movies, series

1175 – Chernobyl (miniseries 2019)

timespace coordinates: 1986 – 1987 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic / Soviet Union

(DISTURBING CONTENT)

tumblr_prj0rhfn3h1rkkyz2o1_1280Chernobyl is a historical drama television miniseries created and written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck (Stakka Bo). The series a co-production of HBO and Sky UK depicting the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986 and the unprecedented cleanup efforts that followed. It features an ensemble cast led by Jared HarrisStellan SkarsgårdEmily Watson, and Paul Ritter. The miniseries is based in large part on the recollections of Pripyat locals, as told by Belarusian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich in her book Voices from Chernobyl. (wiki)

historical accuracy

imdb

movies, music

1172 – Knowing (2009)

timespace coordinates: Boston-area, 2009

Knowing (stylized as KNOW1NG) is a 2009 science fiction thriller film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. (wiki)

knowing_2009_2305_posterM.I.T. professor John Koestler links a mysterious list of numbers from a time capsule to past and future disasters and sets out to prevent the ultimate catastrophe. (imdb)


(The video below may give away important plot points)

Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony Major, 2nd Movement – Knowing HD

animation, movies, quotes, series, Uncategorized

1168 – Starship Troopers

timespace coordinates: the 23rd century,  Buenos Aires / Terran Federation > Klendathu, the “Bugs’” home planet / Planet “P”/ remote outpost on a planet inhabited by Arachnids / agricultural planet Roku San / classified planet OM-1 /

Starship Troopers (1997)

MV5BNWExNzg3MmMtYjc3MS00MzFlLWJiOWQtNWYxZTgxNjhlZTQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzkwMjQ5NzM@._V1_Starship Troopers is a 1997 American satirical military science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier. It originally came from an unrelated script called Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine, but eventually licensed the name Starship Troopers from a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit. Rico’s military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an insectoid species known as “Arachnids”.

(Relationship to novel) Because the film originated from an unrelated script, with names and superficial details from the novel being added retroactively, there are many differences between the two. While the novel has been accused of promoting militarism, fascism, and military rule, the film satirizes these concepts by featuring bombastic displays of nationalism as well as news reports that are intensely fascisticxenophobic, and propagandistic.  Verhoeven stated in 1997 that the first scene of the film—an advertisement for the Mobile Infantry—was adapted shot-for-shot from a scene in Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), specifically an outdoor rally for the Reichsarbeitsdienst. Other references to Nazism in the movie include the Wehrmacht-inspired uniforms and insignia of field grade officers, M.I. working uniforms reminiscent of Mussolini’s BlackshirtsAlbert Speer‘s style of architecture, and its propagandistic dialogue (“Violence is the supreme authority!”). 

In a 2014 interview on The Adam Carolla Show, the actor Michael Ironside, who read the novel as a youth, said that he asked Verhoeven, who grew up in Nazi-occupied Netherlands, “Why are you doing a right-wing fascist movie?” Verhoeven replied, “If I tell the world that a right-wing, fascist way of doing things doesn’t work, no one will listen to me. So I’m going to make a perfect fascist world: everyone is beautiful, everything is shiny, everything has big guns and fancy ships, but it’s only good for killing fucking Bugs!” 

(Themes) … In his DVD commentary, Verhoeven stated his intentions clearly: the film’s message is that “War makes fascists of us all”. He evoked Nazi Germany’s fashion, iconography, and propaganda because he saw it as a natural evolution of the United States after World War II, and especially after the Korean War. “I’ve heard this film nicknamed All Quiet on the Final Frontier“, he said, “which is actually not far from the truth.” Edward Neumeier (who had previously worked with Verhoeven on RoboCop) broadly concurs, although he sees a satire on human history rather than solely the United States. Verhoeven says his satirical use of irony and hyperbole is “playing with fascism or fascist imagery to point out certain aspects of American society… of course, the movie is about ‘Let’s all go to war and let’s all die.'” (wiki)

imdb


Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)

MV5BOWNiNzRlOWMtNzY2Yi00M2MzLWE0MGEtYzM0NmZhODk3NjUyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDc2NjEyMw@@._V1_Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is a 2004 military science-fiction action television film directed by Phil Tippett and starring Richard BurgiLawrence Monoson, and Colleen Porch. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and the second installment of the Starship Troopers film series. (wiki)

Made for 5% of the cost of Starship Troopers (1997). (imdb)


Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)

1146
01:33:47,715 –> 01:33:51,617
I got religion, Dix. I got it bad.

