A Great Amy Adams Movie Is Blowing Up On Streaming And It’s Free
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Amy Adams just made her way back onto the screen in the DC Extended Universe last week playing Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It was a cool return for the character in a movie that is at least trying to do, well, justice to the original vision from the director. But now there’s a chance to catch Adams in a much bigger role, in a much better movie. One of her truly great films is blowing it up on streaming and it’s totally free to watch. Check out Arrival on IMDB TV where it’s ranked #3 overall in the United States.
On its surface Arrival is an alien encounter movie. Amy Adams plays Louise Banks, an expert linguist who has tragically lost her daughter to an illness. Things on Earth take an odd turn when 12 UFOs come to Earth and basically just park themselves in an ominous fashion. Banks along with Ian Donnelly, played by Jeremy Renner, are tasked with figuring out why the ships are there and finding some way to communicate with the beings inside. The film begins as an exploration of sorts by Adams and Renner to figure out why these aliens have arrived on Earth and whether they have nefarious intentions.
While Arrival is definitely presented as a space invasion type of film, it is actually something much more. The film is an exploration of communication and how humans and aliens are trying to find a shared language to impart ideas. Much of the film hinges on the idea of this communication and its pitfalls when there are misunderstandings or misinterpretations on the parts of different countries and governments. 12 of these ships landed and scattered themselves around the world. Not all groups are as inviting to their presence as Amy Adams and her crew. Here, check out the trailer for Arrival:
Simply put, Arrival is a brilliant and gorgeous movie. It starts as one thing which can appeal to a wide viewing audience (aliens are here!) but over the course of the film becomes something much different. It’s more a story of love and time. Amy Adams is brilliant in the role and we learn about these aliens and their language right along with her. We go through the pain of losing her daughter and find, along with her, the solace in understanding someone else for the first time.
Arrival was a complete and utter smash with critics and rightfully so. It’s sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 on Metacritic. I wouldn’t have been shocked if either were 100. That’s just how good this movie is in terms of pacing, story, theme and starring roles on the part of Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Director Denis Villeneuve has had a number of great films like Blade Runner 2049, Sicario and Prisoners. But this might be his best.
And while it wasn’t a comic book movie like her most recent work, this does represent one of the better box office hauls for Amy Adams. On the back of a $47 million dollar budget, Arrival raked in more than $200 million in ticket sales.
The film was up for a number of different industry awards including being nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Amy Adams didn’t get the Oscar nod but saw a number of different other nominations including Best Actress at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. The accolades were more than deserving. Again, in case it’s not totally clear at this point, but this movie is one of the better ones to come out in the last few years.
Now that her role as Lois Lane is a wrap, Amy Adams has a number of other projects in the works. She’s recently completed The Woman in the Window with Joe Wright in the director’s chair. It’s based on the popular mystery novel of the same name. She’s also set to star in Dear Evan Hansen which will adapt the popular Broadway musical. And finally, there’s Adam McKay’s television series Kings of America which centers around the Walmart empire. These are three huge roles for the immensely talented actress. In the meantime, catch up with one of her best movies. There’s no excuse to not see it considering it’s totally free on IMDB.
