My review of the darkly satirical period drama Savage House

#SavageHouse #perioddrama #darkcomedy #ParamountPictures #AltitudeFilms #RichardEGrant #ClaireFoy #PeterGlanz #film #filmreview

https://popculturemaniacs.com/savage-house-review/

Savage House Review

#SavageHouse #perioddrama #darkcomedy #Paramountpictures #AltitudeFilms #RichardEGrant #ClaireFoy #PeterGlanz #film #filmreview

https://popculturemaniacs.com/savage-house-review/

Disclosure Day (2026) – Review

Little green (or grey, or brown) men from outer space and Steven Spielberg have gone together like peaches and cream ever since he unleashed the unfettered wonders of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind upon us back in 1977. Since then, he’s gone back to the extraterrestrial well two more times (three, if you count the trippy ending of A.I.) and both times he’s cast beings from another world in very a different – sometimes rainbow coloured – light. If Close Encounters was the obsession-spawning, sometimes terrifying, awe inspiring lightshow; E.T. made aliens our bike-flying best friends, while the War Of The  Worlds remake made them the agents of our 9/11 invoking destruction. But with Spielberg’s fourth movie – the secrecy shrouded Disclosure Day – the filmmaker is taking yet another approach to humankind’s connection with those that dwell among the stars. What would we do, if the proof that aliens exist lay right at our fingertips – would we squash the information or release it to a world who may not be able to handle it?

We take you now to the story already in progress as cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kelner is making some sort of clandestine deal with agents of the private corporation known as Wardex and it’s chief executive, Noah Scanlon. It seems that Wardex has been in possession of reams of proof that mankind has had decades of run-ins with alien species ever since the events of the Roswell incident and has been sitting on the world-altering truth for fear that any leaks would unravel society as we know it. However, after being turned by agents within the company, Daniel has copied and stolen a great many of those secrets and gone on the run, leading to Noah and his more devoted underlings to kidnap his girlfriend, Jane Blankenship, in order to smoke him out. But after managing to escape with help of a strange, alien artifact, the two go on the run even further as they debate the larger ramifications of what Daniel and his conspirators are trying to do.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, restless meteorologist Margaret Fairchild finds her life instantly turned upside-down when she first seems to display mind reading capabilities and then starts uttering a strange, inhuman language live on-air while seemingly having no memory of it. Soon she’s having urges to hit the road as her powers drive her to meet with Daniel no matter the cost and as she makes the trip, both Daniel and Jane strive to keep at least one step ahead of Noah and Wardex.
However, that’s going to be far more difficult that you’d expect because not only do Wardex have all the black vans and armed agents you’d expect from a shadowy conspiracy, but the alien tech Noah has in his possession allows him to place his mind in the brain of a target to communicate, or even affect the actions of his intended victim. As the attempts to foil this attempt at extraterrestrial whistleblowing get ever more desperate, what will be the outcome of the fast approaching “disclosure day”?

There’s always been something special about watching Spielberg tackle the notion of otherworldly life, and arguably the most noticeable aspect (other than all the awestruck gawping) is how each film has approached it. From the all-encompassing obsession of Close Encounters, to the warmth and hope of E.T., the last time the director tackled alien’s was the destructive nihilism of 2005’s War Of The Worlds, that moved on from benevolent alien hugs, to being zapped into atoms by massive, honking death machines. However, with Disclosure Day, we find Spielberg once again trying something new that concerns itself more with our reaction to the knowledge of the existence of aliens rather than the effects of the aliens themselves. As a result, anyone expecting a big, climactic, Spielbergian lightshow may need to check their expectations at the door as his latest film is less about the answers as it is more about the questions.
For a start, Disclosure Day sees Spielberg in top, storytelling form as he merges various styles and politics from his previous movies to give us a chase film that crackles with invention. The tension and urgency of Minority Report merges with the ethics of The Post and the scale of Close Encounters to create something more akin to a political thriller than any other of the alien-themed sci-fi flicks that the director has previously done and as such it shows just how far he’s come. This does mean that anyone expecting a full-on, Spielberg 80s romp may find some of the early moral and spiritual discussion a bit heavy for a summer blockbuster (directly addressing the religious ramifications of the discovery of extraterrestrial life is something of a welcome surprise), but much like the aforementioned Minority Report, the script (by regular Spielberg collaborator David Koepp) knows when to hit the action button and when to delve even deeper into whether we as a species could actually handle such a thing.

