‘Kalki 2898 AD’
Like the historical drama “RRR,” Nag Ashwin’s blend of science fiction and Hindu mythology is a product of the Southern Indian film industry. Whether the new movie will be a crossover hit like its Academy Award-nominated predecessor remains to be seen, but odds are in its favor. American viewers might not be familiar with some of the sources of inspiration, like the ancient epic “The Mahabharata.” But others will ping instantly: the rogue bounty hunter Bhairava (Prabhas) has more than a touch of Han Solo; the future’s dusty dystopia is very “Mad Max”-esque; the evil overlord Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan) floats like Baron Harkonnen.
With rebels hiding in a secret city that stands in stark contrast to the baddies’ high-tech quarters, the general plot combines Yaskin capturing women for nefarious ends and the possibility that one of them (played by Deepika Padukone) could be pregnant with the prophesied savior of humanity. Because the M.O. here is maximalism, the Indian cinema star Amitabh Bachchan fittingly appears as a gigantic immortal being, while the art direction and action scenes are eye-popping throughout. And because more is more, the movie ends with the promise that the “Kalki cinematic universe continues …”
‘Arcadian’
Nicolas Cage is touted as the star, but this creature feature actually centers on his character’s teenage sons, Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell). All three have somehow managed to survive in a postapocalyptic world in which monsters come out and attack at night. When the sun sets, the family barricades themselves in their house. During the day, Thomas often spends time at a neighboring farm, where he has gotten close to a girl named Charlotte (Sadie Soverall). In the meantime, the bookish, methodical Joseph has a longer view of survival; he even manages to capture one of the (excellently designed) critters so he can study it. Of course, the arrangement is fragile in such a hostile environment, especially when it becomes clear that the nocturnal attackers are smart enough to develop plans.
The director Benjamin Brewer does not reinvent the wheel, but he knows when to linger (on the affectionate relationship between the boys and their dad, on quotidian tasks) and when not to (there is no back story or explanation as to how the world went to pot). This is a lean, effective story of survival and sacrifice — and Cage, if you must know, is wonderfully restrained.
‘The Blue Rose’
An ambitious exercise in retro sci-fi noir, “The Blue Rose” is not without issues: The pace often lags, the acting is all over the place, the plot can be hard to follow. And yet I found myself unable to stop watching. Maybe because like Wile E. Coyote, the movie keeps jumping off the narrative cliff, then bouncing right back up.
The writer-director George Baron wears his influences on his sleeve: It’s impossible not to think of David Lynch (Ray Wise, of “Twin Peaks” fame, even has a small role here), with lovingly shot production design, mysterious blue roses, a nightclub named the Red Bloom Room and a pair of freakishly young detectives (Olivia Scott Welch and Baron) trying to solve a murder. But this is a teen-movie version of the Lynch universe, simultaneously over- and undercooked. The likely reason is that Baron actually was a teenager when he made the film so “The Blue Rose” is set in a kind of netherworld that looks and sounds not so much like the 1950s or ‘60s but like a member of Gen Alpha’s idea of those decades, which is fascinating in itself. The movie takes big swings. Some of them crash but enough of them land to make Baron someone worth following.
‘Sanitatem’
This is overpraising Michael Kleinfeld’s minimalist, interestingly modest film, but at times its main character’s gloomy meandering reminded me of early-period Wim Wenders. Ilay (Felix Hoefner) does have a purpose: finding insulin for his daughter in a ravaged postapocalyptic Germany where everything, including pharmacies and hospitals, has been reduced to rubble. But compared to the action dads American movies have accustomed us to, Ilay lacks a certain urgency — he is alive but already has a ghostly presence, often compounded by the snowy landscapes he travels through. Kleinfeld does not really fill in the blanks, but the mention of high radiation suggests something nuclear.
After Ilay finally gathers the 10 liters of gas he needs to trade for insulin, his fixer falls through and he has to source the precious medication on his own — well, with the help of Loana (Margaux Tiltmann), a former doctor he meets in his travels. The film foreshadows a big plot point in a clumsy manner, but its slow, pensive pace offers a detached take on survival that’s surprisingly poetic at times.
‘Tomorrow’s Game’
Sci-fi sports movies don’t make up a thriving subgenre: “Rollerball”? “Space Jam”? Now the directors Jonathan Coria and Trevor Wilson’s family-friendly combination of time travel and baseball is at the very least giving the streaming platforms’ algorithms something new to feed on.
Despite having an uncle who is about to be inducted into the hall of fame, the teenage Daniel De La Rosa (Alejandro De Anda) is completely uninterested in the national pastime. We are in 2002 and he much prefers his hand-held console to whatever is happening on a diamond. That is, until he is freakishly sent back to 1957, on the day his uncle, Santiago (Carlo Mendez), is making his debut as the first Dominican player in the major leagues. How Daniel will make his way back to his own era is the supposed point, but the real one is his discovery of baseball. His guides are another teenager, Sally (Miranda Meadows), and the excitable Jorge (Jerry Hernandez, along with the comedian Paul Rodriguez in the 2002 timeline), who teach Daniel how to appreciate a game. A subplot involving a bigoted broadcaster (Michael Broderick) touches on the prejudices Dominican players faced. As a baseball heretic, I can’t say that I was converted to the sport’s appeal, but it’s enough that Daniel was — and we believe in his epiphany.
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