timespace coordinates: suburbs of San Francisco, 1985
Explorers is a 1985 American science fiction fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. The film stars Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, both in their film debuts, and Jason Presson as teenage boys who build a spacecraft to explore outer space. (wiki)
Hardcore Henry (Russian: Хардкор; also known simply as Hardcore in some countries) is a 2015 Russian-American science fiction action film written and directed by Ilya Naishuller (in his feature directorial debut).
Max Nicholson of IGN rated the film 8.6/10 stating “Two parts FPS, one part platformer and a pinch of HowToBasic, director Ilya Naishuller’s Hardcore Henry is a recipe for non-stop, ludicrous fun. While the film’s actual story is nigh existent [sic], it’s sure to please gamers and action junkies alike with its inventive set pieces and mind-boggling action” and “Hardcore Henry lives up to the title with non-stop, off-the-wall action and a love for all things video games”. (wiki)
The video game “Payday 2“ had a cross-promotion before the movie’s release. It came with heists relating to the film’s plot, along with a new playable character (Jimmy) and new weapons. A poster for the game can be seen on wall of the one of the apartments where Slick Dimitri is found and Jimmy’s mask from the game can be seen in the drawer with the weapons in the strip club.
Before this film, writer and director Ilya Naishuller made several music videos for his Russian punk rock band “Biting Elbows”. The videos were shot in the same style: Fast paced, first person perspective action videos.
In English, the film is often informally referred to as Planet of the Storms, Planet of Storms, Planet of Tempests, Planeta Burg, and Storm Planet, though it was never actually released in the US in its original form until the 1990s, via home video. It is better known to American audiences via two American television movies which featured special effects and most of the primary footage from it: Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women. (wiki)
The Last of Us Part II is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after The Last of Us (2013), the player controls two characters in a post-apocalyptic United States whose lives intertwine: Ellie, who sets out for revenge after suffering a tragedy, and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict with a cult. The game is played from the third-person perspective. The player can use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to fight human enemies and cannibalistic creatures.
Neil Druckmann returned as creative director, co-writing the story with Halley Gross. The game’s themes of revenge and retribution were inspired by Druckmann’s experiences growing up in Israel. Ashley Johnson reprises her role as Ellie, while Laura Bailey was cast as Abby. Their performances included the simultaneous recording of motion and voice. (wiki)
Intent on returning home to Earth to face trial for their actions in the previous film, the former crew of the USS Enterprise finds the planet in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. The crew travel to Earth’s past to find whales who can answer the probe’s call. (wiki)