‘Disclosure Day’
Steven Spielberg has said that “Disclosure Day” is part of an unofficial trilogy that began with his first-contact films “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982). The timing and nature of that contact are key to the new movie’s plot, and Spielberg and the screenwriter David Koepp handle them in a counterintuitive way: The movie circles back by relentlessly moving forward. Most of the action consists of an extended chase in which clearly sympathetic characters played by Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Eve Hewson try to escape nefarious pursuers led by Colin Firth. It takes a little while for these factions’ goals to fully emerge, but since Spielberg can direct the hell out of pretty much anything, “Disclosure Day” speeds along entertainingly.
Coursing through the story is the issue of communication, along with what happens when secrets come out in the open. Some of that is related to alien life-forms, but just as intriguing is the evolution of Blunt’s Margaret, a TV meteorologist who suddenly speaks languages she’s never learned and reads people’s minds — abilities both powerful and destabilizing. The unknown, the film suggests, is scary and humbling, but the wonderment of the conclusion does not obscure the fact that humanity gets to that relatively uplifting stage only after failing the most basic decency tests.
‘Hallowarrior’
Refusing to believe she’s the last person left in a postapocalyptic world, the teenage Pumpkin (Milly Shapiro) radios out calls into the ether, trying to reach other survivors. She lives in hope, and even tries to celebrate her favorite holiday, Halloween, by leaving out candy. As it turns out, Pumpkin is not alone after all. Unfortunately, the visitors who ring her doorbell prefer nasty tricks over chocolaty treats.
The biggest asset in Ben Sottak’s debut feature is Shapiro, who played the little girl in “Hereditary” and remains a sui generis screen presence. Here she exhibits a combination of innocence, vulnerability, strength and weirdness, so that you alternate feeling scared for Pumpkin and by her. Shapiro is well matched with Shannyn Sossamon, who endows one of the newcomers, Thalia, with deeply unsettling friendliness. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that “Hallowarrior” swerves into bloody mayhem — the film is streaming on the horror platform Shudder, after all. Sottak uses the setting to freshen up a classic home-invasion story, and he brings solid craft to that subgenre’s conventions, creating a grotesque haunted-house ride within a tight running time.
‘Affection’
Buy or rent it on Fandango at Home or YouTube.
Another assured feature debut comes from the writer-director BT Meza, who explores a popular theme — or rather two, since “Affection” combines a reset scenario and gaslighting. After suffering a grievous injury, Ellie (Jessica Rothe) wakes up with no idea who she is. She does not recognize the doting Bruce (Joseph Cross), who explains that he’s her husband, or their young daughter, Alice (Julianna Layne). They are on a remote farm to help Ellie recover, Bruce says. He’s a specific kind of cinematic soft-spoken guy who is too sensitive to not be devious.
This is not a spoiler since it’s obvious very early on that Bruce has an agenda that may or may not involve Ellie getting better — the definition of what “getting better” actually means is ambiguous, in any case. The real questions are the why and the how behind Bruce’s actions, and Meza is very good at parceling out answers. But the biggest draw here is Rothe’s emotionally and physically committed performance. The performer’s filmography is all over the map, from “Happy Death Day” to “La La Land.” One can only hope many directors and casting agents check out “Affection.”
‘Lola Dust’
Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.
When she’s cast in a short movie, Nadia (Jade Pattenden) thinks her career as an actor is finally taking off. The contract she must sign before shooting begins? No need to worry, it’s a pure formality. Nadia inadvertently becomes a social-media celebrity when the footage is edited into fake news — that contract gave the production company the right to use what it had filmed any way it wanted. To Nadia’s horror, her likeness and voice become the basis for a deepfake who goes by Lola Dust and acquires a digital life of her own as a wildly popular right-wing influencer. The people behind Lola wipe out Nadia’s presence online, so she can’t prove she exists anymore. Nadia’s face has become a commodity that benefits someone else.
Dom Cutrupi’s feature incorporates a thriller angle as Nadia tries to figure out who’s ruining her life, but “Lola Dust” is most interesting in its description of a dystopian world in which amoral swindlers successfully bet on people’s worst instincts — and their gullibility.
Adding an extra layer of chill to a nightmarish (and all too plausible) premise, an ad for Meta glasses came on while I was watching “Lola Dust.” The future is now, indeed.
‘Berlin Loop’
Emily Manthei’s film is the equivalent of a scrappy, loose indie-rock album that’s a better reflection of a scene than one featuring studio fireworks and polished songwriting. Set in Berlin, the movie revolves around Fatma (the excellent Derya Akyol), whose cleaning job lets her into the homes of people with more money than her. Drawn to a client’s vintage Peugeot bike, she swipes it and resells it for some easy cash — unaware that the steed belongs to Windisch (Thilo Herrmann), who himself runs a stolen-bike ring. Impressed by Fatma’s resourcefulness, he incorporates her into his team. (“Berlin Loop” is very good at evoking the exhilaration and sense of freedom of riding a bike.) The movie goes off in a fantastical direction when Fatma finds a portal leading into a time loop.
It’s easier to run scams — she also starts selling the apartments she’s supposed to clean — when you can case locations and get multiple chances. Yet at its heart “Berlin Loop” remains about a young working-class woman who feels she has no choice but to con to survive in a rapidly gentrifying city once known as a bohemian haven.
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