Tag: sci-fi

Disclosure Day (2026) Early Movie Review- Spielberg’s Glorious Sci-Fi Comeback

AdamLeave a comment

2026 has certainly been the year of timely featured films, hasn’t it? No matter how big or small each film has been, one thing that nearly every big film released this year has in common is what it has to say in our current place in today’s world. Backrooms explored the hidden meanings of isolation and being away from others. Obsession showcases the sexual power fantasy of incels and the complete and utter nightmare that is the dating world for Gen Z. Project Hail Mary address the needed desire for the whole world to come together in a time of uncertainty to preserve their future. And for what we’ve seen and hear about Toy Story 5 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the former will be about how A.I. and iPads is currently consuming Gen Alpha’s brains when that should be the job of toys and the latter will see our favorite web swinger learning to reconnect to the human experience with those he left in the past. And now here comes Steven Spielberg coming in with the clutch addressing the topics of UFOs and hidden government intel with Disclosure Day, a film about how effing crazy we are to discover the truth that those in power have been trying to hide from us for so long.

While I can’t say for certain when Trump will have the guts to pull the trigger and declare a Disclosure Day of his own, I highly doubt whatever he has to reveal will capture the gravitas and pure aura of what Mr. Spielberg is about to release into movie theaters worldwide. Disclosure Day makes for a very fine return to the sci-fi realm for Steven Spielberg, acting as both a nice modern updated expansion of his sci-fi work with E.T. & Close Encounters of a Third Kind and the most engaging UFO mystery thriller that doesn’t star Ryan Gosling since Arrival. It’s a tremendously shot (minus some eye rolling CGI), sharply paced, brilliantly acted, and a emotionally engaging thrill ride that knows which raised questions to answer and which ones are better to leave ambiguous. While I wouldn’t say it’s the best Spielberg movie in the post-Kingdom of the Crystal Skull era (largely because I love The Fabelmans and The Adventures of Tintin too much), it works perfectly as the right kind of an original “event” film that Hollywood doesn’t tend to make anymore.

Premise: A weather meteorologist (Emily Blunt) and a targeted cybersecurity whistleblower (Josh O’Connor) race against time to reveal extraterrestrial life. Their efforts spark a global crisis as they fight a shadowy government conspiracy attempting to hide the truth.

To say straight up front, yes, the film does indeed acknowledge that aliens are real! (No, this is not a spoiler! It’s literally in the title of the movie!) Spielberg is clearly not pulling any punches on his beliefs that there are indeed non-human beings that have visited our planet Earth that we don’t know about just yet. Disclosure Day isn’t interested in the tiresome “Are we alone or not alone?” debate but more of “If we discover we aren’t alone, how will everyone respond?” debate. It’s the desire of revealing the truth or covering it up that is the main narrative driving force of the film, with the characters constantly questioning among themselves if the truth is better to be revealed to the whole world or better to be locked away inside.

Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Disclosure Day is how it refuses to go completely one-sided when it comes to the discussion of revealing something as massive as UFOs existing among us all. Yes, it would be a grand discovery that would change humanity as we know it but would that actually be a good thing? Sometimes the truth itself can be too much if you chose to set it free. Would the world be able to handle the truth as big as that? Would it be able to handle the consequences of what comes next? Would people even believe the truth that stares them straight in the face? Would it lead to more conspiracy theories than ever before? There’s no easy answer to any one of those questions and the film doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Spielberg is clearly very comfortable in sticking his toes back into the sci-fi swimming pool that he helped form back in the 1970s and 80s. While plenty will be said on the film’s bold narrative swings involving questioning government intelligence (Slight spoilers but Watergate might now actually be the SECOND biggest scandal that Mr. Nixon was a part of!) and having your religious faith hanging in the balance after such a glorifying reveal, Spielberg is clearly more interested with using Disclosure Day to evoke his childlike sense of wonder in all of us, imagining a more optimistic world that exists outside our skies, our animals that live among us, and even our own humanity.

