1094 – Yellow Submarine (1968)

Yellow Submarine (also known as The Beatles: Yellow Submarine) is a 1968 British animated musical Fantasy film inspired by the music of the Beatles, directed by animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate.

The film received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, in contrast to some of the Beatles’ previous film ventures. Pixar co-founder and former chief creative officer John Lasseter has credited the film with bringing more interest in animation as a serious art form. Time commented that it “turned into a smash hit, delighting adolescents and aesthetes alike”. Half a century after its release, it is still regarded as a landmark of animation. (wiki)

imdb   /   rt

Yellow Submarine US Theatrical Trailer

Yellow Submarine – The Design

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1077 – Gräns / Border (2018)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Sweden

Border (Swedish: Gräns) is a 2018 Swedish fantasy film directed by Ali Abbasi with a screenplay by Abbasi, Isabella Eklöf and John Ajvide Lindqvist based on the short story of the same name by Ajvide Lindqvist from his anthology Let the Old Dreams Die.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes   /   OST   /   Troll

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http://liminal.earth/ (Liminal Cartography)

1071 – Unbreakable (2000 – 2019 film series)

The Unbreakable trilogy, also known as the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, is an American superhero thriller and psychological horror film series. The films were written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The trilogy consists of Unbreakable (2000), Split (2016), and Glass (2019).

All of the films feature the character David Dunn. The series has been noted for its differences to more traditional superhero movies, with Shyamalan’s work referred to as “the first auteur shared superhero universe”. It is the first superhero franchise that is written and directed by one person, in comparison to other popular films in the genre.  Shyamalan has noted that while it is based on comic book superheroes, and refers to comic books, it is not actually derived from comic book material itself. In contrast to most superhero films, the series is also generally grounded in reality, and is seen as a deconstruction of the superhero genre. The series is thus considered to be a unique take on the superhero genre. 

The filmmaker has stated that the films are origin stories, of people with unique gifts, with the intent being to acknowledge that every person has something special about them. Unbreakable has been labeled the first grounded superhero film, while Split has been called the first solo supervillain origin story, and Hollywood’s first stealth sequel. Although the series is slated as a trilogy, Shyamalan mentioned that he would be open to a continuation if the inspiration came to him. (wiki)

imdb:  Unbreakable, Split, Glass

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

1059 – Mutafukaz (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Dark Meat City / New California

Mutafukaz (Japanese: ムタフカズ －MUTAFUKAZ－ Hepburn: Mutafukazu, released as MFKZ in some markets)  is a 2017 adult animated science fiction film based on the comic series of the same name.

The film is a French-Japanese co-production between Ankama Animations and Studio 4°C  and is directed by Shōjirō Nishimi and Guillaume “Run” Renard.

The comic was published in English as Mutafukaz by Titan Comics with only one volume released on October 27, 2015.  Mutafukaz was released in France on May 23, 2018 and in Japan on October 12, 2018. (wiki)

Angelino is just one of thousands of deadbeats living in Dark Meat City. But an otherwise unremarkable scooter accident caused by a beautiful, mysterious stranger is about to transform his life… into a waking nightmare! He starts seeing monstrous forms prowling around all over the city… Is Angelino losing his mind, or could an alien invasion really be happening this quietly…? (imdb)

THE ART OF MUTAFUKAZ – THE MOVIE

1056 – Les mondes engloutis (TV Series 1985–1987)

Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (French: Les Mondes Engloutis, “The Engulfed Worlds”) is a French animated series created by Nina Wolmark. The series consists of 52 episodes, each between 20 and 25 minutes in length, divided into two 26-episode seasons.

The lost city of Arkadia (named for Arcadia) resembles a small Alderson Disk, and is home to an ancient civilization which escaped a Great Cataclysm in the ancient past by relocating deep within the Earth’s crust. Unaware that life continued on the Earth’s surface, and hoping to keep their people safe, the elders sealed all records of their past in the city’s Archives.

Arkadia survives by the light of an artificial sun, the Tehra (Shagma), which is dying. A group of young Arkadian kids and teens defy the law and enter the Archives. With information about the world above, they create a messenger, Arkana, and send her above to find help.

Arkana encounters two children from the surface, Matt and his sister Rebecca, and brings them back through the underground strata (which seem more like separate worlds or dimensions, with one strata even being the distant future) to save Arkadia. They travel in a living turtle type spaceship called Tehrig, along with Spartakus (a mysterious wanderer) and Bic and Bac (a pair of pangolin-like creatures), Arkadia’s mascots. (wiki)

imdb

1024 – The Golden Compass (2007)

timespace coordinates:  parallel universe – Victorian Jordan College in Oxford >  retrofuturistic London > experimental station Bolvanga – far North

The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, and Ian McKellen.

The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a tribe of sea-farers on a trip to the far North, the land of the armoured polar bears, in search of the missing children.

Before its release, the film received criticism from secularist organisations and fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy for the dilution of elements of the story which were critical of religion, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material’s anti-religious themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a “terrible” experience. Although the film’s visual effects won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated.  The film trilogy has not been continued, prompting actor Sam Elliott to blame censorship and the Catholic Church. (wiki)

Video game  The game was released prior to the film and features a slightly different sequence of events towards the end of the story, as well as additional footage at the end of the game not seen in the film. (playthrough)

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Controversies   /  Cancelled sequels 

imdb   /   His Dark Materials (TV Series 2019– )

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1754 – La Belle Sauvage (2017 novel)

1793 – The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust #2 – 2019)

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