Tag Archives: Movies

Jun 14 2026

The Truth Is Revealed With Disclosure Day

Auteur director Steven Spielberg returns the UFO/UAP genre that he helped revolutionized with Disclosure Day. It serves as the conclusion to his loose trilogy of extra-terrestrial contact films that started with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. War of the Worlds does not really count because it was a remake of the 1950s classic and was more simplistic with its portrayal of extra-terrestrials. In other words, Aliens bad, humanity mostly good. With Disclosure Day, Spielberg once again proves that he is the master of his craft with this tense and thought-provoking film.

Disclosure Day stars Josh O’Connor as Daniel Kellner, a hacker on the run with his girlfriend Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson) from a nefarious government-associated organization called Wardex run by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) because Kellner stole film evience that the U.S. government had recovered alien technology and beings from crash sites throughout the past 79 years, and imprisoned and tortured the recovered alien beings. He also stole a piece of alien technology that has to be handled delicately because of its unimaginable capabilities. Scanlon will stop at nothiing to capture Kellner because Kellner’s ally, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), is preparing to reveal the truth about extra-terrestrials to the public in a desperate attempt to bring the world back from the point of no return since it is on the edge of World War III.

Kellner is challenged not only by Scanlon but Jane herself, who questions the consequences of revealing the truth to a human populace that may not be ready to learn the truth about their place in the universe.

The film also follows the story of Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a restless weather meterologist in Kansas City, who begins to display psychic powers after encountering a cardinal in her apartment. These powers manifest in her ability to speak languages she never knew including an unearthly garble of clicks, and with the capability of understanding the emotions and thoughts of others. She too, goes on the run after being hospitalized after Wardex goons pretending to be FBI agents show up at her hospital room.

The paths of Fairchild and Kellner eventually cross paths as she is psychically drawn to seek him out and help him in his quest to disclose the truth to the world.

Unlike his previous films about extra-terrestrials, Disclosure Day is more mature, grittier and a fitting conlcusion to what Spielberg is trying to convey about contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence. While Close Encounters of the Third Kind focused on making contact and E.T. was about buidling relationships, Disclosure Day tackles the consequences of contact and how we react to that. The film tackles many important questions such as where do we go from here? What would happen if humanity learned it was not alone? What impact would such a disclosure have on societal institutions like religion? The end of the film may frustrate some but it is quite appropriate to leave its conclusion up to audiences since it respects them enough to let audiences come to their own conclusions.

Do not think the film is some kind of dry treatise about alien life. Disclosure Day moves briskly and is unbelievably riveting at times with the intense and creative action scenes that made Spielberg so renowned. Such moments include a thrilling pursuit that takes place in an abandoned farmhouse and an edge-of-your-seat sequence involving cars and trains. The moments when Scanlon uses an alien artifact to mentally hunt down and enslave his victims was downright disturbing and added to the film’s paranoia. Wardex is symptomatic of the runaway military-industrial complex that is plaguing this world supposedly for the good of all of us. It is quite easy for audiences to despise Scanlon and the corporate stooges that work for this malignant corporation and to root for the underdog heroes.

Fairchild’s use of her empathic powers was both eerie and captivating and shows how one can accomplish wonders without resorting to violence. Speaking of empathy, although the film is more adult and darker than Spielberg’s other alien films it still holds on to the loose trilogy’s message of hope and empathy being what wins out despite the obstacles the films’ heroes face. Unlike previous efforts where the idea of love and empathy being the greatest tool we need to get along, this film does not get lost in syrupy and over the top scenes to tug at our heartstrings. It lets the actions of the characters and events to convey that something more is needed for us to get by in this downtrodden world that is on the brink of a nuclear nightmare. To its credit, the film does not go overboard with its presentation of the eve of a world war, then again it disturbingly echoes what goes on with the real world, as people try to go about their normal lives with the backdrop of the global nightmare awaiting them. The film’s message about humanity having to be more empathic and trusting feels more relevant and resonant with us given our current circumstances.

The famous Spielberg tropes and camera work are present in the film and they still work. The film has a few flaws such as some of the special effects could have been better, although the found footage of the U.S. military recovering the alien crash sites are topnotch. The film also features many terrific performances especially by Emily Blunt who is at her best portraying someone who has been touched by something extraordinary and is understandably confused by her situation. Yet despite her situation, Fairchild is quite determined to find out what is going on with what is happenging to her and we can’t help root for her and Kellner as they stay one step ahead of Wardex.

