Disclosure Day

My View: Disclosure Day  (2026)  PG-13   Disclosure Day follows Daniel (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert who has access to long-held government secrets about extraterrestrial life. As it becomes evident that an alien presence is on Earth, Margaret (Emily Blunt), a local TV meteorologist, starts speaking an alien language during a live telecast. Steven Spielberg has always been fascinated by the possibility that aliens have been visiting Earth for quite some time. Daniel is our hero, a man who decides that the world should know that we are not alone in this universe, and he has proof that the government has known for over 75 years. Like Close Encounters and E.T., this is a film about one person who goes against big government and feels it’s his duty to the world to let everyone know that extraterrestrials are real. The government and a secret organization are convinced that if this information gets out, the world will go into chaos, and our lives will fall apart. What Spielberg does so well is get us to back Daniel and want him to succeed against all odds. This is a wonderful cat-and-mouse chase film, filled with car chases, big brother constantly just around the corner, and our hero, along with his loyal girlfriend and a new recruit in a shell-shocked weather caster, tries to find a way to broadcast their findings before being caught, or worse, being killed. The best thing about this film is Emily Blunt's performance, who once again shows she has the acting chops to play comedy and drama in the same film. It’s a brilliant performance (though I have some trouble with her choice of voices for Margaret, who sounds 20 years younger) and brings a lightness to the story sorely needed when things seem hopeless. This is a film that doesn’t feel anywhere close to its almost two-and-a-half-hour runtime. The film moves constantly from scene to scene as Daniel and, soon, Margaret are on the run, barely escaping the big bad government bad guys, led by a creepy performance from Colin Firth. I think anyone who has an interest in the possibility of alien life will absolutely go nuts for this film. Everyone else will be just on board for a great time. You don’t have to believe in aliens to enjoy Disclosure Day, but you do have to believe in the goodness of humanity to enjoy its ending.  My Rating: Full Price  Disclosure Day Website  Now playing in theaters everywhere

My View:  The Furious  (2025)   R  Set in Hong Kong, The Furious follows Wang Wei (Xie Miao), a mute tradesman whose life is shattered when he witnesses his daughter, Rainy, being kidnapped by an international human trafficking syndicate. He goes on a one-man rescue mission to save her and then finds an ally in an undercover journalist who is trying to find his wife, who is also missing from the same gang. I became a fan of Kung Fu films when, as the newest member of the film department of a TV station, I was given the job of editing for time and content our weekly Kung Fu Theater films. The genre has gone from campy and exploitative to films like The Raid or John Wick, where the action sequences are so well done that they dazzle you with speed and sequences that seem to go on forever. Along comes The Furious, which starts out as a father/daughter film and soon becomes a quest to utterly destroy an entire network of badges. Our hero Wang Wei (played by the incredibly athletic Xie Miao) is joined by a chain-smoking reporter, Navin (Joe Taslim), who is Wang Wei’s equal in martial arts. There is an extensive scene in a nightclub where, unbeknownst to each other, both men have gone to find a way to get information from the bad guys and locate their loved ones. The two separately fight countless attackers and then end up inside the bowels of the club, and start fighting each other until the reporter sees the picture of Wang Wei’s daughter and realizes that the two are out for the same thing. This is an incredibly violent film (I saw a father and young son leave very early in our screening) where bones are constantly being broken, and heads are being smashed with sledgehammers. The fight sequences are off-the-wall amazing, and there is a scene where Wang Wei fights what seems like a never-ending group of bad guys in a mixed martial arts ring, as he continually climbs above the bodies that are piling up beneath him. The audience at the screening I saw the film at was cheering and screaming with glee at some of the action sequences, including a huge bad guy who keeps showing up and fighting anyone within reach. If John Wick or The Raid films are your sweet spot, then this is a film you don’t want to miss. For action fans, this is a smorgasbord of flying bodies and bones being broken by the ton, and is not to be missed.   My Rating: Full Price  The Furious Website Now playing in theaters

My View:  Stop! That! Train!  (2026)  R  Stop! That! Train! follows best friends Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee), train stewardesses facing unruly passengers, snooty first-class attendants, and a catastrophic storm. Together with the President (RuPaul), they must stop a runaway, high-speed train, all while keeping their mascara from running. It is very obvious that the cast was having a blast while making this film. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the audience. Although the jokes come fast and furious, the humor is lacking throughout. Most of the jokes fall incredibly flat, and the attempts at physical humor just fall, or should I say fail. I am sure fans of RuPaul and the Drag Race TV show will have fun for a while watching a ton of drag performers cascade across the screen, but I just wanted it to be funnier. There are a couple of funny running gags, one of which features Sarah Michelle Gellar and one where one of the flight attendants keeps having fantasy moments about the hunky pilot of the plane, which work really well. I just wish the rest of the script had kept that momentum going. The comedy runs out of steam long before the end. There are some outtakes and a few surprises during the credits.My Rating: Cable   Stop! That! Train! Website  Now playing in theaters 

Forgotten Film:  Lady Snowblood  (1973) In order to place blame on tax collectors, 5 people from a small village attack a family. They kill the father and daughter and then rape the mother. That mother, while in prison, then gives birth to a daughter and curses her to get revenge on the 5 people who attacked the family. The daughter, Yuki (Meiko Kaji), trains for twenty years with an assassin and then sets out to find and kill the 5 people responsible for the deaths of her parents. After the success of the Lone Wolf and Cub samurai series, the studio decided to make a samurai film with a female lead. Like the Lone Wolf films, the violence is filled with arms being chopped off and blood spurting everywhere. Yuki uses the idea that she can go just about anywhere without worrying that people will figure out she is on a mission to kill. The film’s action sequences are not quite up to par with the Lone Wolf films, but they are still fun to watch, and it is filled with some outrageous characters. The film has a bit of a surprising finish. This was definitely a film that not only inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series, but Tarantino also featured the music from Lady Snowblood (sung by the lead actress Kaji) in the films.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Lady Snowblood Info   Lady Snowblood is available on most streaming services

