35 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 214: Arrival (2016)”

1. In MPW Ep. 215, we’re going to have Brain, the Sci-Fi Podcast physicist, settle Andy and Karl’s age-old debate about the science of “Airport ’77.” If you didn’t hear our original CTS Podcast review excerpt at the very end of MPW Ep. 211, then you can hear it here for a little, preparatory context:

   http://traffic.libsyn.com/thectspodcast/Airport77.mp3

   J

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2. Top 10 (no order) films of 2016 (what i have seen)
   Deadpool
   Wardogs
   10 Cloverfield lane
   Dont breathe
   The Shallows
   Star Trek
   Captain America: Civil War
   Lights out
   Central intelligence
   Train to Busan
   …… this year has been good for horrors, but not much else half of these wouldn’t of made the list a few years ago!!

   5 Worst
   x-men
   Batman vs Superman
   Ride along 2
   The huntsman
   independence day
   ……….A few of these weren’t actually bad as stand alone films but the hype and buildup behind some of these made the films feel like a let down.

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3. Would love to know what you guys think in the last decade what was the best year for movie releases?

   Can you beat 2010? (Inception ,Shutter island, Book of Eli, Kick Ass, despicable me, The other guys ) to name just a few

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   • I think last year was easily among the best…

     Fury Road
     Ex Machina
     Room
     Force Awakens
     Spotlight
     The Martian
     Sicario
     Inside Out
     The Revenant

     So many great ones. By comparison, this year has had a lot of decent but just good/not great ones. A few gems, but not nearly as many, if any, that were so mind-blowing like 2015.

     2010 was very good (Toy Story 3 is another masterpiece from that year), and Inception is one of my all-time faves. Ryan, was I correctly interpreting you bagging on Inception in this episode?? If so, damn dude, that’s cold. That movie is all kinds of amazing.

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     • Just watched Captain Fantastic and will add that to the short list of great ones this year. More later on that… I’ll probably watch it again soon with my girls… but it’s a 9.5. So good.

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       • Yes. 2010 yes. 2015 yes. Captain Fantastic yes.

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4. Btw, I thought Mattroid and Station were terrific, and if Andy is ever fired for insubordination, or Karl dies of old age and whiskey, they would make a great replacement. (Granted, they have their own show, but so does Ry.) Fun dynamic between the two of them and you guys, and the show could really use a lady’s voice in there.

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   • Hey thanks, Eric! Maybe I will start plotting an overthrow…

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5. As much I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion of AT-ATs (and this episode as a whole; like Eric, I loved the interplay between the MPW regulars and the S-FP duo), Jay and Ry are both wrong. In a collegial spirit of pedantry, I submit that the correct pronunciation is “Imperial walker.” 🙂 Jay, here’s MY supporting evidence, which you’ll note is from “The Empire Strikes Back” itself:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3acC49W3yQk

   I think we can all agree that the actual movies should be the primary text for settling disputes. “AT-AT” is an incidental byproduct of the merchandising arm (books and toys) of the “Star Wars” empire.

   This episode also contained the most engaging (and exhaustive) discussion of a non-movie that I’ve ever heard on MPW. I think Mattroid and Station should come back after the first “Dark Tower” movie is actually released, so that Karl’s head can explode when MPW cranks out its first-ever single show with a five-hours-plus running time. Also (further pedantry), Idris Elba is British (born and raised in London), not African-American.

   I continue to enjoy Ry’s fake titles. This is the best in-show movie podcast game that any show I’m aware of has come up with. Lots of shows try to mix in some easy laughs with a game during the show, and I almost always find it an annoying gimmick. GCR’s Fake Titles of the Week nails it on four fronts: 1) it grew out of an established regular element of the show (Jason reading the title of everything released each week), 2) it made that established element better, 3) listeners can play along in the moment, and 4) (perhaps most critically) it’s actually funny and entertaining. Also, “Prat: The Art of the Fall” (working title; shortened to “The Art of the Fall” for release after negative response from research screening groups) is my favorite GCR fake movie title yet.

   “Or he becomes a good wizard” may be Jay’s best Harry Potter putdown yet. Bravo, sir.

   I have a minor correction to the review of “Hacksaw Ridge” in last week’s episode. (Because apparently I’m all about the details this week.) Jay, while I appreciate that my watchful presence continues to prompt your better angels when discussing actresses during the podcast, I’m pretty sure that I haven’t actually ever used the word “creeper” on the MPW message boards. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever even *called* you anything, brother. 🙂 I believe my word of choice is “perv,” as in, “Jay started all of this by perving on Blake Lively back in Ep. 196.”