For fans of his alien films, Disclosure Day is a logical conclusion to the theme of humanity and its place in the universe as we are given the chance to think outside the box for something better. One concept the film explores fittingly is that the aliens are not important but instead it is how we react to them. This was why Spielberg in his original cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind never showed us any details about the alien spaceships, nor why we never learned about the aliens in his films or their motives, except in E.T.’s case that the aliens are explorers. This film comes closer to giving us the answer in that the extra-terrestrials are probably here to help us frrom ourselves, though that is up to any person watching the film. For anyone captivated by the recent renewed interest in the UFO/UAP phenomenon and is displeased by the lack of true disclosure, despite promises from government officials, the film feels very cathartic in its final moments.

The most important question for fans is how does Disclousre Day measure up to Spielberg’s other films, many of which are classics. Well, it is his best genre effort since his work in the early 2000s and a return to form for the master director. Disclosure Day shows that Spielberg is still in top form and the film itself has to be seen and treasured.

José Soto

Jun 6 2026

Spider-Noir Shows How To Do The Multiverse

Spider-Noir is the latest superhero TV show now streaming on Prime Video and stars Nicolas Cage as a variant of Spider-Man set in New York City during the 1930s. This time, for legal reasons, his name is Ben Reilly and he is called The Spider instead. Noticeably older and gruffer than the traditional Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Reilly operates as a classic gumshoe private detective in a gritty New York oozing with corruption, crime and notorious gangsters. In other words, this is not your typical Spider-Man story and this is how the Multiverse should have been done by the studios.

When Spider-Noir begins, Ben Reilly operates out of his tiny office in Manhattan as a gumshoe for hire and still grieving over the death of his girlfriend Ruby five years ago, Ever since her death, Reilly retired from being the masked vigilante, The Spider, but all that changed when he is hired to track down a criminal named Addison, who turns out to have pyrokinetic powers. After Addison is killed, circumstances drag Reilly and his associates down a nefarious rabbit hole involving the city’s corrupt mayor (Michael Kostroff), the notorious mob boss, Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who runs the city’s underworld with a savage fist, and Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), a conflicted nightclub singer he is hired to track but falls in love with. Silvermane has superpowered henchman in his employ, such as Flint Marko (Jack Huston), a Sandman variant, Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola), a more sympathetic version of Tombstone, and Dirk Leyden (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), a version of the obscure Spider-Man villain Megawatt, who all come into conflict with the Spider.

During his investigations, Reilly finds out that the villains are connected to his World War I past and how he got his spider powers. More importantly, Reilly is forced to come out of retirement as The Spider, which brings him to the attention of Silvermane, who wants to consolidate his grip of power in New York City.

As one can tell by the premise and seeing the show itself, Spider-Noir is an inspired homage to the classic 1930s crime films that were once so popular during the Golden Age of Film. The show can be watched either in garish color with popping bright hues or in noirish black and white, which feels more appropriate. The TV show captures many of the elements that made crime noir films so popular: the jaded detective; a dazzling but conflicted femme fatale; struggling people who talk with exaggerated New York accents and read script lines that would make Humphrey Bogart feel right at home; numerous Dutch angles; split focus shots, and scintillating photography that evokes stark existentialist German cinematography. There are so many ways this approach could have approached a satire, but thanks to the skills from everyone involved, Spider-Noir is a respectful tribute to those types of crime noir films. The actors have to be singled out for their innovative performances, especially Cage, who evokes a combination of Bogart and Jimmy Cagney while infusing his performance with the bouts of unpredictable insanity that made him so famous. The other actors turn in commendable work here as well, such as Li whose near-tragic Hardy captivates every scene she’s in and Gleeson, who projects a chilling presence.

The Multiverse is a great concept that allows for the exploration of many famous characters in different settings which provide captivating insights into what makes them work. The comic books from DC and Marvel have produced many memorable works based on variants of their renowned characters, but live-action attempts at exploring the Multiverse have had mixed results. For Marvel’s part, it seemed as if the studios were too afraid to go all out and give us wildly different versions of their characters. Why is that? Perhaps the studio heads fear that doing so will confuse audiences. But they underestimate them all the time. Other times, the efforts were laughably bad, such as Sony’s misguided films starring Spider-Man villains that were dead on arrival. We could have had more inspired Multiverse films and TV shows in the run up to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars and even the beloved Spider-Verse films that took greater advantage of the Multiverse concept like Spider-Noir has done. The executive producers of Spider-Noir are Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also guided the Spider-Verse films and they should be the go-to guys for more Multiverse works if they ever happen.

