1032 – The Last Samurai (2003)

timespace coordinates: 1876 – 1877 California > JapanThe Last Samurai is a 2003 American period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, with Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, and Shin Koyamada in supporting roles.

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Tom Cruise portrays a United States Captain of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th Century Japan.

1877 — In 1877, nine years after the Meiji Restoratin, a major rebellion in Kyushu concentrated the opposition of conservative elements to the westernization of Japan. The traditional forces, including for example samurai infuriated at no longer being allowed to carry swords, were defeated by the new conscript army. Thousands were executed. Here the brave new officers in their western-style uniforms accept the surrender of un-uniformed rebels. — Image by © Asian Art & Archaeology, Inc./CORBIS

The film’s plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and the westernization of Japan by foreign powers, though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for westernization. To a lesser extent it is also influenced by the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army. (wiki)

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1031 – Finding Steve McQueen (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1972  Youngstown, Ohio / Laguna Niguel, California

Finding Steve McQueen is a 2019 American heist thriller film directed by Mark Steven Johnson and written by Ken Hixon and Keith Sharon. The film stars Travis Fimmel, Rachael Taylor, Forest Whitaker, and William Fichtner, telling the story of a gang planning to steal millions of dollars from President Nixon‘s illegal political slush fund. The film is based on the United California Bank robbery. (wiki)

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1017 – Please Stand By (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Oakland, California > Los AngelesPlease 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 Fanning, Toni Collette, Alice Eve, River Alexander, and Patton Oswalt.

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0999 – The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

timespace coordinates: late 1990s / 1937 / 2024 Los Angeles

The Thirteenth Floor is a 1999 neo-noir science fiction crime thriller film written and directed by Josef Rusnak, and produced by Roland Emmerich. It is loosely based upon Simulacron-3 (1964), a novel by Daniel F. Galouye (one of the first literary descriptions of virtual reality), and a remake of the German film World on a Wire (1973). The film stars Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Dennis Haysbert. (wiki)

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0998 – Se7en (1995)

timespace coordinates: 1990’s Los Angeles, California

Seven (stylized as SE7EN) is a 1995 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, and Kevin Spacey. It tells the story of David Mills (Pitt), a detective who partners with the retiring William Somerset (Freeman) to track down a serial killer (Spacey) who uses the seven deadly sins as a motif in his murders. (wiki)

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0993 – Repo Man (1984)

timespace coordinates: 1980s los angeles california

Repo Man is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film written and directed by Alex Cox. It stars Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez.

The plot concerns a young punk rock enthusiast (Estevez) in Los Angeles who finds himself partnered with a jaded repossession agent (Stanton) and subsequently caught up in the pursuit for a mysterious car that might be connected to extraterrestrials. The soundtrack is noted as a snapshot of the early-’80s Los Angeles hardcore punk scene. 

Repo Man received widespread acclaim, and was considered one of the best films of 1984. It has achieved cult status. (wiki)

imdb / sequels

0978 – Don’t Come Back from the Moon (2017)

timespace coordinates: – – Southern California’s Salton Sea community

“An indie with one foot in the netting of social realism and another in the terrain of desolation fables, “Don’t Come Back From The Moon” offers up a tale of mass disappearance born of economic hardship: fathers in a depressed small town leaving their wives and children like something out of a Greek tragedy or a post-apocalyptic story. Or, as one could readily imagine, out of headlines from America’s rapidly dying, labor-driven towns.” (read review)

Don’t Come Back from the Moon is a 2017 American drama film featuring James Franco and Rashida Jones. It is based on Dean Bakopoulos‘ 2005 novel of the same name.

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