series

1053 – True Detective (season 3 – 2019)

timespace coordinates: 1980 – 1990 – 2015, the Ozarks –  Arkansas

The third season of True Detective, an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto, was confirmed by HBO on August 31, 2017, and premiered on January 13, 2019. The story takes place in the Ozarks over three separate time periods, as partner detectives investigate a macabre crime involving two missing children. 

Mahershala Ali plays the lead role of detective Wayne Hays, while Stephen Dorff plays his partner detective Roland West. The season marks Pizzolatto’s directorial debut, with the series creator dividing up directing assignments with Jeremy Saulnier and Daniel Sackheim. Pizzolatto also serves as the showrunner and sole writer of the season, with the exception of the fourth and sixth episode, which he co-wrote with David Milch and Graham Gordy respectively. (wiki)

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animation

1044 – The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

timespace coordinates: ~ 1950’s Wigan,  Greater Manchester, England

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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British-American stop-motion clay animation vegetarian horror film produced by Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation.  It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is part of the Wallace and Gromit series, created by Park. The film follows good-natured eccentric cheese-loving inventor Wallace and Gromit, his intelligent mute dog in their latest venture as pest control agents, as they come to the rescue of a village plagued by rabbits before an annual vegetable competition.

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The film features an expanded cast of characters relative to the previous Wallace and Gromit shorts, with a voice cast including Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes. It won a number of film awards including the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

movies

1033 – Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

timespace coordinates: 1300 BC – ancient Egypt

Exodus: Gods and Kings is a 2014 epic biblical film directed and produced by Ridley Scott. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

It is inspired by the biblical episode of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt led by Moses and related in the Book of Exodus.

The film stars Christian BaleJoel EdgertonJohn TurturroAaron PaulBen MendelsohnMaría ValverdeSigourney WeaverGhassan MassoudIndira VarmaGolshifteh Farahani, and Ben Kingsley.

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In an interview for Access Hollywood, Scott claimed there was a “final” cut of the film that was 4 hours, implying that the version released in theaters was reduced by 90 minutes. (wiki)


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movies, Uncategorized

1024 – The Golden Compass (2007)

timespace coordinates:  parallel universe – Victorian Jordan College in Oxford >  retrofuturistic London > experimental station Bolvanga – far North

The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole KidmanDakota Blue RichardsDaniel CraigSam ElliottEva Green, and Ian McKellen.

9781841593425The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a tribe of sea-farers on a trip to the far North, the land of the armoured polar bears, in search of the missing children.

Before its release, the film received criticism from secularist organisations and fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy for the dilution of elements of the story which were critical of religion, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material’s anti-religious themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a “terrible” experience. Although the film’s visual effects won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated.  The film trilogy has not been continued, prompting actor Sam Elliott to blame censorship and the Catholic Church. (wiki)

Video game  The game was released prior to the film and features a slightly different sequence of events towards the end of the story, as well as additional footage at the end of the game not seen in the film. (playthrough)


Controversies   /  Cancelled sequels 

imdb   /   His Dark Materials (TV Series 2019– )


1754 – La Belle Sauvage (2017 novel)

1793 – The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust #2 – 2019)


movies

1017 – Please Stand By (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Oakland, California > Los Angelespls stand by posterPlease Stand By is a 2017 American drama film directed by Ben Lewin and based on the 2008 short play of the same name by Michael Golamco, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Dakota FanningToni ColletteAlice EveRiver Alexander, and Patton Oswalt.

imdb