1065 – The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Cornwall / London / Wiltshire

The Kid Who Would Be King is a 2019 fantasy adventure film written and directed by Joe Cornish. A British-American venture, the film stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Patrick Stewart. The plot follows a young boy who finds King Arthur‘s legendary sword Excalibur, and must then use it to stop an ancient enchantress from destroying the world.

According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 153 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “The Kid Who Would Be King recalls classic all-ages adventures — and repurposes a timeless legend — for a thoroughly enjoyable new addition to the family movie canon.”

imdb

1062 – Lifeforce (1985)

timespace coordinates: 1986 London / Halley’s Comet 

Lifeforce is a 1985 British science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, written by Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. Based on Colin Wilson‘s 1976 novel The Space Vampires, the film portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being discovered in the hold of an alien space ship by the crew of a European space shuttle.

Horror and comic book writer C. J. Henderson praised the film: “Lifeforce is an incredible film, and may by be the most intelligent vampire movie ever made … [The ideas presented in Lifeforce] are beyond [others vampire movies] beyond all of them, light-years beyond … the story is what makes this movie hum…. Lifeforce is a true, thinking sci-fi fan’s film”. Andrew Migliore and John Strysik in their Lurker in the Lobby explain that Colin Wilson wrote The Space Vampires as a consequence of H.P. Lovecraft‘s publisher August Derleth challenging Wilson (who was critical of Lovecraft’s writing) to write a Lovecraftian novel himself (a challenge that resulted in three such novels, The Mind Parasites, The Space Vampires, and The Philosopher’s Stone), and they continue, “[Lifeforce] is big, splashy, and … the scenes of an apocalyptic London are not to be missed. And the film, an obvious tribute to Nigel Kneale‘s Quatermass, has deep roots in Lovecraft’s mythos”. (wiki)

imdb

1044 – The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

timespace coordinates: ~ 1950’s Wigan,  Greater Manchester, England

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 British-American stop-motion clay animation vegetarian horror film produced by Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation.  It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is part of the Wallace and Gromit series, created by Park. The film follows good-natured eccentric cheese-loving inventor Wallace and Gromit, his intelligent mute dog in their latest venture as pest control agents, as they come to the rescue of a village plagued by rabbits before an annual vegetable competition.

The film features an expanded cast of characters relative to the previous Wallace and Gromit shorts, with a voice cast including Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes. It won a number of film awards including the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1041 – Atonement (2007)

timespace coordinates: 1935 England /  1940  Battle of France –  Dunkirk

Atonement is a 2007 romantic war drama film directed by Joe Wright and based on Ian McEwan‘s 2001 novel of the same name. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Vanessa Redgrave, and chronicles a crime and its consequences over the course of six decades, beginning in the 1930s. (wiki)

imdb

1037

This Green and Pleasant Apocalypse: Graham Oakley’s ‘Henry’s Quest’   (wearethemutants.com)

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Darkness in literature: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

1034 – Frostpunk (2018 city-building / survival game)

timespace coordinates: The game is set in an alternate 1886 where the eruptions of Krakatoa and Mount Tambora, the dimming of the Sun, and other unknown factors caused a worldwide volcanic winter. This in turn led to widespread crop failure and the death of millions. This event roughly lines up with the real world 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, a volcanic event that led to global cooling. In response to this, several installations called “generators” were built by the British authorities in the coal-rich North, designed to be city centers in the event that dropping temperatures force mass migration from the south. In all scenarios, the player is the leader of a city around a generator, and will have to manage resources to ensure the city’s survival. (wiki)

Frostpunk Full Campaign Gameplay 

steam   /    frostpunkgame   /   The Art Of Frostpunk

1025 – Jeanne d’Arc (1999)

timespace coordinates: France 1429 – 1431 (Hundred Years’ War)

Percival, about the Maid of Orleans:
The girl is of appealing beauty and manly bearing; she speaks little and shows remarkable sagacity; when she speaks she has a pleasing, delicately feminine voice. :{…} her tears often overflow; she loves a happy face, endures unheard of toil, and is so assiduous in the manipulation and bearing of weapons that she remains uninterruptedly for six days — day and night — in full armour.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d’Arc) is a 1999 French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin.

http://www.kommunicera.umea.se/hemma/mathias/

The Messenger portrays the story of St. Joan of Arc, the French war heroine and religious martyr of the 15th century. The story begins with young Joan as she witnesses the atrocities of the English against her family, and she is portrayed as having visions that inspire her to lead the French in battle against the occupying English forces. Her success in routing the English allows Charles VII to take the throne. Eventually Joan is captured by the English, tried and executed for heresy.

Luc Besson stated that he was not interested in narrating the history of Joan of Arc; rather, he wanted to pull a message out of history that is relevant for today. (read more: Themes)

Historical accuracy

imdb

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“Regardless of what Joan of Arc said about the appearance of the higher beings in her visions, the occultist who is able to investigate these things knows that it was always the genius of the French nation who stood behind them.” (rs)