Why Arrival may be more important than you realize . . .

. . . if you have an interest in movies, that is.

The Blu Ray edition  of Arrival just came out and of course, since this film blew me away when I saw it in the theater, I preordered it, and just saw it again.

I'm still in awe of it. Seeing it the second time around makes it even more profound. I'm watching the special features now, and when I'm done with that I'll probably watch the whole thing again.

Some people I know who are familiar with the tropes and conventions of science fiction did not care for this movie, and I think I understand why, and this is why I think it'll be so important down the road.

When you think "science fiction," or that abominable term "scifi," you probably think of Star Wars and/ or Star Trek--pointed eared aliens, space ships zipping through space shooting beams at each other, planets exploding, that sort of thing. When you hear "aliens arriving on earth" you probably think Independence Day.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with any of that, and there is a time and place for those movies, and I absolutely loved Independence Day when it first came out--it was a rocking good time. Arrival, though, doesn't really have any of that. It's most definitely not an action/adventure film.

Instead, it's a character study that at first does not appear to be a character study. The concept it's based on, neurolinguistics, is not something that's easy to explain or understand. One of the few faults with the movie is it sort of makes it a bit too much like magic in the end, though that was essential to tell the story it wanted to tell. It's a complicated but fascinating concept introduced in a way that would probably correspond pretty closely to how something like that would happen in real life. There's not a great deal of action, no battles in space, nothing like that. Instead, it's people talking to each other, and attempting to figure out how to talk to an alien life form that has appeared in our midst with no explanation and no clue as to what they want.

Here's the important part: the film made money. People went to see it. It's getting buzz from the Academy for Oscar nominations--though Amy Adams not getting nominated for her role is a travesty, I think. In short, I'm expecting to see more movies like this one--intellectually interesting, with a lot of heart, a lot of soul, but not a lot of action.

That excites me tremendously. That's what I want to see. More like this, please, Hollywood. Apparently I'm not the only person who feels this way.

If you haven't seen it yet I urge you to do so.

Post Super Bowl thoughts and randomocity

Let me answer the burning question first:

Yes, I was disappointed that the Falcons lost the Super Bowl, in a record-breaking second-half collapse. That game magnified the issues they've had all season--inconsistent defense, second-half let-downs, and bone-headed offensive play calling.

However, as I said earlier, I wasn't expecting them to get that far. I would have been happy with a playoff appearance. Not even a playoff win, just an appearance. I can't go back now and say that I'm angry at them for losing, since them even being in the game meant they wildly exceeded my expectations for this season.

So, let's address the issues the game underscored, and come out next year, get back there, and win it next time. Got me? That's my expectations for next season. Next season, Falcons win it all.

I've finished the pilot script for my TV show project, The Prince. I copyrighted it and submitted it to a screenplay writing contest, and paid extra to get the judge's notes on it. I should know something in a couple of months. Hopefully, whoever the first reader is will figure out what I'm trying to do with it.

My next project, I think, is going to be a feature film. I got a basic idea for one Friday but I haven't had time to develop it yet--I'm giving myself a couple days off from creative endeavors as a reward for getting the pilot script in good enough shape to start sending out.

I think this one is going to be science fiction, maybe with some horror undertones. I won't reveal the title here because I haven't decided on it yet--that'll come when more of the story emerges. Oddly enough, the thought process that lead to the initial idea was inspired by a review I read of the movie version of Fifty Shades Darker. Though my project will have very little to do with that one. Just a random sentence in what I read got me to thinking . . .

Anyway, that'll be something to occupy me later this week.

So, no sports for me to watch over the next couple of months, until baseball gets started in April. Nothing much to distract me from getting some serious work done over the next month or so! I'll barf out this feature film screenplay in no time flat!

Hopefully.

Broken World

There is a grayness before me

as far as my mind can tell

Sky and ground merge in the distance

no difference between them now

An ancient tree before me

branches bare like skeletal hands reaching

I find the water from the wood

I drink it now and wait to die

This is what happened when we remade the world

When we ignored her agony

No place for us here, amid the death throes

Not even our pain for company

There is a city I see before me

empty parks and deserted streets

Concrete fingers prod the sky

No souls inside them

I see it now, how it happened

like an artist making art

remaking the world in our image

dead, desolate, and forgotten

This is what happened when we remade the world

when we ignored her agony

no place for us here, at the end

not even ghosts for company

An ancient tree before of me

branches bare like skeletal hands reaching

I find the water from the wood

I drink it now and want to die

(c) 2017 by J. Franklin Evans