Arrival (2016)
Genre: Sci-fi
Certification: 12A
Duration: 116 minutes
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O’ Brien, Tzi Ma
KRS Releasing Ltd

The latest sci-fi film to be released on the big screen is an adaptation of a 1998 award-winning short story by Ted Chiang.

The plot revolves around linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) who leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world.

As nations teeter on the verge of a global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors.

Hoping to unravel the mystery, Louise takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.

Arrival also stars Jeremy Renner as a theoretical physicist and Forest Whitaker as a US army colonel.

The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, received critical acclaim and praise for its story, while Adams was lauded for her performance.

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: “A tremulous, inviting Amy Adams turns softness and quiet into heroic qualities, keeping her voice low and modulated and using stillness to pull you close.”

Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal also had words of praise for Adams and the film in general: “What’s remarkable about Arrival is its contemplative core – and, of course, Adams’s star performance, which is no less impassioned for being self-effacing.”

Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant enthused that “Arrival is a smart tale of alien contact that boasts great visuals and performances, if also more brains than heart”.

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes sums up reviews by saying: “Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams.

Made on a production budget of $47 million, the film made around $54 million in box office receipts since its release on November 11.

Arrival was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.

Ratings
IMDB: 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Empire: 5 stars

Allied (2016)
Genre: War drama
Certification: 15
Duration: 124 minutes
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Brad Pitt, Vincent Ebrahim, Marion Cotillard, Lizzy Caplan, Jared Harris, Matthew Goode
KRS Releasing Ltd

Robert Zemeckis, the director behind such films as Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and The Polar Express, presents a romantic thriller set during World War II.

The film follows an intelligence officer in North Africa, Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), who encounters a female French Resistance fighter, Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard), on a secret mission behind enemy lines. When the two reunite in London, their relationship is put to the test by the pressures of war. Vatan is presented with the possibility that Beausejour is a sleeper spy working for the Germans. In this manner, the film glides from passion to the stark realities of war.

Despite being described as “tense and absorbing” by Variety’s Owen Gleiberman, the film received mixed reviews.

The Hollywood Reporter, while seemingly praising the storyline, criticised the acting and direction of the film.

“Sadly, neither the director nor the cast appear to have absorbed that message in this inert period piece, which suffers from an absence of chemistry between leads Cotillard and Pitt, undercutting the romance on which much of the supposed suspense should hinge.”

On the other hand, John Patterson of The Guardian insisted that the film  is “a bookend to Mr and Mrs Smith, both plot-wise – concerning two assassins, Pitt and Cotillard, who fall in love – and in the tabloid lives of its stars”.

As fans will recall, Pitt and  Cotillard faced rumours of an on-set romance for months leading up to the actor’s split from his wife, Angelina Jolie, and afterwards.

Allied, which cost $85 million to produce, is expected to gross around $15 million when it opens in the US this week. The film will be released in Malta on Friday.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
Empire: 2 stars

Free State of Jones (2016)
Genre: Biopic
Certification: 15
Duration: 139 minutes
Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Gubu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland, Sean Bridgers
KRS Releasing Ltd

Based on the books The Free State of Jones by Victoria E. Bynum and The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer, the film follows the life of Newton Knight, an American farmer, soldier and Southern Unionist in Mississippi.

Night was best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate army deserters who resisted the Confederacy during the Civil War. The film chronicles his alliances with slaves during the war and the uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.

Written and directed by Gary Ross, the film stars Matthew McConaughey in the role of Knight.

Free State of Jones received generally good reviews, albeit some critics thought it was a bit heavy and boring.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote: “Like the worst civics lesson, this movie bores away at you till your reactions are dulled.”

On the other hand, A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film for its “blunt authority and unusual respect for historical truth”. He continued: “Free State of Jones explores a neglected and fascinating chapter in American history.”

The film, made on a $50 million budget, has not fared well at the box office as it grossed only about $23 million worldwide since its release in June.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 47%
Empire: 2 stars