Arrival Review

        Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong as of now. So far, he’s a rare director that has a consecutive number of hits. With an impressive streak like that, it’s sort of becoming impossible to even try and rank his films by any means of which one is superior. Some say its his Dune duology or Blade Runner film for instance. As difficult as it may seem, Arrival is one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s.

1. Modern Day "Close Encounters" 

        If Close Encounters walked, Arrival ran before the firing gun was even gripped to shoot. This is the second time that I’ve watched the film. The first being for a class back at A&M involving philosophy and science fiction films. While I won’t divulge into any philosophical ideas since that’s not what the whole initiative is about. Instead, we’ll talk about how this film is sort of like an heir apparent to Close Encounters. 

        Based on the short story by Ted Chiang, we follow Amy Adams’ Louise, who is a specialist on linguistics. Following the, well, arrival of 12 alien ships hovering above various points on Earth, the military task her and Jeremy Renner’s Ian to uncover and figure out why the aliens are here. The way the film goes about it is utterly fascinating to me. The whole movie is sort of told in a non-linear way. 

        While we see Louise experiencing visions of her and a young girl, then transition to what’s happening as we’re seeing it is ingenious. I can imagine that it was sort of thrown as a red herring since we’re led to believe that it’s in the past. And that having her communicating with the aliens is sort of like the therapy she needs to get over her grief. That isn’t how it goes down. In fact, it’s sort of the opposite with how both Louise and Ian contact with the visitors. 

        I’ll talk about them in a bit, but the film’s most famous part is when they’re communicating with them and trying to transcribe what they’re writing. This is Louise’s movie in a way where it’s never half-baked in the least bit. I just love the rationale and no-nonsense approach she has with the general. Basically, stating that they must teach the aliens what their words mean to get an understanding of why they’re on Earth. 

        I think my favorite scene is when we have Ian narrating in a sort of audio journal of their progress. The soundtrack really conveys just the whole main idea of talking to the aliens and the multiple questions that are brought up aside from the “why are they here?” problem. The music feels like it’s sort of repeating to piggyback on Ian’s own thoughts and the audience’s mind on the whole matter. 

        Aside from that, this is very different from Close Encounters. It doesn’t have the optimistic look of sort of embracing the aliens. Or a moment where we see a malevolence of the invaders like an abduction or seemingly become threatening. The presentation is really grounded with its approach by presenting a “What if?” scenario. We have moments where the other nations are combative and using what Louise thinks is an incorrect way of communicating with the aliens. 

        What I think the main idea that the film is going for is just how humans can’t communicate among themselves. The details of the duo arguing with the military brass further punctuate the theme. Just the inability to communicate among each other cements it since no one is being open with how they’re handling the visitors. Right down to everyone misinterpreting what the aliens say is a “weapon” which sets off a domino effect. I kind of feel that it’s sort of common that when a character has made progress, there’s always an outside force that throws a monkey wrench at it. I get what they’re trying to go for, by I feel that it was forced. 

2. Heptapods

        One would think that what the aliens looked like when both Louise and Ian see them inside their ships would be their bodies. Well, partially in a way. They obviously remind me of an octopus with their legs and how they dispense a black ink that forms a various symbol that means a word to them. As I mentioned earlier, the film literally goes out of its way to show how Louise and Ian manage to transcribe what they’re saying. 

        And it’s not just something where the film is trying to be artistic for the sake of art, we later find out why Louise is being plagued by seeing future events. She’s no Lisan Al-Gaib that’s for sure, or perhaps Villeneuve was sort of dipping his toes into Dune lore before inhaling The Spice. Anyways, I love how when Louise learns her language, she sort of loses her sense of reality since the way the alien’s see time is something that’s constant. No past or present, just happening. 

        Again, I hate to sort of prod Close Encounters again but the film had a unique way of introducing the aliens. Just them simply appearing without any establishing shots of them descending is great. More so how it’s like an inverse where the aliens are presented within the first hour instead of leaving it at the end. There’s no pomp or circumstance but more like, they’re here and that’s it.

        I’ve been thinking further as to why these types of films exist or keep popping up as time goes by. It’s not an entirely new concept since it’s been interpreted at how an advanced civilization has made contact and laid waste to a lesser race. I believe that it’s a horrifying idea by both terror and just general fear since we don’t know how to react. And we have films that sort of prepare us on how to react or expect. The pacifist approach is a sort of comforting thing since there has to be some diplomacy before anyone gets ahead of themselves. 

