Post by Chicago Jake on Aug 9, 2012 23:51:07 GMT -6
Rented from Netflix, very interesting science fiction flick, Andrew Niccol's "In Time," starring Justin Trousersnake, Cillian Murphy, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia "House" Wilde, Matt "White Collar" Bomer, and Vincent "Mad Men" Kartheiser.
This movie is based on the kind of a concept that makes you go, "Wow! WTF didn't anyone ever think of that before!" Unfortunately, once you get past the concept, the rest of the story is kind of prosaic. But the concept itself is interesting enough that it carries the movie on it's own.
This is set in the future, or maybe in an alternate reality. Hard to say. The technology level seems about the same as ours, and the cars seem like they are from the seventies. But the way society works is totally different: there is no money. TIME is money.
Humans are genetically engineered. They live normally until they reach the age of 25. Then, they stop aging. No matter now long they live after that, they look exactly the same. However, at age 25, they also sprout a countdown clock on their forearm, with an expiration date of one year hence. If they do nothing, they live until their 26th birthday, then croak. But, they can earn, and spend, time just like we spend and earn money. Work a day for a factory, and they pay you in time. Buy something at a store, and they charge you in time. Fascinating premise, which takes the old adage of "time is money" most literally.
Anyway, our hero happens to get caught up in a rich-vs-poor kind of struggle. The rich folks have centuries worth of time in their accounts, which makes them virtually immortal. The poor folks live, quite literally, day to day, trying to earn enough hours at their factory jobs to survive until tomorrow. But Justin Trousersnake figures he can topple the entire system, which he deems corrupt and unfair.
I disagreed with the whole Robin Hood, take from the rich, give to the poor, premise of the movie, but I still found the underlying concept of the story fascinating enough to enjoy, and certainly very original. But as I alluded earlier, the rest of the story plays out in a pretty much cliched manner, little poor (no time) guy vs. big rich (lots of time) establishment. But it was certainly enjoyable and well executed, and I highly recommend it on that level.
This movie is based on the kind of a concept that makes you go, "Wow! WTF didn't anyone ever think of that before!" Unfortunately, once you get past the concept, the rest of the story is kind of prosaic. But the concept itself is interesting enough that it carries the movie on it's own.
This is set in the future, or maybe in an alternate reality. Hard to say. The technology level seems about the same as ours, and the cars seem like they are from the seventies. But the way society works is totally different: there is no money. TIME is money.
Humans are genetically engineered. They live normally until they reach the age of 25. Then, they stop aging. No matter now long they live after that, they look exactly the same. However, at age 25, they also sprout a countdown clock on their forearm, with an expiration date of one year hence. If they do nothing, they live until their 26th birthday, then croak. But, they can earn, and spend, time just like we spend and earn money. Work a day for a factory, and they pay you in time. Buy something at a store, and they charge you in time. Fascinating premise, which takes the old adage of "time is money" most literally.
Anyway, our hero happens to get caught up in a rich-vs-poor kind of struggle. The rich folks have centuries worth of time in their accounts, which makes them virtually immortal. The poor folks live, quite literally, day to day, trying to earn enough hours at their factory jobs to survive until tomorrow. But Justin Trousersnake figures he can topple the entire system, which he deems corrupt and unfair.
I disagreed with the whole Robin Hood, take from the rich, give to the poor, premise of the movie, but I still found the underlying concept of the story fascinating enough to enjoy, and certainly very original. But as I alluded earlier, the rest of the story plays out in a pretty much cliched manner, little poor (no time) guy vs. big rich (lots of time) establishment. But it was certainly enjoyable and well executed, and I highly recommend it on that level.