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)

imdb

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Animal Cannibals – Yozsefváros

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1324 – Strange Days (1995)

timespace coordinates: 1999, turn of the century (near-future) Los Angeles (racial war zone / New Year’s Eve party) 

Strange Days is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, and produced by Cameron and Steven-Charles Jaffe. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, and Tom Sizemore. Set in the last two days of 1999, the film follows the story of a black marketeer of SQUID discs, recordings that allow a user to experience the recorder’s memories and physical sensations, as he attempts to uncover the truth behind the murder of a prostitute.

Blending science fiction with film noir conventions, Strange Days explores themes such as racism, abuse of power, rape, and voyeurism. Although the story was conceived by Cameron around 1986, Bigelow found inspiration after incidents such as the Lorena Bobbitt trial and the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict.

Strange Days was a commercial failure and almost derailed Bigelow’s career (…) Nevertheless, the film’s critical standing has improved over the years, with many fans feeling that the film has been overlooked by a casual mass audience and misguided critics.

The scene where the crowd celebrates the turn of the new century at the end of the film was shot at the corner of the 5th and Flower streets, between the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and the Los Angeles Public Library. Over 50 off-duty police officers were hired to control an assembled crowd of 10,000 people, who had to pay $10 in advance to attend the event. The film-makers also hired rave promoters Moss Jacobs and Philip Blaine to produce performances featuring Aphex Twin, Deee-Lite, as well as “all the cyber-techno bands they could garner”.

In 2015, The Washington Post editor Sonny Bunch felt that Strange Days was still relevant, comparing the imagery captured by the SQUID units to that of first-person shooters or cellphone videos on YouTube. He added that events such as Jeriko One’s murder and the subsequent coverup of the crime contribute to activist movements like Black Lives Matter, and that their media documentation amplifies their reception and consequences. (read more: Themes)

wiki   /   imdb

1317 – The Death of Dick Long (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s “warped Alabama backwoods narrative”

Y’all wanna get weird?

The Death of Dick Long is a 2019 twisted awkward black comedy–drama film directed and produced by Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man) and written by Billy Chew. The film stars Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland, Sarah Baker, Jess Weixler, Roy Wood Jr., and Sunita Mani.

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[I]t is probably best seen with zero foreknowledge. Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (AV Club)

You may not like where the movie takes you, but damn if you won’t enjoy the ride. Scott Marks  (San Diego Reader)

You can feel your brain melting away as you watch it, and that’s not always a bad sensation. Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine/Vulture)

A Deep South crime story that evokes Fargo with different accents Pat Padua
(The DC Line)

It’s one of the year’s best oddities, a small film about hillbilly country folk that certainly won’t be for everyone. Justin Jones (CBR)

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rottentomatoes   /   wiki   /   imdb

1299 -Battleship (2012)

timespace coordinates: 2012 Hawaii / USS Missouri

Battleship is a 2012 American military science fiction action film that is loosely based on the board game of the same name. The film was directed by Peter Berg and stars Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Tadanobu Asano, Alexander Skarsgård and Liam Neeson. In the film, the crews of a small group of warships are forced to do battle against a naval fleet of extraterrestrial origin in order to thwart their destructive goals. (wiki)

imdb

1291 – Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s summer field trip to Europe ( Venice – Prague – London)

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the twenty-third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). (wiki)

imdb   /  imdb

1285 – Source Code (2011)

timespace coordinates: 2010, Metra commuter train headed to ChicagoSource Code is a 2011 action/ mystery & suspense/ science fiction thriller film directed by Duncan Jones and written by Ben Ripley. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a U.S. Army captain who is sent into a computed reality to find a bomber. Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright play supporting roles. (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1282 – Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie (2016)

timespace coordinates: 70’s – 80’s USA

Donald Trump has it all. Money, power, respect, and an Eastern European bride. But all his success didn’t come for nothing. First, he inherited millions of dollars from his rich father, then he grabbed New York City by the balls. Now you can learn the art of negotiation, real estate, and high-quality brass in this illuminating made-for-TV special feature, Funny Or Die Presents Donald Trump’s The Art Of The Deal: The Movie. (imdb)Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie is a 2016 American parody film by the production company Funny or Die. Loosely based on the 1987 autobiographical book Trump: The Art of the Deal,  the film purports to be a 1988 adaptation of the book, with Johnny Depp as Donald Trump. Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie was released for free on Funny or Die.com on February 10, 2016, in order to coincide with Trump’s real-life victory at the 2016 New Hampshire primaries. The release of the movie was so secretive, most news outlets did not know it existed until the day it was released, with Salon calling the film a “surprise biopic” and saying it was released “without warning”.  The film became available for streaming on Netflix starting on August 1, 2016. (wiki)