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Rent or buy it on most major platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n The French director J\u00e9r\u00e9mie P\u00e9rin\u2019s impressive debut feature is set on Mars, which is now habitable under extensive domes, but this animated movie isn\u2019t about terraforming or life on the red planet. Rather, P\u00e9rin explores the tensions among humans, robots, androids and newcomers called \u201corganics.\u201d And he does it with an action-packed, often violent noir thriller (this is not a film for young children).<\/p>\n The central character is the private detective Aline Ruby (voiced by Morla Gorrondona in the English dub), who is hired to locate a missing cybernetics student. In the process, she and her robot sidekick, Carlos (Josh Keaton), uncover a far-reaching conspiracy that involves some powerful people.<\/p>\n Pretty standard stuff in terms of plot mechanics, but \u201cMars Express\u201d undergirds its suspenseful, skilfully directed set pieces with weighty philosophical concerns, like the meaning of personhood and the quest for increased autonomy. The world building is superb, with such thoughtful details as a minibar that automatically shuts off when it senses the presence of someone in recovery, a patch that allows for telepathic communication, and students making extra money in \u201cbrain farms.\u201d<\/p>\n Note that except on Amazon, which lists French and English audio, \u201cMars Express\u201d only seems to be available dubbed; it\u2019d be great to have wider access to the subtitled original cast, led by L\u00e9a Drucker as Aline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Stream it on Netflix<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking of world-building: The term is often used in relation to settings that are distant in space or time, and quite remote from our present circumstances. \u201cThe Kitchen\u201d is a social dystopia set in near-future London so the differences with our reality are relatively minor, but they are very effectively deployed. The directors Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares ground their story in two issues of great interest to millions, if not billions of people: the scarcity of housing and the difficulty of maintaining familial bonds in a fraught environment.<\/p>\n Izi (the rapper and actor Kane Robinson, from the series \u201cTop Boy\u201d) has just learned that he\u2019s finally landed a new apartment. This means that he can finally leave the dilapidated, overcrowded housing complex known as the Kitchen, where even taking a shower becomes an endurance test. His neighborhood is packed with narrow alleys and small stalls, police drones fly overhead and violence is a constant presence. The prospect of moving out is a godsend for Izi, but his meeting the newly orphaned Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) upends his plans \u2014 it\u2019s harder to leave when someone anchors you.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kitchen\u201d joins the growing ranks of futuristic movies pointedly dealing with class warfare, and its description of a world in which the gap between haves and have-nots has deepened to a trench is all too familiar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Rent or buy it on most major platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n If your definition of an alien invasion involves ships hovering above Earth and major destruction, just know that Sofia Alaoui\u2019s beautifully shot take on the genre is definitely \u2026 not that. Still, the mysterious, elliptical Moroccan movie \u201cAnimalia\u201d exerts a pull of its own as its central character, a pregnant young woman named Itto (Oumaima Barid), faces a series of unexplained events.<\/p>\n When the wealthy family she has married into leaves for an outing, Itto enjoys some quality alone time at home. Soon, however, things start to go off the rails. Animals behave strangely, army vehicles barrel down the streets, roadblocks are hastily erected. The movie holds back on the explanations, and as her husband, Amine (Mehdi Dehbi), tries to arrange for a reunion, Itto\u2019s journey acquires a mystical tinge.<\/p>\n Yet Alaoui does not stray into woo-woo New Age-isms and offers pointed views on the emancipation of women in Morocco, and their role in both the family and society. It takes confidence and skill to keep an audience invested in a movie while withholding information, and Alaoui clearly has both.<\/p>\n\u2018Molli and Max in the Future\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n