Disclosure Day

The much-anticipated Steven Spielberg film, Disclosure Day has arrived—the summation (Spielberg’s own words) of the director’s life in science fiction films which began with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Like most of the planet, I have enjoyed Spielberg’s work over the years—two of his films are in my top 100 movies: Schindler’s List and Lincoln. Others, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and more, are permanently registered in my mind as I presume they are for many of you. There are flashes of the majesty of those past works in Disclosure Day. The film is solid and, at times, dazzling from an action and technical standpoint. But the story is plagued by incongruities and, eventually, silliness, diminishing the impact of its core theses.   

The principal themes of Disclosure Day are not new to Spielberg’s story telling. Many of his films have ruminated on the spectrum of human reaction to and treatment of the different (Schindler’s List), the mis-understood (Close Encounters), the alien (E.T.). This time Spielberg attempts to weave these themes within a run/chase conspiracy-thriller wrapper. 

The runner is Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Conner: Knives Out-Wake up the Dead), an employee of a secret government affiliate, the Wardex Corp, who has stolen government files detailing decades of events of human-alien contact. Daniel is supported in his crime by a crew of Wardex defectors convinced that the truth of alien visitors must be revealed to the world. The chaser, Wardex CEO Noah Scanlon (Collin Firth, Kingsmen: The Secret Service) is just as strongly convinced that the planet cannot handle the truth about the alien presence and rushes to track down Kellner and his associates before they can reveal those secrets.  

Concurrently, a television weather person, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada 2) has an odd encounter with a small bird in her apartment triggering latent (maybe) telepathic abilities in her. Margaret's seemingly new knowledge and periodic visions lead her toward Daniel and an awareness of their intertwining pasts with the undisclosed aliens and what might be learned from them. 

Disclosure develops some pace and shine in its early running scenes—sweeping camera pans following car chases and train v. vehicle encounters. The associated imagery is familiar and fun. 

The characters are well played by the ensemble cast with some standout supporting performances from Wyatt Russell (son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell), as Margaret’s boyfriend and Courtney Grace who just nails it as a news anchor in the film’s final scene. 

But Disclosure Day stumbles hard in creating a convincing connection among and purpose for its characters and all its moving parts. Disclosure's numerous ideas and theme strings are convoluted and sometimes off target, with too many gaps and questions to congeal into any impactful whole. It’s Citizen Kane-esque ending comes and goes without resonance. 

And so, my anticipation of Disclosure Day’s arrival and of a Spielberg tale, once again, leaving an indelible imprint on my psyche, was for naught. Many critics found the film “Fresh” however, as did most early viewers reporting out on Rotten Tomatoes. So, you may indeed find freshness and profundity in this new and final Spielberg sci-fi. Sadly, I didn’t. 5.5 out or 10. 

The Devil Wears Prada 2 - It's good to see old friends again

It’s been 20 years since we’ve seen the crew of Runway magazine on the big screen. The characters who sent The Devil Wears Prada into rarified levels of popularity and money-making way back in 2006 are that much older and part of our distant and unrefreshed memories. So maybe I should not have been surprised that our reunion in the sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, began awkwardly—clunky dialog, stilted delivery—the early scenes of reintroduction were disappointingly ungainly. But Prada 2 might be compared to an aging fashion model’s last trip down the runway; the entrance may be less crisp than in days past but once in the full light and sound of the catwalk, the strut comes back.

Prada 2’s tepid start is all about reassembling the ol’ team and then trying to make us remember how much we liked this bunch: Ann Hathaway’s optimistic but conflicted Andy returns, oddly, to the Runway after being laid off by her shrinking newspaper; Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is still playing second fiddle to Meryl Streep’s ruthless Miranda Priestly; and frenetic Emily (Emily Blunt) is now a senior exec at Dior and remains very interested in herself. The early scenes are heavy with lines from and nods to the 2006 film. Alas, I had begun to steel myself, in my theater luxury recliner, for a nigh two-hour rehash of what had come before—then the new film separated itself from the old. 

