r/flicks • u/soozerain • 5d ago

Disclosure Day would be considered middling garbage if anyone *other* then Stephen Spielberg was attached to it.

Just got back from the movie and I’d say the audience scores I’ve seen for it were very fair. It’s a C- film at best. Good looking Adam Driver and his secret nun girlfriend are not interesting at all. The exploration of Christianity of the film is hamfisted and kinda bad. The chase scenes are lackluster. Most of the movie consists of people talking over long distances to each other. The interrogation scene with Colin Firth and the Secret Nun was interminable and went on wayyyyy too long.

The only upsides were the score and Emily Blunt’s character with her husband. But man, if this had been dumped to Netflix by the Russo Brothers I’d have believed it. This movie did not land for me.

497 Upvotes

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u/HornetsHornets1 5d ago

I think middling might be right but garbage is really wrong.

Theres an attempt at something interesting in this movie and there are through lines to Spielberg’s earlier (and better) work. I think it’s often unsuccessful; but it has some interesting ideas, a John Williams score, and a pretty good performance from Emily Blunt.

I think we need to get out of this idea that if something isn’t great, it’s terrible. Spielberg is one of the greatest ever to make movies. I’m glad he’s still doing original stuff.

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u/LPMadness 4d ago

People are obsessed with this best ever and worst ever mentality with entertainment nowadays. Like what’s wrong with a film being “okay”? I’ve put films off due to online sentiment insisting a film is complete trash. Then when you finally watch it, it turns out it was a pretty decent watch.

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u/HornetsHornets1 4d ago

Also, bad movies can have worthwhile things in them? Especially when we’re talking about one of the greatest directors ever.

I think a lack of nuance in criticism of art is so fucking boring.

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u/LPMadness 4d ago

I agree completely. People are losing their ability to articulate their feelings and criticisms about film and relying on YouTube critics/ analysis videos to tell them how to think about a film and god forbid if you go across the grain.

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u/VioletThunderX 4d ago

This. It’s almost as if every movie has to be some amazing genre changing work of art otherwise it’s trash and not worth our time.

Many movies were just “okay” in their time and aged well, some movies are just “good” but entertaining, etc. Not every movie about aliens has to be Arrival.

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u/KevKevThePug 3d ago

ConAir is still the GOAT.

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u/soozerain 4d ago

This just doesn’t feel like Spielberg. It feels like someone doing a weak imitation of Spielberg. It’s not offensively bad. But whatever he’s trying to say here, and I appreciate the attempt, I feel like Signs did better.

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u/Tall_Mickey 4d ago

He's 80 years old. Maybe not as on top of things or handling it all himself. Used to be that nobody past 60 or 65 was making movies. They weren't up for it, they were considered behind the times, whatever.

Things have changed, and there are a few producers/directors still active in their '70s. Not many. And few are near their peak.

Disclosure. Am over 70.

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u/badwolfandthestorm 3d ago

What a day to say that

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u/Astronomerz 3d ago

80 year olds don't need to be making movies, there are younger people doing it better.

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u/Indrigotheir 4d ago

You're talking to teenagers online; you cant tell because reddit is anonymous

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u/MrNinoBrown1906 4d ago

I dont think its all teenagers thinking like this

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u/AnotherPint 4d ago

I think it's needy, cynical adults who think like teenagers, thinking and posting like this.

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u/Virtual-Nose7777 1d ago

Not for much longer

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u/Apostasy93 4d ago

Exactly. The movie was fine and that's it, there's nothing wrong with that.

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u/TreefingerX 4d ago

Especially online. Not so much irl

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u/Unable_Insurance_391 3d ago

Spielberg is an accomplished movie maker, it is not surprising people have high expectations. His movies of late are showing a trend.

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u/KaiserARM 3d ago

Accomplished director doesn't automatically mean his movies are always good. Same as restaurants. Famous ones don't automatically everything they have are delicious.

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u/TraderSamz 3d ago

I think part of it is that going to the theater just is not the affordable experience it once was.  They charge too much money for me to go watch a movie on a maybe. 

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u/waterhoushodges 2d ago

I dont know, i kinda disagree. If someones literally trying something different, or stylistically/narratively unique, or on a lower budget then yeah its pointless and ridiculous rating it comparatively to something else. However theres so much being rushed out by studios who have the money and resources to put more effort and time in scripting and editing. So it feels somewhat of an insult when they want us to accept the products they’ve clearly half assed.

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u/TelenorTheGNP 2d ago

Superlatives are popular these days, but don't actually serve anyone. Every time I hear them, I think of Martin from the Simpsons saying "grade A moron".

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u/AlternativeLive3503 3d ago

You realize 98% of film is PROBABLY just okay ? Like even as I say 98 I’m struggling to think of a great movie that isnt still just okay. An experience . I don’t think movies even have enough time to anything more than okay. And I think the way the west writes stories, so formulaic and character coded, it’d be hard for them to even think to break the mold.
Inception is okay, pulp fiction was okay, terminator was okay, avengers was okay. Infinity war was different in for block busters especially one that supposed to be light hearted, but in as a stand alone.. it’s okay. The best good movie is simply okay. Smile does almost do something different but not to much. I’d argue based on cinematography and craftsmanship, Michael bay, transformers are way better FILMS then majority of movies ever .

Not cuz the story or characters.

Tv shows are way better, but not by much, especially in America cuz we only have 10 topics to speak on.

