Arrival: Denis Villeneuve’s film is a bit of a mindbender, but that’s the least important thing about it; the fact it’s poetic, intelligent, well-conceived and touching is, all the while managing to also be very thrilling. Rare is the film that can work well one idea or theme, and Villeneuve doubles that in this sci-fi. Its success depends on Amy Adams, and she runs away with it with a winning, convincing performance; Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner and Michael Stuhlbarg are solid. Bradford Young’s cinematography is coldly efficient in its simplicity (in fact, that goes for all the production design and special effects); Sylvain Bellemare’s sound editing (in tandem with Jóhann Jóhannsson’s musical score) is fantastic.