Tag Archives: Emily Blunt

Movie Review: Disclosure Day

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Every time we see the arrival of a new Steven Spielberg movie, we go in thinking we will see another great movie, like “ET”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “Jaws”(1975), and his best ever, “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). The only exception is the movie “1941”, released in 1979, which was universally agreed to be a bad film.

The new movie “Disclosure Day” is another Spielberg film about aliens and whether they have ever visited Earth or have existed on Earth for many years. Unfortunately, Disclosure Day plays like a below average movie of the week chase drama that was convoluted, uneven, overly complex, unexplained, and boring. I was stunned at how bad this movie was, given that it was directed and co-written by Spielberg.

The star of this movie is Emily Blunt, who plays a meteorologist (Margaret Fairchild) for a Kansas City news show. We find out over these (too long) two hours and twenty-five minutes that Margaret had an encounter with an alien as a child. Then, after a sudden encounter with a red robin bird, Margaret can suddenly read minds and speak in several languages, and can talk an alien language that sounds like clicking. What follows are several chase scenes and another central character, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), who is some kind of an independent insider who is the only one who knows what is going on with Margaret and another man who was also abducted by aliens, Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor). Collin Firth plays Noah Scanlon, who is the head of a security agency that has for decades been trying to conceal proof of alien life.

The huge problem with this entire screenplay is that nothing is explained. Who is this character? Why is this happening? A better movie than this one would be a documentary explaining how someone like Steven Spielberg could make a movie this bad. Like the other recent bad movie, “Ella McCay”, written by James L. Brooks, this film once again demonstrates how difficult it is to write a great screenplay.

The IMDB movie ratings for this movie are a bad 6.9, with the concensus opinion: “Interesting concept, but poor execution—confusing plot, weak payoff, and too much spectacle without emotional weight.” The Rotten Tomatoes critics reviews are a way too high 82%, with my rating 60% and a recommendation to see ET, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind and run from this surprisingly bad, waste of over 2 hours.

Movie Review: The Devil Wears Prada 2

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The last time there was a major social media interest fervor for creating a sequel to a production that had been off the air for years is the outstanding TV series “Suits,” which ran for nine years from 2011 to 2019. This resulted in a TV sequel on NBC, “LA Suits,” which was a disaster of 13 episodes that ran for one season in 2025 and was immediately cancelled for low ratings and bad episodes. The problem with racing into a new production based on buzz on social media are that very often the new show is rushed, to take advantage of what could be a temporary anomaly of enthusiasm, mostly to cash in on ratings and box office. Unfortunately, when a new production is rushed because of social media buzz and is based on a previous show that was outstanding, what results is a bad TV show or movie. The bottom line is that you cannot rush quality. Creating a new great idea or writing a great screenplay can take years.

“The Devil Wears Prada”, released in 2006, has maintained its popularity on Cable TV for twenty years. This is one of those movies that, even though you have seen it many times, you still want to watch it again. The quality and great moments in this original film are relatable to everybody who has ever worked for a company and/or with very difficult people. This includes the incredible rudeness of CEO of the magazine “Runway”, Miranda Priestly, (Meryl Streep), and the ongoing nastiness of Andy’s coworker Emily (Emily Blunt).

Miranda’s inconsiderate behavior towards Andy (Anne Hathaway) included not even remembering her name, throwing her coat on Andy’s desk, mean, condescending comments, ignoring, and dismissing at a level at times that are so extreme they are funny. Far too many of us have been subjected to this kind of employment garbage daily, only because someone else has us under their financial thumb. This harsh reality of making a living is one of the most unfortunate parts about being alive and needing money to buy food and shelter.

The sequel, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is a far better effort than Suits LA. The screenplay was written by Aline Brosh McKenna and Lauren Weisberger, walked the line of giving the audience reminders of some of the best moments of the original, with enough new ideas that make this movie experience not seem exploitive. The bottom line in any new movie production like this, is to make money first. Taking huge risks is far too often not an option because the producers do not want to alienate the fans of the original movie. Therefore, frequent reminders of the original are to be expected.

The other main character returning for this sequel is Stanley Tucci, who is outstanding as Nigel, with Lucy Liu as a famous fashion mogul whom Miranda wants to interview to save Runway because the magazine is going through hard times due to the greatly reduced interest in print media, due to publishing on the internet. I also thought that the twist at the end of this story, about wealthy businessmen screwing over other wealthy people, was too similar to the ending of the original film. Lady Gaga also has a cameo towards the end of this movie along with Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum.

Overall, I thought this sequel was good, but nearly as great as the original, with the acting good throughout. I agree with the 79% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and give this movie a moderate recommendation.

Movie Review: The Smashing Machine

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The new movie “The Smashing Machine” is a true story about a former Mixed Martial Arts champion Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) . This film is essentially comprised of 3 main parts. The first part is about the ridiculous sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), which has no real rules and comes down to two men falling to the floor on each other and beating each other in the head or the face using their hands or, in this movie, frequently using their knees to knock a man unconscious. While this “hitting the man in the head with your knee” method was considered a rules violation, it was still allowed in several fights during this story, because in this sport, there are no rules, other than perhaps eye gouging.

The second part of this story is about the relationship and constant arguing of Mark Kerr and Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt). During almost the entire time on screen, Dawn and Mark would drift from one insane argument after another. Too many times, these non-stop arguments were over nothing. One time, they even argued over a cactus plant. While these intense arguments did show acting ability from both Johnson and Blunt, seeing so many of them got old halfway through these two hours.

The third part of this story is about Mark Kerr’s constant abuse of pain killers, which included dangerous opioids that almost took his life and led him to rehab. The worst part of a story like this is how depressing it is that any human being would choose to be devoted to a sport that is so idiotic, and should have been outlawed years ago. Why is it considered entertaining to see two men fall to the floor and hit each other in the face and head?

There has been some buzz about the impressive acting of Dwayne Johnson in this movie and there are indeed some scenes that do show that he can act. Even though this movie is average at best, I believe Johnson will be nominated for a Golden Globe award and possibly even an Oscar, but the quality of this movie will probably prohibit him from winning either award.

I agree with the moderate 73% ratings for this movie on Rotten Tomatoes, but due to the ridiculous fighting scenes of a sport that should be banned, I do not recommend this film.