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Furious: Washroom Attendants

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Girls Like Girls  (2026) R  Girls Like Girls takes place in rural Oregon, where Coley (Maya da Costa), a 17-year-old, is dealing with the death of her mother. Things look up when she meets the ever-popular Sonya (Myra Molloy), and the two quickly become friends. Coley realizes she is having stronger feelings for Sonya than Sonya will admit. The film is co-written and directed by Hayley Kiyoko, adapted from her best-selling book, which was an adaptation of a song with the same title she recorded in 2015.   Girls Like Girls Website  In theaters on Friday, June 19, 2026.

Until Next Time!

The Devil Wears Prada 2

My View: The Devil Wears Prada 2  (2026)  PG-13  In The Devil Wears Prada 2, Miranda (Meryl Streep) is nearing retirement, and the sharks are circling around. In walks Andy (Anne Hathaway) to help Miranda, and is forced to take on her former assistant turned rival: Emily (Emily Blunt). Ever go back to your hometown and go out for a night with friends that you used to stay out until 4 am? And you realize around 10 pm that it’s not as fun as it was back then, and there is no way you are staying until 4 again. That’s what it’s like seeing The Devil Wears Prada 2. It’s fun and enjoyable, but it’s not the same feeling you got from the first film. The problem is, it’s been 20 years, and Andy is no longer naive, young, and eager to please. Well, maybe still eager to please. There isn’t anything wrong with this sequel, and all the actors are giving their all to the roles, but it’s hard for lightning to strike twice, and it never quite hits the mark like the first one. The saving grace of this film is the chemistry between Andy and Emily, making this film more about the two of them than about Andy and Miranda. Yes, there are dazzling fashions, and Miranda is still snarky with Streep giving great looks, but the film doesn’t have the bite or the charm of the first film. You will still have a good time, but you won’t want it to keep going (like those old parties you used to go to), and you'll be ready for it to be over.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Devil Wears Prada 2 Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Hokum  (2026)  R  Hokum follows Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott), a horror writer, who travels to a remote part of Ireland to spread the ashes of his deceased parents, unaware that his rental property is haunted by a witch. Ohm is a person whom you don’t want to be around. He is self-righteous, hates interruptions, and people who want him to do anything, even sign a book. He goes to Ireland because he is tired of seeing his parents’ urns on the mantle, and we get the feeling that he hates his father. While staying at a hotel his parents loved and always wanted to return to, he encounters some strange people who believe the witch is real. Hokum is a very scary, well-made horror film that does a superb job of building tension while feeding us a few scraps of clues about the mysterious hotel and its past. Scott does a fabulous job of making us hate the man from the start, then root for him to uncover the hotel's hidden mysteries. It’s creepy, with only a few jump scares, as the fear factor keeps ramping up the longer Ohm is in the hotel, and keeps us guessing on what is going on until the very end. Does Ohm solve the mystery, and does he get out alive? You will have to wait until the last chapter to find out.  My Rating: Full Price  Hokum Website Now playing in theaters

Indiefest: Omaha  (2025)   PG-13  Omaha follows a widowed father (John Magaro) who takes his two young children (Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis) on a sudden, mysterious cross-country road trip. This is a film that, at times, is heartwarming and funny, and at other times, it just rips your heart out. The film puts you in the car with the family (dog included) on a road trip; we don’t know where it’s going, or even whether the family will get there, since the car only starts with a running push from the father and daughter. The kids are a treat to watch as they go on this roller coaster of a trip, full of many highs and lows. This is a film you know will probably not end well because the father won’t give up on where the family is going, and we see throughout that the family is in trouble. John Magaro gives us a performance in which we only see glimpses of what he is going through, but we can feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. I loved Molly Bell Wright as the older of the two, who keeps trying to figure out what is going on and makes every effort to be as supportive to her dad as she can. There is a reason the family is traveling to Omaha, and it is masterfully revealed in the film's last frames. Omaha is a slow-moving, engaging look at a family that loves each other, but sometimes that isn’t enough. John Margaro’s performance is going to stay with you long after you leave the theater.   My Rating: Full Price  Omaha Website  Now playing in theaters

Forgotten Film: My Summer of Love  (2004)  R  In the Yorkshire countryside, two young girls from very different backgrounds, a tomboy, Mona (Natalie Press), and a rich girl, Tamsin (Emily Blunt), meet and start a friendship that will help both survive the summer of chaos and change. This is Emily Blunt’s feature film debut, and she is amazing as the exotic, rich girl with some hidden secrets. Natalie Press is equally brilliant as the girl who knows that she can’t stay in Yorkshire and be happy. The cinematography perfectly captures the summer countryside. While it’s a romance, the film is more about finding your way among the trouble and tribulations of being young and unhappy with your life.  My Rating: Full Price  My Summer of Love Website  The film is available to rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Devil Wears Prada 2:  Helium Balloon Supervisor

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Disclosure Day  (2026)  PG-13  Disclosure Day follows Daniel (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert with access to long-held government secrets about extraterrestrial life, as it becomes evident that an alien presence is on Earth, including Margaret (Emily Blunt), a local TV meteorologist who starts speaking an alien language during a live telecast. The film is from Steven Spielberg, who gave us two of the classic extraterrestrial movies of all time: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).   Disclosure Day Website  The film will be in theaters on Friday, June 12, 2026

Until Next Time!