        Now, the ones people flock to is when the invaders bust out the weapons and we fight. Some are just brain-dead action films that are bottom of the barrel garbage. Though the interesting ones I believe is when there’s an underlying message and just seeing how we survive an invasion. With how it’s presented, the direction can go either way based on interpretation, by either have the aliens be a metaphor or a reflection of how we can be better.

3. Overall

        Arrival is one of Villeneuve’s best films of the 2010s. And overall best film of that decade. 

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Review

        This is the first Steven Spielberg film that I’ve seen since I was little. It may come as a surprise that as a kid, I’ve had a phase that I was so fascinated with UFOs. So much so that my dad’s friend lend me his VHS copies of this film and Robert Zemeckis’ Contact. It’s been a good while since I’ve seen Close Encounters and I feel that it’s a full circle thing where I talk about the film that sort of in a way got me into movies. 

1. Firelight

        Before I go into detail with the film, the title derives from the Ufologist J. Allen Hynek’s classification of when someone encounters a UFO. With the third kind being when the person makes contact with the craft. With that detail out of the way, let’s talk about the film. Well, actually one could interpret this film as remake, since Spielberg had directed an alien movie when he was younger. Only snippets exist since his print was deemed lost. Anyways, the whole film is divided into three stories that are interconnected. With all of them closing in on one ending. 

        At the start, we follow French scientist Lacombe as he investigates the reappearance of the missing planes from the infamous Flight 19 disappearance. Meanwhile, in Indiana we see Roy who investigates a power outage and sees UFOs. Along with single mother Jillian with her son Barry, who has weird things happen around him. So much so that he leaves the house and has his mom chase him back.

        The great thing about the whole setup is that there’s never a tonal shift or where one subplot overshadows the former or latter. All of it are weaved beautifully since they are all interconnected. The great thing about it is that it teases the encounters gradually. With the reappearance of the planes, objects turning on by themselves and then Roy having a close encounter himself. 

        One would think that it’s sort of his story in the film. His experience kicks off his UFO obsession to the point where it drives his family apart. It may have worked like that, but the other stories are so integral since they help show just how gradual the issue is. The overall questions are why are the aliens here and what do they want?

        It’s those kinds of stories where there isn’t a bad guy or the obligatory evil government agent that wants to use the whole situation for his own means. Fortunately, there isn’t one since the whole film treats the whole thing straight from that angle. Albeit, where the Air Force try to tell the citizens that what they saw were just airplanes, yet they are adamant at what they saw. 

        If there’s a sort of element that is to be extracted from this film is that I think this is Spielberg’s most personal film. As most of his movies, there’s a motif of the broken family appearing where there isn’t a normal family. With Roy’s encounter affecting his own family to the point where they leave, believing that he’d gone insane. There’s also another aspect where it involves UFOs. 

2. UFOs

        Having watched his later films, I also think another Spielberg motif is showcasing the wonders/dangers of whatever the main thing in the movie is. With the way we see UFOs, they are a far cry from the standard flying saucers that has become a pop culture icon within the realm of science fiction. We see that there’s a variety of how they look like and just how colorful they are. The scene involving Roy’s first encounter just perfectly captures it. 

        As he’s being tasked with investigating a blackout, I love how the UFO first appears as a car. Then, without showing another angle, we see that the lights hover and soon give Roy an experience unlike any other. Then the succeeding scenes show just how determined Roy is to follow them. Inevitably involving the police as they chase the spacecraft. I love the detail where they don’t just show up, clouds form as they explore the area.

        It would be one thing where we just see the craft and wait for the aliens in the end. The best scene in the whole film is also the scariest. We actually see an abduction happen; this is where we get a tonal shift from the dramatic to horror/thriller. The set up is great since we see a supposed storm form near Jillian’s house. From there, the aliens try to abduct Barry and his mother attempting to shield him. How it’s set up with the electronics coming to life, with the screws coming undone is where I’m surprised Spielberg hadn’t done more horror films beyond Jaws. 

        With how the UFOs are presented and with the regular characters like Roy and Jillian having a near obsession with them, I feel that the film is sort of like a modern-day biblical tale. Sort of when Moses encounters the burning bush, both Roy and Jill encounter something where it’s beyond them. Right down to the penultimate scene where the mothership descends and contacts the humans via musical notes. It descends from a storm cloud like that vision that Elijah has. 

        Not that the film is a faith film by any means, but I interpret the film as a sort of heir apparent to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. That film showcases the evolution of humans through the advancement of space travel. This one highlights the next step of when humans contact another life. Right down to how the contact with musical notes and with hand signs. 

