Every generation has its own paranoid search for the truth regarding aliens among
us. The 1960s had The Invaders. The 1970s saw Steven Spielberg’s Close
Encounters. The 1980s brought us V, while the 1990s really doubled
down with The X-Files and Men in Black. Plus, maybe Roswell hit
its stride in the 2000s. Heck, there was even Fallen Skies in the 2010s.
Now, Spielberg takes another bite out of
the alien conspiracy apple. Perhaps inevitably, his return to science fiction shares
many similarities with some of the aforementioned. Happily, his filmmaking
chops remain undiminished, but frustratingly, David Koepp’s screenplay offers few
opportunities for the Spielbergian sense of wonder in Disclosure Day,
which opens this Friday in theaters.
Dr.
Daniel Kellner and his colleagues tried to “quietly quit” double-secret alien
tech contractor Wardex, but the boss, Noah Scanlon was not having it—particularly
not from an asset like Kellner. The scientist has a truly uncanny
ability to analyze numbers. However, he and his fellow corporate dissidents, led
by senior Wardex exec Hugo Wakefield, realized the public deserves to learn the
truth about UAPs and alien biologics. In fact, Kellner was the one who stole
the files for their planned document dump, so Scanlon kidnapped his girlfriend
Jane Blankenship as leverage.
Yet,
Kellner is more resourceful than he looks. He also has Kansas City weather
teleprompter-reader Margaret Fairchild to warn him of any danger. They never
met and have no idea who the other is. However, Fairchild just experienced a
massive awakening of ESP powers that make Professor X look like a carnival fortune
teller.
So,
nothing totally unprecedented, right? What really stand out are the scenes of
Scanlon “diving”’ into targeted minds. Essentially, through the use alien tech,
he forges a predatory mental connection, for the sake of extracting information
and even turning his victims into killers. These sequences even have a bit of a
Scanners vibe, but that is not a bad thing.
Admittedly,
Spielberg directs the heck out of a lot of scenes. The way he depicts Fairchild’s
use of her new mystery powers is also dazzlingly cinematic. However, there is
no big cosmic wonder. Ironically (given the subject matter), Disclosure Day feels
weirdly small in scope. It is also somewhat anti-climatic and misleading. It
promises to chronicle the sociological implications of big “D” disclosure, but
it never gets that far. Instead, we get the highly conventional thrills of
files uploading to satellite feeds.
Clearly,
the cast was inspired by Spielberg. Josh O’Connor portrays Kellner as a twitchy
oddball, who is still sympathetic in an underdog kind of way. Emily Blunt
impresses with the boldness of Fairchild’s nervous breakdown. When you think
about, most movie characters are unrealistically pragmatic when forced to
become fugitives. In real life, a lot of people would similarly curl up into
the fetal position. Likewise, Colin Firth’s Scanlon is a refreshingly complex
villain and his portrayal is surprisingly physical.
Some of the best Godzilla lately has come in comic book form. Where else could
you see the King face off against the Power Rangers, the Marvel Universe
superheroes, and literary figures like Jay Gatsby and Sherlock Holmes (in Godzilla:
Monsterpiece Theatre). Arguably, the recent Japanese films, Shin Godzilla
and Godzilla Minus One are as good or better, but they have come
less frequently. Regardless, the Apple TV+ “Monsterverse” series has far
outclassed Legendary Pictures’ films. With the release of second season,
episodes are also arriving more frequently. Plus, Kurt Russell and his son
Wyatt return as shoot-from-the-hip Col. Leland Shaw (or Captain in scenes from
the past) in season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which is still
releasing new episodes on Apple TV+.
Season one ended with a massive cliffhanger, trapping crusty “old” Shaw in Axis Mundi,
the monster dimension. However, it is quickly resolved in season two when Cate
and Kentaro Randa, the Randa step-siblings, and their ambiguous friend May
Olowe-Hewitt (who are sort of like Mystery Incorporated) devise a Doctor Who-worthy
plan to save him.
Unfortunately,
their operation rouses a new titan from hibernation. That would Titan X, who
apparently grew up in the 1980s. This kaiju also has a cooperative symbiotic relationship
with a horde of armored crabs known as Scarabs. It turns out Shaw and Mari and
Bill Randa have seen these creatures before—and it wasn’t much fun for them the
first time, either.
