Arrival

Accomplished linguist "Louise" (Amy Adams) is drafted in by the US military to join an international team of scientists charged with trying to communicate with twelve spacecraft that have landed across the globe. Upon her arrival she encounters "Donnelly" (Jeremy Renner) and the pair work on finding a way to talk with "Abbott" and "Costello". These latter two are aliens who seem just as keen to chat back, but finding common terms of reference is nigh on impossible. As they find innovative ways to make progress, we discover a little of her traumatic past and it seems her association with the visitors is heightening her senses and inspiring her imagination. With the global alliance straining and the domestic military champing at the bit, it falls to the couple to avert disaster. It has something of the original "Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) about it, this - as it looks more intelligently at the whole subject of extra-terrestrial life without just focusing on expensive visual effects. Indeed, the artistic design of these effects is really quite effective at illustrating just how blank canvas connections require inspiration and patience - and there are clues for us to spot, too. Adams is at the top of her game here, and with Renner delivering well as a foil and Forest Whitaker taking on the role as the less gung-ho military man ("Col. Weber), this is more a thinking persons sci-fi thriller that keeps us guessing as to the motives of just about all until the denouement. It's a little slow off the mark, but does make you hope that if ET does ever arrive, it is more this kind of welcome it may receive rather than tanks, missiles and ye-ha!

I loved the visuals in this, and Amy does a great job of carrying the cast. I am able to suspend my disbelief for 120 minutes when watching sci fi, so I will avoid the useless "but that's not what the military would do" comments. The movie has a great setup talking about language, culture, our perception of the world and how truly -alien- an alien life form would feel to us. Unfortunately, it uses that setup to deliver a platitude older than written language and then just throws away any conclusion to its sci fi story that we though was the main focus up until that point. Yes, I know cancer is sad and all that from real life, now can we please know what happened to the aliens?? Did they get bored and leave when they saw the ending?

ok movie really boring at times. it was only interesting to the space craft and the aliens. other then that it was pretty dumb. working together and love is something the planet will never understand. well at least our leaders wont any way.