        With the last part, I feel that it was sort of subconscious and Spielberg not realizing that he was using his own past as inspiration. This analysis isn’t mine, but I want it to highlight it since it was brought up to the director back in the 2000s. Both his mom and dad were a piano player and an engineer, they ultimately divorced as Steven grew older. The moment can be interpreted as when the humans and aliens communicate, Spielberg was attempting to have his parents be reunited. It’s sort of cathartic in the end when the main character boards with the aliens. 

3. Overall

        Close Encounters of the Third Kind is one of the best Spielberg films that I’ve seen. My exposure laid the groundwork for my appreciation into movies. 

A Quiet Place Review

        This is the first time that I’ve seen A Quiet Place. I have no idea on why I missed out on this one since it came just when I was in college. Perhaps it was just those movies where I had a reservation on just how they would skirt on the gimmick. Or, I was in a middle of binging The Office and reading that John Krasinski directed the film, that it made me weary abour it. I think it says a lot about me that I have really bad takes on any movie that I haven’t seen. To exercise that, here’s what I think. 

1. Silence

        Keeping up with the alien invasion theme of the month, this is also an unorthodox film that has a unique spin on the invasion aspect. Specifically, we’re dropped into a world where the invasion already happened. We see the small town is abandoned with no signs of life. Not even sound effects of people screaming or gunfire, just breeze of the wind to punctuate the world is ominously silent. The opening sequence where we see the Abbots with Krasinski, and his wife Emily Blunt scavenge for supplies. Seemingly showing us that they’re the last survivors.

        I think the secret weapon to elevating the film is by showing just what kind of threat the characters are facing. One of the children is seen playing with a space shuttle toy. Hearing it go off is deafening, and we see the Dad quickly run to rescue him. We don’t see what the creature looks like, but just the blur and quickness of the alien swiping at the kid gives us what kind of movie we’re in. It’s not just having a kid die in the opening minutes is a must, but it really emphasizes the threat and the seemingly impossible task to survive.

        I’ll talk about the aliens in the next tab since they are unique. Overall, the movie is practically revolutionary in the sense that the only dialogue that we have is through American Sign Language. While there is vocal dialogue in terms of whispers and talking. To the extent that the scene involving the father and his son fishing establishes the rules for the movie. When they’re in the waterfall, the dad tells his son that they’re safe since the current’s noise gives them protection. It gives them a leeway, but of course the film can’t take place there.

        It would’ve been easy to screw up this concept by just having the rules be relaxed. What makes it effective is that even in the outside they can’t talk. It reminds me of the film Jaws in the context that the aliens could be anywhere outside the farm or in the general compound. And how one noise faint or otherwise can attract them like blood in the water. Right down to the family moving along a sand trail that’s been prepared by the father. To cover their own footsteps which could be sensed.

        Beyond the fear of a potential attack, I just love the teenage daughter Reagan. The moment where she gets into a sign language argument with her dad and feeling responsible for her brother’s death gives her that edge that she wants to help. Albeit she doesn’t want to risk losing anyone in her family. Just the angst and frustration really show when she sees her dad’s work with finding a way to fix her hearing aid really helps put everything into perspective for her. Aside from the survival, it’s all about love that permeates the film. 

        Lastly, the best scene in the movie is when Blunt’s character is giving birth. The setup is just ingenious with how it prepares us with what’s happening. From stepping on a nail in her barefoot triggers the aliens that are in the area. Just the level of anxiety that fills the room and Blunt being as quiet as she can be and controlling her contractions is just agonizing. She really played that part well and just doing that along with the alien trying to find the sound source is I think the scariest moment in any recent horror film that I’ve seen. 

2. Aliens

        So let’s talk about the aliens. I love that it’s never explicitly shown that it eats what it kills. Specifically that it doesn’t display any sense of intelligence or rationale with what it’s doing. The alien is literally an animal that is an invasive species trying to seemingly survive. And I love how it’s all handled since we don’t see a moment of how they got here. It’s a seemingly mindless creature that reacts to sound and attacks with ferocity and brute strength.

        Design wise, it reminded me a lot of the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise since it has no eyes and Venom from the Spider-Man comics. The appearance has a sort of gorilla stance and when it moves with its long appendages which gives it the quick stride that leads to a kill. It’s head reacts to a sound since it has various plates that’s connected to its inside and it shows it’s very distinct shark-like mouth. I love the shot that it’s odd-looking ear drum is the key to when it reacts to a loud sound.

