5 Must-Watch Sci-Fi Mystery Movies for Fans of Disclosure Day

Without Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 masterpiece “Arrival,” we might not even have stories like “Disclosure Day” — because “Arrival” isn’t just one of the best movies about humans connecting with extraterrestrial life. It’s one of the best movies of the 21st century, period. Based on Ted Chiang’s 1998 novella “Story of Your Life,” Villeneuve’s movie stars Amy Adams (who should have an Academy Award for her performance in this film) as linguist Louise Banks, who, when we meet her, is still grappling with the tragic illness-related death of her young daughter Hannah. In the midst of Louise’s grief, she’s asked, by the United States Army, to help translate between alien spacecrafts that started hovering over Earth for no apparent reason. Louise, alongside her colleague Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), a physicist, start trying to communicate with the mysterious but seemingly peaceful extraterrestrials.

Though that illusion of peace seems shattered when Louise is able to translate one of their messages as “offer weapon” — which countries like China interpret as an immediate threat — the truth is darker and a whole lot sadder. We won’t spoil “Arrival” here, but if you’ve never seen Villeneuve’s movie and aren’t aware of the absolutely tear-jerking ending, you’re in for a thrilling, devastating, and oddly fulfilling ride. “Arrival” is a truly astounding movie about the ways we can communicate, the power of grief, and the ways that we can use language, and it also features what may well be the very best performance of Adams’ excellent acting career.

At its heart, “Disclosure Day” is a chase movie — and if you like that part of Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster, definitely watch one of the most thrilling chase movies ever made. Director George Miller’s legacy sequel to his own movie “Mad Max,” which hit theaters in 2015 and won a whopping six Academy Awards in technical categories, stars Tom Hardy as the titular Max Rockatansky … but truthfully, Max isn’t the main character of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” That honor belongs to Charlize Theron’s one-armed hero Imperator Furiosa, who drives the War Rig, absconds with the five captive wives of the villainous Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), and enlists Max’s help as she avoids Joe’s wrath and tries to find a mythical and rumored “Green Place” full of water to escape the desolate desert that serves as the film’s setting.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” is an action masterpiece — thanks in large part to the film’s Oscar-winning editing by Miller’s wife Margaret Sixel, who crafted such a tightly edited movie that not a millisecond feels wasted in the slightest — and it’s one of the most exciting chase movies within this somewhat niche genre. If you love the thrill of the literal chase — and really loved that aspect of “Disclosure Day,” which sees Daniel and Margaret on the run from shadowy enemy forces — you absolutely must experience “Mad Max: Fury Road” with the volume turned all the way up on as big of a screen as possible. (Don’t you dare watch this visually arresting film on your phone.)

To fully appreciate and understand “Disclosure Day,” you need to sit down and watch “The Fabelmans.” We already mentioned Steven Spielberg’s disarmingly personal 2022 movie, which earned multiple Oscar nominations, was written by Spielberg alongside his regular collaborator Puliter Prize winner Tony Kushner and stars Gabriel Labelle as Sammy Fabelman, a clear stand-in for a young Spielberg himself. Like the real Spielberg, Sammy has lofty dreams of becoming a world-famous filmmaker, but as he makes home movies for his family, he also comes to understand a complex dynamic between his offbeat but artistic mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams), his computer engineer father Burt (Paul Dano), and Burt’s best friend and Sammy’s “uncle” Bennie Lowey (a somewhat serious Seth Rogen).

From the friction between Burt and Sammy — largely because Burt views his son’s intended profession as a mere hobby — to the frankly bizarre relationship between Benny and Mitzi that sends Sammy spiraling when he discovers the depth of their connection, “The Fabelmans” is a searing portrait of youth, a study of a young filmmaker, and a phenomenal story that teaches audiences about Spielberg’s ambition and younger years. Add in a truly pitch-perfect cameo from the late, great David Lynch as the famed filmmaker John Ford, and you’ve got a Spielberg classic on your hands.

How could you possibly make a list of movies to watch if you love “Disclosure Day” and not include at least one of Steven Spielberg’s classic alien flicks? With the utmost due respect to “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “War of the Worlds,” we felt like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” felt the most spiritually similar to “Disclosure Day” — and it’s also, out of the three, the movie that seems to influence “Disclosure Day” the most. Spielberg’s 1977 classic stars his “Jaws” collaborator Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary, a humble Midwestern electrical lineman who’s obsessed with potential evidence of alien life. When Roy sees a young boy following a mysterious trail, he sees a UFO for himself, and his obsession only deepens.

Amidst a mystery about fallen United States Navy aircrafts and sea vessels — which seem to disappear thanks to extraterrestrial presence — “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is a truthful and thrilling vision of what might happen if humans make contact with aliens, just like “Disclosure Day.” If you want to see a Spielberg film that’s the perfect precursor to “Disclosure Day,” this is the pick for you.

As for “Disclosure Day,” that’s in theaters now.