Villenueve’s Latest Sci-Fi, “Arrival,” is a Shoo-In for Academy Awards

Released Nov. 11, “Arrival” is a science-fiction film based on Ted Chiang’s short story, “Story of Your Life,” The film, directed by Denis Villenueve (Prisoners, Sicario) and starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner is an absolute triumph. “Arrival” is one of the best movies of the year; it is a thinking person’s science fiction film in the same vein as “Interstellar,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” It is “Close Encounters” that “Arrival” shares DNA with. Both te

“Westworld”: HBO’s Newest Hit Seeps Science Fiction into the Wild West

“Westworld” — HBO’s ambitious new effort to update their drama slate — is a flawed, but exciting new hit series that grapples with questions about human nature, consciousness and scientific progress. Originally a 1973 film written and directed by Michael Crichton, “Westworld” is the story of a futuristic, wild west themed park where guests pay exorbitant amounts of money to live in the park and do whatever they want — whether it’s going on bounty adventures, or sleeping with, shooting at or kil

“Stranger Things” Evokes Spooky and Effective Nostalgia for the ’80s

Part Spielberg, part Stephen King, part George Lucas and all 80s, Netflix’s breakout show “Stranger Thing” is a triumph even though it falls into the occasional cliché. Created by the Duffer Brothers, and starring Winona Ryder and David Harbour, “Stranger Things” tells the story of a sleepy Indiana town turned upside down by the mysterious disappearance of 12-year-old Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). Will’s mother, Joyce (Ryder) frantically searches for him and goes down the rabbit hole, soon discover

Season Six of “Game of Thrones” Brings Unsurprising Excitement

The sixth season of “Game of Thrones” is the first in the series to not feature content from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire,” series and it has dazzled audiences, exciting book readers and show watchers alike with the first two episodes. Before you read any further, know that this review will be spoiler-heavy. If you are not caught up, I advise you not to read ahead. You will have a more enjoyable watching experience if you are caught up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anyway, let

“Zootopia” Succeeds with Meaningful Social Commentary and Fun

Disney’s latest animated feature film, “Zootopia,” aims for depth and meaning and succeeds. However, by contradicting its own message at times, it doesn’t quite reach the status of animated titans like “Toy Story,” “Wall-E” or “Inside Out.” “Zootopia” takes place in a world where animals have civilized themselves. Like humans, they deal with many of the problems of society: crime, bureaucratic backlog and prejudice. The protagonist, Judy Hopps, is a courageous rabbit from rural Bunnyburrow who

Student Created App “Meetum” Aims to Promote Social Unity

Conor Brown ’16, Louie Reed ’16 and Patrick DeVivo ’16 have created “Meetum,” an app that more than a third of Amhert’s student population has downloaded, and one that hopes to shift Amherst’s social paradigm. Meetum is intended as an app where students can share events and activities (“meetums”) with each other. Unlike Facebook events, “meetums” are intended to be more casual. DeVivo puts it as, “Impromptu social events or things like studying for a particular midterm or comps,” or “playing ba