animation

1366 – Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)

timespace coordinates: 1930’s – 1950’s France > Belleville (an amalgam of New York CityMontreal and Quebec City

5890a51f169157fcae54f490318776deThe Triplets of Belleville (French: Les Triplettes de Belleville) is a 2003 animated comedy film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. The film is Chomet’s first feature film and was a France | Belgium | Canada | UK | Latvia | USA co-production.

There is little dialogue; much of the narrative is conveyed through song and pantomime. It tells the story of Madame Souza, an elderly woman who goes on a quest to rescue her grandson Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the French mafia for gambling purposes and taken to the city of Belleville. She is accompanied by Champion’s loyal but obese hound, Bruno, and joined by the Triplets of Belleville, music hall singers from the 1930s, whom she meets in the city.

The film was highly praised by audiences and critics for its unique style of animation. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards—Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Belleville Rendez-vous”. It was also screened out of competition (hors concours) at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. (wiki)

imdbArt of the Triplets of Belleville / The Triplets of Belleville / Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003) – Background Layouts

documentary

1363 – Behind the Curve (2018 documentary)

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Behind the Curve is a 2018 documentary film about flat Earth believers in the United States. Directed by Daniel J. Clark, the film was released in the United States on November 15, 2018, and for wide release on Netflix in February 2019.

The documentary offers an examination of the flat Earth idea from various perspectives, including prominent flat-Earthers Mark Sargent, Nathan Thompson, and Patricia Steere, as well as astrophysicists from Universities including UCLA and Caltech. It features clips from the 2017 International Flat Earth Conference, held in North Carolina, which attracted hundreds of attendees (wiki)

imdb / Flat Earth Wiki / 1256

books, games

1360 -Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made (2017 Book by Jason Schreier)

Developing video games—hero’s journey or fool’s errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today’s hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean—it’s nothing short of miraculous.

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Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it’s RPG studio Bioware‘s challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone‘s single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man’s vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—even as it nearly ripped their studio apart.

Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell—and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable. (goodreads)

animation, documentary

1356 -Batman & Bill (2017 documentary)

batman and bill poster

Batman & Bill is an American documentary film that premiered on Hulu on May 6, 2017. Directed, written and produced by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce, explores the creation of the Batman, how Bob Kane was accepted as the sole creator, and how Bill Finger was never credited for his work despite creating the Batman mythos. (wiki)


imdb

movies

1350 – The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

The Art of Self-Defense is a 2019 black comedy thriller film written and directed by Riley Stearns. It stars Jesse EisenbergAlessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots. (wiki)

After he’s attacked on the street at night by a roving motorcycle gang, timid bookkeeper Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) joins a neighborhood karate studio to learn how to protect himself. Under the watchful eye of a charismatic instructor, Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), and hardcore brown belt Anna (Imogen Poots), Casey gains a newfound sense of confidence for the first time in his life. But when he attends Sensei’s mysterious night classes, he discovers a sinister world of fraternity, brutality and hyper-masculinity, presenting a journey that places him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor. Audacious and offbeat, The Art of Self-Defense is an original dark comedy that takes toxic masculinity to absurd extremes. (rottentomatoes)

movies

1345 – Girl on the Third Floor (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s suburbs of Chicago

Girl on the Third Floor is a 2019 horror film directed by (newcomer) Travis Stevens, written by Stevens, Paul Johnstone and Ben Parker, and starring pro-wrestler-turned-actor Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, Trieste Kelly Dunn and Tonya Kay. (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes