6 and 7 in selected cinemas everywhere. Tickets will be at regular admission prices. (Check your favorite cinema for details).

Arrival is a provocative science fiction thriller from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners, upcoming Blade Runner 2049). When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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.

Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival is based upon the acclaimed short story by Ted Chiang titled Story of Your Life.

In its citation of Arrival as the No.1 Best Reviewed Sci-Fi/Fantasy film of 2016's, RottenTomatoes writes, “Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams.”

Concurring with this acclaim is Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times who says the film “is simultaneously old and new, revisiting many of these alien-invasion conventions but with unexpected intelligence, visual style and heart.”

Steve Tilley of Toronto Sun also affirms, “If you're yearning for a smart, thoughtful sci-fi film that wonders how first contact with aliens might go down, this tight little gem of a film is a gift from beyond the stars.”

Finally, The Atlantic's Christopher Orr proclaims, “The best film of the year to date, ambitious in conception and extraordinary in execution, has arrived.”

Opening across the Philippines on February 15, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

MOVIES: WITH 8 OSCAR NOMS, “ARRIVAL” A RARE SCI-FI BEST PICTURE CONTENDER

Nabbing a best picture nomination January 23, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival joined the short list of science-fiction films that have been nominated for the film industry’s top prize.

Reports Variety, previous to the Academy’s expansion of the category in 2009, sci-fi nominees were a rarity. The only two that come to mind are E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 and Star Wars in 1979.

With eight, Arrival earned the second-highest number of nominations, clinching nods for director, adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, production design, and editing — in addition to best picture.

Since 2009, movies such as District 9, Avatar, Inception, and Her have picked up best picture nominations. Gravity and The Martian have joined the fray as well, but purists might not consider their baked-in-reality premises strictly sci-fi.

The point is the Academy’s best picture expansion has been a boon for a genre that was largely ignored by the organization prior to the 21st Century.

In Arrival, when a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, and an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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.

Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival is based upon the acclaimed short story by Ted Chiang titled Story of Your Life.

Opening across the Philippines on February 15, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

MOVIES: ARRIVAL” GETS NINE BRITISH ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Columbia Pictures' provocative science-fiction thriller Arrival continues its illustrious awards season run as the Denis Villeneuve film has just scored nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

It also landed Best Adapted Screenplay nod for screenwriter Eric Heisserer and Best Actress for lead star Amy Adams.

Rounding out the categories Arrival got nominated for are Music, Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Special Visual Effects. The winners will be known on February 12, 2017.


In Arrival, a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, and an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Adams) - are 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.

Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival is based upon the acclaimed short story by Ted Chiang titled Story of Your Life.


Opening across the Philippines on February 15, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movie News: AMY ADAMS WINS BEST ACTRESS FROM NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW FOR “ARRIVAL”

Amy Adams has just been proclaimed Best Actress by The National Board of Review (NBR), one of the most prestigious award-giving bodies in the US, during the group's announcement of its choices for outstanding achievement in film for 2016.

Adams won for her portrayal of a linguist tasked to communicate with aliens in Columbia Pictures' Arrival, which has also been seleced by NBR as one of the Ten Best Films of 2016.

Arrival is a provocative science fiction thriller from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Adams) - are 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.

Denis Villanueve has mentioned in an interview that Adams was his only choice to play the lead character. “Amy Adams was the actress I was dreaming of for this part because I knew that the audience would believe in this movie if the actress believed in it—everything is happening through her eyes.”

Opening across the Philippines in February 2017 Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movie News: ADAMS, RENNER FACE THE UNKNOWN IN THEIR “ARRIVAL” POSTERS

Columbia Pictures has launched the character posters of lead castmembers Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner for its upcoming thriller Arrival. The individual one-sheets of Adams and Renner show close-ups of their faces while clad in space suits.

Arrival is a provocative science fiction thriller from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Adams) - are 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.

“Casting [ARRIVAL} was the easiest thing in my career,” says Villeneuve, “because everybody fell in love with the screenplay. Amy Adams was the actress I was dreaming of for this part because I knew that the audience would believe in this movie if the actress believed in it—everything is happening through her eyes.”

Meanwhile, Villeneuve says that the role of Ian Donnelly was a bit different than the usual roles Renner is offered. “It's very unusual to cast Jeremy Renner, who is more of a James Bond or Jason Bourne type of an actor, into [the role of] an intellectual,” says the director. “I think he liked that challenge. He came full of generosity, because he's there to support Amy, I was amazed by his talent and strong instincts. He was able to bring that dimension of a scientist in a very dynamic and funny way. The movie owes him a lot.”

Opening across the Philippines on Dec. 07, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movies: FOREST WHITAKER IN CONSECUTIVE SCI-FI ADVENTURES “ARRIVAL,” “ROGUE ONE”

Oscar Best Actor winner Forest Whitaker casts a giant shadow in the science-fiction genre as he stars in back-to-back sci-fi thrillers in December: Columbia Pictures' Arrival and Lucasfilm's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

In Arrival, when a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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.

Whitaker plays Colonel Weber who works in Military Intelligence and when we first meet him, he’s in the process of trying to find a replacement for a linguist that wasn’t able to deal with the pressure. “He goes to talk to Louise to see if she’s capable of doing this job,” narrates Whitaker. “That’s the first time we get to know him. He’s putting together a team, a linguist to break through the language barrier and a physicist to see if you can communicate through numbers, so that he has the proper tools to understand [the aliens].”

“We all know he's one of the best actors living today,” enthuses director Denis Villeneuve. “Forest Whitaker is a master, and I saw that, because he had the toughest part on this movie. Colonel Weber is a character that was difficultly written, because he is in scenes as an obstacle, as an abrasive character. He didn’t have a lot of depth on the page and Forest was able to bring a gravitas, wisdom and dimension to this character in a way that I was very impressed by. It was not an easy process for Forest, there was a lot of work on set and I'm very grateful. He was very generous.”

Villeneuve and Whitaker discussed the role. “When Denis spoke about Colonel Weber it was [often] about the fact that he plays out as a father figure, in some ways, to the characters in the film,” says Whitaker. “He’s watching out for them, overseeing and encouraging them, and helping them move past their fears and understand their own potential.”

Meanwhile, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Whitaker plays the shadowy freedom-fighter Saw Gerrera, a figure with a surprisingly deep background in the Star Wars galactic history.

The warrior was actually first seen in season 5 of The Clone Wars animated series, when he was a young man on the planet Onderon, unleashing guerilla combat on the droid army of Separatists who took over his world.

By the time Rogue One takes place, just before the events of 1977’s original Star Wars, more than two decades have passed since the events of Revenge of the Sith. As played by Whitaker, Saw Gerrera is now bulkier, more battle-hardened with the years, and maybe a little shellshocked. He has continued to fight and he has become a man who has tried to do the right thing by occasionally doing questionable things.

“Consider him kind of a battered veteran who leads a band of Rebel extremists,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “He’s on the fringe of the Rebel Alliance. Even [they] are a little concerned about him. Saw is an ally to the Rebel squad in Rogue One, but he’s not really one of them. He’s off on his own.”

Arrival opens across the Philippines on Dec. 7, to be followed by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Dec. 15.

Movies: “ARRIVAL” – THE NEW FILM FROM ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR OF "SICARIO" DENIS VILLENEUVE

"SICARIO" was mind blowing (makes explosion sounds). Which is why I'm looking forward to seeing the upcoming Sci-Fi thriller from Denis Villeneuve. With Amy Adams-this is definitely going to be an early Christmas treat! 

One of the most highly regarded directors working today in Hollywood, Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, upcoming Blade Runner 2049) promises to mesmerize audiences once again with Columbia Pictures' provocative science-fiction thriller Arrival.

In the film, a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, and an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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.

Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival is based upon the acclaimed short story by Ted Chiang titled “Story of Your Life.”

“What I love about the short story is that it has a lot of layers,” explains Villeneuve. “One of them that deeply touched me is this idea that someone is in contact with death. What would happen if you know how you will die, when you will die? What will your relationship with life, love, your family and friends, and with your society be? That’s what this beautiful short story was for me—a way to get back into a relationship with death and nature, and the mystery of life.”

