579 – Dayu haitang / Big Fish & Begonia (2016)

“In ancient history there was a tree called Ta-khun, whose spring (Chun) was 8000 years, and its autumn (Qiu) the same.”

Big Fish & Begonia (original title: Da Yu Hai Tang), is a 2016 Chinese animated epic fantasy film written, produced and directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun.

The story was inspired by a myth from the ancient Chinese Taoist classic Zhuangzi. The film also integrates many stories from other Chinese classics such as Classic of Mountains and Seas and In Search of the Supernatural.

imdb

0553 – Warcraft (2016)

coordinates: Draenor // Azeroth

Warcraft (alternatively known as Warcraft: The Beginning) is a 2016 American action fantasy film directed by Duncan Jones and written by Charles Leavitt and Jones. It is based on the video game series of the same name. The film stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Clancy Brown and Daniel Wu. The film portrays the initial encounters between the humans and the orcs and takes place in a variety of locations established in the video game series.

Duncan Jones said that the Warcraft universe is very “High Fantasy” and planned to make it feel more grounded in reality though at the same time keep the look and feel of the games in the film. Chris Metzen, the lead story writer at Blizzard Entertainment and the voice of many key characters in the Warcraft series, is also in charge of the story of the film.

imdb   //   Sequel

541 – Zeno Clash (2009 video game)

Zeno Clash is a first-person fighting video game with elements of a first-person shooter set in a punk fantasy world. The game is played from a first person perspective and the combat is generally up close and brutal.  It is the debut game of developer ACE Team and uses the Source engine.  The developers stated that they have drawn a lot of inspiration from traditional fighting games—this includes “versus screens” sliding in before combat is initiated. Regarding the art style, they cited Hieronymus Bosch‘s paintings and John Blanche‘s “punk fantasy” illustrations as visual inspirations.

Experience a deep storyline set in a fantastic world. Play the role of Ghat, a man banished by his own brothers and forced to begin a desperate journey past the forbidden desert and to the end of the world.   Critics praised its strange yet robust setting and unique character designs. It was a finalist for Excellence in Visual Art at the 2009 Independent Games Festival, was named 2009’s Independent Game of the Year by PC Gamer, and PC Game of the Month by IGN in April 2009.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (minimum):  Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP / Vista / Vista64  // Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 3.0 GHz  //  Memory: 1 GB RAM  //  Hard Disk Space: At least 3 GB of free space  //  Video Card: 128 MB, Shader model 2.0, ATI 9600, NVidia 6600 or better  //  Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c compatible sound card  //  DirectX® Version:  DirectX® 9.0c, DirectX® 10

Zeno Clash Walkthrough HD

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22200/Zeno_Clash/

0540 – Naked Lunch (1991)

spacetime coordinates: 1951 – ’53 New York City –  Interzone, a city somewhere in North Africa

Naked Lunch is a 1991 science fiction drama film co-written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Roy Scheider. It is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs‘ 1959 novel of the same name, and an international co-production of Canada, Britain and Japan.

The screenplay for Naked Lunch is based not only on Burroughs’ novel, but also on other fiction by him, and autobiographical accounts of his life. It can be seen as a metatextual adaptation, in that it depicts the writing of the novel itself. Several characters are loosely based on people that Burroughs knew: Hank and Martin are based on Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg (who assisted Burroughs in compiling the original novel), and Tom and Joan Frost on Paul and Jane Bowles whom Burroughs befriended in Tangier, Morocco.

The shooting of Joan Lee is based on the 1951 death of Joan Vollmer, Burroughs’ common-law wife.  Burroughs shot and killed Vollmer in a drunken game of “William Tell” at a party in Mexico City. He would later flee to the United States. Burroughs was convicted in absentia of homicide and sentenced to two years, which were suspended. Burroughs stated in the introduction to his book Queer that Joan’s death was the starting point of his literary career, saying: “I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s death”. (wiki)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102511/

512 – Dishonored (2012 video game)

 spacetime coordinates: industrial city of Dunwall  modeled on London and Edinburgh between the late 1800s and the early 1900s

Dishonored is a 2012 stealth action-adventure video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, Dishonored follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress of the Isles. He is framed for her murder and forced to become an assassin, seeking revenge on those who conspired against him. Corvo is aided in his quest by the Loyalists—a resistance group fighting to reclaim Dunwall, and the Outsider—a powerful being who imbues Corvo with magical abilities. Several noted actors including Susan Sarandon, Brad Dourif, Carrie Fisher, Michael Madsen, Lena Headey and Chloë Grace Moretz provided voice work for the game.

