Disclosure Day

Alright Steven, I can dig it.

Probably not a modern masterpiece of his films but a solid if bonkers movie. But hey, it's aliens I'd be disappointed if it wasn't bonkers! And the film kinda throws you in the deep end from minute one but it raises enough questions for you to want to know more and where it goes. It follows an archivist for a black ops team and a newscaster who for reasons unbeknowst to them have access to higher intelligence and they're willing to blow the whole lid on the you are not alone truth. It's interesting to see so many modern camera techniques utilized by Spielberg and it does make for a visually interesting film so props to you! Emily Blunt in my personal opinion is the standout role because she acts how any normal person would when confronted with such strange goings on, she has no idea what is happening to her and she voices it but still follows through knowing she has to do something. She feels unbelievably grounded in an earth shattering situation. Josh O'Connor is a good partnering lead with Emily, and I like how consequences be damned he is about unearthing the truth that yes extraterrestrial life has been on this planet for decades, but also the dyad they form into at a certain point I thought worked quite well. I think this is the first antagonist role I've seen Colin Firth in and while he's no Hugh Grant (sorry Colin please don't shoot) I kinda like the fact he's not this murderous, by any means necessary, above the law type villain, he just is doing what he feels right with such a massive truth. Colman Domingo is kinda the wild card in this deck because he seems to be the one who knows the most and has his own game to play, aiding our protagonists throughout yet it's not fully explained why and how. Far from the performance being bad, it's just a different element. The effects are minimal but are used effectively, they love shooting eyes I can tell you that and while the CG is not quite realistic who cares, it works just fine. Some people might bitch about the religious undercurrents but I found the filmmakers handled it right, with one character claiming this would be disastrous beyond recall and would damage religion worldwide because we need a god and a book to be good people while another claims and in my estimation too who the hell says alien life outside of Earth wasn't also created by a deity, and that faith is faith and not fact. They don't make a big deal out of it, it doesn't feel hamfisted, I rather appreciated that real world discussion. And yeah that reveal is about as real as you can get, though I do find it hilarious our own government has confirmed aliens are on this planet at least three times and we're just like, alright cool but could we maybe not fuck this planet and it's inhabitants even more on a daily basis. We know man, now could you please increase the minimum wage to a liveable status? I had not a great many expectations and walked away fairly happy, I think people will like it just fine and I'm happy to see Steven still doing what he loves. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10!

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

It's probably still top 5 Spielberg.

It should be frankly studied how Close Encounters does two things, keep the audience's attention in a stranglehold and almost mindbendingly mix wonder and terror of extraterrestrial life. You are hooked by scene one and you are left guessing honestly even as end credits role, as several sightings and experiences of UFO's radically change people's lives and has the government trying to piece together what it all could mean. I dare not divulge too much more because this is a movie that truly must be experienced start to finish, I simply cannot no matter how many words I write or feelings I have sum up Close Encounters. It is a marvel of storytelling and is one of those very rare movies where you're constantly wondering what the fuck is going onnnn and YET you are seated and wanting to know more. And it's not like sci-fi exmaples of earlier movies where the alien or spacecraft is more a mystery for most of the film, they show us the ships roughly 20 minutes in, and even then you can't truly describe them. Oh you see them for sure, but its such a finely crafted effect that you can't discern too much other than outlines because of the bright lights but that adds so much mystique and maybe even charm. It really captures that moment of time when space was still cool as shit and a large collective of people still wanted to know what was out there beyond the sky. We still have that now but nowhere near the level as back from say early 50s to late 70s. It is a movie that takes it's time pushing past 2 hours and the story it crafts, really only focusing on about three different characters that all are converging on one point while still showcasing a much wider berth of the effect such a monumental event would have on the world, is very finely done. Richard Dreyfuss has probably one of the most intricate and involved performances I've ever seen, after experiencing firsthand a UFO it shows how much that would change a person and how it kinda destroys his family when he starts pursuing things even he can't properly explain. He does a great job conveying confusion, determination, and a almost neurotic excitement sometimes all at once! Melinda Dillon has big time stakes when the aliens take an interest in her young son and it really is a horrifying situation to be in, you just get what she's going through. Last but not least we follow François Truffaut as a UFO specialist brought in by the american government who after finding several missing craft throughout decades of history has his own theory to everything. Back to my original point involving the aliens, it's effectively eerie when they show up mainly because you really don't know what the intentions are and it's this odd mix of awe and horror that constantly flip flops, not to the film's detriment but down to the simple fact that we fear the unknown. And the movie almost paves the way for modern sci-fi horror like Fire In The Sky, it's shot like a fucking horror movie at times and any singular point where there was a night scene my eyes were glued to the sky than anything else echoing one of the most chilling outro lines in movie history, "Watch the skies everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies.". Everybody on that crew was on their A-Game, writing, designs, visual effects, music, acting, cinematography, in a very unflashy almost subdued matter of fact way. It feels real, undeniably real for that time and corner of the world. It is a high high recommendation from me, 4 stars, 8.5/10! And tomorrow we fast forward to the mid-80s for another Spielberg alien movie.