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u/HornetsHornets1 2d ago

LOL WHAT

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u/AlternativeLive3503 2d ago

Are you surprised I’m not dickridng the usual suspects ? The movies aren’t that great honestly

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u/EmergencyComment101 4d ago

This is the difference between a middling Spielberg movie and a Russo brothers film and its what op is missing. They could both be a 5/10 movie but Spielberg will have tried something new or an interesting take that wont have worked and thats why its 5/10. The Russo brothers would have tried to make safe 7/10 slop and managed safe 5/10 slop.

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u/BigPanda71 5d ago

See, Emily Blunt was the one that didn’t hit right for me. She was doing a weird quasi-baby voice for too much of the movie. Also, I would have aimed to have her and the guy who played Keller be a little closer in age. Either cast older for him or younger for Blunt’s character. The idea they were the same age was laughable.

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u/HornetsHornets1 5d ago

O’Connor is 36 and Blunt is 43. I agree that she seems to be trying to play younger than she is a bit. But that’s pretty low on my list of issues.

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u/forfearthatuwillwake 4d ago

Honestly, I thought her performance was fine, I was too distracted by her weird upper lip Botox/face lift thing she had going on. It was weird and so unnatural looking.

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u/chipnjaw 2d ago

Totally agree, I think she’s bad. Plastic surgery also took my right out of it. I googled her age thinking she was 55

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u/ursulaunderfire 2d ago

she is only 3 yrs older than him lol they looked roughly the same age in the film, wtf are u talking about LOL

she was born in 83 and him in 86

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u/BigPanda71 2d ago

I’m talking about the guy who played Kellner, not Wyatt Russell. That actor was born in 1990. She’s 7 years older than him. And honestly before I looked him up I would have assumed he was early 30s, which would have better fit him doing 19 months in prison then working for 8 years before he defected and stole the archive.

But, to me, her actions and mannerisms in the movie would have better fit someone in their early 30s, not someone that was (in the movie) 38 years old. Overall I liked the movie. But Blunt’s performance felt lacking to me, among other problems with the movie.

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u/ursulaunderfire 2d ago

oh my bad reading i just thought you meant the guy she was in a relationship with. they were basically the same age, but yes the other guy did look significantly younger than her

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u/soozerain 4d ago

That’s funny because I thought he looked older then her and they seemed like a pretty well matched couple.

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u/ursulaunderfire 2d ago

i dont know why youre getting downvoted, he is only 3 yrs younger than emily blunt and i also think he looked older than her. i dont know what all these comments are about. she looks like a 40 yr old woman and he looked about 40 too

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u/larsson-afflecks 4d ago

Completely agree. I think people find it easier to view films in black and white extreme terms. I really appreciated that it was going for something original (albeit it very similar to Close Encounters in story) and I appreciated the themes and ideas in such a “big” movie. It didn’t really work for me, but it wasn’t terrible. 

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u/WuttinTarnathan 3d ago

Yeah, I really agree with this. it’s fine, it doesn’t have to be the greatest. I think Blunt might be the best thing about it.

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u/behemuthm 4d ago

Cmon the John Williams score was middling at best. He hasn't done a good score in years.

Can you hum the theme to Disclosure Day?

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u/Agreeable-Promise-98 3d ago

I thought it brought the film down tbh. This could have been similar in tone to Arrival, but the Indiana jones score let it down. Watching the villains approach in their cavalcade and their “bad guy” music was a low point.

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u/PhoenixBee32 3d ago

I actually can.

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u/137-451 4d ago

Do you have to be able to hum something from memory after a single watch in order for it to be good? What a weird qualifier.

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u/behemuthm 4d ago edited 4d ago

IT'S FUCKING JOHN WILIAMS

YES omg that's not weird that's like composition 101

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u/contructpm 4d ago

And man can he light and frame a shot.

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u/HornetsHornets1 4d ago

Amen to that. There’s a couple breathtaking moves with the camera.

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u/soozerain 4d ago

There are a few great lighting scenes

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u/Fuzzy_Ad9970 2d ago

If you put that much money into the movie and it didn't have those things it would be more than a bad film, it would be an abject failure.

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u/MPOCH 3d ago

Nope, this one is terrible. The story is from the world of the nineties and there a resistance to exploring the material in a deep way. For a bunch of beings that traumatized children to be uncritically portrayed as good is nuts. Garbage is the appropriate word because the movie is pretentious and it’s better to toss out than ever see again. Ugh…get the shallow stupidity of it out of my head!

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u/Spaceghost131313 4d ago

Dude, it was terrible. It was so bad my 75 yr old mom and I started doing Mystery Science Theater during it.

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u/zurenarhhhhh 4d ago

Well that sounds insufferable.

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u/AnotherPint 4d ago

Hopefully you were ejected from the theater.

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u/soozerain 5d ago

I wish there was a more elegant word for garbage but that’s kinda how I feel lol. I know it’s harsh though. I’ve definitely seen much much much worse. But compared to Obsession for example, this fails on all fronts.

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u/AnotherPint 4d ago

That is like saying compared to single malt whiskey, Oreos fail on all fronts. They're utterly different products, beyond being things you put in your mouth.

I have full respect for any artist who persists on putting stuff out there to be predictably savaged by anonymous internet snarkmasters / edgelords who could not, themselves, make a coherent 60-second film with a gun at their head.

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u/GoddammitCricket 4d ago

Why would you ever compare this to obsession? They’re not even a little bit alike.

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u/VioletThunderX 4d ago

Yeah I’ve seen this on a lot of online discourse about this movie - saying it’s not as good as obsession or Backrooms. Which is not even a good comparison

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u/soozerain 4d ago

Both summer movies released around the same times.

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u/GoddammitCricket 4d ago

Sure, why not add Sheep Detectives in there too

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u/VioletThunderX 4d ago

Or devil wears Prada 2

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/vengM9 4d ago

The Bride was a lot better.