Is that line of thinking quite naive in the year of our lord and savior 2026? Absolutely but man, if only the world were THAT simple, right? Imagine all it took was one simple day of releasing footage of unidentified creatures for the planet to be unified! Oh well, but hey, we also got some cool high-stake chase scenes and a haunting score from our old pal John Williams to go along with the ride so there’s that.

Spielberg has gotten quite the ensemble and they all fire on all cylinders here. Emily Blunt gives easily the best performance of her whole career, acting as the main narrative drive as a Kansas City tv meteorologist going through a wide display of emotions as she discovers the truth about who she truly is. Josh O’Connor stands strong as the co-lead of the picture and as a distinct voice that absolutely refuses to be silent for what he knows. Eve Hewson does great work as a former nun that questions if her faith in God could prepare her for what’s coming. Colin Firth fits comfortably as the film’s antagonist as he stands with the side that believes the truth will be too much for the world to handle. And also, Colman Domingo is simple Colman Domingo and I am MORE than okay with that.

From a technical and overall directing standpoint, this is about as well made as a modern day Steven Spielberg movie can possibly be. There is some painfully distracting CGI with the animals in the film (I pray to God those animals were NOT brought to life with the help of Gemini!) but everything else is quite sharp and given proper love and care. The sound design is exceptionally great, it moves at a steady yet consistent pace, John William’s score fits perfectly with the subtle tone of the film, and while the ending will surely be seen as ambiguous, the whole sequence in the third act is so perfectly executed that it makes the entire picture live up to it’s intended title. This is a film that is heavily reliant on the ending being nothing sort of stunning. Opinions will DEFINTELY vary on that but if you ask me, I say it delivers quite a bit.

Although I could’ve done with a tighter runtime and certain details that weren’t left so vague, Disclosure Day is a very entertaining and thrilling ride that is worth seeing in IMAX and makes for another fine addition to the “NOT a Marvel/Star Wars/IP movie” collection of the 2026 summer movie season (This, Obsession, and Backrooms would make quite a triple feature!). The cast is terrific, Spielberg is clearly having a blast making a movie about aliens again, and the screenplay aided by longtime veteran David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man (2002) is able to have it’s cake-and-eat-it-too, operating as both a solid crowd pleaser and a layer filled character study that will have plenty of delightful “explain” videos made for it. Not every single question the audience have will be answered but the ones that does is given a proper answer while the ones it choses to leave in the balance might just be for the better, as one can only handle so much truth in one film.

I’m not gonna overhype it and tell you this is absolute S-Tier Steven Spielberg (To be fair, this is literally the same guy that was able to release Jurassic Park AND Schindler’s List in the EXACT SAME YEAR!) but Disclosure Day is more than enough proof that the godfather of blockbuster cinema still got plenty in the tank left in him and should still be treated with grace and dignity with each new film he releases. Even if not everybody will buy what Disclosure Day has to say about humanity and how the truth can lead to unity, it is bittersweet to see Steven actually try and perhaps that is what matters more than anything.

Just please don’t end your career making Hook 2, okay Steven!*

*(If anything, how about tell Peter to get off his butt and make The Adventures of Tintin 2 already! I need more Snowy the Dog in my life!)

Other comments:

  • Also, fyi, how the f**k do you have this take place in Kansas City, Missouri but NO reference to the Chiefs? You see the Royals logo here but NOT the Chiefs?

  • I get the Chiefs are leaving Missouri soon but come on Steven, they are still around and deserve a mention. It’s NOT the Royals that have won three championships this century!

  • And where is the shout out to Travis and Taylor, Steven? I guess Toy Story 5 will have to pick up the slack on that, I just have to imagine Jessie’s owner Emily is actually Travis.

  • It also odd that everyone seems to have the exact same stunned and shocked reaction whenever the the big reveals come in. If this was any other movie, you would expect that one comic relief guy to come out and be like: ALIENS ARE REAL?! F**K YEAH! I KNEW IT! or something like that.

  • Shout out to that one guy who asked: IS THAT AI?!