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   • Cody, I like that analysis of “why the joke works” and I’m not being fake. I really do. You’re right, and I always love it when people can show their work.

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6. Hey guys,
   First off I just want to thank Andy for reccomending Room on the Broom and The Gruffalo (I’m not sure which episode he reccomended them). My almost 3yr old boy absolutely loves them and has been running around the house with a broom pretending to be the witch.

   I am also a bit annoyed at Andy for his apparent lack of enthusiasm for Hacksaw Ridge. I thought this was a very intense movie and I would rank it up there with Lone Survivor and Saving Private Ryan for intensity. I realised at one point in the movie that I was all tensed up and I had my body turned away from the screen.
   This was a great movie, I love war movies and this is now one of my favourites. Jay and Ryan are right, this man is an absolute hero. To do what he did is unbelievable. This movie is a 9.5 out of 10 in my opinion.
   It isn’t one of those movies where it’s all about how great America is like some war movies turn out to be either. Awesome movie, see it at the cinema while you can!

   I saw Arrival today and really loved it. I didn’t notice the lighting until they were sitting in the back of the truck and I thought “this is the scene that Karl was talking about” and then I couldn’t stop noticing it (thanks Karl). I don’t know if it would have bothered me or not if I hadn’t heard Karl talking about it, but it did bother me a bit once once I noticed it. It was still an awesome movie though. It has a great story line, it gets you thinking and I have been thinking about it ever since. I would give it an 8.5 out of ten and definitely reccomend seeing it in the cinema. It’s a bit of a slow movie but if you love sci fi, go and see it.

   I have been cramming in a lot of 2016 movies so I can get a decent top 10 lost for the end of the year. This week I watched Captain America Civil War, Midnight Special, The Brother’s Grimsby and Don’t Breathe. I have some serious thinking to do about my top 10 list.

   Love the podcast.
   Andrew.

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7. MOANA is another winner for Disney. Visually stunning, fun and charming, and pushes the right buttons. But I only liked it and didn’t love it. As entertaining as it was, it was also very formulaic. I always knew what type of scene or plot turn was coming up next. And although it was touting songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and much as I love Hamilton, these songs felt pretty non-descript. Nothing nearly as memorable as the Frozen songs, for example (love ’em or hate ’em, they’re memorable). There’s also some weirdness with a group of sentient coconuts, and too many gags with a dumb chicken. I’m sure it’ll be a hit, though, and generally deserved. But it’s only a 7.5 for me.

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8. So I need to get into CAPTAIN FANTASTIC a bit… This will be fighting with Sing Street for my BMOTY, but as I’ve read a few reviews online since watching it, I see that it’s been pretty polarizing. So I’m curious to see where you guys will come down on it, and I’ll make my case in advance in favor of it, in case you’re on the con side. Regardless, I think you need to see this before making your top 10’s for the year.

   The film is about a family living off-the-grid in Washington State, led by dad Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), and dealing with the absence of their mother/wife. Up front, you should know that whatever your political leaning, you will (and probably should) find some things about how the father of this movie leads and teaches his children to be off-putting and wrong. And he has a huge sense of moral superiority about his views and way of life, which can be grating, especially if you disagree with those views. But if you focus on those things, specifically (as I’ve seen others do), you’ll be missing the forest for the trees.

   What I love about this movie is that it made me realize that my family *is* this family. Not in most specific ways, but in the same sense of being an island of a few people within the greater world, and defining in our own way how much we walk along with society, and how much we walk against it. You could take a family that is the complete opposite of the family in the film… a hardcore right-wing Christian family that sends their kids to Bible camp… and they are exactly this family, too.

   So as opposed to being an endorsement of this particular family’s lifestyle and idealogy, it’s a beautiful celebration of family in general, and the triumphs and struggles and deeply personal moments and challenges each family has. And yes, the film does celebrate this family to an extent (I think the title is ultimately meant to be sincere), but it doesn’t shy away from showing the problems inherent with their particular way of life, and the man’s arrogance and hypocrisy and shortcomings. And that’s what we would all hope for… that whatever anyone else might think is off-putting or wrong about the way we guide and live within our family, that it could still be celebrated for the good and for the successes and for the love.

   I have a huge bias here, in that our family lost our wife/mother three years ago. That is no doubt a very impactful part of some of this story, and certain moments involving a waterfall and the kids looking at something during a bus ride later in the film were just deeply penetrating to me. I can’t assume that would have the same effect on others.