The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

I think it's mellowed over time.

Story time! I didn't start getting into Indiana Jones until after this movie came out but from all the contemporary word of mouth there was, you either despised it or liked it. Hell my mom tried to get me to watch it before any of the others and I just couldn't go for it yet, but I quickly loved the previous 3 movies and when I watched it the first go around it didn't strike me very much. I guess the line is drawn at do you think extraterrestrial life belongs in an Indiana Jones movie? My teenage self would say hell to the no, but nowadays I'm kinda on the fence. I mean it's Spielberg in conjunction with Lucas, they wanted to do a big throwback to film serials and adventure films of their youth in creating this character and you could argue the progression is sound, science fiction and alien movies were huge in the 1950s so they wanted to tip their hat to that genre as well, and I do feel Spielberg did fine work with all the elements here. So we basically follow Indy as he's being hounded by KGB agents where we meet his son Mutt Williams who enlists his help to find an old teacher and his mom as we piece together the puzzle, world hop, get into some action, and touch upon another religion albeit a less than common one. Now how they weave this story of the crystal skull for the most part works, bringing in conquistadors, the legend of El Dorado, and various bits of mesoamerican history I feel works well. You follow it, understand it, and can even be intrigued by it. It doesn't feel like an exposition dump and feels natural in this world, my only gripe is they introduce two crystal skulls and that can be a bit confusing because it just didn't need to be there and we only focus on one anyway. I don't really know why they chose to add another one in the mix for only one scene. My other more major gripe is I cannot grasp why the character of Mac even exists, he turns heel on Indy almost right from the word go but he doesn't contribute a goddamn thing and they keep yo-yoing between he's a double agent and he's actually a bastard helping the commies. Superflous. Fucking superflous. I'm not all that wild about our villains here either, I mean I get why, the time is 1957 and the movie actually does exceptional work setting you in that time frame! The cars (with a subtle nod to American Graffiti for the opening credits), the fashion, the Red Scare is rampant, all the details of the world help a lot, but I'm sorry the russian army doesn't have at all the menace and force of the natzis in any way whatsoever. But honestly those are my 3 main problems with this movie, I mean yeah sure it gets a little friggin' Looney Tunes and a bit too much CGI when they're in the Amazon jungle, but even then I kept my eyes peeled the whole movie to discern what they actually did and what was CG and I'm happy to report they did the majority of stuff for real! There may be a CG background but the sets are real, the stunts are real, it's not quite to the extent people would leave you to believe that it's very much a Star Wars prequels production. I've heard many a people say that Indiana Jones is too old, I heard it back then and I'm certainly damn well hearing it now but...no. He's not. Indy would adventure, preserve artifacts, and keep learning as much as he could until his last breath, that's why I'm not against The Dial Of Destiny. Harrison still fucking has it, he's great as always and this gives him a new angle when he learns he has a son. It's rock solid all the way through. It's nice to see Karen Allen back and I'm more curious as to what that will entail in the next movie with their relationship. Same goes for Mutt, is Shia LaBeouf gonna make an appearance? I felt he did okay here, I mean this was a point in time where he was a getting a huge push, remember Transformers came out the previous year, I'm not a fan but I'm not a hater either. Cate Blanchette, sorry hun I think you were way more intimidating even when you're just chilling in Lothlorien with your husband Celeborn, you did decent but I can't blame it on you. Poor John Hurt needed more material, I adore that actor but I feel he was more on the wasted potential side in this movie. But all the acting is good and serviceable so no major points deducted. Effects work again is primarily solid with a few bits that were off, but I'm just thrilled they did as much as they could in camera and I hope that tradition continues one last time. The story progression was good, I liked all the bits of history and trivia, even if I'm not fully on board with interdimemsional creatures. For a movie that got some bashing over the years, I think people are at the point where they can re-evaluate it and make peace with some grievances. Is it still at the bottom of the ranking list for me? Yeah, but I would not go so far as to say it is a bad movie. I give it 2.5 stars, 6.5/10. I really have zero clue as to how the next movie will go, cause I've seen young and old Harrison Ford, they made my sexy man an SS officer, and they tout this as Indy's last adventure. Can't wait until he gets blasted by missiles on an island saving his love and his child. I guess we'll see how it goes.

BONUS: In Retrospect: Ready Player One

I totally forgot about it coming out!

