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timespace coordinates: 2010’s Tokyo
Shoplifters (Japanese: 万引き家族 Hepburn: Manbiki Kazoku, direct translation Shoplifting Family) is a 2018 Japanese drama film directed, written and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Starring Lily Franky and Sakura Ando, it is about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty.
Kore-eda wrote the screenplay contemplating what makes a family, and inspired by reports on poverty and shoplifting in Japan. (wiki)
Clara is a Canadian romantic science fiction film, directed by Akash Sherman and released in 2018. CLARA tells the story of Isaac Bruno (Patrick J. Adams), an astronomer consumed by the search for life beyond Earth. Convinced that the universe is a dark and lonely place, Isaac meets Clara (Troian Bellisario), an artist who shares his fascination for the wonders of space. Their unlikely collaboration leads to a deep connection, and a profound astronomical discovery.
timespace coordinates: 2017 Boston
Surrogates is a 2009 American science fiction mystery film, based on the 2005–2006 comic book series The Surrogates. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, an FBI agent who ventures out into the real world to investigate the murder of surrogates (humanoid remote controlled robots). It also stars Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, Ving Rhames, and James Cromwell.
The film’s main concept centers on the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase remote-controlled humanoid robots through which they interact with society. These fit, attractive, remotely controlled robots ultimately assume their life roles, enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: 1561 – 1587 Scotland / England
Mary Queen of Scots is a 2018 historical drama film directed by Josie Rourke and written by Beau Willimon, based on John Guy‘s biography Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Mary, Queen of Scots and Margot Robbie as her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and chronicles the 1569 conflict between their two countries. Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn, David Tennant, and Guy Pearce also star in supporting roles. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: 1888 – 1890 Arles – Saint-Rémy – Auvers-sur-Oise
At Eternity’s Gate is a 2018 biographical drama film about the final years of painter Vincent van Gogh‘s life. The film is directed by Julian Schnabel, from a screenplay by Schnabel, Louise Kugelberg and Jean-Claude Carrière. It stars Willem Dafoe as van Gogh, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner and Niels Arestrup. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: desert planet – distant future
Pitch Black (titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black on its DVD re-release) is a 2000 American science fiction action horror film co-written and directed by David Twohy. The film stars Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Keith David. Dangerous criminal Richard B. Riddick (Diesel) is being transported to prison in a spacecraft. When the spaceship is damaged by comet debris and makes an emergency crash landing on an empty desert planet, Riddick escapes. However, when predatory alien creatures begin attacking the survivors, Riddick joins forces with the surviving crew and other passengers to develop a plan to escape the planet.Pitch Black was shot on a modest budget of US$23 million. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a sleeper hit, grossing over $53 million worldwide and developing its own cult following, particularly around the antihero Riddick. (wiki)
(Prequel to Pitch Black) Slam City is in the form of an official, confidential prison record detailing Riddick’s arrival and escape from the Ursa Luna Slam city Facility in eleven hours twenty-two minutes. Notably, it shows Riddick undergoing the surgery that gives him “eyeshine” – the ability to see in the dark – and paying for this with a pack of Kool cigarettes as mentioned in Pitch Black. William J. Johns is seen at the end of the movie and is charged with capturing Riddick. (imdb)
timespace coordinates: inside Butcher Bay, a maximum-security prison – facility constructed on a barren planet
(Prequel to Pitch Black)The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is a first-person action and stealth video game developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by Vivendi Universal Games. Released for the Xbox and Windows in 2004, the game is a tie-in prequel to the futuristic science fiction film The Chronicles of Riddick. Actor Vin Diesel—who was involved in the game’s development—reprises his role as that film’s protagonist, Richard B. Riddick.
The game follows Riddick, the anti-hero of the two films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, as he attempts to escape from a maximum-security prison called Butcher Bay. Escape from Butcher Bay‘s designers focused on exploring Riddick’s character in a prison break setting to differentiate the game from the film. The game’s influences include the film Escape from Alcatraz, and video games such as Half-Life and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. (wiki)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a science fiction first-person action video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X. The game is a sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, which was remade and included along with the Assault on Dark Athena campaign. (wiki)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury is a 2004 made-for-DVD adult animated science fiction film. It was directed by the Korean-American Æon Flux animator Peter Chung, and features Vin Diesel reprising his role of Richard B. Riddick. It acts as a bridgepoint between Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. (wiki)
timespace coordinates: 26th century Helion Prime, prison moon Crematoria
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction adventure film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black. It is written and directed by Pitch Black director David Twohy, with Vin Diesel reprising his role as Riddick and now also acting as producer. It is the first and so far only film in the franchise to be given a PG-13 rating.
Despite not doing especially well in theatres, the film has been successful on DVD and has gained a cult following. (wiki)
A new attempt on Lord Marshal Riddick’s life is made on the Necromongers’ ship. It’s time for Riddick to end the years long meandering through space and go back to his roots. (imdb)
Riddick is a 2013 American science fiction thriller film, the third installment in the Riddick film series. Produced by and starring Vin Diesel as the title character.
timespace coordinates: 1945 Kobe, Japan
Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓 Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war film based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for the story’s publisher Shinchosha Publishing. The film stars Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi. The film tells the story of two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of the Second World War.
The Grave of the Fireflies is commonly described as an anti-war film, but this interpretation has been denied by the director. (wiki)
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