The main change in Prada 2 from Prada 1 is role reversal. Turns out there’s a new devil this go around… and it doesn’t wear Prada. Twenty years have significantly altered the Devil/Prada landscape. Print media is failing. Awareness of what style is in or out is now communicated through clicks and learned from TikTok. The old fashion-guard is being pressured and replaced by big tech and big corporations with their executive teams focused more on bottom lines than hem length. Odd tech billionaires and their suited minions are the devil now. The high-and-mighty Miranda Priestly has been defanged to a degree, forced to recognize a new power and where the new money comes from; and forced to concede that she will need the help of others to maintain the little space that is left for her.  

This switcheroo is an easy vehicle to propel the film along but it’s really not that interesting. The true fun of the film, the thing that makes it worth watching is, once again, the well-played characters—our old friends. 

The film and cast finally hit stride when we all return to Italy for Milan Fashion Week. Our posse swaggers through a grand entrance to the event looking really, really good. Madonna’s Vogue blasts forth as the party starts (the old). Then Lady Gaga appears with a new anthem (the new). The lights flash, the models walk, important people connive… and were cruising. 

Prada 2 is by no measure a great work. But it is, at last, fun. The mashing of old and new is not without kinks and stumbles and contrivances to tolerate. But the sweet reunion with old friends is worth the small sorrows that come with it. 6.5 out of 10. 

F1 is cliché... and exhilarating

F1, the new motorsport drama starring Brad Pitt, is undeniably entertaining. The race sequences are beautiful, heart-pounding works of art. Joseph Kosinski’s direction of the action is on point, as it was in Top Gun: Maverick. And Pitt’s charisma, mature but intact, gives the film’s shinny hardware a bit of heart. But the “F” for Formula in the title also describes the film’s formulaic story line. F1 is a spectacle to behold, but behind the mesmerizing speed is a well-worn tale and a very by-the-numbers telling.

 

The fact that F1’s plot is as mechanical as the film’s racing machines does not make it a bad viewing experience—I’m still strongly recommending it. I’m just saying that you’ve seen the narrative before… many times before: damaged and/or aging athlete is revived and presented with a chance (maybe a last chance) at victory, or redemption, or whatever the storyteller decides is the hero’s motivation. 

F1 has such a hero (of course) In Sunny Hayes, a once promising young Formula driver whose career has been derailed by a near fatal accident. After a string of bad decisions and relationships, Sunny has settled on a racer-for-hire existence, searching simply to continue to drive in whatever fast thing he can find. But when a friend and former Lotus teammate (played by Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Dune)) offers Sunny a slot on his floundering F1 APXGP racing team, the highest class of worldwide racing, he takes it, although he is not sure why. And… you can guess the rest. 

Pitt’s ah-shucks, it’s-all-good portrayal of the nomad (physically and emotionally) Hayes’ is comfortable if not compelling. Pitt can still command a scene with, what appears to be, minimal effort. Bardem is also excellent as the desperate racing team owner taking a flyer on his old teammate. The two generate a palpable chemistry with Bardem’s freneticism juxtaposed against Pitt’s what-the-heck vibe. The two eat up the screen as Hayes forges an unlikely and unconventional path toward an impossible checkered flag (maybe). They are each other’s last chances. 

But let’s not get too distracted with characters and plot and the like. Sure, the buddy thing is fun, and an obligatory love interest for Sunny gives us another thing to root for—but it’s all pretty shallow and even a little cheesy at times. No, you should see F1 for the thrill and the tension of the race, because this is the most authentic racing car movie ever made. 

It’s easy to want to compare F1 to other racing movies—the best-picture nominated Ford v Ferrari is the most obvious and highest quality comp. FvF is the better film… the better performance. But F1 is the better ride. 7.5 out of 10. 

A Quite Place - Day One

A Quiet Place-Day One is the third installment of the A Quiet Place film series and was created as a prequel to the first film. It is also the first of the three to not have John Krasinski (The Office) in the Director’s chair or as a principal script writer.  Whether it’s the change in direction (Michael Samoski (Pig) directed and wrote the script for Day One) or an intentional shift in the approach to telling this monster story, you can sense a difference in the feel of A Quiet Place-Day One right off the bat. And different doesn’t mean bad—there are good examples of action series that have changed pace or scope or purpose after their first installment and had great success—Aliens, Road Warrior, and Terminator Judgement Day come to mind. But in the case of Day One, different also doesn’t mean better. Day One is different than the first two films, but it’s not as good—it’s not as nifty, not has nuanced, not as gripping. 