Spider-Noir is more than an homage to crime noir films, it is also one of the best superhero TV shows ever done that focuses on character and exciting superheroics. Underneath his cynical exterior, Ben Reilly still has a good heart because he knows that having great power has great responsibility. Even though this setting is unbelievably different than the traditional one seen with Spider-Man lore, it still is a Spider-Man story and one that hints at how the character would be like if he were middle aged. This approach allows the character to be shown in a unique way while sticking to what makes Spider-Man so popular. By going all in with the Multiverse concept, this TV show is able to present a novel approach to the Spider-Man character and see how he would have turned out under a different setting. Spider-Noir, simply put, takes full advantage of the Multiverse concept and how it should be done.

May 25 2026

The State Of Star Wars At 49

Today marks the 49th anniversary of the epic sci-fi franchise, Star Wars. Celebrating the occasion was the weekend release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first new Star Wars film in seven years. On the surface, this release should be a cause for celebration and a build-up for next year’s 50th anniversary but the film’s mixed reaction is a symptom of the state of the Star Wars franchise at this moment.

There is nothing wrong with The Mandalorian and Grogu, it’s a fine film that is exciting and fun, but given that we have not had a Star Wars film since 2019, one would think that this event would have yielded more excitement from fans. There are many reasons for this and it largely has to do with how Star Wars has fallen out of favor in recent years thanks to lackluster high-profile TV shows that diluted the brand and of course, the backlash against most of the Disney-era Star Wars films. But despite its merits, one nagging issue with The Mandalorian and Grogu is that it doesn’t feel epic. Sure, it has a solid storyline and terrific action scenes and character moments, especially with Grogu himself as he learns to survive on his own and helps rescue his father. But the relatively low-stakes story of the film could have been told in a new season of The Mandalorian. The fate of the galaxy was not in question, the overall storyline of the main characters, Grogu aside, did not advance significantly, and the same went for the worldbuilding. Again it has to be repeated that The Mandalorian and Grogu is an enjoyable film that is better than some of the recent Star Wars films, it just lacks an epic scale.

The Star Wars films are renowned for their topnotch production values and sweeping storylines that touch on mysticism or intriguing worldbuilding. Sure, this has to be well executed or you lose your audience (see the last couple of Star Wars films), but this is epic nature is why people would go out of their way to go to cinemas and spend lots of money to get immersed in an experience that is can’t be replicated at home. Just as important, the plot has to not just engage audiences but build towards an epic story with high stakes. Supposedly, The Mandalorian and Grogu was to be part of a larger storyline that would have continued in other related Star Wars films that would have culminated in a film where the separate characters confronted Grand Admiral Thrawn, but there is little evidence of a larger story in the debut film of the Mandalorian. Except for a plot line about the Mandalorian hired to track down ex-imperial officers, which is resolved fairly early in the film before it becomes a personal story about the armored bounty hunter and his son in a space version of Lone Wolf and Cub. But whether or not other Star Wars films will deal with this Thrawn plot is in question and depends on the performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Trying to use the TV show, The Mandalorian, as a vehicle to explore a larger storyline was what damaged the TV show in the long run. The show worked best when it did not deal with larger galactic situations such as the founding of the New Republic or the return of the Galactic Empire. Part of the problem was that the overarching storyline was not very interesting as seen in Ashoka and the fact that the dull manner in how the New Republic is presented. The show faltered in its third season when the main character and his son Grogu seemed to take a back seat to other characters and their stories that dealt with wider scale situations. The film corrects this by focusing on the Mandalorian and his son, and by doing so it went back to a more personal story for the duo. But this is is not what Star Wars needs at this time.

To recapture imaginations and more importantly improved box office results, Star Wars films have to aim high and tell a compelling story with several characters and intertwined plots. The more personal and intimate storylines seem to work best with TV shows such as the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, Andor, and Skeleton Crew. The next Star Wars film to come out will be next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter, but it’s not known if it will tell that kind of story, but there is sense of excitement for it, and if it turns out well, it should be a fitting film to release in time of the 50th anniversary of Star Wars. But for now, we have a worthwhile film to help celebrate the 49th anniversary of Star Wars as a build up or placeholder for something more epic and befitting of Star Wars.

