movies

0981 – Defiance (2008)

timespace coordinates: the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany

MV5BZjEyYjk4ZDQtZDhjMi00NGFkLWExM2UtZjgyMDMxODgwNjgyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTA4NzY1MzY@._V1_

Defiance is a 2008 American war film directed by Edward Zwick set during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. The screenplay by Clayton Frohman and Zwick was based on Nechama Tec‘s 1993 book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, an account of the Bielski partisans, a group led by Belarusian Jewish brothers who saved and recruited Jews in Belarus during the Second World War. The film stars Daniel Craig as Tuvia BielskiLiev Schreiber as Zus BielskiJamie Bell as Asael Bielski, and George MacKay as Aron Bielski. (wiki)

imdb

movies

0975 – The Favourite (2018)

timespace coordinates: early 18th century England

MV5BMTg1NzQwMDQxNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDg2NDYyNjM@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,670,1000_AL_

The Favourite is a 2018 black comedy period film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. It is a co-production by producers in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Set in the early 18th century, the story examines the relationship between two cousins vying to be court favourites of Queen Anne. It stars Olivia ColmanEmma StoneRachel WeiszNicholas HoultJoe AlwynJames Smith, and Mark Gatiss.

In his review of the film, Anthony Lane comments on its anachronisms: “For Lanthimos and his screenwriters, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, all historical reconstruction is a game, and to pretend otherwise—to nourish the illusion that we can know another epoch as intimately as we do our own—is merest folly.” (read more: Historical accuracy)

imdb

animation, manga

0964 – Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

timespace coordinates: 1945  Kobe, Japan

MV5BZjEwNDVhZjMtYzA1MS00ZWUxLThjOGUtZTliNGZiNGYyMjA3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓 Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war film based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for the story’s publisher Shinchosha Publishing. The film stars Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi. The film tells the story of two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of the Second World War.

The Grave of the Fireflies is commonly described as an anti-war film, but this interpretation has been denied by the director. (wiki)

imdb

movies

0962 – Overlord (2018)

timespace coordinates: June, 1944  Nazi occupied France

overlord

Overlord is a 2018 American war horror / period Nazi zombie shoot-’em-up film directed by Julius Avery and written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith. It stars Jovan AdepoWyatt Russell, Mathilde OllivierJohn Magaro, Gianny TauferPilou Asbæk, and Bokeem Woodbine. The film was produced by J. J. Abrams, through his Bad Robot Productions banner, and Lindsey Weber. The plot follows several American soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Day and discover secret Nazi experiments. (wiki)

The title of the film is, no doubt, in reference to Operation Overlord, the codename for the Allied operation for the Battle of Normandy, which launched the successful invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. This, alongside Operation Neptune, would become known as D-Day.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

movies

0956 – Mortal Engines (2018)

timespace coordinates: Following a cataclysmic conflict known as the Sixty Minute War, the remnants of humanity regroup and form mobile “predator” cities. Under a philosophy known as “Municipal Darwinism”, larger cities hunt and absorb smaller settlements in the “Great Hunting Ground”, which includes Great Britain and Continental Europe. In opposition, settlements of the “Anti-Traction League” have developed an alternative civilization consisting of “static settlements” (traditional, non-mobile cities) in Asia led by Shan Guo (formerly China), protected by the “Shield Wall”.

mortalenginesposter

“After the Ancients destroyed themselves in the Sixty Minute War, there were several thousand years in which nothing much happened. These were the Black Centuries. The great civilizations of the Screen Age had been utterly swept away, and humanity was reduced to a few scattered bands of savages’ ‘The Traction Codex

Mortal Engines is a 2018 post-apocalyptic adventure film directed by Christian Rivers and with a screenplay by Fran WalshPhilippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, based on the novel of the same name by Philip Reeve, and starring Hugo WeavingHera HilmarRobert SheehanJihaeRonan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, and Stephen Lang. An American–New Zealand co-production, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where entire cities have been mounted on wheels and motorised, and prey on one another. (wiki)

london-tracks-poster

imdb

books, movies, Uncategorized

955 – The 13th Warrior (1999)

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

13th warrior posterThe 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


91zhvppnljl

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

games

953 – Saints Row IV (2013 video game)

joc-pc-deep-silver-saints-row-iv-178770Saints Row IV is an open world action-adventure video game with third-person shooter elements developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the fourth title in the Saints Row series. In the game, the playable character is the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, a street gang that has become the world’s most powerful and popular organization, and must fend off an alien invasion after becoming President of the United States and receiving superpowers.

The player is free to explore their environment while completing main and side missions at their leisure. The game incorporates elements from science fiction video games and films, and continues the series’ reputation for over-the-top parody. It was released in August 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Linux in 2015.

The game is set in a nearly identical simulation of Steelport, the fictional city setting from Saints Row: The Third, though individual story missions have new, custom-designed levels. 

Saints Row IV‘s story parodies science fiction video games, especially Mass Effect 2, as well as films like The Matrix and Zero Dark Thirty, and other “nerd culture”. Some story missions are propelled by individual characters’ existential crises, as each Saint character is stuck in a personal simulation of their own hell, and must be rescued by the player. Other elements borrowed from video game culture include BioWare-style character romances games and a Metal Gear-style mission with an unhelpful partner.

Saints Row IV received several limited and summative edition releases, and was briefly banned in Australia.

System Requirements (Minimum) CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 | AMD Athlon II x3. / OS: Windows Vista (x86 or x64) / VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 260 | AMD Radeon HD 5800 series. / FREE DISK SPACE: 10 GB. / DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 896 MB.

steam