0803 – Sorry to Bother You (2018)

timespace coordinates: alternative present-day version of Oakland, California

Sorry to Bother You is a 2018 American absurdist dark comedy with aspects of magical realism and science fiction inspired by the world of telemarketing written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer.

Capitalism

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Boots has maintained that the film offers a radical class analysis of capitalism, rather than a specific analysis of America under President Trump, clarifying that he wrote the initial screenplay during the Obama administration, and that the target was never any specific elected official or movement, but rather a broader look at “the puppetmasters behind the puppets.” While the majority of the final script remained the same, minimal changes were made prior to shooting in order to avoid the film appearing to be a critique of Trump specifically, including removing a line where a character says “Worry Free is making America great again,” written before Trump would use the line in his 2016 presidential campaign.

False consciousness 

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The title of the film has a double meaning, referencing both the phrase’s use by telemarketers and its general usage when telling a person something you know they might not like to hear, such as the Communist themes present in the film. According to Boots, “…the other side of it is, is that often when you’re telling someone something that is different from how they view things, different from how they view the world, it feels like an annoyance or a bother. And that’s where that comes from.” The theme of the strike was used to reflect the need to “organize people in the workplace” and for workers to recognize their power. When asked on his choice to cast Armie Hammer as Steve Lift, Boots stated that Armie was a “lovable dude,” whose casting reflects the current state of “new capitalism,” where the realities of working conditions are hidden, referencing lines such as “I’m not your boss, I’m your friend.” (wiki)

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0789 – Lawless (2012)

 timespace coordinates: 1931, Piedmont region of Virginia

Lawless is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by John Hillcoat. The screenplay by Australian singer-screenwriter Nick Cave is based on Matt Bondurant‘s historical novel The Wettest County in the World (2008). The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Guy Pearce.

The film is about the violent conflict between three bootlegging brothers–Forrest (Hardy), Howard (Clarke), and Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf)–and the ruthless Deputy Charley Rakes (Pearce) and his men, who try to shut down the brothers’ Prohibition-era moonshine business after Forrest refuses to pay the cops off.  (wiki)

imdb

787 – Active Measures (2018)

Active Measures is a 2018 documentary film by director Jack Bryan. It is the first major documentary to address the allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and agents of the Russian state. (wiki)

imdb   /   the-putin-interviews

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post-democracy

0780 – First Reformed (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2017 Snowbridge, New York

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“how often we ask for genuine experience when all we really want is emotion.”

First Reformed is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader. It stars Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, and Cedric the Entertainer, and follows a Protestant minister faced with questions of faith and morality while serving as pastor of a dwindling historical church. (wiki)

imdb / rt

777 – Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)

timespace coordinates: 2691 – 1991 San Dimas, California 

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey is a 1991 American science fiction comedy film, and the directing debut of Pete Hewitt. It is the second film in the Bill & Ted franchise, and a sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin reprise their roles.

The film’s original working title was Bill & Ted Go to Hell and the film’s soundtrack featured the song “Go to Hell” by Megadeth, which Dave Mustaine wrote for the film. Despite mixed reviews from film critics, like its predecessor, the film has since gained a cult following thanks in large part to its spoof of Ingmar Bergman‘s 1950s classic film The Seventh Seal.

As was particularly common at the time, the soundtrack album focuses on the rock music heard throughout the film. An album of the full orchestral score by David Newman would not become available until 2007.  The song Bill and Ted play for the battle of the bands is “Final Guitar Solo” by Steve Vai, which he wrote to help blend into “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II” by Kiss, although they appear similar in appearance to Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.  There’s also a reference to the lyrics from “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison.

Sequel

In 2010, Reeves indicated that Matheson and Solomon were working on a script for a third film, confirming in April 2011 that a draft was complete.Winter said in March 2012 that he and Reeves both like the finished script, which revisits the two characters after the changes of the past twenty years. Despite the script being finished and satisfied by both parties, no specific filming dates have been named. In April 2016, Winter said that he hoped the film would begin production in 2017.  Reeves gave an update on the film in February 2017 and said a story has been written for the third film. “Basically, they’re supposed to write a song to save the world and they haven’t done that. The pressure of having to save the world, their marriages are falling apart, their kids are kind of mad at them, and then someone comes from the future and tells them if they don’t write the song it’s not just the world, it’s the universe. So they have to save the universe because time is breaking apart.” On May 8, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that a third film, Bill & Ted: Face the Music, was officially in pre-production with Dean Parisot directing. No release date has been announced yet. (wiki)

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0776 – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

timespace coordinates: 2688 >1988 San Dimas, California > Austria in 1805 > 1879  the Old West > 410 BC ancient Greece > 14th century medieval England > 1901 Vienna Austria > Kassel, Germany, 1810 > Orleans, France, 1429 > Outer Mongolia 1209 >The White House, 1863

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. It stars Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, and George Carlin. The plot follows slackers Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves), who travel through time to assemble historical figures for their high school history presentation.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure received generally positive reviews and was commercially successful. It is now considered a cult classic.

DC Comics produced a tie-in comic following the plot of the first movie timed to coincide with that film’s release on home video. The sequel was adapted by DC’s competitor Marvel Comics, published to coincide with the second film’s release in theaters. Its popularity led to the ongoing Marvel series Bill & Ted’s Excellent Comic Book by Evan Dorkin, which lasted for 12 issues.

There were also Game Boy, NES and Atari Lynx games released, which were very loosely based on the film’s plot. A PC title and nearly identical Amiga and Commodore 64 port were made in 1991 by Off the Wall Productions and IntraCorp, Inc. under contract by Capstone Software and followed the original film very closely. (wiki)

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773 – American Animals (2018)

timespace coordinates: Lexington, Kentucky, 2004

American Animals is a 2018 crime drama film written and directed by Bart Layton. It stars Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, and Ann Dowd. The film is based on the true story of a library heist that happened at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 2004.

“we must suppose that American animals… slowly migrated by successive generations from the outer world into the deeper and deeper recesses of the Kentucky caves.” Charles Darwin

American Animals Credit Spencer Reinhard

imdb   /   The Birds of America