1308 – The Painted Veil (2006)

timespace coordinates: 1920s London >  Shanghai >  small village in a remote area of China (Huangyao Ancient Town (黄姚古镇, huángyáo gǔzhèn) in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)The Painted Veil is a 2006 American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones, Lü Yan, Anthony Wong Chau Sang and Liev Schreiber appear in the leading roles.

This is the third film adaptation of the Maugham book, following a 1934 film starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall and a 1957 version called The Seventh Sin with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker. (wiki)

imdb

1307 – The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2013)

timespace coordinates: the Galapagos island of Floreana 1929 – 1935

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden is a 2013 feature-length documentary directed by  Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine. It is about a series of unsolved disappearances on the Galapagos island of Floreana in the 1930s among the largely European expatriate residents at the time. The voice cast includes Cate Blanchett, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Kretschmann, Diane Kruger, Connie Nielsen, Josh Radnor and Gustaf Skarsgård.

Dore Strauch and Friedrich Ritter holding tools in their garden at Friedo. Floreana Island, Galapagos. Circa 1932

Heinz Wittmer holding baby Rolf and standing beside his son Harry and wife Margret with their dog Lump. In front of their first real house on Floreana Island

It features the 1934 silent film The Empress of Floreana in its entirety, but the four-minute short is split into halves. (wiki)

imdb

1306 – Midsommar (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2018 midsummer celebration at  the Hårga commune, Hälsingland, Sweden

(DISTURBING CONTENT)

Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film written and directed by Ari Aster and starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Will Poulter. It follows a group of friends who travel to Sweden for a festival that occurs once every ninety years and find themselves in the clutches of a pagan cult. A co-production between the United States, Sweden and Hungary, Midsommar is scheduled to be released on Digital HD (on Apple TV) on September 24, 2019 and on DVD and Blu-ray on October 8, 2019. (wiki)

According to Ari Aster, this was meant to be his first horror movie since Hereditary (2018) was intended to just be a family drama.

imdb   /   The Wicker Man (1973)

1300 – The Last Days on Mars (2013)

timespace coordinates: 2040’s – Aurora Mars Mission 2.

The Last Days on Mars is a 2013 science fiction-horror film directed by Ruairí Robinson with a screenplay by Clive Dawson, based on the short story “The Animators” by Sydney J. Bounds. Scored by Max Richter.

It stars Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai, Goran Kostić, Johnny Harris, Tom Cullen, Yusra Warsama, and Olivia Williams.  It is an international co-production between Ireland and the UK. (wiki)

imdb

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brexit

1289 – Akira (1988)

timespace coordinates: AD 2019 Neo-Tokyo (31 years after ww3)

Akira (Japanese: アキラ Hepburn: Akira) is a 1988 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic cyberpunk film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name. The film had a production budget of ¥1.1 billion ($9 million), making it the most expensive anime film of its time.

Set in a dystopian 2019, Akira tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, a leader of a local biker gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident, eventually threatening an entire military complex amidst chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the manga, the plot differs considerably, and does not include much of the last half of the manga. The soundtrack, which draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan as well as Japanese noh music, was composed by Shōji Yamashiro and performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi.

Akira premiered in Japan on July 16, 1988 by Toho, but was initially unable to recoup its budget. It was released the following year in the United States by pioneering animation distributor Streamline Pictures. It garnered an international cult following after various theatrical and VHS releases, eventually earning over $80 million worldwide from home video sales. It is widely regarded by critics as one of the greatest animated and science fiction films ever made, as well as a landmark in Japanese animation. It is also a landmark film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre, as well as adult animation. The film had a significant impact on popular culture worldwide, paving the way for the growth of anime and Japanese popular culture in the Western world as well as influencing numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games. (wiki)

imdb   /  live-action adaptation

1285 – Source Code (2011)

timespace coordinates: 2010, Metra commuter train headed to Chicago

Source Code is a 2011 action/ mystery & suspense/ science fiction thriller film directed by Duncan Jones and written by Ben Ripley. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a U.S. Army captain who is sent into a computed reality to find a bomber. Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright play supporting roles. (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1283 – Sphere (1998)

timespace coordinates: the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 1990’s

Sphere is a 1998 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed and produced by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. (wiki)

1000 feet below the ocean, navy divers discover an object half-a-mile long. A crack team of scientists are deployed to the site in Deepsea Habitats. What they find boggles the mind as they discover a perfect metal sphere. What is the secret behind the sphere? (imdb)