Still grieving over the death of his father, nerdy, asthmatic 12-year-old Adam Reed (Walker Scobell) finds it difficult to cope with the Rainier, Washington, school bullies. Then, one night, he discovers a wounded fighter pilot hiding in his garage. That’s how “The Adam Project” begins.

To Adam’s astonishment, the pilot (Ryan Reynolds) turns out to be a buff, older version of himself from 2050, when time-travel is trendy. He needs incredulous young Adam to help him on a secret mission which involves going back to 2018 to find their workaholic physicist father, Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who can save future mankind from total chaos by changing the past.

Determined to stop them is Louis’ evil associate, ruthless Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), who stole Louis’ traversable wormhole technology to exploit it, becoming a powerful time-travel tycoon. 

Further complicating their mission is older Adam’s love for his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana), another jet pilot traveling along the time-space continuum.

Credit perceptive screenwriters Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin for a provocative PG-13 script that delves into healing universal father/son issues, reminiscent of “Back to the Future,” “E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Flight of the Navigator” – with a “Star Wars” lightsaber.

Deftly handling the witty banter, director Shawn Levy (“Free Guy”) cleverly cast newcomer Walker Scobell to authentically embody charismatic Ryan Reynolds’ ‘mini-me.’

As their adventure concludes, adroit young Adam, utilizing his gamer skills, joins the fray, making a “Superhero landing,” a glib catchphrase that recalls Reynolds’ character in “Deadpool” (2016). 

Jennifer Garner, who plays Adam’s mother, previously teamed with Mark Ruffalo in 2004’s “13 Going on 30.” She scores in a touching scene with Reynolds, and her own golden retriever Birdie plays the Reed family’s dog.

Full Disclosure: my son Don Granger is one of the producers. In 2012, Paramount Pictures bought the spec script “Our Name is Adam” as a vehicle for Tom Cruise; it was in turnaround until Skydance signed Ryan Reynolds/Shawn Levy and got funding from Netflix. 

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Adam Project” is a sweetly nostalgic, sci-fi 7, streaming on Netflix.

Do you like psycho-thrillers? What about horror comedies? If so, dark, devious “Fresh” might whet your appetite.

In Portland, Oregon, twentysomething graphic-designer Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is sick of callous, cheapskate, on-line dating app disasters, so she’s a bit cynical when a charming, attractive young man, Steve (Sebastian Stan), tries to pick her up in the produce aisle of the local grocery store, urging her to sample the surprisingly delicious ‘cotton candy grapes.’

Noa’s bisexual best-friend Mollie (Jonica ‘Jojo’ T. Gibbs) immediately tries to find out more about this Steve on Google and Instagram only to discover that he’s not into social media. Is that a red flag in the 21^st century? Suspicious Mollie thinks so, but Noa’s already hopped into bed with Steve and is looking forward to a surprise weekend romantic getaway.

As a successful plastic surgeon, Steve has a stunning contemporary house in the woods, so that’s where they’re going to spend the first night. At first, Noa’s dismayed that there’s no cell service in that remote region, but then Steve makes her a delicious Old Fashioned with ‘lots of cherries’ that knocks her out.

Cue the titles and cast credits which don’t appear until 33 minutes into the story.

When Noa awakens, she’s chained to a mattress on the floor. When she demands to know what’s happening, sociopathic Steve calmly explains, “I’m going to sell your meat.”

His seemingly luxurious home also serves as a queasily grotesque dungeon for other women too, each confined to her own cell. Steve periodically mutilates them, selling their most succulent parts, sending them off to an elite group of cannibalistic clients.

Scripted by Lauryn Kent, it’s helmed by music video director Mimi Cave, making her feature debut, working confidently with imaginative cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski (“Midsommar,” “Hereditary”) who explores the film’s theme of consumption by explicit imagery of various body parts.

On the Granger Gauge, aptly named “Fresh” is a sadistic, stomach-churning 6, streaming on Hulu.

Reflecting our current sense of paranoia and claustrophobia, the survival thriller “No Exit” revolves around a cynical, twentysomething addict, Darby Thorne (Havana Rose Liu). Darby escapes from her  court-mandated rehabilitation center for the umpteenth time after she learns that her mother has suffered a brain aneurysm in Salt Lake City.

Although her family doesn’t want her around, Darby is desperate to get to the hospital. So she steals a staff member’s car, only to be thwarted by a horrific blizzard that closes not only the Utah Interstate but all the local mountain roads. 

Warned of the danger by a vigilant highway patrolman, Darby reluctantly stops at an isolated Visitors Center, where she encounters others who are similarly stranded. 

While making repeated trips to the parking lot, hoping for a cell-phone signal, Darby hears the muffled screams of a terrified little girl (Mila Harris) who is tied up in a locked van. Obviously, the kidnapper must be one of the four other trapped travelers. 

Could it be that older couple: Marine veteran Ed (Dennis Haysbert) and former nurse Sandi (Dale Dickey), who are headed for a weekend gambling getaway in Reno? What about friendly Ash (Danny Ramirez) or that sullen, suspiciously squirrely loner, Lars (David Rysdahl)? 

When guilt is revealed somewhat early-on, it then becomes a bloody cat-and-mouse chase through the snow-clad setting.

Tautly adapted by Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari from Taylor Adams’ 2017 novel, it is directed predictably by Damien Powers – complete with gruesome coincidences and grisly contrivances that are consistent with its low-budget tone.

On the Granger Gauge, “No Exit” is a fear-inducing 4, streaming on Hulu.