However, Disclosure Day tends to work best if you give yourself over to the hopeful aspects of the director. If, like Colin Firth’s amoral antagonist, you feel that anarchy would reign, then the film will feel overly idealistic and even gullable – but then if you’re of the cynical persuasion, you’re probably going to think that it’s all not actually that big a deal and would probably be filed away in some people’s minds with countless other modern conspiracies as exagerated guff. Additionally, while Spielberg curiously has gotten no better at using painfully obvious CGI animals since Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, there’s also a feeling that the film’s ending is falls victim to the type of fan hype that’s either suggested that the film was a secret sequel to Close Encounters, or even an entrée to actual real news that aliens exist. As neither of those come to pass, some may feel that Spielberg is unable to stick the landing just as much as those numerous, crash-landing E.T.s.
However, up to that point, we’re in unfeasibly steady hands as Spielberg keeps the film at a steady jog, deftly delivering stunning action setpieces (the train sequence is a belter; as is Noah’s unbelievably tense possession of Jane) and complex scenarios on the fly. Margaret’s reading of minds is audaciously visualised by her reflection placed over the back of the head of the man she’s focused on and the director’s ability to compose a simple cinematic language to get across complicated concepts remain undeminished. It’s also fortuitous that Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor (both of whom already have faces naturally set to Spielbergian levels of awe) deliver great, strong work and that the likes of Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo and Wyatt Russell (as Margaret’s amusingly confounded boyfriend) are also on fine form.

You may not agree with the movie’s message that we’re able to process such monumental news and you may not agree with an ending that refuses to take responsibility for the very scenarios it poses, but the journey to get there sure is worth taking. Subtler than your average summer blockbuster, Disclosure Day finds Spielberg on rare, storytelling form as he once again suggests that the truth may not be quite so out there as we choose to believe.
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#Review of the #movie Saving Face (2004) written by me for the website Comicon.

https://tinyurl.com/488cvekh

#writing #pridemonth2026 #pridemonth #pride #lgbtq #lgbtq_plus #film #filmReview #asianAmericans #asian

Masters of the Universe

Movie Review

First off, I never made my until-now usual post about it, beforehand, saying that I was about to watch it and that there would be a review when I got home.  That was intentional and I'm going to continue not doing that from here on out, unless I change my mind, which I highly doubt.

Anyway.

I either loved this movie or hated it depending on which specific scene we're talking about.  This was a weird one for me in the respect that, whenever I liked a particular scene, it was always because it was (to me if no one else) sufficiently cheesy/corny/call-it-whatever-you-will… and vice versa, I'm afraid.  The scenes I hated, I hated because they weren't cheesy/corny/call-it-whatever-you-will ENOUGH, actually.  They should've just commited to the bit, completely, and made something that is not to be taken seriously even a little bit.  I really do mean, not even a little bit.  It was 100% self-aware, sometimes; it should've been all the time no matter what.

Score: 7/13
(And it's the very highest, and at that, the very most irritating 7/13 I can even imagine.)

Edit = forgot tags:
#Cinemastodon #Movies #MovieReview #FilmReview #MastersOfTheUniverse

I have written a two part film review and cultural analysis on Michael (2026)

The longer form version is for Machete members, the shorter for Hamaca members.

https://subscribers.artistmarciax.com/the-ghost-in-the-machine-michael-2026-review/

#michaeljackson #michaelmovie #filmreview #indiewriter

It Conquered The World (1956) – Review

God bless Roger Corman. Even as far back as the fifties when he was still directing, there wasn’t a film made that he wasn’t willing to blatantly plunder from. Take Don Siegel’s Invasion Of The Body Snatchers for example; that near-perfect, paranoid slice of communists-as-aliens science fiction that saw otherworldly pods replicate snoozing humans into soulless replicas. Never one to let a good premise go to waste on the actual film that originally used it, Corman fired out It Conquered The World mere months after Siegel’s movie was released, but obviously included a few quirks that tipified the director’s work.
For a start, a typically threadbare and tight production meant that It Conquered The World wouldn’t actually have many resources to conquer it with and even by 50s sci-fi standards, the film would go on to play fast and loose with logic. However, featuring something of a breathless pace and featuring Peter Graves and Lee Van Cleef hamming it up for all they’re worth, there’s something incredibly endearing about this particular attempt to enslave the world.