Ironically,
when his boss’s presumed death elevates the nebbish Tim, who still has no last
name, to command of Outpost 18, the new role surprisingly suits him.
Unfortunately, he will have to navigate Apex, a politically connected tech
company, who temporarily wrangles control of Titan policy away from Monarch.
Frankly,
just about everyone goes rogue at some point in the second season, including
both Randa step-siblings, Olowe-Hewitt, and, of course, Shaw, who was born a
maverick. Understandably, the destructiveness of Titan rampages brings out
strong feelings in the characters and inspires very different strategies to
prevent them.
Much
of season two feels like one step forward followed by one step back, or vice
versa. However, a late season episode, “String Theory” written by Joe Pokaski
and directed by Gandja Monteiro, understands what fans have been hoping for. It
doesn’t quite happen, but Kurt and Wyatt Russell, who both play the younger and
older Shaw, sort of, kind of participate in a sequence of scene. Thy obviously
can’t be on-screen together, but the workaround solution is satisfyingly clever.
When it launched in November, Apple’s Monsterverse series could feel
confident it compared favorably with Legendary’s most recent, underwhelming
film, Godzilla vs. Kong. However, the stakes suddenly started rising
when Godzilla Minus One became a surprise breakout hit, largely redefining
the entire kaiju genre for millions of Americans. Today, loyal viewers learn
whether their investment on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters concludes its
first season when “Beyond Logic” premieres today on Apple TV+.
During
the mayhem of episode six, Cate Randa was sucked into an in-between
Monsterverse dimension along with Lee Shaw. That would be the older, Kurt
Russell Lee Shaw, not the younger Lee Shaw played by Wyatt Russell in
flashbacks. It turns out there is a reason why Shaw looks so spry for a
nonagenarian. Time runs much slower in the realm of monsters, so several
decades passed in our world while Shaw was lost in the monster-realm.
Shaw
wants to limit the time Randa and her friend May will lose in the in-between
dimension. However, they need to attract a titan to open the portal. That they
do—a little too successfully.
Episode
nine is probably the slowest installment of the season, because it is built
around the series’ angstiest and least action-oriented flashbacks. However, the
conclusion obviously was deliberately intended to deliver everything fans were hoping
for. There is a big climatic battle of the “titans,” featuring the granddaddy
of them all and what looks like a name-brand kaiju who also co-starred in Legendary’s
Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It also features a truly massive monster
cameo.
There is something sinister going on in the Wallers’ new pool that is even worse
than those creeps who secretly pee under the water, in their trunks.
Apparently, no amount of cholerine will wash out the supernatural natural evil
that infects it. The family’s fresh start leads to dark waters in Bryce McGuire’s
Blumhouse-produced Night Swim, which opens today in theaters.
Ray
Waller is the first cinematic Milwaukee Brewer since Bernie Mac in Mr. 3000,
but it currently appears his baseball career will be cut short by a sudden MS
diagnosis. His wife Eve wants him to focus on maintenance for his post-pro
life, but he still harbors ambitions for a comeback. They buy their new house
for a suspiciously low price, but admittedly the pool is in quite a state. In
fact, it almost kills him when he accidentally falls in.
Nevertheless,
the buy the house for the sake of his aquatic therapy, which does indeed work
wonders—to an unprecedented degree. Yet, his teen daughter Izzy and “awkward”
preteen son Elliot start experiencing weird and even life-threatening
phenomenon when they go into the water alone (which they aren’t supposed to do,
of course). Eventually, even Waller’s wife Eve notices it too.
The
Thai film The Pool remains the scariest horror film set in a swimming
pool—but in that case, it was empty, except for the crocodile. Frankly, the
execution is surprisingly polished and effective throughout Night Swim,
especially Charlie Saroff’s cinematography, which cleverly capitalizes on the diffraction
of a light through water, which makes straight items suddenly appear crooked.
However,
McGuire’s screenplay is a feature-length fix-up based on a previous like-titled
short film he co-wrote with Rod Blackhurst and it shows. This evil swimming
pool premise just cannot sustain itself at a feature-length.
Still,
there are some creepy scenes, especially when Eve Waller searches out the
former owner, Kay Summers, the mother of the unfortunate little girl in the prologue.
Jodi Long is spectacularly off as Mother Summers and Ben Sinclair delivers a
Will Ferrell impersonation as their pool tech guy that is funnier than the real
Ferrell in his brief appearance.
