Arrival

        I’m going to warn in advance that there are some spoilers in this review as it is difficult to review without talking about the nature of the film which unfolds slowly throughout. To call this film  science fiction is to do it a disservice.  The science fiction is there to be sure, but it’s merely a vehicle to deliver a highly introspective and existential story as it profiles a woman’s life.  Denis Villeneuve delivers another great Director performance with visuals and story that are in no hurry to unfold and work in perfect harmony.  This won’t be a blockbuster and it probably won’t be noticed by the majority of movie going audiences, but if you are someone who enjoys impressive filmmaking then I highly recommend ‘Arrival’

The premise of the story is that twelve mysterious hemiglobe shaped spaceships arrive at random locations around the world.  Global panic ensues. Respective governments make contact with the alien creatures, but communication is impossible given the vast differences between the two creatures. The head of the U.S. government task force, Colonel Weber, (Forrest Whitaker) reaches out to Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a top level linguist, in order to find some way to communicate with the aliens to determine their intentions. Along with a theoretical physicist, Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), a team enters the space ship to attempt to learn how the aliens communicate. This is where Villeneuve demonstrates his aptitude for science fiction in giving us hectopod shaped creatures who communicate through inky mists.  An angle that could go horribly wrong under a lesser Director, but Villeneuve is able to fill us with a sense of wonder as these two species attempt to communicate with each other.

So, with this science fiction backdrop, the story of Dr Louise Banks becomes the focus of the film.  Through visions that Louise seemingly randomly has, we see her life unfold before us.  Early on, we realize she has suffered through the death of a child and we feel her pain.  Her visions of her relationship with her daughter are both intimate and poetic.  In a non-linear fashion, we have the arc of Louise’s daughter’s life laid out before us from birth to deathbed and the emotions that Louise experiences at each point.  We feel her pains and joys as the film slowly unfolds and her life story starts to take focus albeit it in a mysterious fashion. This is the center of the film even as Ian and Louise begin to understand the nature of the alien language.  

I’ll stop there in describing the film as anything else would be giving away too much.  Instead I’ll focus on Villeneuve’s artistic vision.  This film is the antithesis to a film like ‘Independence Day’.  It’s an exploration… a quest and Villeneuve feels no obligation to get you anywhere in a hurry.  Instead he seeks to create visual poetry and prose on the screen in order to advance the story.  Part of the joy is getting there with him even if it doesn’t seem like a straight line.  He existentially explores our perception of life and linear perception of time in a way I’ve rarely seen outside of authors like Alan Moore or the vastly underrated film ‘Cloud Atlas’ by the Warkowskis.  Villeneuve explores our human limitation of perceiving time in a linear fashion and our capacity to one day rise above that.

If you go to this film expecting a science fiction story I feel you might be disappointed.  In fact, by the end of the film I felt that the alien arrival was one of the least important aspects of the story and the resolution of that story line was highly unsatisfying,  I find it hard to otherwise classify this film, so I’ll just call it a profile of one woman’s life.  In seeing the choices she made, we question ourselves and the choices in our life.  Looking back on your life, would you make the same choices you made?  Even the ones that caused you pain?  Or would you be able to appreciate the beauty of your life taken as a whole and appreciate the arc it took.  It’s rare to find a science fiction film that causes you very human introspection, but I’m glad I found this one.

Arrival trailer

Doctor Strange

          Many people believe that superheroes are their own genre.  While that may be true, I think it’s overly simplistic as under the overall ‘superhero’ umbrella, there are as many genres as one would find in all other movies.  We find everything from the comedy of a ‘Deadpool’ to the dark political thrillers of a ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier, to the fancifulness of Thor all under the title of a “superhero movie”.  Whatever your proclivities are, there is a superhero to fit them.  ‘Doctor Strange' is a foray into the world of magic and mysticism in the super hero world, which we have not yet truly seen in the Marvel onscreen offerings.  Fanboys have been wanting to see Doctor Strange come to life on the screen for a longtime (one doesn’t count the embarrassingly bad TV movie from 1978).  Marvel has once again proven it’s ability to make a crowd pleaser and ‘Doctor Strange’ is a welcome addition to the annals of the Marvel onscreen universe. In addition, Marvel demonstrates their ability to perfectly cast their roles and Benedict Cumberbatch is an inspired choice as he embodies the essence of Doctor Strange by the end of the movie.

