Thursday Night Movie Club
Arrival
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Release Date: 11 November 2016

Director: Denis Villeneuve
ACTORS:
Sean Astin
Cate Blanchett
Orlando Bloom
Billy Boyd
Bernard Hill
Ian McKellen
Dominic Monaghan
Viggo Mortensen
John Noble
Miranda Otto
John Rhys-Davies
Andy Serkis
Karl Urban
Hugo Weaving
David Wenham
Elijah Wood
Alan Howard
CHARACTERS:
Sam
Galadriel
Legolas
Pippin
Theoden
Gandalf
Merry
Aragorn
Denethor
Eowyn
Gimli/Voice of Treebeard
Gollum/Smeagol
Eomer
Elrond
Faramir
Frodo
The Ring (voice)
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David Cronenberg's A History of Violence is a suspenseful thriller, but it is an uneven movie. Cronenberg is close to joining the ranks of Hitchcock and Welles but is not quite there yet. He does not maintain the suspense throughout and, I suspect, the production company got involved and had the final say. Too bad!

This is a small film (not a blockbuster) and a personal film. It is the personal side that is not developed to the detriment of the film. I don't mean this in the directorial aspect. Several conflicts are set in motion but are not fully developed.