The game is played from a first-person perspective and allows the player to undertake a series of assassination missions in a variety of ways, with an emphasis on player choice. Missions can be completed through stealth, combat, or a combination of both. Exploring each level opens new paths and alternatives for accomplishing mission goals, and it is possible to complete all missions, eliminating all of Corvo’s targets, in a non-lethal manner. The story and missions are changed in response to the player’s violent actions or lack thereof. Magical abilities and equipment are designed to be combined to create new and varied effects.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows Vista / Windows 7 // Processor: 3.0 GHz dual core or better // Memory: 3 GB system RAM // Hard Disk Space: 9 GB // Video Card: DirectX 9 compatible with 512 MB video RAM or better (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / ATI Radeon HD 5850) // Sound: Windows compatible sound card

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steam   wiki

“Dishonored”, HD walkthrough (Very Hard+Shadow+Ghost+All collectables)

0478 – Shutter Island (2010)

spacetime coordinates: 1954  Shutter Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts

Shutter Island is a 2010 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Laeta Kalogridis, based on Dennis Lehane‘s 2003 novel of the same name. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels who is investigating a psychiatric facility on Shutter Island after one of the patients goes missing.

Shutter Island is a period piece with nods to different films in the film noir and horror genres, paying particular homage to Alfred Hitchcock‘s works. Scorsese stated in an interview that the main reference to Teddy Daniels was Dana Andrews‘ character in Laura, and that he was also influenced by several very low-budget 1940s zombie movies made by Val Lewton. The main frame of the plot resembles that of William Peter Blatty‘s The Ninth Configuration, as well as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. La Croix noted that Shutter Island was a “complex and puzzling” work which borrowed from genres as diverse as detective, fantasy, and the psychological thriller.

wiki   imdb

0471 – Coraline (2009)

spacetime coordinates: 2000’s Ashland, Oregon

Coraline is a 2009 American 3D stop-motion dark fantasy horror film based on Neil Gaiman‘s 2002 novel of the same name. It was the first feature film produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features. The film depicts an adventurous girl finding an idealized parallel world behind a secret door in her new home, unaware that the alternate world contains a dark and sinister secret. Written and directed by Henry Selick, the film was made with Gaiman’s approval and co-operation.

Coraline was staged in a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m²) warehouse in Hillsboro, Oregon. The stage was divided into 50 lots, which played host to nearly 150 sets. Among the sets were three miniature Victorian mansions, a 42-foot (12.8 m) apple orchard, and a model of Ashland, Oregon, including tiny details such as banners for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. More than 28 animators worked at a time on rehearsing or shooting scenes, producing 90–100 seconds of finished animation each week. To add the stereoscopy for the 3D release, the animators shot each frame from two slightly apart camera positions.

Every object on screen was made for the film. The crew used three 3D printing systems from Objet in the development and production of the film. Thousands of high-quality 3D models, ranging from facial expressions to doorknobs, were printed in 3D using the Polyjet matrix systems, which enable the fast transformation of CAD (computer-aided design) drawings into high-quality 3D models. The puppets had separate parts for the upper and lower parts of the head that could be exchanged for different facial expressions. The characters of Coraline could potentially exhibit over 208,000 facial expressions. Computer artists composited separately-shot elements together, or added elements of their own which had to look handcrafted instead of computer-generated – for instance, the flames were done with traditional animation and painted digitally, and the fog was dry ice.

At its peak, the film involved the efforts of 450 people, including from 30  to 35 animators and digital designers in the Digital Design Group (DDG) directed by Dan Casey and more than 250 technicians and designers. One crew member, Althea Crome, was hired specifically to knit miniature sweaters and other clothing for the puppet characters, sometimes using knitting needles as thin as human hair. The clothes would also simulate wear using paint and a file. Several students from The Art Institute of Portland were also involved in making the film.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coraline_(film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/

http://www.coraline.com/