   But that being said, it’s a 9.5 for me, and that held after seeing it a second time. I watched it that second time with my girls (11 and 14) who loved it. But I can’t necessarily recommend it for your kids… that needs to be your call, of course. There is strong language throughout and one shot of full-frontal made nudity (in a way that I think is fitting to the reaction we are meant to have), and the subject matter is challenging and mature. But I would hope that most parents will watch this, at least, because I’m sure a lot of you out there are Captain Fantastics in your own ways, and I’d love you to feel that same sense of appreciation I did in knowing that my family is immune to whatever anyone else thinks about it, and precious and sacred to me for the unique bond and experience we have had and continue to have together.

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   • Eric – I’ll second your opinion that ‘Captain Fantastic’ is one of the better films of the year. I’m not sure yet if it will make my Top 10 (I’m currently catching up on indie and foreign films that I missed earlier), but it’s certainly well worth seeing.

     Also, I finally saw ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and it was simply stunning. I think it will likely make my Top 10, if for no other reason then there are visually groundbreaking things they do in it which have simply never been done before in animation – ever. It’s really rather a pity that none of the other hosts (and most of the moviegoing public) have seen it, even after such a glowing endorsement from Ryan – but I suspect it will become a massive cult film in the years to come.

     Finally, most recently, I watched Lanthimos’ ‘The Lobster’. I thought it was also an excellent film (possible Top 10 for me): an extremely dark, thoroughly surreal, and seriously funny look at relationships – rather like Mike Nichols crossed with Luis Buñuel. Highly recommended for anyone that likes dark humor mixed with allegory and metaphor (perhaps Andy?).

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     • Kubo is an amazing visual movie, and it aims for a very high thematic and emotional place, but I stand by my previous comments that it doesn’t quite get there or pull all of its strings together. Certain Pixar/Disney films have stuck the landing better, and I think that’s what kept this from being more universally loved; it was a spectacular visual experience and adventurous journey, but not something transcendent enough to captivate or be recommended widely enough to be a hit. I feel like Laika will have one of those films at some point, and this came close, but not quite.

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       • “…but I stand by my previous comments that it doesn’t quite get there or pull all of its strings together.”

         Well, it worked extremely well – on an emotional level – for me. Perhaps it’s because my father died last year, but in any case, we just have different subjective opinions about this.

         “Certain Pixar/Disney films have stuck the landing better, and I think that’s what kept this from being more universally loved”

         It’s not that people saw the film and didn’t love it – it’s that people just didn’t go to see it in the first place. Despite the fact that it had (and continues to have) almost universally rave reviews for both the story and the visuals (still at 97% on RT), it also had a terrible title, Asian themes, and a botched marketing campaign working against it. That’s why it wasn’t seen by people; IMO it has little to do with people not liking the ending. Laika has a proven track record of poor marketing of their films.

         I’ll stand by my belief that it will gather a massive cult following as people (and children) slowly discover it after the fact.

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         • If it connected in a big way for you, that’s great. I know it did for many (and I know others who felt it was a near miss as I did). You’re probably absolutely right about the marketing. Simply naming it “Kubo” probably would have been better.

           My grandmother had big-time dementia, and my father has been diagnosed with it (he’s still with us for the most part, for now). My wife died three years ago after a long illness… I had no idea really what this movie was going to be about going in, but as it started to develop I was thinking whoa, this is going to be hugely meaningful for me. It is touching on some very specific threads that connect with my life and the people I love and have lost. It should have had me blubbering in terms of personal resonance (as films like Up and Captain Fantastic and others have). And I was always expecting it to.

           But then it just seemed to jerk itself around, and by the end I was wondering what the deal was with the eyeball and the grandfather and the sisters and the lamps on the water and uhhhhhhhh. All of the things individually have some hint of meaning and importance, but seemed just strung together loosely. Huge concepts were introduced but then thrown away or unresolved. I like that they aimed high for something that was potentially very poignant, conceptually. But in terms of the story, they shot too many lofty arrows at once and missed the target with most, or at least some of them.

           I still gave it a 9, so ya know, I’m a fan. And I totally reserve the right to be blown away when I watch it again soon on DVD, in a way I wasn’t the first time (other than visually).

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           • ************ SPOILERS FOR KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS ************

             It’s definitely a twisty fable that I still haven’t unpacked completely. Thinking about it afterward, I had the idea that most of the story (perhaps from the moment his mother gave him the “wings” until the moment his old, sad grandfather appears in the graveyard) is a story that Kubo tells himself (and perhaps others) to cope with the death of his parents (perhaps from drowning at sea?). The two sisters could represent the elements (i.e. a storm at sea or on land which killed one or both parents), but I’m not sure about the significance of the eye (and the scars across his mother and grandfather’s eyes). In any case, I do think there is an underlying allegory that will make sense – but it’s not one that is simple to decipher. I guess one can argue if that’s a feature or a bug.

