Arrival (2016)
The most interesting aspect of aliens may have yet to be discovered.
Presentation:
This is Denis Villeneuve's entry into his desired science fiction genre. The film looks fantastic utilizing beautiful natural light and a very moody atmosphere with Zeiss Super Speeds. This is a very pleasant addition offering something new to the alien genre, which relies mostly on psychological and political aspects requiring you to think the whole time. It’s one of the moodiest films with Johann Johannson’s best soundtrack of all time, blurring the lines between horror, thriller and psychological drama. It’s beautiful though one of visually dimmest pictures, which allows that magnificient brooding atmosphere.
Story:
Ridiculous premise, you can't see the future even if that's how language programs your mind, still a great watch anyway.
Conclusion:
A fascinating story that hinders on some psychological theories like linguistic determinism/whorfs hypothesis, which if you've never heard of or aren't able to grasp, may lead to a very confusing experience. But the visuals and presentation might be so good that you'll love every moment of it. So much so, that you might even think it’s one of the best alien films, which is not exactly a very high bar to begin with but still demonstrates the caliber of this film.
Recommendations
Will their visit be full of wonders or horrors?