  • I’m more confident than ever that the sole reason that Spielberg chose to set this movie in my home state Missouri is because it’s considered the “SHOW-ME” state! If that’s the case, then brilliant!

Project Hail Mary (2026) Early Movie Review- Operation Cinematic Triumph

AdamLeave a comment

You know how sometimes whenever a new movie comes out and the studio decides to NOT lift the review embargo until the exact day the movie comes out? That’s usually a sign that the studio has ZERO faith in the film they just poured millions of dollars into and hope they could swipe it underneath the rug from any kind of negative publicity in the hopes of making any sort or profit of said film before it hits digital and streaming. There might always be an exception (*cough* Oppenheimer) but whenever a studio usually does that, NINE times out of ten, they know they got a dud on their hands.

Project Hail Mary has been the exact opposite of that. Amazon has given the film PLENTY of attention and early press releases before it hit theaters everywhere this weekend. Only this time, it’s not just for film critics but for film audiences as well! There has not been one but TWO special screenings that has come from AmazonMGM, a studio which absolutely needs a hit after several underwhelming films (Mercy, Crime 101, and that one documentary that shall not be named) to start off 2026. Regardless if this is an act of faith or desperation, you can’t say anyone involved is afraid to show everyone what they got with this latest motion picture.

However, giving a film too much exposure can easily backfire. It can generate overhype and set the film with completely unrealistic expectations of it’s quality harder than any film that wins Best Picture at the Oscars ever could! Or there can be times where all that hype and buzz is absolutely worth it and the film just ends up being a perfectly executed version of the film that it inspires to be that there’s not much to complain about. And I can said with good pride that the film I’m just about to talk about is exactly the latter of what I’m talking about.

Project Hail Mary is an incredibly well made, extremely well acted, and very well paced sci-fi thriller that works (I imagine) not just as a faithful adaption of the critically acclaimed book from Andy Weir (The Martian) but it also stands strongly as it’s own cinematic experience and a thematically moving think tank surrounding art and science . There is not a single second that is boring or uninteresting, Ryan Gosling is pitch perfect in the lead role as Grace and has great chemistry with his so-called co-star (which I’m not going to spoil in case no one is aware of that character yet), it has a perfectly controlled tone that knows when to be funny, serious, and moving when it’s absolutely required, and even if you can see the inspiration from your favorite sci-fi flick from the 2010s (Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival, Mr. Gosling’s own First Man! Take your pick!), it is able to have it’s own unique identity while telling a distinct story about the importance of loyalty, friendship, unity, and sacrifice. While it’s certainly not the most flawless film I’ve ever seen and I’m sure there will be nits to be picked from fans of the book, I can’t imagine Project Hail Mary being a better version of itself than what Mr. Lord and Mr. Miller was able to deliver here.

Premise: Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he soon discovers he must solve the riddle behind a mysterious substance that’s causing the sun to die out. As details of the mission unravel, he calls on his scientific training and sheer ingenuity — but he may not have to do it alone.

I will say straight off the bat that I have NOT read the book that this film is based on. I’m well aware that Andy Weir’s 2021 spiritually successor to The Martian is one of the more beloved books in recent worry, being a New York Times’ best-seller for 28 weeks in a row. However, I purposedly choose to hold off on reading the book BEFORE seeing the movie in order to not spoil the cinematic experience for myself! Even so, while I’m sure there were some changes had to have been made and plot elements that had to be reworked or cut out in order for it to qualify as a feature film, I really get the feeling that is indeed a very worthy adaption of it’s source material.

The main reason I believe that is because it’s clear how much pure confidence is on display from the cast and crew with the making of this film. You really get the sense that it’s trying to capture a special lightning in a bottle that you don’t get from films these days. They are trying to offer you an experience that you possibly couldn’t get from any other film besides this one, even including the other recent sci-fi flicks that it’s clearly inspired by. It’s trying to engage you in ways that you probably never expected, especially when you discover what the main driving force of the film is suppose to be. And it’s even trying to tell a tale about finding that spark of hope within yourself when it seems like no else can. Even if Grace himself is doubtful that he can complete his mission, the cast and crew have more than enough trust in themselves with Project Hail Mary.