Apr 25 2026

Top Ten Space Films

Given all the recent and renewed attention to space travel thanks to the Artemis II mission and the popular film Project Hail Mary, let’s list the top ten best space exploration films to date. Keep in mind, this list will focus on films with more realistic space travel and exploring instead of fantastical fare like Star Wars, Star Trek or Alien that are more oriented towards action/adventure or horror. Feel free to drop a comment with your ideas, and now…

10. Europa Report

This film is unique in that it is a found-footage tale about a doomed human mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The premise was well presented and underlined the film’s tension with the format of using a series of video diaries from the astronauts chronicling their voyage to Europa in search of life and what they find. This was a great example of a found-footage film done correctly with some solid performances and editing that heightened the film’s tension.

9. Ad Astra

Brad Pitt turns in a great performance in a sci-fi version of Heart of Darkness as McBride, a jaded astronaut who must journey to the edge of our solar system to find out what is causing devastating surges of cosmic rays and what happened to his father (Tommy Lee Jones). Along the way, as he makes stops in colonies on the Moon and Mars, he questions his lost emotional connections with his former wife and his estranged relationship with his father in this more grounded look at future space travel.

8. Silent Running

The strong environmental messages in this film can be over-the-top but still relevant in the pensive and quietly somber story of Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern). Charged with taking care of Earth’s last remaining natural biomes in a massive spaceship, Lowell goes rogue after he is ordered to destroy the biomes and return to Earth. With a team of silent drones named Huey, Dewey and Louie, Lowell sets off on a lonely and emotional quest in the spaceship to preserve what is left of nature.

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

This will be an unpopular opinion, but the film is quite dull and slow moving despite all the praise it receives for being so visionary. That may be true, as the film boasts then-revolutionary special effects that hold up nearly 60 years later and many iconic moments such as the murderous AI and a trippy sequence as astronaut David Bowman approaches an alien monolith. However, the film has a deliberately slow pace and dull characters. Nonetheless, for its impact on films it belongs on this list.

6. The Martian

Based on Andy Weir’s book, Matt Damon stars as Mark Watney, an astronaut left stranded on Mars after his fellow astronauts believed him to be dead. By himself and with limited resources, Watney has to use his ingenuity to find a way to survive on the red planet and make contact with Earth. The use of real science to emphasize the difficulty of surviving on Mars and the logistics needed to rescue him were one of The Martian’s best highlights, though it could have used less of an annoying disco soundtrack and some missplaced humor.

5. Apollo 13

The true story of the heroic efforts to return the crew of the Apollo 13 lunar mission back to Earth was one of director Ron Howard’s most riveting and exciting films. Apollo 13 was buoyed by strong performances from Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton and Ed Harris and brilliant directing by Howard. The director also cleverly used a technique of filming on a plane flying in a parabolic pattern to realistically create zero gravity in scenes onboard the space capsule, which was a great highlight.

4. Sunshine

Director Danny Boyle helmed this great sci-fi thriller about the desperate voyage of the Icarus II to our dying sun in order to restart it. Sunshine would have rated higher on the list if not for a bizarre left turn in the film’s third act but the ending was one of the most spiritual and awe-inspiring moments ever filmed for a sci-fi film. What made Sunshine stand out was its focus on the logistics of space travel, the increasing tension with the main characters who made the ultimate sacrifice to save our world, inspired imagery and terrific performances from the likes of Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans.

3. Project Hail Mary

Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! The most recent entry is one of the best space films ever made. Based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, the film tells the story of Dr. Grace (Ryan Gosling), a former scientist turned science teacher sent on a mission to the solar system Tau Ceti to find out why the Earth’s sun and nearby stars are dying. Once there, Grace meets an alien he names Rocky and the two form a collaboration that turns into a genuine friendship as they try to find a way to save their worlds. This is Gosling’s best role and the film is bursting with real heart and emotion through the interactions with Rocky thanks to inspired direcing by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

2. Gravity

Gravity is an intense and at time terrifying look at the dangers of space travel that is grounded and heightened by a exemplary special effects and editing. Director Alfonso Cuarón deservedly won an Academy Award for directing this classic story of the sole survivor of a space shuttle mission trying to stay alive in near-Earth orbit after her ship is destroyed by space debris. Using continuous shots, silence and riveting music, Gravity paints a too-accurate and unnerving look at how perilous space travel is for those who choose to work in the inhospitable environment. Sandra Bullock truly excelled in one of her best performances as Dr Ryan Stone whose survival instincts propel her to stay alive during the harrowing ordeal.