3. Franchise

        No one could’ve imagined just how successful this film would be both financially and critically. Of course, the final shot would lead to a follow up and I think just how progressive it was to show a deaf character. Along with its use of sign language it’s spotlight. It managed to gross around 300 million dollars with a $17 million budget, and to me that’s a success story in terms of its minimal approach plus its unique story. Of course, I haven’t seen the follow up and there’s another entry that’ll be releasing this year. I’m optimistic since the whole framing of the film is how the creatures invaded and seeing it all started in a massive city.

4. Overall

        A Quiet Place is a unique alien invasion film where it’s unorthodox approach into acting sets up a terrifying encounter with something that reacts to sound. 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Review

        Alrighty! I’m back to talking about more films. Last year, I focused on the sub-genre film noir and it’s evolution. This time, I’ve decided to look at different kind of sci-fi films. Well, the ones where the aliens are in the forefront. Specifically, where they’re the invaders and the pacifists. It’s always interesting to see just how different filmmakers interpret that concept and present it. The films that I’ll be talking about are adaptations and original concepts, so let’s start off with this one. 

1. The Invaders

        Based on the story by Jack Finney and is a remake of the 1956 original. I’ve decided to look at this one due to it being shot in the 70s and just seeing what led up to the very famous last shot. Well, the film is straightforward plot wise. One would expect that the aliens would use a weapon on Earth and soon duplicates would appear. It doesn’t go down like that. Instead, we see from the start that the aliens look unlike anything we’ve seen, just spore like creatures. 

        They drift in space until they land on Earth and begin to appear as flowers. Just seeing the woman and school kids pick at the flowers in the bush lays the trap. From there, we follow both Matthew and Elizabeth: a health inspector and a scientist investigate a strange behavior that is affecting the people in San Francisco. If there’s one thing that makes this one different at that point in time is that it has a unique take on the alien invasion model. 

        Sort of like in War of the Worlds where the Martians are seemingly invincible but are defeated by common germs. This one is an inverse where the aliens take a form as something innocuous as a flower and soon sprout a hybrid copy. Just how the film starts and progress where the threat is seemingly unstoppable to the point where it starts to be almost anxiety ridden. Like, everything in San Francisco seemingly looks normal only when people are just emotionless. 

        I like how the characters are just trying to get the help that they need. Both Matthew and Elizabeth start to realize what’s happening where they involve their friends. It was crazy seeing Jeff Goldblum in a movie and still age well for how old he is. More so how seeing Spock himself Leonard Nimoy try to assure to the main characters that everything is fine. That’s only confounding and tragic is seeing his character pop up later. 

        I think this is one of the rare examples of a bio-horror film and a body horror movie. Bio-horror in a sense where an unknown entity is rained down and starts to affect a person symbiotically.  Or just seeing how the spores slowly duplicate someone while they’re sleeping gives the intensity where the characters must be awake. I’m glad we see it happen, but also just gives a clear idea that anyone can be a pod person. 

        As far as having a grounded and unorthodox approach to the story, I feel that the themes are resonated in a more contemporary setting. I feel that the moment when the person becomes a new alien hybrid is supposed to represent just the coming of the time. And how regular humans are trying to escape or inevitably embrace change where they don’t want to lose themselves. It gets even darker near the end. 

        I might as well talk about the last shot of the film. This is one of those rare films where the good guys don’t win and when all hope’s lost. Just seeing Matthew seemingly embracing being a pod person by being emotionless gives us that fake assurance that he’s in disguise. When a friend of his sees him, “Matthew” lets out a guttural shriek and points at her. Just seeing his friend Nancy cry and shout and the cut to the credits with no music really cements that humanity lost. There’s no other way to even execute that move without being divisive. If there’s one aspect of why the film is great, it’s just that final scene. 

2. Legacy

        This film is part of the rare group of films where it exceeds as a stand-alone film and a great remake. Part of the rules for a great remake is expanding on the original source material and adding something new and refreshing to it. So much so that the film is referenced every now and then in pop culture. I’ve seen it happen when the alien’s point and scream was spoofed by Rick and Morty in one episode. 

        Also, this is one of those rare films where there was even more remakes. Albeit, not like A Star is Born, the different releases changed the setting from an Army base to an alien bacteria that is spotted on a Space Shuttle. The titles would break up the full name, which is where we got Body Snatchers from the 90s and The Invasion in the 2000s. I haven’t seen any of them, only that I was first exposed to the concept when watching the commercials for The Invasion. 

3. Overall

        Invasion of the Body Snatchers is up there in terms of 1970s horror and in sci-fi. A classic with its story that is very contemporary.