From the opening sequence, to the final thoughts, Contact is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking, thought-provoking, and spiritual films I have ever seen.

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2001)

The opening shot in itself was amazing enough, but the film was one that made me think from beginning to end. I was mesmerized, and that feeling lasted the entire picture. Contact is based on the best selling novel by Carl Sagan, who sadly enough passed away recently, without being able to see his vision come to life. Director Robert Zemeckis takes you on a spiritual journey around the universe making you ask yourself if any of this is possible. The special effects are not there to shock you, the effects are there to show you that maybe it is all possible. Jodie Foster leads a wonderful cast including Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, and Angela Bassett. Foster plays Ellie, a women who from childhood has set her sights on finding out if there is anyone else out there in the universe.
The movie follows her adult life, and the trials and tribulations she goes through searching for extra-terrestrial life. At every point, someone is there, trying to tell her that it's pointless, that she should put her mind to something else. But she fights because she believes. And when her dreams do come true, and life is found in the star system of Vega, someone comes along and takes the spotlight away from her. Still she fights, and when the time comes to find out what it is that is out there, Ellie is the one to go. Never before have I sat through a movie, and have it keep making me think about what I believe in. As they say in the movie, there are 400 billion stars in the universe. The universe is bigger than anything we could possibly imagine. And if we are the only intelligent living creatures around, doesn't it seem like a big waste of space? Contact forces you to look at the world around you, at the heavens above, and most importantly, deep inside yourself and ask, Do You Believe?