Day 9.318: An unexpected Arrival

While we were eating dinner, I said, "Is it date night?" and about 15 minutes later, Exile #2 and I were heading out to the cinema leaving the kids to watch a film of their own and get themselves to bed. It still surprises us that we can do that now.

We arrived while the theater was empty - but there were quite a few there by the start.

We saw Arrival and loved it. It's cerebral without being heavy and generally is the kind of film I didn't think could get made in the US anymore. No spoilers, but I think it's the best kind of Science Fiction - it takes one leap, asks you to go with it and then lets the story play out in an otherwise entirely realistic way. The characters are complicated enough to seem real (avoiding the stock-character shortcuts) and yet the story moves along at an engaging pace without dwelling on them.

All in all, if you want an antidote to the big-budget all-guns-blazing films but are willing to believe a couple of impossible things before you go to bed, you should definitely give it a try - we're certainly glad we did!