Tag: gangsters
1417 – Waste Tide (2013 novel)
For All Tomorrow’s Parties. 全为明日派对。
timespace coordinates: The Waste Tide depicts a dystopian China in the post-2020 era. (2040’s -2050’s) In the Guiyu island, the large electronic recycle industries are in full control of local lineage associations. The laborers who undertake dangerous work for the profit of the Chinese and foreign businessmen who employ them are depicted not as humans, but cyborgs whose bodies and minds have been altered permanently through bio-engineering.
The Waste Tide is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Chen Qiufan.
The story takes place in the imaginary ”Silicon Isle”. The Chinese word ”硅屿” for Silicon Isle shares a similar pronunciation with Guiyu (Chinese: 贵屿) in Mandarin. In the real world, Guiyu is a town in the Shantou prefecture of Guangdong province in China. And it is Shantou where Chen Qiufan was born and grew up before he entered Peking University. Situated on the South China Sea coast, Guiyu got famous in the global environmentalist community for its reception of E-waste. The town held the record for being the largest E-waste site up to 2013. Though some residents got rich by electronic recycling, pollution became serious in the town. Talking about the background of writing the novel, Chen said: ”Choosing my hometown as background to write the story, is related to my thinking of China. To depict the pain of changing China, is just because I desire for she getting better gradually.’ (wiki)
1415 – Uncut Gems (2019)
timespace coordinates: 2012 New York City‘s Diamond District
Uncut Gems is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, (Good Time) who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. The film stars Adam Sandler, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, The Weeknd, and Eric Bogosian.
The plot follows Howard Ratner, a gambling addict in New York City’s Diamond District, who gets in over his head with loansharks and must retrieve an expensive gem he purchased in order to pay off his debts. (wiki)
“That’s a million dollar opal you’re holding. This is old school. Middle-earth shit. “
1398 – Code 8 (2019)
Code 8 is a 2019 crowdfunded Canadian science fiction thriller film directed by Jeff Chan, Based on the 2016 short film of the same name. (wiki)
“Code 8 is an electrifying film featuring ordinary people with powers in a tough world. It’s a gritty and realistic take that’s a nice change of pace in the superhero genre.” John Nguyen / Nerd Reactor
In December 2019, a short-form spinoff series starring Robbie and Stephen Amell, written by Chris Pare, and directed by Jeff Chan was announced in development at Quibi.
1366 – Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)
timespace coordinates: 1930’s – 1950’s France > Belleville (an amalgam of New York City, Montreal and Quebec City
The Triplets of Belleville (French: Les Triplettes de Belleville) is a 2003 animated comedy film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. The film is Chomet’s first feature film and was a France | Belgium | Canada | UK | Latvia | USA co-production.
There is little dialogue; much of the narrative is conveyed through song and pantomime. It tells the story of Madame Souza, an elderly woman who goes on a quest to rescue her grandson Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the French mafia for gambling purposes and taken to the city of Belleville. She is accompanied by Champion’s loyal but obese hound, Bruno, and joined by the Triplets of Belleville, music hall singers from the 1930s, whom she meets in the city.
The film was highly praised by audiences and critics for its unique style of animation. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards—Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Belleville Rendez-vous”. It was also screened out of competition (hors concours) at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. (wiki)
imdb / Art of the Triplets of Belleville / The Triplets of Belleville / Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003) – Background Layouts
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 Eisenberg, Alessandro 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)
1333 -Nyócker! (2004)
timespace coordinates: 2000’s Józsefváros – Budapest, Hungary
The District! (Hungarian: Nyócker!) is a 2004 Hungarian caricaturistic animated film directed by Áron Gauder. Its original title is a shortened colloquial form of nyolcadik kerület, the eighth district of Budapest, also known as Józsefváros, including an infamous neighbourhood where the film takes place. It is sometimes labelled as the Hungarian South Park.
The animated technique for this movie was rather innovative. The artists took 350 headshot pictures of each actor and used these photos for the expressing emotions and the animation of the heads. The bodies were hand drawn.
The film displays the Hungarian, Roma, Chinese and Arab dwellers and their alliances and conflicts in a humorous way, embedded into a fictive story of a few schoolchildren’s oil-making time-travel and a Romeo and Juliet-type love of a Roma guy towards a white girl. (wiki)
TimeSpace Warps 