Producer Dan Levine says, “What always stood out to me about Denis was he has these visions, or he wakes up with these thoughts, as if things are almost ordained. There’s a certainty to him in the gentlest way that makes you feel so confident with him directing. He’s a master at suspense and tension, but the key component to him is he gets the human component of a script, the deep emotion, the dramatic depth of each character. There’s a deep soul to him. He’s an artist. Every single time I see a film of his, it’s the greatest experience.”

“It's a very suspenseful film, there's something about it that's Hitchcockian to me,” says cast member Mark O’Brien, “because we don’t know what's going to happen completely. It's stretched out in that Hitchcock way. Because it's so mysterious and other worldly, audiences are going to be totally gripped to the screen the entire time.”

“I can’t wait to see this movie with an audience,” enthuses Levine, “because the floor will drop out of the theater. People will gasp, because you are so caught up in this story. You think you’re figuring it out and then you realize it’s something else completely, but it works perfectly. It’s a deeply emotional, powerful ending that I can’t wait to experience through other people’s eyes.”

Opening across the Philippines on Dec. 07, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movies: SCI-FI THRILLER “ARRIVAL” BASED ON ACCLAIMED SHORT STORY

In Columbia Pictures' provocative science-fiction thriller Arrival, a mysterious spacecraft touches down across the globe, and an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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. Also starring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

“I've dreamed of doing science fiction since I was ten years old,” explains director Denis Villeneuve, who fell deeply in love with the short story Arrival is based upon, Ted Chiang’s ‘Story of Your Life.’ “It’s a genre that I feel has a lot of power and the tools to explore our reality in a very dynamic way.”

“After producers Dan Levine and Dan Cohen first contacted me about doing a movie,” says Chiang, “they sent me a DVD of Denis' film, Incendies (2010), to give me an idea of what they had in mind. That played a big part in my taking them seriously. If they had sent me a copy of a conventional Hollywood science-fiction movie, I probably would have ignored them. It wasn't until a few years later that Denis was actually attached to direct, but he was the director they had in mind from the beginning.”

Villeneuve approached Arrival differently for a number of reasons. Even though he thought ‘Story of Your Life’ was “fantastic material” he simply didn’t have time to write the screenplay because he was in the middle of shooting Prisoners (2013). “I had no time to write a screenplay,” says Villeneuve, “and, to be honest, I didn't know how to crack that short story because it's very intellectual, in a strong and beautiful way, but from a dramatic point of view it's a bit difficult to articulate because it's about process.”

Villeneuve left it with the producers, including executive producer and screenwriter Eric Heisserer, who had already been working on an adaptation of the short story from early on in the production process. “They came back a few months later with a screenplay written by Eric Heisserer that was surprisingly good,” says Villeneuve. “I say surprising because Eric was able to crack it and create a sense of tension and a drama inside of that process of translation.” Villeneuve was on board.

Heisserer was equally taken by Chiang’s story. “Ted’s short story gripped me in a way that very few stories do,” recounts Heisserer. “It wasn’t that I felt that the qualities of the story were inherently cinematic, but it gave me something that I hadn’t had in a long time. It fed my brain and my heart. It made me think and feel, and it treated me with a lot of respect as an intelligent reader. At the end of the day I felt it gave an optimistic message about humanity, and in turn about myself.”

“Eric and I didn't talk about the script as it was being written,” explains Chiang. “He pitched me his idea for the script early on in order to get me to grant permission. I should note that when I wrote the story, I never envisioned it being made into a film and I had difficulty imagining what a film adaptation of it would look like. When I heard Eric's pitch I was able to visualize the film he had in mind and I liked it, so I let him go ahead and write a script. After he had finished it, I read it and offered a few comments. Over the years the script has undergone some changes, but in most ways it's still what Eric originally pitched.”

Opening across the Philippines on Dec. 07, Arrival is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movies: NEW TRAILER OF MYSTERY THRILLER “ARRIVAL” HAS LANDED

Columbia Pictures has just launched the teaser trailer for acclaimed director Denis Villenueve's much anticipated new film after “Sicario” – the mystery thriller “Arrival” starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

Watch the trailer here at https://youtu.be/s_wGTg_sGSk.

Synopsis: When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are 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.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Arrival” is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.