Granted I kinda forgot this movie was coming out, knew diddly squat about the book, and was expecting a decent film but I'll be damned if this isn't Top 10 material for the year. Centering on a science teacher who gets roped into a government operation in an attempt to stop a previously unknown lifeform from dimming the sun quickly makes second contact with another alien as a shockingly endearing and lovely friendship blooms. Bare bones plot, fantastic fucking movie. I can't believe how well all this is balanced cause it is a heavy plot and takes as much time for the drama as well as the humor and it is easily one of the quirkiest, sweetest, most fascinating movies I have ever seen in my life. It grips you right off the hook with a fair bit of mystery but relatively quickly stars feeding you backstory throughout the picture, giving you the necessary backstory and information, which is impressive. It never gets boring and is a very artsy film in terms of cinematography, I'll be talking straight out of my ass if I said I was never invested. Like this is the movie that I desperately needed, some truly positive even dare I say life affirming sci-fi without even a shred of saccharine or pulled punches emotionally. Goddamn movie nearly made me cry seeing Ryan Gosling talk to a rock creature, and a surprisingly emotional karaoke scene that I have not seen the likes of since Lost In Translation. I'm kinda speechless honestly how this movie not only submerges you in the emotion but keeps you trailing along every story beat with baited breath. Ryan Gosling I continue apologizing for not knowing your game, as he delivers a great maybe even award winning performance in my estimation. Fantastic stuff. But the movie wouldn't be complete without James Ortiz as our resident alien affectionately named Rocky who effortlessly stole my heart and was really the part of the movie that grabbed my attention to even want to go see it. They spend a good bit of time hurdling the language gap but with sharp writing and good humor it never feels like a slog, and the bonding time is essential. The movie never forgets about the crisis but you almost kinda wish it did just so you could see these two hang out even more. Hell yeah I wanna see humans make galactic friends, and it's so strong I...almost kinda see them as a couple! Not anything as base as mates, but something far deeper and more caring. I'm still baffled how they pulled that off but I sure as shit ain't mad! I just wasn't prepared for how damn good this movie really was, and I know that probably influences expectations so don't take my word for it and just go see it for yourself. I love the relationship dynamics, I love the visuals, the score from the drums to the choir is perfect for the film, the creativity of the camera work is right up my alley, and it practically injects 50ccs of dopamine straight into my bloodstream. Especially the ending, God almighty that is an ending I have wanted to see done in a sci-fi movie for decades. I'll be stunned if there's a more feel-good movie of the year after this, I really will. I have no reservations when I say 4 stars across the board, 9/10, big thumbs up from me! It's really moments like these that have kept me going for almost 11 years come next week, I love when I get movies that look interesting and just blind side me with how great they are, but hey that's just my opinion. You gotta go see it for your own. But you may be surprised how much you dig it, and I'll see you next week come what may.
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