animation

1357 – Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)

timespace coordinates: Victorian era Gotham City

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is a 2018 American animated steampunk superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, featuring an alternate version of the DC Comics character Batman. It is the thirtieth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series. It is directed and produced by Sam Liu and written by James Krieg, loosely based on the one-shot graphic novel of the same name by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola. (wiki)

batman-gotham-by-gaslight-000Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, originally published in 1989, is considered to be DC Comics’ first Elseworlds story. “In ELSEWORLDS, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places–some that have existed, and others that can’t, couldn’t or shouldn’t exist.” – DC editorial copy.

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movies

1350 – The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

The Art of Self-Defense is a 2019 black comedy thriller film written and directed by Riley Stearns. It stars Jesse EisenbergAlessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots. (wiki)

After he’s attacked on the street at night by a roving motorcycle gang, timid bookkeeper Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) joins a neighborhood karate studio to learn how to protect himself. Under the watchful eye of a charismatic instructor, Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), and hardcore brown belt Anna (Imogen Poots), Casey gains a newfound sense of confidence for the first time in his life. But when he attends Sensei’s mysterious night classes, he discovers a sinister world of fraternity, brutality and hyper-masculinity, presenting a journey that places him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor. Audacious and offbeat, The Art of Self-Defense is an original dark comedy that takes toxic masculinity to absurd extremes. (rottentomatoes)

movies

1335 – Extra Ordinary (2019)

timespace coordinates: 90’s (?) rural Ireland

Extra Ordinary is a 2019 Irish tea-cosy “Ghostbusters” horror comedy film written and directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. The film stars Maeve HigginsBarry WardWill ForteClaudia O’Doherty, Jamie Beamish, Terri Chandler, Risteárd Cooper and Emma Coleman. (wiki)

A horror/rom-com hybrid that somehow manages to blend its ingredients without losing their flavor, Extra Ordinary more than lives up to its title. (rottentomatoes)

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movies

1331 – Sightseers (2012)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s caravaning tour Derbyshire > North Yorkshire, England

sightseers_ver7_xlgSightseers is a 2012 British horror comedy directed by Ben Wheatley and written by and starring Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, with additional material written by co-editor Amy Jump. (wiki)

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movies, Uncategorized

1324 – Strange Days (1995)

timespace coordinates: 1999, turn of the century (near-future) Los Angeles (racial war zone / New Year’s Eve party) 

MV5BODFkMTBmNjktMjM1Yy00MjY5LTliMGEtM2FhYjE2YjRmN2RkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzkwMjQ5NzM@._V1_Strange Days is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, and produced by Cameron and Steven-Charles Jaffe. It stars Ralph FiennesAngela BassettJuliette Lewis, and Tom Sizemore. Set in the last two days of 1999, the film follows the story of a black marketeer of SQUID discs, recordings that allow a user to experience the recorder’s memories and physical sensations, as he attempts to uncover the truth behind the murder of a prostitute.

Blending science fiction with film noir conventions, Strange Days explores themes such as racismabuse of powerrape, and voyeurism. Although the story was conceived by Cameron around 1986, Bigelow found inspiration after incidents such as the Lorena Bobbitt trial and the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict.

Strange Days was a commercial failure and almost derailed Bigelow’s career (…) Nevertheless, the film’s critical standing has improved over the years, with many fans feeling that the film has been overlooked by a casual mass audience and misguided critics.

The scene where the crowd celebrates the turn of the new century at the end of the film was shot at the corner of the 5th and Flower streets, between the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and the Los Angeles Public Library. Over 50 off-duty police officers were hired to control an assembled crowd of 10,000 people, who had to pay $10 in advance to attend the event. The film-makers also hired rave promoters Moss Jacobs and Philip Blaine to produce performances featuring Aphex TwinDeee-Lite, as well as “all the cyber-techno bands they could garner”.

In 2015The Washington Post editor Sonny Bunch felt that Strange Days was still relevant, comparing the imagery captured by the SQUID units to that of first-person shooters or cellphone videos on YouTube. He added that events such as Jeriko One’s murder and the subsequent coverup of the crime contribute to activist movements like Black Lives Matter, and that their media documentation amplifies their reception and consequences. (read more: Themes)

Strange Days_02_0

wiki   /   imdb

movies

1320 – The Collini Case (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1944 – 1968 – 2001 berlin germany / pisa / montecatini tuscany italy

The Collini Case (German: Der Fall Collini) is a 2019 German crime-drama-thriller film loosely based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Ferdinand von Schirach, a legal thriller that deals with Germany’s Nazi past and that was inspired by the author’s own family history. The film is directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner and stars Elyas M’Barek, Alexandra Maria Lara, Heiner Lauterbach, Manfred Zapatka and Franco Nero.

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