Arrival
Academy Award × 1
Rent/Purchase
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
What critics thought
Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama earned broad acclaim as a rare blockbuster willing to prioritize ideas and feeling over spectacle, with Amy Adams' performance as linguist Louise Banks singled out as its emotional anchor. The film's structural reveal — less a twist than a slow reconfiguration of everything you've assumed — divided critics on whether the payoff earned its ambition, and a vocal minority found the pacing inert and the whole enterprise self-serious to the point of pomposity. Its reputation has only grown since release, landing on multiple best-of-century lists years later.
“introspective, philosophical and existentially inclined—yet [it] unfolds in an unwavering tenor of chest-tightening excitement. And there is a mid-film revelation—less a sudden twist than sleek unwinding of everything you think you know—that feels, when it hits you, like your seat is tipping back.”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“sophisticated, grownup sci-fi: a movie about aliens for people who don't like movies about aliens”
Sam Lansky·Time
“Arrival is really Adams' film, a showcase for her ability to quietly and effectively meld intelligence, empathy, and reserve”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“latest exercise in pretentious poopery”
Rex Reed·New York Observer
“It's a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them and get them talking. For the most part, it succeeds.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorDenis Villeneuve
StarringAmy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O'Brien
ComposerJóhann Jóhannsson
Arrival
Academy Award × 1
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
What critics thought
Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama earned broad acclaim as a rare blockbuster willing to prioritize ideas and feeling over spectacle, with Amy Adams' performance as linguist Louise Banks singled out as its emotional anchor. The film's structural reveal — less a twist than a slow reconfiguration of everything you've assumed — divided critics on whether the payoff earned its ambition, and a vocal minority found the pacing inert and the whole enterprise self-serious to the point of pomposity. Its reputation has only grown since release, landing on multiple best-of-century lists years later.
“introspective, philosophical and existentially inclined—yet [it] unfolds in an unwavering tenor of chest-tightening excitement. And there is a mid-film revelation—less a sudden twist than sleek unwinding of everything you think you know—that feels, when it hits you, like your seat is tipping back.”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“sophisticated, grownup sci-fi: a movie about aliens for people who don't like movies about aliens”
Sam Lansky·Time
“Arrival is really Adams' film, a showcase for her ability to quietly and effectively meld intelligence, empathy, and reserve”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“latest exercise in pretentious poopery”
Rex Reed·New York Observer
“It's a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them and get them talking. For the most part, it succeeds.”
Brian Tallerico·RogerEbert.com
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorDenis Villeneuve
StarringAmy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O'Brien
ComposerJóhann Jóhannsson
Rent/Purchase