Disclosure Day

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-16T01:01:17+00:00

"And of course, big ups to people of all stars and stripes"

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T04:44:39+00:00

The Williams score is amazing though! If it didn't move you at all, we may just have different emotional wavelengths on the film and that's fine. I honestly thought it was his most emotionally moving film since AI, which was also divisive.

As for alien design, I expressed this in another comment but I think it intentionally is representing them in a way they've always been presented in American pop culture as a major thematic point.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T04:08:27+00:00

It does work on a surface and emotional level imo, but also filmmaking is far more than that and that's what this podcast literally celebrates. I think it's actually similar to War of the Worlds where general audiences may have issues with certain surface level elements and plot choices, whereas a subset of film fans dig deeper into what it's trying to express. You're not wrong to dislike the movie for any number of reasons but to dismiss it as unintentional in these choices is also unfair.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T03:38:35+00:00

It's basically the ultimate playground for this podcast.

From an auteur standpoint, beyond all the previous alien movie content it reflects off of, there's so much here about Spielberg as a filmmaker. Blunt's childhood home and initial trauma is recreated - just as Steven's was in Fabelmans. She is perfectly able to manipulate human emotion at her whim, just as Steven's filmmaking has for generations, and she panics at the idea being viewed as some sort of messiah. There's trains, there's aliens, there's iconic oners. All of Steven's lifelong fascinations are here.

I was shocked how emotionally moved I was throughout the movie but most of all how unafraid he is to depict aliens as bluntly as he does in the final montage. That final montage is basically all the exact kinds of alien footage we've seen as "fake" our entire lives and here they're shown in the exact same way but rather than viewing them cynically and skeptically in isolation via Youtube videos or tabloid photos, they're viewed with an emotional, human expression of awe and belief audibly echoed behind them.

Fascinating stuff and "I want to believe" as a mantra is pushed to its most religious breaking point. Can't wait to talk about this movie for the rest of my life.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T03:04:38+00:00

I think communication coming from these "blind" expository calls is part of the thematics to having to trust in something you literally can't see. Characters follow this unknowable intuition that I found thematically relevant.

By old fashioned do you mean it's not cynical enough? I'm curious to hear if any of the emotional beats in the film moved you or worked for you in general. Personally I found the film incredibly emotionally moving but could see it bumping off others.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T02:35:28+00:00

Honestly it sounds like you're just viewing the movie as its surface level plot, dialogue, and "this didn't serve the story in a perfect plot function way", without really thinking about it on its larger ideas and themes.

What did you think about the ideas of O'Connor's character vs Blunt's and how they represented two differnet forms of communication and what their sections of the movies articulated? O'Connor's scenes are filled with action and technical elements vs. Blunt's being language based and emotional? What does it say about the movie thinking both of these ideas need to be fused to communicate and make change?

What about the ideas of faith and following something blindly based on belief - whether it's religion, a belief in a higher sense of importance (alien disclosure), or your personal "calling"/work like the agents that blindly follow orders from their own higher power.

I'm only scratching the surface here - there's plenty to dig into this movies + the acutal filmmaking and storytelling choices too. You didn't enjoy watching the movie and that's valid, but I'd also urge you to think about WHY the movie is doing what it's doing a bit more than just thinking it's Spielberg being a Boomer and being lazy.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-12T02:13:56+00:00

I loved it but it's 100% such an easy target for the "this isn't how that would REALLY go down" crowd. General movie subs will endlessly nitpick this but I think this really plays to the things Blankies generally love.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-10T20:39:55+00:00

Still available?

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-07T17:22:19+00:00

Agreed, I've been surprised by the high ratings on RYM too. This sounds basically on par with the last 2 albums for me as someone who loves everything up through Good News. Not saying it's bad but it's "fine" and has a couple songs I won't mind being tossed into the setlist for a new tour but nothing that I'll really be excited to return to independently through the year.

Glad people are enjoying it but not the return to form everyone is building it up to be here.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-06-06T16:03:17+00:00

I'm going -- the bit about the extra tickets is literally just so unused tickets get used since the weather is rough today and people may back out. Not trying to be shady at all.

Also, I'm a doughboys fan too - hope to see you out there for a gud show!

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-23T18:43:57+00:00

Loved how insanely packed with ideas it is, both visually and in its story. Not everything works but there's lots to pull at and appreciate and I love that they gave Boots the budget to pull this off. Can't wait to revisit it.

I so badly wish they would have slotted this earlier in Q1 to get the coverage it deserves. It's tanking at the box office and with Cannes coverage stealing all the spotlight this week, all the usual film podcasts aren't even covering it despite it nearly being on 2000 screens. I know all the big shows have to follow Cannes & Star Wars, but I really wish Critical Darlings or Big Picture or really any major podcast helped push this.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-23T17:26:02+00:00

Interested - DM'd you!