             Anyway, I definitely want to see it again as well, and see if I can put all the pieces together once I know where it’s headed.

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   • Eric. This is a beautiful review and puts into words the effect that a movie can have on a person. I’m so glad you saw it and so glad that it came at a point for you that it could be affirming and uplifting and not just painful. I’ve been here since you came to the board. I’ve read your comments and listened to you talk about your girls and your parenting. I’ve browed your website and (somewhat unfortunately) listened to you sing. You are a Captain Fantastic, my friend. You and your girls are lucky, lucky to have each other. To conciously form a unit and a bond that helps you all to grow and become your best.

     Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments. You are a gentleman and a really nice guy.

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     • Jenifer, I want to give grateful thanks for your very generous and kind words… I want to, but I can’t get past your saying how unfortunate it was that you heard me sing. I’ll try to do better.
       ?

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     • The reality is that if I could have half the conviction and dedication and focus of the father in this film, I’d have twice what I do now. But that’s the great thing about films… as exaggerated as they can be, they can inspire us to consider where our best efforts and time and attention should be. To paraphrase Jack in As Good as it Gets, this movie makes me want to be a better man.

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9. A couple of different threads from a couple of different podcasts have been clattering around in my brain for the last couple of weeks, but have finally melded together into the following rant (a couple of weeks too late 🙂 ):

   You can *not* honestly claim to love movies, but have failed to see Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’ (of which both versions of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ are pale imitations).

   And even though, no, it’s not on any AFI list because, well… AFI is only American Films, it’s very often considered one of the Top 10 Films of All-Time (BMOAT) by many people (including me) that really *do* love movies, and watch a variety from different countries and different periods of time.

   There are numerous reasons why it’s one of the greatest films ever made, but just to name one: filmed way back in 1954, it contains what is still arguably the most amazing battle scene ever shot in a pouring rainstorm. The script, cinematography, and acting are all simply superb, and once you watch it, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t seen it sooner – and understand why so many filmmakers have “borrowed” so much from it over the years.

   And speaking of Kurosawa (easily one of the top 10 film directors of all time with at least 12 superb films that everyone should see), if you’re fan of the loner, anti-hero-as-hero film, and haven’t seen the dark, action-comedy, ‘Yojimbo’ (and it’s followup, ‘Sanjuro’ – starring the amazing Toshirô Mifune), you should definitely check those out; they’re also absolute treats.

   ‘Yohimbo’, like ‘Seven Samurai’, has been remade in the West: first as ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ and again as ‘Last Man Standing’ – both of which are also pale imitations of the original, because they lack both Kurosawa’s great direction and the great acting and presence of Mifune as the droll, but deadly, samurai.

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10. Just saw FANTASTIC BEASTS. Ah gee… another one that was just a’ight. There were a lot of fun and clever moments, and I quite liked the side character of a guy who gets mixed up into the plot by accident. But there were some pretty glaring problems…

    Eddie Redmayne is a fine actor, but he seemed barely there for much of this part. I mean, he’s often there, physically, but he’s talking quietly, looking sheepish and shy, and just kind of had a weird vibe about him that wasn’t very endearing for a main character of what is presumably a new series of films. Compare him to the instant charisma and energy of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, and it’s not even close. Granted, they are supposed to be different characters, so I’m not sure whether it’s the actor or the character as written. I’m guessing some of both.

    I didn’t get the “too dark” feeling that you guys had with Arrival, but boy is that the case in this film. It seems like a cheap way to represent this time period (1920’s-ish), and especially New York City of that era, to just make everything kind of dark and dreary. Really drained some life out of it.

    The pacing and direction was often very flat, or uneven. We might have a fairly breezy little action scene, or something wondrous involving the titular beasts (generally well-done, though the CGI wasn’t always top notch), but then we get a scene with these morose side plot characters, and it feels slow and labored. I struggled to stay awake at times, even though I just had a 32 ounce Diet Pepsi.

