2436 – The Ascent / Восхождение (1977)

timespace coodinates: during the Great Patriotic War in a Belarussian village

Director: Larisa Shepitko

Languages: Russian

Cinematography: Pavel Lebeshev, Vladimir Chukhnov

“During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), two Soviet partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) go to a Belarusian village in search of food. After taking a farm animal from the collaborationist headman (Sergei Yakovlev), they head back to their unit, but are spotted by a German patrol. After a protracted gunfight in the snow in which one of the Germans is killed, the two men get away, but Sotnikov is shot in the leg. Rybak has to take him to the nearest shelter, the home of Demchikha (Lyudmila Polyakova), the mother of three young children. However, they are discovered and captured.” (wiki)

“Larisa Shepitko’s emotionally overwhelming final film [completed two years before her untimely death at 41 in a car crash] won the Golden Bear at the 1977 Berlin Film Festival and has been hailed around the world as the finest Soviet film of its decade. Set during World War II’s darkest days, The Ascent follows the path of two peasant soldiers, cut off from their troop, who trudge through the snowy backwoods of Belarus seeking refuge among villagers. Their harrowing trek leads them on a journey of betrayal, heroism, and ultimate transcendence.” —Janus Films

2413 – Halo (TV Series 2022 -)

timespace coordinates: 26th-century war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, a theocratic-military alliance of several alien races determined to eradicate humanity

Halo is an American military science fiction television series produced by Showtime in association with 343 Industries and Amblin Television for Paramount+. Based on the video game franchise of the same name,

Pablo Schreiber and Jen Taylor star as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and Cortana; the latter reprises her voice role from the video game series, Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha, an Insurrectionist teenager from the Outer Colony planet of Madrigal and daughter of Jin Ha and Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, a scientist for the UNSC, the creator of the SPARTAN-II program.

The first season of Halo premiered on March 24, 2022, and ran until May 19. It was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise given for its action scenes, cast, and visual effects but criticism for its derivative writing and alterations from the source material. A second season premiered on February 8, 2024, and ran for eight episodes until March 21. It was met with positive reviews from critics, who declared it to be an improvement over the previous season.(wiki)

imdb

2307 – Battle Los Angeles (2011)

timespace coordinates:  August 2011  Los Angeles /  Santa Monica area / Camp Pendleton

Battle: Los Angeles (also known as Battle: LA, stylised as Battle Los Angeles in the opening sequence and internationally as World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles) is a 2011 American military science-fiction action film directed by Jonathan Liebesman. The story follows a Marine Staff Sergeant played by Aaron Eckhart who leads a platoon of U.S. Marines, joined by other stranded military personnel, defending Los Angeles from alien invasion. The ensemble cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo, and Michael Peña. (wiki)

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“Experts consider the prospects of an actual invasion of Earth by extraterrestrials to be extremely unlikely, due to the enormous cost in time and resources.” (wiki :))

2001 – The Last Duel (2021)

spacetime coordinates: 14th century France (1370 – 1386)

The Last Duel is a 2021 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. Set in medieval France, the film stars Damon as Jean de Carrouges, a knight who challenges his former friend, squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) to a judicial duel after Jean’s wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Jacques of raping her. The events leading up to the duel are divided into three distinct chapters, reflecting the contradictory perspectives of the three main characters. Affleck also stars in a supporting role as Count Pierre d’Alençon.

During an interview on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron in November 2021, Scott blamed the film’s box-office failure on millennials, arguing: “I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these fucking cell phones. The millennian do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone” 🙂 (wiki)

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