1151 – Captive State (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2019 / 2028 Chicago

Captive State is a 2019 American science fiction thriller film directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Machine Gun Kelly, and Vera Farmiga, and follows a young man who participates in a conspiracy to rebel against an alien race that has invaded Earth, and enforced strict martial law on all humans. (wiki)

imdb

---

Chicago is the real star of the surprisingly powerful Captive State  – For those of us who love the city, more than just the plot is familiar in this sly takedown of gentrification and authoritarianism.  review by Dmitry Samarov

---

(Trivia) In one of the early shots of the Chicago skyline the Ryugyong Hotel was added. The Ryugyong Hotel isn’t in Chicago, it’s in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was started in 1987 and still sits unfinished. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest unused building.

1111 – Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

timespace coordinates: 1990’s decommissioned church converted into a boarding house on a desert road in New Mexico

Tales from the Crypt presents Demon Knight is a 1995 American religious horror comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson based on Tales from the Crypt, an American horror anthology television series that ran from June 10, 1989 to July 19, 1996, / based on the 1950s EC Comics series of the same name, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler and Jada Pinkett. Brenda Bakke, C. C. H. Pounder, Dick Miller and Thomas Haden Church co-star.

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)

---

Controversies   /  Cancelled sequels 

imdb   /   His Dark Materials (TV Series 2019– )

---

1754 – La Belle Sauvage (2017 novel)

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

---

955 – The 13th Warrior (1999)

timespace coordinates: 922 A.D Kievan Rus’ > Scandinavia

The 13th Warrior is a 1999 American historical fiction action film based on Michael Crichton‘s novel Eaters of the Dead, which is a loose retelling of the tale of Beowulf combined with Ahmad ibn Fadlan‘s historical account of the Volga Vikings. It stars Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, as well as Diane Venora and Omar Sharif. It was directed by John McTiernan. Crichton directed some reshoots uncredited. (wiki)

“Atmospheric, great sets and costumes, but thin plot.” (rt)

imdb

---

Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North

951 – R.I.P.D. (2013)

timespace coordinates: early 2010’s Boston

R.I.P.D. is a 2013 American fantasy buddy cop action comedy film starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. Robert Schwentke directed the film based on a screenplay adapted from the comic book Rest in Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov. The film also stars Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stéphanie Szostak, and Marisa Miller.

This movie has been compared to Men in Black (1997), in that they both deal with secret government agencies contending with otherworldly beings. Jeff Bridges is playing the same kind of character that his good friend Tommy Lee Jones played in the Men In Black trilogy.

imdb

0928 – Land of the Lost (2009)

Land of the Lost is a 2009 American adventure comedy film directed by Brad Silberling, written by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, loosely based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft television series of the same name.

The film serves as a parody of the original TV series. While the original Saturday morning show targeted a child audience, the film was designed for a more adult audience and includes risque humor, sex and a drug reference, among other adult-oriented items.

imdb

0699 – The Lone Ranger (2013)

timespace coordinates: 1933  San Francisco / 1869  Texas

The Lone Ranger is a 2013 American western action comedy directed by Gore Verbinski from a screenplay written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio. Based on the radio series of the same name, the film stars Johnny Depp as Tonto, the narrator of the events, and Armie Hammer as John Reid, the Lone Ranger. It relates Tonto’s memories of the duo’s earliest efforts to subdue local villainy and bring justice to the American Old West.  It is the first theatrical film featuring the Lone Ranger and Tonto characters in the more than 32 years following William A. Fraker‘s 1981 film, The Legend of the Lone Ranger.

Johnny Depp’s make-up and costume were inspired by artist Kirby Sattler’s painting “I am Crow.”

The film was originally supposed to have a plot focusing more on supernatural elements and Native American mysticism. This mainly would’ve taken the form of werewolves, which would’ve explained the silver bullets. However, this draft was supposedly part of the initial 250 million dollar proposal that Disney quickly cancelled after John Carter (2012) underperformed. When the project was revamped to meet Disney’s approval, it came more in line with the current script. (read more: Trivia)

---

“nature is indeed out of balance”

imdb    Comanche   /   wendigo