    Too long! I think it clocks in at a little over 2 hours. Cut 15-20 minutes and pace things together better, and tell Eddie Redmayne to speak up a bit, and this would have been a pretty solid Harry Potter universe film. JK Rowling wrote the screenplay, and I wonder if she’d have been better writing the story, and someone else writing the screenplay. Not that the screenplay is bad, by any means, but it seems like it wasn’t edited quite enough. Who’s gonna question or suggest changes to JK Rowling as a writer for a new HP property? Whereas, if she had the story idea but someone else did the screenplay, I think it might have been tighter.

    Eh, it has its charms, with a reasonable measure of fun stuff throughout, and I think it should be seen by anyone who likes the HP universe. But I give it a 6.5 and say Redbox it.

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11. For the die-hard MPW listeners only…
    Check this out:

    https://moviepodcastweekly.com/participate-in-our-top-10-best-movies-of-2016-episode-and-you-could-win-a-50-amazon-gift-card-a-25-amazon-gift-card-or-ryans-no-1-movie-of-2016/

    #DeadSeriousAboutTop10of2016Movies

    J

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12. Hey team; Thanks for your Spoilers section covering “Arrival”. I loved where you talked about whether people “got” the fact that all of those flash-backs were actually flash- forwards. Yeah. I’m only moderately intelligent, so I only mostly got it. But it really helped to have you guys talk through it a little bit.. So yeah. I was looking forward to that and I’m glad you did it.

    All agreed that Mattroid and Station were so fun to have on. My favorite line was from Mattroid during the discussion of the lighting (haha that was hillarous); “The saturation of the unknown.” Mattroid’s a poet, don’t you think!!!

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13. For me, anyway, Episode 215 (now published) is without question, one of the funniest MPW episodes yet:

    https://moviepodcastweekly.com/movie-podcast-weekly-ep-215-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-2016-and-the-edge-of-seventeen-2016-and-bleed-for-this-2016-and-shut-in-2016-and-the-monster-2016/

    J

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14. Hey Friends,
    Please check out the TWO INSANE AND FAIRLY COMPREHENSIVE LISTS that I posted in the COMMENTS section for this blog post:

    https://moviepodcastweekly.com/participate-in-our-top-10-best-movies-of-2016-episode-and-you-could-win-a-50-amazon-gift-card-a-25-amazon-gift-card-or-ryans-no-1-movie-of-2016/

    My two lists will help you considerably with your Top 10 list preparation…

    Much love,
    Jay

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15. I finally got to see Arrival yesterday, and loved it. Just a quick note on the lighting debate that happened here. Personally, I was not bothered by the film’s lighting, and actually didn’t really notice it being unusually dimly lit after the very opening part of the film when Louise was at her house. In fact…

    **********SPOILERS FOR ARRIVAL************

    I feel like the film became more brightly lit as it progressed, mirroring Louise’s gradual understanding of the heptapod’s language. Sort of like her enlightenment as she was pulling herself out of the haze.

    END SPOILERS

    I’m not sure if that’s^ what Villeneuve intended, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

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    • **********SPOILERS FOR ARRIVAL************

      Additional gripe with Karl’s gripe of how the film starts (sorry Karl, I don’t mean to pick on you), but I don’t think it necessarily starts where it ends. The point of the film is this gift the aliens bring, the universal language, changes our perception of time from linear to non-linear. The film beginning that way helped emphasize this point, and I felt the fact that we don’t really understand this until the end was a beautiful revelation.

      p.s. Jason, you need to up your game. I’ve used the “want to make a baby?” line several times in my life. It’s a staple.

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      • **********SPOILERS FOR ARRIVAL************

        Re: Abbott being killed by the rogue blast, I think it was inferred by the actions and Louise’s apology that his death was a direct result of the explosion. Remember also that Abbott was the heptapod who stepped up to the barrier to save Louise and Ian, so he was in the direct path of the explosion (while Costello was back a little farther).

        Also, about the explosion, I think it was a necessary element to the film for the simple reason that there was no retaliation from the aliens (and, Costello specifically, when s/he was talking to Louise afterward). That proved that the aliens were here for peaceful reasons, to help us so that we could help them in the future. I also think it’s a completely believable and normal event to have occurred, having a few rogue people who are spooked and unsatisfied with how the situation is being handled to go off and try to “solve the problem” on their own.

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16. I just listened to this episode (I’m a little behind), and I’m sorry to say that I totally agree with Jason about the lighting… it’s beautiful, gorgeous, and refreshing to behold.

    Please don’t tell my Sci-Fi co-hosts that I strongly disagree with them on this issue.

    Solo out!

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    • I heard that, Solo!

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      • Busted! ?

        For the record, I side with Solo on this.

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        • I second that agreement. 🙂

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          • Then you’re all on my sh*t list! ?

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