And now I get to pause on every excruciating frame of film and nerd the hell out! Life is pretty good right now. And the movie still holds up and is still pretty awesome! Noticed some more cool stuff, appreciated the story and excellent effects, and of course had fun. I mean it's kinda hard for a massive geek like me to not enjoy a movie such as this, and the inner cinema snob in me is pleased too. I see you Citizen Kane reference, and any film that pays tribute to Stanley Kubrick is clearly a masterpiece of cinema. So even I cannot say even nitpicky things about this movie. It's just that good! And you can feel the love, and passion, and admiration for film, games, and music from that special period of time in the 1980s. It was a whole new fronteir back then, and despite the slight cold war worries, a pretty excellent time to be alive. I myself have a great love for that era and wish I could have lived through it. And the good news is I can still buy Tab in 2029! But the true message of the movie speaks volumes to me, and reality IS the only place you can get a decent meal, so I am going to make some hot pockets and play Nintendo because I'm just in that special mood today.

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

Not to be confused with The Lost World from 1925, based off the novel The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle which is not to be confused with The Lost World by Michael Crichton from which this film is based on. The Lost World.

All jokes aside, this movie is interesting. Set 4 years after the first movie, Hammond contacts Ian Malcolm to help in the protection of the true island where they created the dinosaurs from greedy corporate officials who wish to exploit the animals and bring them all to San Diego. Makes sense to me, because the first Park was absolutely foolproof! Yeah, the plot is as weak as an after school special or a Captain Planet episode, yet I still think it's decent. Come on, it's a sequel to Jurassic Park. What quality do you think you are getting? Granted Steven is back in the director's chair, and nothing is bad about the inner workings of the movie, the special effects are still really good, cast is decent with a lot more room for Jeff Goldblum to bring some good comedy in the film, the action is really good especially when the T-Rex tramples through San Diego which is no doubt the highlight of the film. But plot is lacking and not as tight as the first, but I don't think the film is bad. This is the movie for the dinosaur action lover. It takes...maybe 5 minutes before you see a dinosaur in full glory, and there is lots more to be had. You can tell it's a very different breed from the first movie, but if you don't expect a better movie than Jurassic Park (cause let's face it Jurassic Park is the best) and are game to see lots of dino action, you're gonna enjoy this movie! There's not much to it, but it's better than the next one. You know what was really odd? This movie got a 2 VHS tape release, so the second tape was behind the scenes stuff, it wasn't a Titanic deal where the movie was split in half. Hell that was the exception in the late 90s, I think those and Cecil B. Demille's The Ten Commandments which was one of my favorite movies as a kid, were the only movies I knew of where they came with two tapes. Yeah that was how hardcore I was, I watched The Ten Commandments multiple times all the way through when I was like 4 or 5. Do you know long that movie is? Like 4 hours! I was made for movies boy. Ranting aside, decent movie, worth your time if you love dino action, pray for me tomorrow.

Jurassic Park

I can't even believe it! You know, it only took 3 years, over 350+ reviews, and only now have we got to Jurassic Park. Most people ask, why do they always remake or make sequels to classic films? The answer to that question is so that I can finally talk about Predator before the new Predator movie comes out.

So, because it's fun to talk about and to enlighten the 5 of you who have lived under a rock since 1993, how is Jurassic Park? Quite good I would say. Because you know it only ushered in a new age of special effects, and showed Spielberg could still bring blockbuster dollars and serious film material even 20 years after he got famous. But beyond the spectacular special effects, if you really just take a few steps back or more like a Superman leap backwards and watch this movie as if it were your first time you notice a lot. They do an incredible job with the dinosaurs, not only with the special effects but how they use them. You never see a dinosaur unless it is absolutely necessary, the first scene you see trees giving way, splitting apart, and you think oh shit here it comes. But it's a container that holds a dinosaur. And you get hints, an eye, this guy being dragged in the cage, shrieking and snarling sounds. That's really it. It makes you wonder what on earth that thing was! You didn't know first time, no way no how, even if you read the book. So there is lots of buildup throughout the film even after you see the dinosaurs, the moving through the grass leading to the Triceratops, the booming of the footsteps of a T-Rex, the feeding of a cow to a paddock of Velociraptors, it takes it's time which makes the wonder of these creatures unbelievable. Spielberg was on his high game, like ridiculously high game in this movie. True there are some kind of dumb things in this movie, but it does such a good job stringing you along you never notice until you dive deep in the analysis, and for what faults it does have it has some scenes that make you forget the stupid things. Who cares if they sent Samuel L. Jackson alone to turn a fusebox on when dinosaurs are running amok, when you get the perfection of the T-Rex scene. Both of them. You can forgive a lot because the craft, and execution, and little moments make this a great movie. And another thing I noticed is, there are a lot of wonderful little character moments, you need to look for them though but they are there on the screen. Like when Lex trips and Alan catches her, she holds his hand despite the fact he wants to let go cause he's not a fan of kids. Or seriously probably the best bit of acting in the whole movie, when they watch the cow being fed to the Raptors that look that Hammond gives to Alan while he watches is seriously the most intriguing and yet almost the most terrifying part of the movie. I mean obviously the guy needs to be some flavor of crazy to make dinosaurs, but God dang he seems almost deranged in that scene. I love the acting in this movie! Sam Neil is a wonderful lead, Laura Dern is just awesome in general, Jeff Goldblum is correct in every statement in this movie and who doesn't love Ian Malcolm I ask you, and Richard Attenborough like I said is the most interesting character in the whole film. There's tons of great stuff in this movie, some more noticeable than others, but still worth repeated viewings for all your life. PS. Those Velociraptors could be the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed in film.

