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A sci-fi thriller with current news urgency (is "global warming" a natural phenomenon or ???), "The Arrival" is a departure from space-based sci-fi adventures. All the action takes place on earth, but that doesn't mean there's nothing other-worldly to make life interesting for the main characters. In a way, this drama is more satisfying than, say, "War of the Worlds", because even the most far fetched events seem plausibly possible without relying on too heavily on changes to the laws of nature, incredible coincidence or unlikely duex ex machina, and there are fewer times when you'd like to smack a character for being really dense.
Charlie Sheen stars as a scientist who works for NASA and listens for signs of life from outer space. He is dumb-founded when his discovery of a tell-tale signal seems to be getting ignored by the bureaucracy and he goes on a one man mission to "prove" that what he heard was the real thing. Along the way, he gets accused of murder (I won't tell you why -- you'll have to watch the movie to learn that) which means he has to be creative in finding ways to pursue his mission. There's a love interest, too, about which someone could write a country song (in other words, it does not go smoothly). :>)
What about the BluRay release? For what is basically a "B" movie, not a blockbuster hit, this edition is a lot better than might have been expected. Its rendering of both video and audio is a real improvement over the DVD, which I had watched again all the way through just a few weeks ago. (Obviously I like the movie to watch it twice in just a couple of months.)
The video is crystal clear, showing off the cinematography to stunning effect in some scenes. Landscapes are sweeping and interiors crisply rendered. Color balance was spot on, and any "weird" colors in certain scenes were part of the artistic vision, not a duplicating flaw.
The sound is also first rate, with dialog easy to listen to (if not understand -- I'll defer to a scientist to tell us if the intermittent scientific talk was accurate or not). The atmospheric score also benefited from clear and balanced presentation, and sound effects fit into the action effectively without calling undue attention to themselves.
This title on BluRay had a "special" low price at a BigBox store yesterday, and so I bought it since it was selling for less than I had paid for the DVD a couple of years ago, only to find at my next stop that the other store's regular price was $2 lower . The Amazing online price is between those two (and less than $10). So you should have no trouble picking this up at a reasonable price somewhere. And if you are a fan of sci-fi that actually has a plot and character development, not just extravagant CGI, I recommend that you do so.
Charlie Sheen stars as a scientist who works for NASA and listens for signs of life from outer space. He is dumb-founded when his discovery of a tell-tale signal seems to be getting ignored by the bureaucracy and he goes on a one man mission to "prove" that what he heard was the real thing. Along the way, he gets accused of murder (I won't tell you why -- you'll have to watch the movie to learn that) which means he has to be creative in finding ways to pursue his mission. There's a love interest, too, about which someone could write a country song (in other words, it does not go smoothly). :>)
What about the BluRay release? For what is basically a "B" movie, not a blockbuster hit, this edition is a lot better than might have been expected. Its rendering of both video and audio is a real improvement over the DVD, which I had watched again all the way through just a few weeks ago. (Obviously I like the movie to watch it twice in just a couple of months.)
The video is crystal clear, showing off the cinematography to stunning effect in some scenes. Landscapes are sweeping and interiors crisply rendered. Color balance was spot on, and any "weird" colors in certain scenes were part of the artistic vision, not a duplicating flaw.
The sound is also first rate, with dialog easy to listen to (if not understand -- I'll defer to a scientist to tell us if the intermittent scientific talk was accurate or not). The atmospheric score also benefited from clear and balanced presentation, and sound effects fit into the action effectively without calling undue attention to themselves.
This title on BluRay had a "special" low price at a BigBox store yesterday, and so I bought it since it was selling for less than I had paid for the DVD a couple of years ago, only to find at my next stop that the other store's regular price was $2 lower . The Amazing online price is between those two (and less than $10). So you should have no trouble picking this up at a reasonable price somewhere. And if you are a fan of sci-fi that actually has a plot and character development, not just extravagant CGI, I recommend that you do so.
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