0581 – End of Watch (2012)

spacetime coordinates: 2011  South Los Angeles

End of Watch is a 2012 American crime drama film written and directed by David Ayer. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as Brian Taylor and Miguel Zavala, two Los Angeles Police Department officers who work in South Los Angeles. The film focuses on their day-to-day police work, their dealings with a certain group of gang members, their friendship with each other, and their personal relationships.  The film was shot in a combination of found footage style and traditional photography. Most scenes were captured by four cameras simultaneously:  these included a handheld camera operated by Gyllenhaal, cameras clipped to Gyllenhaal and Peña’s vests, and dashboard footage from their patrol car. Some scenes were shot entirely by Gyllenhaal.

Sureños   Bloods

imdb

0564 – Maze Runner (film series)

Maze Runner is an American film series consisting of science-fiction dystopian action adventure films based on The Maze Runner novels by the American author James Dashner. Produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the films star Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Dexter Darden and Patricia Clarkson. Wes Ball directed all three films.

The Maze Runner (2014)

The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by O’Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn he’s been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a large number of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all while establishing a functioning society in what they call the Glade.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

The plot of The Scorch Trials takes place immediately after the previous installment, with Thomas (O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers, who have just escaped from the facilities of the powerful World Catastrophe Killzone Department (W.C.K.D.), which had imprisoned them. On the run in the desert and in ruined cities, they must escape WCKD soldiers and face the perils of the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with dangerous obstacles.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

Young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as “The Flare”.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4500922/

0561 – Naissance des pieuvres / Water Lilies (2007)

spacetime coordinates: 2000’s middle class suburb of Paris

Water Lilies (French: Naissance des Pieuvres; meaning “birth of the octopuses”) is a 2007 French drama film and the debut as a screenwriter and director of Céline Sciamma. The film tracks the sexual awakenings of three 15-year-old female friends in a middle class suburb of Paris over the course of a single summer. Finding privacy in the solitude of the swimming pool locker room, blossoming teens Marie (Pauline Acquart), Anne (Louise Blachère) and Floriane (Adèle Haenel) come to learn the true meaning of arousal and the power of sexual attraction.

imdb

557 – Gangs of New York (2002)

spacetime coordinates: 1846 – 1862  New York City

Gangs of New York is a 2002 American epic period drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was inspired by Herbert Asbury‘s 1928 non-fiction book, The Gangs of New York.

The film is set in 1863 and follows gang leader William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) in his roles as crime boss and political kingmaker under the helm of “Boss” Tweed (Jim Broadbent). The film culminates in a violent confrontation between Cutting and his mob with the protagonist Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his allies, which prefaces the real-life New York Draft Riots of 1863.

historical accuracy   imdb 

10th Anniversary Trailer

 

551 – John Carter (2012)

spacetime coordinates: 1868 > 1881  Arizona Territory / dying planet of Barsoom – Red Martian city of Helium, predator Walking City of Zodanga

John Carter is a 2012 American science fiction action film directed by Andrew Stanton from a screenplay written by Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon.

The film is largely based on A Princess of Mars (1917), the first in a series of 11 novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs to feature the interplanetary hero John Carter (and in later volumes the adventures of his children with Dejah Thoris). The story was originally serialized in six monthly installments (from February through to July 1912) in the pulp magazine The All-Story; those chapters, originally titled “Under the Moons of Mars,” were then collected in hardcover five years later from publisher A. C. McClurg.

kinopoisk.ru

John Carter stars Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, and Willem Dafoe. The film chronicles the first interplanetary adventure of John Carter and his attempts to mediate civil unrest amongst the warring kingdoms of Barsoom.

Image converted using ImgCvt

Conceptual Art of the moving City of Zodanga

“JOHN CARTER” In Burroughs’ books, massive airships sail on rays of light on Mars. ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

“JOHN CARTER” Airship ©2011 Disney. JOHN CARTER™ ERB, Inc.

“JOHN CARTER” ©2011 Disney. JOHN CARTER™ ERB, Inc.

Several developments on a theatrical film adaptation of the Barsoom series emerged throughout the 20th century from various major studios and producers, with the earliest attempt dating back to the 1930s. Most of these efforts, however, ultimately stalled in development hell. In the late-2000s, Walt Disney Pictures began a concerted effort to develop a film adaptation of Burroughs’ works, after a previously-abandoned venture by the studio in the 1980s. The project was driven by Stanton, who had pressed Disney to renew the screen rights from the Burroughs estate. Stanton became director in 2009; this was his live-action debut, as his previous directorial work for Disney included the Pixar animated films, Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008).

Due to the film’s poor box office performance, Disney cancelled any plans for a sequel (titled John Carter: The Gods of Mars) and trilogy Stanton had planned.

Cancelled sequel   

concept art   imdb

541 – Zeno Clash (2009 video game)

Zeno Clash is a first-person fighting video game with elements of a first-person shooter set in a punk fantasy world. The game is played from a first person perspective and the combat is generally up close and brutal.  It is the debut game of developer ACE Team and uses the Source engine.  The developers stated that they have drawn a lot of inspiration from traditional fighting games—this includes “versus screens” sliding in before combat is initiated. Regarding the art style, they cited Hieronymus Bosch‘s paintings and John Blanche‘s “punk fantasy” illustrations as visual inspirations.

Experience a deep storyline set in a fantastic world. Play the role of Ghat, a man banished by his own brothers and forced to begin a desperate journey past the forbidden desert and to the end of the world.   Critics praised its strange yet robust setting and unique character designs. It was a finalist for Excellence in Visual Art at the 2009 Independent Games Festival, was named 2009’s Independent Game of the Year by PC Gamer, and PC Game of the Month by IGN in April 2009.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (minimum):  Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP / Vista / Vista64  // Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 3.0 GHz  //  Memory: 1 GB RAM  //  Hard Disk Space: At least 3 GB of free space  //  Video Card: 128 MB, Shader model 2.0, ATI 9600, NVidia 6600 or better  //  Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c compatible sound card  //  DirectX® Version:  DirectX® 9.0c, DirectX® 10

Zeno Clash Walkthrough HD

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22200/Zeno_Clash/

0522 – City of Ember (2008)

spacetime coordinates:  underground city Ember 241 years after an apocalyptic war

City of Ember is a 2008 American science fiction film based on the 2003 novel The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. It was  directed by Gil Kenan,written by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, and Tim Robbins.

“City of Ember belongs to one of the best and most enduring genres of children’s films, in which smart kids stand up against the ignorant and aloof adult world and have a big adventure in the process. It also throws in a fantastical city, replete with whiz-bang inventions and secret societies. (…) Ember itself is fascinating, an intricately detailed set that, like Diagon Alley or the Star Wars cantina, you’d like to take a few hours to wander around in.” Katey Rich   //   Irv Slifkin for Video Business wrote, “this lavishly designed adventure saga from director Gil Kenan… plays like Terry Gilliam‘s Brazil — for beginners”.    //    TV Guide  “A fun and moving family film with a subtly dark feel rarely seen in kids’ movies since the ’80s, City of Ember succeeds despite its shortcomings, not only because of its fun and inspiring story, but because most of its flaws are things kids won’t notice anyway… [T]he story spins into a classic fable; the ignorance that seemed so blissful shows it’s just one half of a coin, where the other side holds apathy and hopelessness. The moral might well be lost on kids, but for adults, it’s compelling — all the more so because we like the good people of this dying city”.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970411/