Disclosure Day: Spielberg's Alien Movie Gets the D20 Treatment | Random Review

We rolled the d20 on Disclosure Day, Spielberg's new alien movie, and the dice picked our fights for us.

Roll one: the cold open that skips the close encounter entirely and throws you into Act 2 mid-chase, with Daniel already running and zero exposition to catch you up. Roll two: the train car climax — a practical-stunt escape sequence with a full John Williams score behind it. Two big action beats in a movie we swear isn't an action movie.

Plus Colin Firth's loyalty-scrambling casting, the JJ Abrams / Super 8 train callback, and the question of whether any of this actually earns a theater ticket.

No prep. No script. Just two geeks reacting to what they just watched.

So settle it for us: is Disclosure Day the third Spielberg alien movie… or does that count collapse the moment you name them all?

 #DisclosureDay #Spielberg #CloseEncounters #ET #Sci-Fi #MovieReview #GenX #GeekPodcast #OriginalGeek 

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Hosted by Steve Scarfo and Jeff Shaw.

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Transcript

Steve (00:00)
I'd only ever seen Close Encounters once or twice, so I did go back and watch it. I know you did too. And then we went out last week and we saw Disclosure Day.

Alright, welcome to the original Geek Random Review. We set the topic, the dice set the direction. We know what we're reviewing, just not how.

Jeff Shaw (00:20)
All right, and today it is disclosure day, the new Spielberg Alien movie. spoiler alert. If you didn't know, it's about aliens. So and I am going to roll first for Mr. Stevenscarf.

Steve (00:29)
He

All right. So a quick recap for anybody who's new or checking this out for checking one of these out for the first time because we do put these out separately. we roll a twenty sided dice. We use a list of topics that we don't know what it is. So whatever we're gonna talk about, we have to go pure purely on having just seen the movie and talking about it. We don't know what it's gonna be. So join the join us. It's gonna be fun.

Jeff Shaw (01:01)
Here we go.

17. The Disorienting Opening A Successful Wisdom Check. Spielberg dropping the audience directly into Act 2. A brilliant creative gamble. By entirely skipping the close encounter and starting the movie Mid-Chase, with Daniel already on the brun, Spielberg forces the audience to think on their feet, capturing the exact confusion of a world on the brink of world shattering.

Steve (01:06)
Mm-hmm.

I like this question. I really do, 'cause I hadn't thought about it in that way. But they absolutely did. I didn't think about you know, I've done some kind of I guess research or whatever or talk like how to write a movie in act one, act two, act three. Like I'm sure if you've had any kind of interest in movies, you've looked at the structure. It never occurred to me that what's that's what he did. He did. He dropped us right into act two. There's no opening, there's no slow burn, there's no getting to know anybody. It's just holy crap, what's going on? He's running.

and you learn about the people and all of the details in flight with them because even though Daniel's w the ma one of the main protagonists, we don't know anything about him and the people he runs into because he's on the run, he doesn't know anything about them. So we he we learn with him. I know we've talked about this in in the past with different movies, how we like when a when we go on the journey with the character, it makes it that much more compelling. And I really do think it did.

God, I really do. I like this question. It's it put us in his shoes quite literally while he's trying we don't know anything about him, so we don't know. I mean you kind of assume he's a good guy. That's typically how they start it, but he could have been one of the bad guys. sorry, another spoiler. Daniel's a good guy. but yeah, I I think it was great. I think it was a great way to take what could have been a slow and sleepy movie and make it more action oriented.

Because we talked about close encounters and they don't really waste a lot of time, but there is a lot of build up. And I would argue even the middle of act two it not that it slows down, but it does drag a little bit because they kind of really try to pummel home the situation for Richard Dreyfus' character. so I I I really agree with that. I liked it a lot.

Jeff Shaw (03:24)
The interesting that you mentioned we don't know if he's the bad guy, and I hadn't really thought of that because I didn't see I did I I saw the trailer like we all did. I wasn't sure if Colin Firth's character was the bad guy, and Killin Colin Firth is often the good guy. So you're right. At first we didn't know whether we were gonna root for this guy. But I also because we have no exposition, I really want you

Steve (03:43)
Mm-hmm.

