0790 – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

 timespace coordinates: 1926 New York City

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2016 fantasy film directed by David Yates. A joint British and American production, it is a spin-off and prequel to the Harry Potter film series, and it was produced and written by J. K. Rowling in her screenwriting debut, and inspired by her 2001 book of the same name. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, with Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo and Colin Farrell in supporting roles. It is the first instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and ninth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, that began with the Harry Potter films.

Initially, in October 2014, the studio announced the film would be the start of a trilogy. The sequel is set to be released on 16 November 2018, followed by the third on 20 November 2020. In July 2016, David Yates confirmed that Rowling had written the screenplay for the second film and has ideas for the third. In October 2016, Rowling confirmed that the series would comprise five films. In November 2016 it was confirmed that Johnny Depp will have a starring role in the sequel, reprising his role as Gellert Grindelwald. In April 2017, it was confirmed that Jude Law had been cast for the role of Albus Dumbledore at around the time he was the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. The second film will take place in the United Kingdom and Paris. (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)

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0786 – Gargoyles (TV Series 1994–1996)

 timespace coordinates: 10th century scotland – 1990’s New York City

Gargoyles was noted for its relatively dark tone, complex story arcs, and melodrama; character arcs were heavily employed throughout the series, as were Shakespearean themes. The series also received favorable comparisons to Batman: The Animated Series. A video game adaptation and a spin-off comic series were released in 1995. The show’s storyline continued from 2006 to 2009 in a comic book series of the same title, produced by Slave Labor Graphics. (wiki)

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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)

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739 – The Last King /Birkebeinerne (2016)

timespace coordinates: Norway 1206The Last King (Norwegian: Birkebeinerne) is a 2015 Norwegian historical drama, directed by Nils Gaup.  The film centers on the efforts of the Birkebeiner loyalists to protect the infant, Haakon Haakonsson, who was an heir to the Norwegian throne after the death of his father, King Haakon Sverresson. The film is set during the civil war era in Norway during the 13th-century. 

A story inspired by true events. Norway 1204, Birkebeiners and king Haakon Sverresson possess the throne in Nidaros. They are threaten by Baglers, that has taken power in Eastern Norway, with the help from Denmark among the refugees is the king’s son and heir, Haakon Haakonsson, who is fostered in secret by Inga of Varteig. (wiki)

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734 – The Giver (2014)

timespace coordinates: futuristic dystopian / utopian society after a calamity, referred to as The RuinThe Giver is a 2014 American social science fiction film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Jeff Bridges, Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush, Meryl Streep and Alexander Skarsgård. The film is based on the 1993 novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.

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0725 – Låt den rätte komma in / Let the Right One In (2008)

timespace coordinates:  western Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1981

Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in) is a 2008 Swedish romantic horror film directed by Tomas Alfredson, based on the 2004 novel of the same title by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay.

The film tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, in the early 1980s. Alfredson, unconcerned with the horror and vampire conventions, decided to tone down many elements of the novel and focus primarily on the relationship between the two main characters. Selecting the lead actors involved a year-long process with open castings held all over Sweden. In the end, the 11-year-olds Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson were chosen for the leading roles. They were subsequently commended by both Alfredson and film reviewers for their performances.

(Spoilers) The novel presents Eli as an androgynous boy, castrated centuries before by a sadistic vampire nobleman. The film handles the issue of Eli’s gender more ambiguously: a brief scene in which Eli changes into a dress offers a glimpse of a suggestive scar but no explicit elaboration.  When Oskar asks Eli to become his girlfriend, Eli tries to tell Oskar “I’m not a girl”. An actress plays Eli’s character, but her voice was considered to be too high pitched, so it was dubbed by voice actress Elif Ceylan. According to an interview with the director, as the film was originally conceived, flashbacks explained this aspect in more detail, but these scenes were eventually cut. (wiki)

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Let Me In (2010 american version)

timespace coordinates: Los Alamos, New Mexico, 1983

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