As much as comparisons are going to be made with The Martian (and rightfully so…..in good ways), the main protagonist Ryland Grace is NOT Mark Watney! He’s not someone who has had major experience with space travel or being an astronaut. He’s just a simple teacher who is sent on a mission that can determine the fate of humanity and earth because he simply has nothing left to lose. Project Hail Mary isn’t strictly a story about a man working his way back home, it’s a story about a man working his way so that billions of other earthly live forms (and a very special friend) might have a chance of going back or staying home for the foreseeable future. Even if it’s not a full on direct sequel of The Martian, screenwriter Drew Goddard is able to properly expand the themes of Andy Weir’s work involving sci-fi and space operas once again in ways that will certainly put a smile on the author’s face.

Nothing in Project Hail Mary could have worked as well as it does without Ryan Gosling’s masterful performance as Grace! Much like the tone in the film, he is able to expressive himself exactly the way that the script demands for it whenever he is needed. He has great comedic timing, knows when to transition to being serious and emotional, makes every single dramatic and character beat feel earned, and makes for a overall engaging screen presence that is able to hide any sort of jarring shortcoming that the film might have. And yes, he does have absolutely perfect chemistry with that one special character that I will not mention because it’s a spoiler free review. But, all I will say is this…..Baby Yoda has some SERIOUS competition!

The other MVPs of the film goes to co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. This film makes for the duels’ first directorial feature credit since 2014’s 22 Jump Street. While it’s certainly crazy that it’s been 12 years since these guys have fully directed a film (It’s a shame that Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t work out but the Spider-Verse films were co-written and produced by the duo, NOT directed!), they make their cinematic return feel worth it. Just like they did with films like The Lego Movie and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, they are able to take this odd and far-reach concept of a man trying to achieve the literal impossible while including it’s own unique brain in it’s head. They know how to get their universally relatable themes about the need for connection and working together in a time of crisis while not being afraid to be funny and moving along the way.

In terms of other technical and productive achievements, Project Hail Mary is the complete package. While there’s not a direct sequence that is as aspiring as the very best scenes from Gravity or Interstellar, this is a very beautiful looking motion picture, making the extra bucks for IMAX actually feel worth it. Any shot in space is a treat for the eyes and the transition from IMAX ratio to normal ratio is surprisingly never jarring. The cinematography by Greig Fraser is on-point, the score by Daniel Pemberton is able to be as equally mesmerizing as it is moving with some truly inspiring song choices, and even though this is a story which the events are told out of nowhere, the superb job from editor Joel Negron has every scene flow together very well and makes this daring narrative choice from Mr. Lord and Miller feel completely justified.

It may seems like I’m scratching underneath the surface with this review but that’s because there’s so much AURA here that I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that is curious to see Project Hail Mary this weekend. Not necessarily because there’s any game changing spoilers to be found (outside of the obvious elephant in the room) but because I want your experience to be as fresh and surprising as it was for me.

Project Hail Mary is sci-fi, adaptions, and cinema as it’s absolute best! It’s able to find the best of every possible world that it can and is able to stand strong on any merit that you chose to measure it with. I can nitpick about there being one or two many “funny” scenes and the way the film continuously teases what ending pathway it will chose to take by the end of Act Two and leading into Act Three is a tad jarring but when a film is this well put together, entertaining, and filled with so much optimism despite taking place in a literal dying Earth, how can you let ANY kind of flaw distract you from everything else?!

This will likely go down as one of the best films of the year, an early frontrunner for Best Picture at Next Year’s Academy Awards, and proof that cinema in Hollywood can evolve without the need of a Marvel superhero or a remake of an animated film from 30 years ago to carry theaters for the future. It’s become rarer every day to recommend a film that fully justifies the $15 to $20 ticket price but Project Hail Mary is exactly that!

You ever seen that meme that says “Never Kill Yourself”? I like to imagine the person that came up with that meme was describing the experience of watching Project Hail Mary!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna pre-order the novel now!