Plays of Future Past

Mortal Kombat, the new hit movie based on the skull-cracking videogame, may appeal to the summer-camp crowd, but what about us folks old enough to shave? How about some flicks inspired by all those simple yet classic games of our era? To wit:

ASTEROIDS Following the success of Apollo 13, here’s another movie in which the actors stare out a window and speak in jargon for several hours. Mark Hamill attempts a John Travolta-style comeback as the asteroid-blasting pilot; Julianne Moore is the nervous wife.

PAC-MAN The insatiable yellow ball (Danny DeVito) happily munches his way through life — until he lands at his doctor’s office. The diagnosis: ulcers, dangerously high cholesterol, severe depression, and gout. In a tale as wrenching as Clean and Sober, Pac-Man must journey through Overeaters Anonymous and break his power-pill habit.

PONG Paddle A (Michael Douglas), a former legend of the Pong circuit, has become a splintered has-been. He bounces back when Paddle B (Christian Slater), a sassy Young Turk, enlists him as a mentor.

TETRIS Johnny Depp plays the rebellious Tetris piece who just doesn’t want to fit in, having let his geometric figure get all fuzzy and curvy. Will the other bricks (Chazz Palminteri, Antonio Banderas) be able to get him back in shape in time for his big fall?