Krasinski had the benefit in the first installment of having an original and cool diegesis with surprising antagonists. His monsters were sightless creatures overrunning the planet. Their origin was untold. They were simply there, and everywhere, and they were wiping out humanity. The aliens were blind but with an acute sense of hearing, creating a new-born human environment in which survival required silence. It was a good gimmick. And Krasinski used it well in the first two Quiet Place installments, playing with sight and sound and non-sound to create unnerving tension in exercises in noiseless endurance. 

Samoski, on the other hand, is challenged with spinning off a new story with a now familiar premise and players. The title of the new film portends a possible origin tale for the invaders and their prey. But Day One is not that. Day One is a race, a running of the gauntlet, with fresh-face participants simply trying to get from point A to point B under monstrous conditions.   

Samoski’s first gauntlet runner is Samira (Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther), a terminally ill cancer patient living in a hospice in New York City with her cat Frodo. That’s right. You heard me. Sam’s got a cat. And we all know that gauntlet runners always go back for the cat. And yes, you’ll be whispering to yourself, as you do during all such films with cats… “just leave the damn cat you idiot!” Eric (Joseph Quinn, Stranger Things) is the second runner, a stunned and frightened British law student who stumbles onto Sam, thanks to the cat of course, in a burned-out Manhattan. Sam is terminal, she is going to die regardless of how she navigates this apocalypse. She’d like one more piece of Patsy’s pizza in Harlem before it all goes away… she just wants to go home.  Eric is just there, scared and desperately in need of another human to run with. 

For the action side of this race, Day One relies heavily, with some effect, on jump scares, chases, and closeups of the film’s killer beasts to shock and frighten. The character study side of the film is more compelling, however. Sam and Eric’s odd partnership and desired finish line seem a foolish contrivance at first but slowly become a believable and even obvious goal of humans laid raw by eminent doom. Indeed, my favorite moments of the film were completely monster-less: a pre-invasion marionette play with a magical floating boy puppet that suddenly collapses in a heap—and allegory of the coming apocalypse; Eric and Sam’s silent but sanguine magic show in a deserted Harlem jazz club.  

These two sides of the film never mesh completely, however, not in a meaningful way. The obstacles that our heroes face along the track could have been anything—zombies, plague, war—their story would be the same. The blind monsters become disconnected background; their newness worn away. 

Nyong’o and Quin are good in this film, they do their best. And Day One is enough of a spectacle and story to be worth a watch in the theater. But we’ve seen this before, even though the pace and the people are different; the shininess of the whole thing is gone. 6 out of 10. 

Wonka: Not as good as we’d hoped

A lot of hype around this movie. I was excited to see it on its opening night. I was hopeful, like the young Willy Wonka I was about to meet. I knew it would be difficult—the original having set such a venerated bar. I promised myself not to give into the temptation to compare. But the new Wonka seemed to want me to do just that, nudging me, as the film started, with those three notes—C, E-flat, B-flat… “Come with me… and you’ll be”—and I was back with Charlie in the chocolate factory. There were more ties to the classic 1971 film, sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately, those old sprinkles are the best parts of Wonka, the new treats underneath are much less memorable.

Notwithstanding the clear attempts to maintain a connection to the original film’s older Wonka, this origin story presents a very different chocolate maker than Gene Wilder’s recluse. Young Willy, played enthusiastically by Timothee Chalamet, has yet to create his great chocolate factory as this tale begins. He is outgoing, generous, hopeful, whimsical. He’s a dreamer and  buoyed in his dream by a lost mother’s promise to be with him when he shares his gifts as a great chocolatier. Missing from this youthful version is the jadedness of the older Wonka; the snarkiness, and the mistrust created by years of the covetous trying to steal his genius. He has yet to learn, as his new band of downtrodden friends will try to teach him, that “the greedy hurt the needy every time”. 

There’s nothing wrong with this take on Wonka’s origin, although numerous big-media critics dislike this more-sugary Willy. It’s not the idea of this story that misses, it’s the telling of it.