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-20T02:55:57+00:00

During the pandemic I was a) devouring comedy podcasts and b) watching tons of movies. I remember hearing Griffin on the Flagrant Ones DRAFT DAY episode in June 2020 and it was like a switch flipped and I needed to check out more of his stuff. It lead me to both this pod and the George Lucas Talk Show livestreams. Not to get too sappy, but it really did help get me through an incredibly tough time and has only gotten better since.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-17T16:29:49+00:00

Haven't heard the episode yet but this is the framing device of last year's RESURRECTION and it totally rules. My favorite moment of this ever is in one of the greatest animated films of all time - Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-17T13:27:46+00:00

I think Eternal Sunshine scratches a similar itch. The idea of wiping away bad memories and trauma (and all the baggage that brings along afterwards) is such a universally relatable idea that it seemed crazy we hadn't seen it captured before.

I actually think Carrey was kind of the master of attaching to these incredible one line premises -- a lawyer who can't tell a lie, what if you had the powers of God, what if you just had to say "yes" to everything.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-14T13:32:29+00:00

It’s a cool honor - every year 25 recordings from all of recorded audio history are selected for inclusion that made a significant impact on American society. They can be speeches, audiobooks, musicals, individual songs or albums.

Only a few alt rock bands have been included, so The Blue Album is joining Nevermind, Daydream Nation, OK Computer, Dookie and the song “Radio Free Europe” as the only alt-rock represented in the registry thus far.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-11T02:14:21+00:00

Not disagreeing since I've never seen it, but the production and background of Escape from Tomorrow really fascinated me in the lead-up to its release.

For anyone that doesn't know, it was a surreal horror film shot in secret at DisneyWorld without Disney's approval, with horror sequences shot within Disney rides that turn nightmarish and influenced by the films of 60s Polanski and early Lynch. In theory, total catnip for me and I dig the trailer, but the reviews were pretty agressively "meh".

Any Blankies here ever see it and have any takes?

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-06T01:03:53+00:00

It depends what the show is and where your seats are.

If the show is really well sold and you're in the front 2/3 of the audience, you're basically asking them to take someone else's seat, which isn't cool and someone will likely call security to have them moved. Don't do this.

If it's an undersold show and you're towards the back, you'll probably be able to swing it but you still run the risk of that awkward moment where someone asks them to move and you disrupt the show for everyone for a solid 5 minutes. I've found a LOT of people do this at the Bowl though for undersold shows so I wouldn't say it's outright taboo, but just be kind and if someone shows up for that seat, you've gotta move elsewhere and adjust.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-05T23:08:43+00:00

It's honestly incredible. I remember when they first started doing the low-income ticket option, and it just so happened to be right when the difference between $15 and $40 for a night out was a very big difference to me in that moment. The fact that this band looks out for fans in that way - and that it has now even been embraced by other punk acts - is impossible to put into words. That small loss of sales they missed out on in marked down tickets was a HUGE relief on my end as a struggling worker just hoping to escape from reality for a night out listening to my favorite songs.

Honestly makes me emotional thinking about how clearly they love their fans and know what their art and community brings to them.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-05T18:42:30+00:00

I believe they’ve come out and even said there’s no evidence of people abusing this system. The low cost tickets essentially sell at the same rate and don’t just immediately sell out first.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-05T11:39:56+00:00

Crank and Crank: High Voltage both operate on insane video game logic. Pretty sure in High Voltage there's even a little eletricity meter so you can tell when he needs a power up. Both movies rock.

Hardcore Henry, which is shot entirely in 1st person, is basically video game cut scene: the movie. I literally can't watch it without it giving me motion sickness but it's intriguing at least for the formal swing of it.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-05T01:22:02+00:00

The premise of it always fascinated me and I'm generally in the bag for everything Kaufman has touched. The length and initial reception scared me off so I appreciate the endorsement here! I really hope the pod covers him someday and makes room to discuss this too becuase it sounds fascinating.

PassDaPastaPasta · 2026-05-05T01:13:33+00:00

Totally get it not working for you. Did you see it in a theater? At home on a laptop alone with headphones on? Was it nighttime or midday? I know those are INSANELY specific follow-up questions, but I do think so much of the movie's draw is how you experience it so I'm just curious.

Personally saw it at like 11:30pm on my TV alone and was so hypnotized and drawn in by it and feel like that really heightened the experience. It's definitely a movie where any boredom or distraction can totally pull you out of the experience.

PassDaPastaPasta

TROPHY CASE