You know what really surprised me? Steven Spielberg came back to direct The Lost World, all these years I swore it was a different director. I'm extremely curious to see it again after so many years, but we will wait for that until tomorrow.

Ready Player One

You know this movie was made solely for the pause button.

Ready Player one is a grand adventure in both the past and future of technology, gaming, and all things pop culture. The story follows a man named Wade who lives in the future of 2045, where the world practically lives in a virtual reality world known as the Oasis where a quest for the only easter egg in the virtual world is pursued by our hero, which will give him complete control over the Oasis. He is helped by his virtual friends to stop a corporation from controlling the Oasis and basically making it an EA game. Sad but true. Oh, and of course I got every reference I set my eyes on, but I know I need to see it....4 more times before I catch em' all. And yes, I did have my geek out moments and my WTF moments due to the sheer awesomeness of it all. But even when you strip away the references and easter eggs, the film still stands on it's own. This is a terrific film, not just because it was almost tailor made for me, but it tells a good story with a good message and has good characters. Hell the movie feels like a 80s movie, plot, characters, and effects feel part of that era. I love how the Oasis looks and how the players within it look, though mind you our main hero reminded me a bit too much of that dumbass little jagoff from Final Fantasy 13. Not a good start, but it passed and the visuals are incredibly well done. I was surprised to find the book was written only 7 years ago, for some reason I thought it was written in the late 90s but knowing that the movie makes more since and I do genuinely want to read the book! It's a very good film that I think will endure and better with each viewing, and of course I'm going to buy it. Two problems though, they bring up coins in the game world and you can buy items and power ups with the coins and yet someone mentions they put all their real world money into the game to win even more. So do the coins transfer as real cash in the real world or is the currency around the world coins? They never explain that. Second, shame on you movie for no Tron references. I thought it was a lightcycle you see in the trailer during that race but it's the bike from Akira. Why no Tron references? At least none I could see! But the sure show a Colecvision. Does anybody even know what a Colecovision is besides me?? You couldn't thrown in the poster or see an identity disc defeat an enemy? Come on man! I know Tron was an underground movie in 1982 but come on! If the Pork Chop Express can make a cameo, you can throw in a Tron reference! That pisses me off, but screw it the movie is great, I loved the geekyness and I no doubt will go see it again soon. I do hope all this 80s throwback stuff revives a classic arcade. If so, I got first game and I'll see you guys there.

Jaws

How it all began. The mother to the summer blockbuster.

What a genius idea. Make a B-movie monster movie about a shark that is attacking a small island community, and have three main characters to hunt the beast down, all with a big time Hollywood budget. Damn Steve, you really know your stuff about movie making. I don't think I need to say much about Jaws because it's such a well known movie, with good acting, great effects, and less an emphasis on special effects and chomping down on people but more about characters and family. That good old fashioned Spielbergian glow. Okay, so this movie hit in the summer of 1976, before Star Wars took over the world leading to a multi-million dollar flick about a shark. Crazy idea, but Steve went full out in production, filming half the movie in the Atlantic Ocean, dealing with a picky animatronic shark that barely worked, and having to tell the story for the most part without showing the monster. Now our three main leads are all excellent, but Roy is what holds this movie together. His casual and down to earth feeling makes the film surprisingly believable. Richard Dreyfuss is certainly the more comedic side of it, and yeah there is comedy in this movie but it works and works well. Robert Shaw is the antithesis of Richard Dreyfuss's character, serious and deranged but on the other hand has a nice singing voice. It's funny to think the most famous and acclaimed shark movie, barely has a shark on screen for not even 5 minutes in this 2 hour adventure. But if you haven't seen it, I'd probably wait until the winter where you don't want to be in any massive body of water. And even then you probably won't even want to sit in the tub. 4 stars, check it out!

And tomorrow we look at the new spy thriller set at the end of the Cold War, Atomic Blonde. Sounds like another B-movie if you ask me, like Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman or Creature With The Atom Brain. Movie titles are weird.