Jeff Shaw (03:54)
To watch this movie with your mom and let me know how that goes. Because for those of you who may not, yes. So, because he's mom. I know we've referenced this briefly before on this podcast, but always ask questions and and right from the get go, like no one knows what's going on. So what so what he what's he yell about? What's that?

Steve (04:00)
You mean me personally?

Mm.

my God. It's it's it's a torture.

no, it's like literally

Jeff Shaw (04:23)
thing do

Steve (04:24)
title card, fade in, there's a guy in the corner stabbing someone. Who is that? Like, I don't know. We like the movie just started three seconds in, a hundred percent.

Jeff Shaw (04:33)
Why is he doing this?

Why is the Bridget

Jones diary guy being so mean?

Steve (04:43)
yeah, you're not wrong. She would never this would be

Jeff Shaw (04:45)
So I need you

to watch this again with your mom. All right. Shout out to Mrs. Scarfo. so and then just to double down, I agree. I think this really made for an exciting moment. And also your comment about things not going that fast paced. I mean one of the one of the things that differentiates Spielberg's alien movies, except for War of the Worlds.

Which was why we don't want to count it. is there j they're not action movies generally. There's some action sequences. But no one wouldn't consider it, you know, you know, an action movie like The Terminator. So I think that it is interesting to have that start. It was different.

Steve (05:35)
Yeah. Yeah. It definitely dragged us in, which I liked. Alright, you ready? There we go. Nope. I rolled a sixteen. That's the same one. Hold on. Nineteen. Successful charisma check. The train car climax. The frantic vehicle meets locomotive escape sequence. Classic propulsive Spielberg action.

Jeff Shaw (05:40)
Yes.

Steve (06:01)
Relying on a privately owned railway in New Jersey for practical stunt coordination, the sequence is pure charisma hit, combined with roaring classic John Williams score. It's a masterclass of modern big screen spectrum.

Jeff Shaw (06:14)
So funny that we have two like action sequences. So it was interesting when so in this scene are the two people we're rooting for, the two people who we learn have been spoiler, pause. So they they have been they're that that were abducted. it's Daniel and what is

Steve (06:18)
after saying it's not an action movie.

Yeah, hold on. Go watch the movie, then come back.

Jeff Shaw (06:43)
My God, why can't I think of her character's name? what's that? Margaret. Daniel and Margaret are in a car and they're being they're stopped at a train crossing and the the black ops agency bad guy is pushing them in their car into the oncoming train. And it really

Steve (06:47)
Margaret. Margaret.

Jeff Shaw (07:13)
It it's funny, like, as I was watching it, I'm like, is this feels like a callback to something. And I know Spielberg has had train sequences in a number of his movies. And then man, the the the guy who did who was kinda a part partly responsible for the Star Wars trilogy that we ripped on the the sequel tr JJ Abrams, who loves Spielberg.

Steve (07:41)
yeah.

Jeff Shaw (07:42)
And Super 80's got this train sequence, and I felt like it almost feels like trains are like, I gotta have a train thing going on. And the action in that sequence is really solid. The special effects are fantastic. I didn't know it was using a real like train that is from a New Jersey company. I had no idea about that, but it it was a great

action sequence. and there there is you know I think you're if you really truly worry about your character's survival, I wasn't that worried about Daniel, but I was sure that Margaret had to make it. of course they both make it another spoiler. But I felt like it was it was an excellent sequence.

Steve (08:37)
Yeah, I I do agree with the idea that w I did not feel I mean, you feel the tension because they're hanging you know, it's kind of a a classic train sequence, right? they're hanging off the edge and someone's foot bounces on the ground and some they fall and one arm goes down and then you see other stuff fall and it explodes. Like if they show you

All the classic tropes of this is a dangerous situation, which I don't know why we need that because you're on a train and you're almost falling off. We all know that's kind of not fun. But I never once felt like, shit, one of them might not make it. I guess Yeah, how do they get out of it? Does does the other guy, does the bad guy make it? That's more of a question at that point in time. And like you said, at the again, we're gonna spoil a whole bunch. there's a scene in

Jeff Shaw (09:17)
You're just wondering how? How do they do it?

