1158 – Juan of the Dead / Juan de los muertos (2011)

timespace coordinates: 2000’s Cuba

Juan of the Dead (Spanish: Juan de los Muertos) is a 2010 zombie comedy film written and directed by Alejandro Brugués. A Spanish-Cuban co-production between La Zanfoña Producciones (Spain) and Producciones de la 5ta Avenida (Cuba) involving the participation of the ICAIC, Canal Sur and Televisión Española, the film won the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film in 2012. (wiki)

A group of slackers face an army of zombies. The Cuban government and media claim the living dead are dissidents revolting against the government. (imdb)

1154 – The Mask (1994)

timespace coordinates: 1990’s Edge City

The Mask is a 1994 American superhero / screwball comedy directed by Charles Russell, produced by Bob Engelman, and written by Mike Werb, loosely based on the comic series of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jim Carrey, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Peter Riegert, Richard Jeni, Ben Stein, Joely Fisher, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut.

It revolves around Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey), an unfortunate bank clerk who finds a magical mask that transforms him into a mischievous zoot-suited gangster.

The film was released on July 29, 1994, by New Line Cinema, becoming a critical and commercial success, grossing over $351 million over a $23 million budget. It cemented Carrey’s reputation as a dominant actor of the 1990s, and established Diaz long-term as a leading lady. (wiki)

imdb

1141 – Attack the Block (2011)

timespace coordinates: 2011 South London

Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega, and composer Steven Price.

The film centres on a teenage street gang who have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night. (wiki)

imdb

1138 – Buffalo Boys (2018)

timespace coordinates: California 1860 / 19th Century Java, Indonesia (Dutch East Indies – Dutch colonial empire)

Buffalo Boys is a 2018 Indonesian–Singaporean martial arts spaghetti western film directed by Mike Wiluan – official submission of Singapore for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category of the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1135 – Us (2019)

timespace coordinates: 1986 – 2019 Santa Cruz, California

Us is a 2019 American psychological horror thriller film written and directed by Jordan Peele, starring  Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker. The film follows a family who are confronted by murderous doppelgangers known as “the Tethered”.

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themes and interpretations

Critic Jim Vejvoda related the Tethered to “urban legends” and “xenophobic paranoia about the Other”, (…) Journalist Noel Ransome viewed the film as being about “the effects of classism and marginalization”, writing “the Tethered are effigies of this same situational classism. They’re trapped—mentally and physically—and ignored”. Joel Meares of Rotten Tomatoes also noted that the Tethered, referencing the “we’re Americans” line, are representatives of the duality of American society, how some citizens can afford to live on top of the class system, while others are stuck in illiterate poverty. He also noted the title Us could mean “U.S.”, or United States.

The Tethered’s red jump suits and single glove were an allusion to Michael Jackson along with the “Thriller” shirt seen on young Adelaide, and Peele has stated that Jackson was “the patron saint of duality”. Peele referenced many other instances of 1980s culture, including allusions to The Lost Boys and Hands Across America, stating “Everything in this movie was deliberate, that is one thing I can guarantee you. Unless you didn’t like something and that was a complete accident”.

The film contains numerous references to Jeremiah 11:11, which reads: “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them'” (NIV). Critic Rosie Fletcher commented on the context, with Jeremiah warning Jerusalem was facing destruction due to false idols, and expressed the opinion that the film’s characters also “worshiped the wrong things”…  (wiki)

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

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LUNIZ — I GOT 5 ON IT

1130

Cold Pursuit (2019)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s  Colorado ski resort of Kehoe

Cold Pursuit (imdb) is a 2019 American black comedy action film directed by Hans Petter Moland (in his Hollywood debut) from a screenplay by Frank Baldwin. The film stars Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Emmy Rossum, William Forsythe, and Tom Bateman. It is a remake of the 2014 Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance (Kraftidioten), also directed by Moland, and follows a snowplow driver who sets out for revenge on a local drug lord following the murder of his son. (wiki)

Kraftidioten (2014)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Tyos, Norway

In Order of Disappearance (imdb) (Norwegian: Kraftidioten) is a 2014 Norwegian black comedy action film directed by Hans Petter Moland and starring Stellan Skarsgård.

The Battle of Kosovo (1389) was a battle between the combined army of Serbians and Bosnians against invading Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, both being basically annihilated. The eventual outcome was the annexation of the Serbian provinces by the Ottomans. The Battle of Kosovo is significant in Serbian history and integral to Serbian national identity.

The symbol shown after Greve’s death is Humanist.

1126 – Black Hawk Down (2001)

timespace coordinates: 1993  Mogadishu amid the civil war in Somalia

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war film produced and directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Ken Nolan. It is based on the 1999 non-fiction book of the same name by journalist Mark Bowden. As an embedded journalist, he covered the 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military, aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The ensuing firefight became known as the Battle of Mogadishu. The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, and Sam Shepard. (wiki)

imdb   /   controversies and inaccuracies