Dr. Tom Anderson is one of those scientists who has so totally lost faith in humanity, he’d believe any old tripe if he thought it would save our flawed species from itself. That’s probably why he’s dedicated himself so totally to the new friend he’s been communicating with on his radio transmitter; a Venusian creature that claims it wants to bring peace to the world by merely eradicating all emotions (oh, is that all?). So embittered is Tom, he happily goes along with the alien’s plan despite his wife, Claire, constantly telling him in no uncertain terms that it’s a bad fucking idea.
Nevertheless, after hitching a ride on an experimental new satellite, the thing from Venus forces it to crash land so it can take refuge in a nearby cave and put its plan into action. Stage one involves the Venusian using its funky alien powers to disrupt all electric power on Earth, causing the entire planet to grind to a standstill. While everyone is puzzling over why their watches, cars and various gadgets no longer work, the alien then sends out eight, leathery bat-like things to implant devices in the necks of prominent figures around town (and their wives). With these devices in place, the Venusian now has control over the local sheriff, the General in charge of the nearby military base and a few other influential members in town.
However, the creature hasn’t counted on Dr. Paul Nelson, Tom’s best (human) friend who isn’t about to give up his emotions quite so easily. Engaging first in many philosophical discussions about the nature of humanity with his friend turned human turncoat, Paul swiftly moves onto pure, unbridled action as he stops at nothing to ensure the alien’s grasp on the townsfolk is broken. But when his own wife is made a recipient of one of those bat-delivered control devices, can Paul do what needs to be done to stop our world from getting conquered?

OK, so yes, while It Conquered The World (spoiler: it doesn’t) feels very much like Corman is trying to bend the themes of Body Snatchers to his reasonably budgeted will, you have to admit that the legendary figure has mostly managed to craft his own story out of it. However, that story is so gloriously over excited, there are moments where I had to pause the film in order to fully take stock of some of the more outlandish choices the filmmaker has made. For a start, shrinking down the alien threat from countless personality nullifying pods to just one turnip-shaped mastermind makes a certain amount of sense from a perspective of scale, but from here the film’s sense of problem solving goes a little out of whack. For example, the film gives the squat Venusian weird, stiff, bat-creatures to unconvincingly fly around on wires and dive-bomb their victims in the back of the head in order to bring them under the alien’s thrall. However, in a bizarre plot detail, it turns out the creature has only brought eight of his pets to earth and it’ll take a week for him to get more, suggesting that a sense pre-planning may not be a Venusian strong point. Weirdly, despite being so plainly limited, it does still have the ability to halt all the world’s power on a whim, which seems like an incredibly vast amount of power for something that instantly crumples the second someone sticks a welding torch in its eye.
However, while the Venusian has an unconvincing look to go with it’s shockingly inconsistent power set, it is rather fun to observe at as it shuffles out of its cave to engage Dick Miller and his cadre of confused soldiers. Resembling something Super Mario would jump on without a second thought, it’s leering face and jagged teeth are backed up by wildly grasping crab claws and the mobility of an overturned wheelybin, but there’s something that warms the heart about such a ludicrous design.

But with a central villain that’s about as threatening as an overripe rutabaga, it means that It Conquered The World needs to get its dramatic thrust via other means. In most cases of 50s sci-fi theatre, it’s the humans that tend to slow things to a drag, while it’s the appearance of an extraterrestrial foe that speeds things up. However, due to some incredible choices made by the script and the actors, it’s the not-so puny earth men that prove to be the most fun.
Right off the bat, it’s so strange to see Lee Van Cleef of all people in a cheesy creature feature, that you can’t quite believe it’s him. After all, it’s not every day you see the “bad” from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly sell out his entire race because an alien on the radio tickled his ego. Watching him rationally debate his decision to stab the human race in the back may raise many issues of narrative logic (being complicit in the brain washing of your friend’s wife isn’t exactly a benign act) but you can’t say that Van Cleef isn’t giving it his all to try and sell it. Speaking of giving their all, watching Beverly Garland watch her spouse crumble in the face of his interplanetary bromance and then tool up to fuck the alien over is genius. She even gets the thing on the radio to deliver Taken style threats (“I hate your guts!”) before charging out of the house with a rifle for her date with destiny. However, it’s the actions of Peter Graves’ stony faced hero which stun the most as his only solution to protecting the earth from brainwashed humans is to grab a pistol and shoot the living shit out of them. It’s extra weird, because at no point does anyone even try to reverse the process that those stiff-winged bat have inflicted on their victims and instead Graves just blows away his boss, some co-workers and even his fucking wife to save America. Ah well, it was the 50s I suppose, so I guess that scans.

While Corman’s spirited sci-fi potboiler falls foul of many of the obstacles that threaten to trip up any modestly budgeted creature feature of the era, the sheer amount of outlandish energy the director pumps into the unintentionally amusing final 30 minutes carries it far beyond rubbery monster designs and stilted line readings. Throw in a comedy Mexican private, screaming soldiers running directly into the alien’s claws and a surprisingly high body count, and this film may not have conquered the world, but it certainly conquered my interest.
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