starship_troopers_3_marauder-813828742-largeStarship Troopers 3: Marauder is a 2008 American military science fiction film written and directed by Edward Neumeier and starring Casper Van Dien who returned as Johnny Rico from the original film, along with Jolene Blalock and Boris Kodjoe. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) (which were both written by Neumeier) and the third installment of the Starship Troopers film series. The film was released directly to DVD in the U.S. on August 5, 2008. (wiki)

starship-troopers-3-marauder_075730Joe Leydon of Variety stated:

“Die-hard fans of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven’s notorious 1997 cult-fave sci-fi spectacle, will be pleased to note that its second made-for-vid sequel gamely attempts to replicate the original pic’s over-the-top style and self-satirical tone. (…) the latest episode reprises Verhoeven’s love-it-or-hate-it mix of gruesome mayhem, overstated melodrama, peek-a-boo nudity and tongue-in-cheek fascist aesthetics.”

imdb



Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)

Starship Troopers: Invasion –imdb– (スターシップ・トゥルーパーズ インベイジョン) is a Japanese-American 2012 computer-animated military science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth installment of the Starship Troopers film series.

The film was followed by


Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) 

imdb


Starship Troopers (video game) 

Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy 


Future

movies

1167 – Equilibrium (2002)

timespace coordinates: 2072, Libria, a totalitarian city-state, was established by the survivors of World War III / the “Nether” – regions outside the city

MV5BMDBlMjI3ZTktN2E1Zi00ZDc3LWI1YTAtN2UyN2NiODViNGYzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODIyOTEyMzY@._V1_Equilibrium is a 2002 American dystopian science fiction action film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, and starring Christian BaleEmily Watson, and Taye Diggs.

The film follows John Preston (Bale), an enforcement officer in a future in which both feelings and artistic expression are outlawed and citizens take daily injections of drugs to suppress their emotions. After accidentally missing a dose, Preston begins to experience emotions, which makes him question his own morality and moderate his actions while attempting to remain undetected by the suspicious society in which he lives. Ultimately, he aids a resistance movement using advanced martial arts (gun kata), which he was taught by the regime he is helping to overthrow. (wiki)

imdb

documentary, Uncategorized

1162 – Abendland (2011)

timespace coordinates: Europe at night (2008 – 2010)

Abendland is a 2011 observational documentary film by Nikolaus Geyrhalter. The documentary, which has only scenes at night, explores European obsession with technology and security. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called Abendland a “visually precise and politically amorphous” portrait of an imagined community: “The overall impression is a vision of Europe as a mosaic, as an artful amalgam of perfectly framed, seemingly disconnected moments during a long shared night, give or take a time zone change or two.” (wiki)

ABENDLAND Trailer


imdb   /   review

animation, movies, series, Uncategorized

1161 – Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

timespace coordinates: the Pokémon universe,  Ryme City – a metropolis where humans and Pokémon live together as equals

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a 2019 urban fantasy mystery film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the Pokémon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu, it was written by Letterman, Dan HernandezBenji Samit and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman. The film was produced by Legendary Pictures in association with Toho. It is the first live-action Pokemon film. Ryan Reynolds stars as the voice and facial motion capture of Pikachu, with Justice SmithKathryn NewtonSuki WaterhouseOmar ChaparroChris GeereKen Watanabe and Bill Nighy in live-action roles. (wiki)

imdb


The Pokémon universe is a fictional continuity construct that exists within the Pokémon media franchise, including stories and fictional works produced by The Pokémon CompanyNintendoGame Freak and Creatures, Inc. The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the fictional works and the general nonfictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a child.  Players of the video games are designated as Pokémon Trainers, and the two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer: the Pokémon Master. These themes of collecting, training, and battling are present in almost every version of the Pokémon franchise, including the video game series, the anime series, the manga series, the film series, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. (wiki)

movies, music

1160 – Miracle Mile (1988)

timespace coordinates: 1980’s LA (Johnie’s Coffee ShopLa Brea Tar PitsMiracle Mile DistrictPan-Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District)

Miracle Mile is a 1988 American apocalyptic thriller film written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt, and starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. The film takes place mostly in real time. It is named after the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, where most of the action takes place. (wiki)

(trivia) The real life Johnie’s Coffee Shop, actually located on the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, ceased functioning as a real restaurant in the late 1990s. However, the building was never demolished, continued to be used from many other films and was designated a historical landmark in 2013. It is now rented primarily for film and television productions as well as for pop-up shops and similar temporary functions. The building again gained notoriety in 2016 as a campaign headquarter for US presidential candiante Bernie Sanders.

imdb