I was a fickle fan of the Doctor Strange comics growing up.  Created in the psychedelic era of the 1960’s by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange was a mind bending psychedelic trip into other dimensions fueled by Steve Ditko’s LSD visions (that’s what artists did at the time).  At its’ worst, Doctor Strange was just weird (fitting given his name), but at its’ best, it was an exploration of other realities and thought provoking concepts.  While I was not a follower per se, some of the most moving and epiphany producing stories of my youth came from the pages of this comic book series.  That is what art is about and for that Steve Ditko has my utmost respect.

Marvel did a fantastic job transferring the pages to the screen.  Director Scott Derrickson pays homage to Ditko’s 60’s 

psychedelic visions in creating other dimensions and universes directly from Ditko’s storyboards as well as grabbing inspiration from more main stream artists, such as MC Escher, during some of the spectacular battle scenes.  Everything you’ve heard about the visual power of this movie is true and the film could be enjoyed on that merit alone.  However, what makes Marvel successful is that, despite the fanciful premises, their films are character driven and  inhabited by flawed human beings (mostly human).  Benedict Cumberbatch captures the arrogant Doctor Strange persona in much the way Robert Downey Jr did with Tony Stark: He is able to take an arrogant, narcissistic, and abrasive character and make them engaging and sympathetic.  No easy task and a credit to both the writing and the acting.  

The story is standard super hero fare which involves a tragedy, in this case the famed neurosurgeon Doctor Strange losing the use of his hands after a horrific car accident.  Given that his entire egotistical self image is tied to his greatness as a surgeon, he spends every last resource he has searching for a way to restore his hands.  A chance encounter leads him to Nepal in search of the mysterious ‘Ancient One’ (a politically controversial casting of Tilda Swinton, but she owns the role) in hopes of a non-traditional cure. Rescued from a Nepalese gutter by Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a skeptical Doctor Strange is introduced to a world beyond the comprehension of his scientifically trained mind.  Although, in the Marvel world, magic is just science that has not yet been discovered.  What follows is the standard teacher/pupil training montage for which I’m a complete sucker. 

While never fully explained why the Ancient One would choose such a narcissist as Strange into her order, it is apparent that she sees strength in him.  The film’s villain, Kaecilius (Mad Mikkelson) embodies Marvel’s weakness for having mediocre villains, but being the wonderful actor that he is, Mad is able to embody his character with the appropriate level of sinister.  Kaecilius has given himself to the Dark arts and worships a Dark Lord named Dormammu who promises eternal life.  If it sounds a little Star Warsy, just remember that Doctor Strange was created a full decade before Star Wars and George Lucas was a big comic book fan.  Rounding out the cast is a modernized version of Wong.  In the comic books, Wong was Doctor Strange’s faithful manservant, embodying all the Asian stereotypes one would imagine. In this version, Wong (coincidentally,  played by British actor named  Benedict Wong [hmm, two Benedict’s in the same cast])) is more of Strange’s guide and drill sergeant on his journey to mastering the mystic arts.

Despite all this, this film is a standard ‘origin’ movie which the critics predict everyone is getting tired of. I would disagree as the box office receipts prove.  There are untapped heroes and genres still out there and while sometimes it’s refreshing to see a hero just dropped into a film fully formed (eg: Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War), there is something inherently gratifying about seeing the creation of a hero.  ‘Doctor Strange’ deals with dark and mystical forces, but in the tradition of Marvel, never loses its’ fun and humor when needed.  I won’t say this is the best film Marvel has produced, but I am definitely glad it was made.  It expands the Marvel Universe to introduce us to other dimensions and multi-verses only briefly hinted at in films like Thor and Ant man. This is another fun time at the movies

I give this film *** 1/2 stars

Doctor Strange