Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions is a 2014 English-language French-Canadian crime-thriller film starring Paul Walker, David Belle and RZA. The film was directed by Camille Delamarre and written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen and Bibi Naceri. It is a remake of the 2004 French film District 13, in which Belle had also starred.

Brick Mansions was released on April 25, 2014, five months after Paul Walker's death on November 30, 2013 and has a dedication to him at the start of the credits. This is Walker's last completed film before his death but not his last film appearance. At the time of his death, he was almost done filming Furious 7 which was released on April 3, 2015.

Plot

In 2018, in a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions left from better times now house only the most dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, the police have constructed a colossal containment wall around this area to protect the rest of the city. For undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker), every day is a battle against corruption. For ex-convict Lino (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life. Their paths never should have crossed, but when drug kingpin Tremaine (RZA) kidnaps Lino’s girlfriend, Damien reluctantly accepts Lino's help and together they struggle to stop a sinister plot that involves a stolen bomb set to destroy the entire city.

Julia

Julia is usually a woman's given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julius. Julius was a Roman family, derived from a founder Julus, the son of Aeneas and Creusa in Roman mythology, although the name's etymology may possibly derive from Greek ἴουλος (ioulos) "downy-[haired, bearded]" or alternatively from the name of the Roman god Jupiter.

Like its male counterpart, the given name Julia had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. Julia of Corsica) but became rare during the Middle Ages, and was revived only with the Italian Renaissance. It became common in the English-speaking world only in the 18th century. Today, it is frequently used throughout the world. It was the 10th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007 and the 88th most popular name for females in the 1990 census there. It has been among the top 150 names given to girls in the United States for the past 100 years. It was the 89th most popular name for girls born in England and Wales in 2007; the 94th most popular name for girls born in Scotland in 2007; the 13th most popular name for girls born in Spain in 2006; the fifth most popular name for girls born in Sweden in 2007; the 94th most popular name for girls born in Belgium in 2006; the 53rd most popular name for girls born in Norway in 2007; the 70th most popular name for girls born in Hungary in 2005; the 19th most popular name for girls born in British Columbia, Canada in 2006; the 9th most popular name for girls born in Germany in 2005; the 2nd most popular name for girls born in Poland in 2013 and the most popular name in Austria.

David Belle

David Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder or leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings from his father Raymond Belle. Belle came to fame via his parkour videos and film appearances, such as District 13, District 13: Ultimatum, which were written and produced by Luc Besson, and the American remake Brick Mansions. Belle has also consulted on the making of Babylon A.D., Prince of Persia, Colombiana and The Family.

Life and career

Belle was born and raised in Fécamp, France, the son of Monique and Raymond Belle, in a modest family in the suburbs of Paris. His grandfather Gilbert Kitten, father Raymond, and brother Jean-François Belle have been highly skilled rescuers in the Military Paris Fire Brigade.

In 1984, at the age of 11, Belle moved to Lisses, France. He made close friends with a group of teenagers with similar physical passions who began training with him. Some of the friends that trained with David would later become known as the Yamakasi. Later in life Belle spent time in the military and fire brigade with aspirations of following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. He left soon after for personal reasons in order to dedicate himself to parkour.

Paul Walker

Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. Walker began his career guest-starring in several television shows such as The Young and the Restless and Touched by an Angel. Walker gained prominence with breakout roles in coming-of-age and teen films such as She's All That and Varsity Blues. In 2001, Walker gained international fame for his portrayal of Brian O'Conner in the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious, and would reprise the role in five of the next six installments. He also starred in films such as Eight Below, Timeline, Into the Blue, Joy Ride and Running Scared.

Besides acting, Walker was the face of The Coty Prestige fragrance brand Davidoff Cool Water for Men, and starred in the National Geographic Channel series, Expedition Great White. He also founded the charity "Reach Out Worldwide" (ROWW), an organization providing relief efforts for areas affected by natural disasters. He was often praised for his off-screen charity work, and as a performer.

Mansion

A mansion is a large dwelling house.

The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansio "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb manere "to dwell". The English word "manse" originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest to maintain himself, but a mansion is no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare a Roman or medieval villa). 'Manor' comes from the same root—territorial holdings granted to a lord who would remain there—hence it is easy to see how the word 'Mansion' came to have its meaning.

History

Within an ancient Roman city, patrician dwellings might be very extensive, and luxurious. Such mansions on one hill in Rome became so extensive that the term palatial was actually derived from the name Palatine hill and is the etymological origin of "palace".

Following the fall of Rome the practice of building unfortified villas ceased. Today, the oldest inhabited mansions around the world usually began their existence as fortified castles in the middle ages. As social conditions slowly changed and stabilised fortifications were able to be reduced, and over the centuries gave way to comfort. It became fashionable and possible for homes to be beautiful rather than grim and forbidding allowing for the development of the modern mansion.