Steve (09:31)
The trailer that is the climax of the movie. Like, so you know she has to be there because how does that happen? And you know, unless there's a weak weird there's a flashback thing going on and they try to pump up some storyline to get her there. But yeah, it's like that's really all that they could do. It was a still a fun sequence to watch. And again, it pul quite literally pulled us along this narrative of

Jeff Shaw (09:40)
Gotta get disclosed or it's not disclosure day.

Steve (09:59)
They're fighting for their lives because they there are people who don't want this disclosed. They won't they don't want people knowing what's going on. So, you know, Daniel has the goods, she has the ability to communicate it, and they need to get this word out and the whole thing is this it's basically one long chase scene from start to finish of do we can we get this information out and how do we do it? it was a great it was a great sequence, but

I don't think it did anything like groundbreaking. The music was good.

Jeff Shaw (10:32)
No,

I I feel this doesn't need a nineteen. Like the like we rolled a nineteen. This should have been something amazing. But I will say this. I recommend this movie. And if you are a Spielberg fan, classics, you know, it's got a train in it. Apparently that's a thing. but also the lens flares. You gotta have some lens flares if you're in Spielberg. I felt like the

Steve (10:36)
No.

Mm-hmm.

Jeff Shaw (11:01)
his use of transitions, the the character building that he he gets from this. And in you know definitely an an enjoyable watch. It's a Spielberg movie and even a a bad Spielberg movie is better than the some of the the the best movies of other directors. He he really did a great job with this one. so I I'm giving it a thumbs up.

Steve (11:28)
Yeah. I'm gonna give it a natural twenty myself. it was a really good and we'll get into the details of this. I'm gonna say it like this for now. It really was a good third installment. Whether you really think it's third or not, we'll discuss, but I think I think it really did the job. We both have some issues that we'll talk about later during hits and fails.

But overall, definitely worth seeing. I will say, and I don't usually say it for movies like this, I want you to support this movie. I want you to go to the movies, I want you to spend your money, buy your popcorn, sit in the dark with your friends. it's a great ride, it's a lot of fun. But I will say, I don't know that this needs a big screen. I mean, every movie's better on a big screen, but I there were no there was no spectacle.

When I go to a theater now, I want to see like a Marvel movie or I want to see some I want the scale of what's on screen to be otherworldly and then worldly, and then the scale of it on a big screen makes me feel that more. This was just people the whole time. Right? Not a bad thing. And certainly, you know, great and a great experience, but it wasn't there was no spectacle that says to me, You need to be in the theater for this movie.

Like pre home theater, when people saw Jurassic Park, they said, You gotta go to the theater because sitting in that chair and feeling and hearing the rumble when the T Rex comes up, it's a classic clip like from when they first came out with surround sound for in home studio. You know, everybody has it at their house now, but it it was a thing in the that they used to go to like Best Buy and it was when you could feel it. You couldn't do that at home before. so now they've up the game is up. You gotta get it bigger. So

Great movie. Go see it. Just 'cause we don't well,

not that Spielberg needs our money, but go see it, support it. but if you wait for it to if you wait to go home, it's okay.

Jeff Shaw (13:28)
Yeah, I mean the scenes are tighter. Yeah, when for that big screen,

you want that spectacle, and that spectacle usually means larger scale. larger scale models or l are or the the shots are are bigger, wider out, showing more territory. This was a tighter film, more intimates with you know focused on certain characters or internal environments, and even when you went external.

we're often very close at like in these chase scenes, we were often in the car with the people being chased or the chaser. and then you'd you'd you'd have those shots where you saw a little bit more of the environment. But yeah, it is a it is a tighter movie for shots, so I can see that.

Steve (14:08)
Yeah.

Yeah, not

a bad thing. Just kinda where it landed.