Arrival

First viewing since around the time it came out. One word to describe it: crisp. It looks, sounds, and feels like it, without a shot, word, or second wasted. The music, the sound, the scientific explanations, the number of characters and alien scenes, the fog – none of it felt like too much. It was always in it's right place, just like these characters' parts on the Stage of Life, as it always was. Denis Villeneuve brought Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" to reality. Sounds like your typical adaptation, but if you've read Chiang's stories, you would know that is not easy. Chiang is an extraordinary writer who pushes his readers and their imaginations through the typical bounds of sci-fi, pondering our relationships with humanity, physics, and the universe. Writing about the non-linear nature of time and language is hard enough, but creating a visual is another leap, and Denis nailed it. This movie makes you think, and that shouldn't be taken for granted. More screenplays ought to emulate that approach.