At first, the stage, the music, and the story’s many characters and strong cast seem well positioned to make things interesting. Young Wonka encounters a duo of swindlers and winds up in servitude along with a small group of other unfortunates. These members of Team Wonka, however, are duller than their first impression would indicate and are given little to work from the film’s script. Their evil counterparts in the “Chocolate Cartel” are equally flat; a trio of one-gag melodrama villains. Even the excellent effort from Chalamet, who plays Wonka with great verve, is not enough to move the needle much off the half-full mark. Chalamet seems to put everything he as into his new Wonka. This includes his execution of the film's song and dance which is delightful and endearing. But the dances are minor and the tunes unmemorable. His excellent performance makes the mediocrity that surrounds it that much more frustrating.

I should make clear here that Wonka is not an unpleasant film. I suspect most of the younger patrons will give the film a thumbs up—the bones are good as they say. And all will enjoy Hugh Grant’s Oompa-Loompa (we could have used more of Hugh Grant… and a lot more Oompa-Loompas). But that magic was missing. I was patient. I kept waiting for Wonka to kick in… but it never did. 5.5 out of 10. 

Fresh Flash is Better Than Most

So, why The Flash. Why did this movie drag me out of the basement to start writing these reviews again. I’ll tell you why! Because the man’s suit comes out of his ring. That’s why. I was a Marvel kid (and this was when comic books cost 12 cents so that’s a long time ago); I wasn’t into a lot of DC heroes. But the Flash intrigued me, and I bought the comics. I liked fast. I thought I was fast. My favorite athletes were fast, and the Flash was the fastest of them all. But, more importantly, yes, his suit came out of his freeking ring. Fortunately for me, and this review, DC’s depiction of The Flash keeps the suit-in-the-ring thing. If it hadn’t, I would have walked out. I would have. I’m glad it did and a I didn’t because The Flash is a good film. I know there’s a lot of negativity swirling around this movie. Notwithstanding, I found the film to be fun, funny, engaging and, overall, better than most of its ilk. 

I do give one caveat here right up front—The Flash is another multi-verse thing. And I understand you may feel completely alternative-universed out. But this time it’s not colliders, or worm holes, or magic… it’s speed. The dang Flash runs so fast (and we find out he’s still learning to run faster) that he can run through space-time creating some sort of ‘speed force”. And he has an idea. Barry Allen (The Flash played by Ezra Miller) lost his mother in his youth and his father was blamed for her death. Allen now believes that he can use his speed to travel back in time and change the one thing that resulted in his mother's death and his father incarceration. Allen’s universe’s Batman (Ben Affleck), a Flash Justice League colleague, warns against such an attempt, reminding Allen that any change he makes to the past may destroy his present and future. The possibility of bringing her back is too much for Allen, however, and he travels back to the day of his mother’s death and prevents it. But as he returns, he is pushed out of the Speed Force by an unknown being and into an alternative 1983 where he finds a younger version of himself and his mother alive. 

It is in this new place that Ezra Miller and the film find something special. Miller shines when portraying, simultaneously, the glitchy Flash alongside his goofball, 18-year-old self. The interaction of the two Flashes (the younger Barry obtains Flash superpowers also) is the best part of the show. Not only are there two Flashes because of Allen’s time-meddling, but there are also two Batmen--the Affleck Batman from Allen’s home universe and a Michael Keaton Batman from the 1983 alternative universe. Affleck is necessary, Keaton in memorable. Keaton plays, with gusto, an aging crimefighter with no more crime to fight, invigorated by the task of helping Allen fix the mess he has made—his obligatory revelation that “I’m Batman” gave me a quick nostalgia chill. He also gives a great explanation of the film’s multiverse using a pile of spaghetti which is a seriously needed primer as the film and its infinite alternatives get confusing near the end. 

Although The Flash does fall prey to the usual superhero movie motif of jamming just too much stuff in, it still is able to maintain a thread of uniqueness. Its story is sound, and it sticks with it to the end. There is a sort of Ground-Hog-Day moment in the final scenes of The Flash where our heroes must face the possibility that no matter how hard they try, bad things happen, or must happen. There is a lot of ties-that-bind stuff that comes out in this dilemma that is moving without being too corny or overly sentimental, and the cast was excellent, especially Miller, in projecting those feelings to the audience. 

