3.5/5 stars

The notoriously treacherous hurdles that Hong Kong telecommunications company i-Cable used to put in front of customers looking to unsubscribe from its internet and pay-TV services throughout the 2000s and early 2010s provide the premise of this Kafkaesque comedy-drama – an alternately hilarious and heartbreaking case of raging against the system.

By Susan Granger

With the release of his 35^th movie, it’s obvious that Steven Spielberg is not just a good story-teller, he’s a GREAT story-teller. 

The suspenseful tale he spins this time is “Disclosure Day” about the U.S. government’s attempt to keep the truth about UFOs secret.

Sinister Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) heads WARDEX (Waived Reporting, Development and Extraction), a quasi-Defense Department agency from which cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) has stolen a powerful device of alien origin along with extensive classified information and video files. 

Although his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) is held hostage by Scanlon’s underlings, Daniel manages to free her and get away, igniting a manhunt.

Supported by WARDEX’s Director of Biological Assets, paternal Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), whistleblower Daniel believes people have a right to know about the coverup, dating back to the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, paranoia and the Nixon Administration. 

Meanwhile in the middle of a TV broadcast, Kansas City, Missouri, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) suddenly begins making bizarre, guttural clicking sounds which make no sense – except to Daniel, who recognizes the alien code.

To the bewilderment of her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s son), Margaret can suddenly speak foreign languages – like Korean and Russian – and manipulate the minds of everyone she encounters. 

What Daniel and Margaret have in common is a terrifying childhood trauma that neither wants to remember. To tell you more would ruin the film’s many white-knuckle surprises and insights about faith in a supreme deity and the philosophical essence of humanity. 

Scripted by David Koepp from Steven Spielberg’s story, it revolves around a nefarious conspiracy, cloaked in sci-fi mystery, tracing back to “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of a Third Kind.” And it’s a timely topic since former President Obama said he believes aliens are real, prompting President Trump to accuse him of revealing “classified information.”

Sure – there are some gaping plot loopholes – but cinematographer Janusz Kaminski dazzles with a high-speed train chase. Buoyed by John Williams’ throwback score – on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Disclosure Day” is an exciting 9, playing in theaters now.

Catch up on Susan’s recent reviews:

Susan Granger

^{_{Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.}}

Country singer Tyler Farr is recovering after he missed his weekend show.

The “Rednecks Like Me” singer was slated to perform at the Goshen Stampede in Goshen, Conn., on Saturday, but the festival announced just hours before gates opened that Farr had an accident on his Chapel Hill farm, about 45 minutes outside of Nashville.

“Due to a motor vehicle incident on his farm, Tyler Farr was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a severe concussion,” read the Instagram post. “Tyler Farr will no longer be able to perform at the Goshen Stampede on June 13, 2026. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and will share additional event information as it becomes available. We wish Tyler a speedy recovery.”

David Foster and the All Stars took Farr’s place in the lineup. The event featured two rodeos with bull riding and steer wrestling, monster trucks, carnival rides and country music. Farr shared Goshen Stampede’s post to his since-expired Instagram stories but hasn’t shared any further updates.

Representatives for the country musician did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

This isn’t the country music star’s first rodeo. Farr, who released “Quit Bein’ Country” last fall, stopped by Taste of Country’s podcast to promote his new EP and told the outlet that he got into a car wreck on the way there and said his truck was too high.

“There’s a big lift on it, and if it had been a normal vehicle, it’d probably been something you could have just buffed out, but the reinforced-steel, ultra off-road bumper I have broke a taillight and knocked the bumper off [the other vehicle],” he said, adding that his truck didn’t have a scratch. “Luckily the person was cool, cop was cool.”

Apparently the last time he was in an accident (before the one in December), his 2013 hit “Redneck Crazy” went to No. 1 on the charts.

The singer has also been candid about his love for country living and turkey hunting.

“When I moved to Nashville, it wasn’t to be in the Hall of Fame,” he told Land.com last year. “That wasn’t a goal … I’m a pretty simple person. My goal was literally to be on the Opry, have a hit song, little country house in the woods, some land, a tractor.”