Sunday
Nov132016
Podcast: Arrival, Loving, and Cape Fear
Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 12:38PM 
We're back to weekly podcasts! This week Nick, Joe, and Nathaniel discuss two new Best Picture hopefuls and one bold remake
Index (43 minutes)
00:01 Arrival - thinky empathetic sci-fi just when we're starved for understanding in the real world + Amy Adams!
19:35 Slight spoilery territory on Arrival and comparing it to other movies
27:05 Cape Fear's 25th anniversary. One of our favorite Scorsese's.
33:30 Loving a quiet civil rights drama
41:11 Almost Christmas and goodbyes
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
Reader Comments (23)
Please can we have clear Lead or Support category for Lange Nat & Nick.
By the way Nat how u feeling.
I'm with Nick 100% on Arrival. I was super high on it the first time through and it felt a lot weaker the second time around. The language complexities that get montaged over were exactly what I wanted to see more of, and it took a while to make sense of the second time around. She's doing good work, but I'd be kinda bummed if Adams gets more attention for this than what Blunt got for Sicario. Still, the "Unstoppable" scene kills me, and the Eternal Sunshine comparison is soooo good.
Three cheers for Cape Fear! It's so much fun, which is totally earned for a film this crazy. Now that's some entertaining escapism, even with Cady2016, which was a great joke.
As I LOVED Arrival, I had two things to grapple with, and you touched on both: that on-the-nose line from Ian and the quickness with which Louise took to their language. The former I cannot defend, and so I'll just take it. But the latter... She DOES learn to read it with immense speed, but couldn't it be argued that once she gets a handle on it, she unknowingly taps into her future self's better understanding?
Devin D -- that is exactly how i read her speed with the language... i shoulda said something in the podcast about that.
Nick -- right? so fun.
Mark -- hmmm. i would say Nolte & De Niro are both leads and Jessica and Juliette are both supporting.
Complete cosign on ALMOST CHRISTMAS being a delight.
It's raining here in the uk but the podcast is a nice fuzzy blanket for me,xxx.
I read Diane Keaton's Autobiography recently and she was 1st choice for Lange's part in Cape Fear when Spielberg was directing.
Why are you predicting Edgerton? Nobody likes that performance.
Loved Arrival; hated Loving.
I LOVED that performance, cal roth. (Saw it Friday.)
I think there's a difference between giving an understated performance and underdetailing a character. I think Edgerton is underdetailing his part, but I am not sure it's his fault, or Nichols'.
That said, even if you happen to love the performance, it is not the kind of turn Oscar goes for, at all. I think the last time they nominated a performance this mute (or bland) was maybe Richard Jenkins?
I didn't even think he was that understated. And I found it extremely detailed, which is why I liked it so much. The type of man he was playing is very familiar to me, and not in a good way. So it was fascinating to watch the character and feel enormous sympathy for the man. As far as Oscar goes, yeah, I don't know. But that category feels very unformed at this point.
Oh - Bruce Dern (Nebraska).
Yeah, I think Edgerton is in right now, but this is one of those categories that seems somewhat moribound - after Affleck and Washington, there doesn't seem to be anyone just grabbing a slot.
I find the Team Experiment's love for Cape Fear super interesting. I don't think it'd make my top twenty Scorsese (a quick glance at IMBD suggests it would be very close either way). I feel like I need to rewatch it, but there's so much I need to see so....
Arrival is recapitulating itself quite strongly in my memory, I have to say. Bradford Young! Johan Johansson AND Max Richter! That insane sound design! The aliens! I could've watch this for another two hours, especially because the final story it tells almost deserves its own movie.
@ Arkaan
I saw The Founder last week and am disappointed to report that it is neither Keaton's ticket to Oscar nor will it be his third Best Picture in a row. I suppose he could get nominated, as it is a solid and energetic performance, but as the Q&A after demonstrated it's also more a star turn than a great characterization. The only difference between Keaton onscreen and off was the volume of profanity he unleashed in the room. (Not that I minded, but you had to notice it). The movie: nothing to write home about, although I was moved by Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as the McDonald brothers. (Laura Dern WASTED as the non-supportive wife.)
Scott Feinberg loved it though,said Keaton was deffo in with a shot.
@ markgordon
" I suppose he could get nominated..."
Hey, listen, I'm on record as predicting Keaton to win the day this film was announced. If he gets a nod, he'll still be my pick to win. Narrative, narrative.
"even now we've elected Max Cady to be the president" - hahaha. Nick, you are hilarious. Oh wait, I'm crying now, cuz it's true.
Arrival was one of the best I've seen all year. And this might be one of favorite Amy Adams performances.
I agree with everything you said about Loving. I liked it, but I don't know how must staying power it holds.
@Pam: I wish I'd felt funny when I said it! (I always love your comments, by the way.)
Cape Fear has a lot going for it. It is genuinely suspenseful and scary. Nearly all the performances are intriguing. But dear Jesus, what was De Niro thinking? That is one of his worst performances--a total cartoon. How in Gawd's name did he get an Oscar nomination. Truly embarrassing and it kills the movie.
Whoever is tapping on their computer during the recording of the podcast it is SOOOOO distracting. It's like trying to watch a movie and someone is eating their popcorn or candy next to you so loudly. I almost turned off the podcast. Please make an effort to silence all other noises during your discussion.
About to listen to the pod, but I have two spoiler-y "Arrival" theories:
1) If your relationship to time changes the more you learn the language, is that why the first act of the film is so boring? I'm 3/4 serious - maybe it was a deliberate choice to make us feel really stuck in linear time at first.
2) I'm going to pretend that the idea of "a powerful concept that doesn't really translate from the language of origin" means that this movie was inspired by "umami".