1. Interstellar

Director Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece that uses real science to present a captivating sci-fi story about a father, Joseph Cooper (Mathhew McConaughey), who sets off on a last-ditch effort onboard the spaceship Endurance to save humanity by finding a new habitable world. The film utilized actual science to accurately depict a black hole, silent space, time dilation and intiguing sci-fi concepts such as temporal paradoxes and wormholes. More importantly, unlike some other sci-fi films that get carried away with cold concepts, eye-popping effects and forget to dwell on emotion, Interstellar keeps its focus on its characters, especially Cooper, and the emotional impact space travel has on them, which can be both terrifying and wondrous.

Honorable Mentions:

2010; The Black Hole; Capsule; Contact; Destination Moon; First Man; Love; A Million Miles Away; The Midnight Sky; Moon; The Right Stuff; Robinson Crusoe on Mars; Solaris; Space Cowboys; Spaceman; WALL-E

José Soto

Mar 22 2026

The Emotional Journey Of Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary is the big-screen adaptation of Andy Weir’s book of the same name and stars Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace, a science teacher and former molecular biologist recruited by an international space agency to journey to the star system of Tau Ceti to investigate a strange phenomena. What he finds at his destination or rather who he encounters forms the emotional core of this uplifting sci-fi film.

Grace’s story on Earth is told through flashbacks where we learn that the sun is slowly starting to dim because of these interstellar microorganisms called astrophage. They form a line to the planet Venus because the planet’s atmosphere of dense carbon dioxide allows them to breed, but they are slowly consuming the sun’s energy and in 30 years, the Earth will suffer a catastrophic global cooling that threatens life. Grace, who discovers that the astrophage are alive, learns that all the nearby stars are undergoing the same situation except for Tau Ceti and he is recruited to join the crew of the spaceship, Hail Mary, on a one-way voyage to investigate why the star is still intact.

After he arrives and is awoken from cryosleep, Grace finds out his crewmates died during the voyage and that an alien spaceship is approaching the Hail Mary. The spacecraft is piloted by a non-humanoid, possibly silicate-based, being that Grace nicknames Rocky (voiced and animated by James Ortiz) because of his rock-like appearance. After some back and forth in learning to communicate with each other, Rocky informs Grace that he is also the sole survivor of a mission from his world 40 Eridani, which is also infested with the astrophage. Together, the two beings work to find out why Tau Ceti is not dimming, how they could save their worlds, and along the way, the two also form a close friendship.

Putting aside the stunning special effects and that Project Hail Mary is unafraid to dwell on actual science, the most engaging aspect of the film is the relationship between the two beings. It is inspiring to see these two go through herculean efforts to learn to communicate, learn about their cultures, and form an unlikely friendship. The two were lonely in their quests and had to find some kind of emotional connection to help drive their efforts to save their worlds.

Of course, what sells this friendship is Ryan Gosling’s emotional performance and his interactions with Rocky. Gosling should be applauded in one of his strongest performances for engaging audiences as a flawed but likeable and lonely man who is able to connect with the strange alien. What’s amazing is that Rocky was largely brought to life with a puppet instead of CG, and this is why we are able to emotionally connect with him. For a strange, five-legged rock creature, Rocky feels not just alive but as a genuine sentient being that we come to care about. This was best seen at certain points in the film when the two made personal sacrifices to save each other.

One thing to note is that though Project Hail Mary is very emotionally intense at times, it is still very uplifting and showcases the best of humanity. Sure, Grace has his doubts and fears like the rest of us, but he is able to convey a sense of goodness that wins out in the end. In addition to the heartwarming relationship, the film is a visual wonder that explores the beauty of space, and the wonder of Earth. It’s just a bit regrettable that we did not get to see much of Rocky’s world or his spaceship, but that would have probably made this long film even longer!

Project Hail Mary is an emotional triumph that puts the heart into space exploration and first contact. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and screenwriter Drew Goddard have put together an engaging sci-fi wonder that must be celebrated for engaging audiences and instilling a sense of awe, warmth, and friendship across the stars.