Still, lots of criticism out there. The kids say the special effects were bad. The movies’ creators, in a recent interview, explained that the different feel of the special effects was intentional as they wanted to portray a slightly distorted imagery for the Flash’s speed world. Everything did look a little bit off to me--shinny. Whether that was their true intent of not, I was fine with the graphics–they were different… and in the world of superhero movies, different is good. 

The Flash felt fresh to me. And most of that came from Miller giving us a different type of hero. I am not familiar with the details of Ezra Miller’s significant struggles, including recent run-ins with the law. I can understand if people don’t want to see the show because of that. I hope he finds himself and can make the corrections he needs to be better and continue in a positive direction—as I have read he says he is doing. I’d like to see another Flash–and I can’t say that for most superhero films.  7.5 out of 10. 

Jurassic Park/World Mash Up Yields Only Average Results In World Dominion

 

Early on in Jurassic World Dominion, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), returning to the team from the earlier generation of JP Universe characters, engages a baby dinosaur, gives it a rub on its horn, and exclaims with nostalgia “it never gets old”—well Dr. Sattler… it kind of does. It’s clear that World Dominion’s creators spent a lot of money and generated a large amount of CGI code to make the union of the Jurassic Park and the Jurassic World characters special and fresh. And I’ll give them credit for combining the old and new crews without invoking the multi-verse—bless them for this. But very little of the end product is fresh and the few pieces that are new and different are kind of silly. 

Dinosaurs of all shapes and number of teeth now run amok across the planet thanks to the disasters that occurred in the previous Jurassic films. And although these invasive species are now laying waste to the world’s ecosystems (including the human one), the story is the same—nasty humans in big corporations are still trying to exploit the animals for gain in numerous nefarious ways--shocking!  It is within these dire, yet usual, circumstances that our old and new Jurassic Park/World friends gather, like aged and dismissed superheroes, to, once again, rise up and try to save the planet. 

I’ll admit, it was fun to see the old crew—Dern’s Sattler, Sam Neil’s Dr. Alan Grant, and the always slightly askew Dr. Ian Malcolm played by Jeff Goldblum. They’ve gone their separate ways all these years but now unite to uncover a plot by the evil Biosyn Corporation that includes the release of giant prehistoric locusts (of all things) into the global ecosphere. Meanwhile the younger generation from Jurassic World (Chris Pratt’s Raptor training Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing) have hooked up and are attempting to preserve all dinosaurs one animal at a time in the most dangerous and inefficient fashions. Their dinosaur rescue efforts are kind of a side gig for them however, as they have a larger calling--keeping the clone of Charlotte Lockwood (daughter of Dr. Benjamin Lockwood, Dr. Hammonds former partner, see previous films) under cover as the evil corporations are after her too for convoluted reasons. 

Yes, there is a lot going on in World Dominion leading to some truly weak intrigue with our old heroes cloak and daggering their way into Biosyn while the more youthful heroes attempt to stifle the kidnapping of their ward, the young Lockwood. The result is a mash up that seems to aim toward a Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones vibe. Alas, the intrigue and ensuing action is not as clever or as tense as any of Tom Cruise’s MI cappers and Pratt is certainly not Harrison Ford. Soooo, we are left with the dinosaurs. And they are magnificently rendered… again. But how many times have we seen Velociraptors skid arounds turns and bump into walls as they chase elusive humans on slick surfaces. And how many times do we need to experience the “Apex Predator” throw down…? Six times is my guess, as there are six Jurassic Universe films. Steel yourself again for the same close calls. And prepare yourselves again to be relieved when the same escape maneuver is invoked… the magic extended hand. You know the trick, reach your hand out toward the dinosaur who is about to eat you and whisper “eeeeaaaasy Blue (or whatever name you’ve given your dinosaur)”—think Eleven from Stranger Things without the strained face and the nosebleed. It works every time. 

OK, OK… I know, I’m beating a dead T-Rex here, you got my drift long ago—I think World Dominion is significantly silly, in an average and reparative sort of way. It’s still a great looking ride even though you’ve seen most of the props before. Maybe a bigger view of the film’s prettiness would better counterbalance its mild staleness. Take in the film in on the IMAX, I didn’t but it might help. 5 out 10 for World Damion, and happy 4th.