As a fan of his works in The Truman Show (writer) and The Terminal (writer/director) the New Zealand born Niccol has mesmerised International audiences with his ability to challenge societal values through connected story telling. While Gattaca was his first release it wasn’t his first feature story as The Truman Show took so long to come to production primarily because of sourcing Peter Weir and Jim Carey. His first public release was never the less the Sci-Fi flic Gattaca which took Ethan Hawke and future wife Uma Thurman into the world of genetic engineering with a younger Jude Law. This is definitely worth watching again or maybe for the first time. On a side note watch for a possible remake of this one.

"Hollywood's only allegiance these days is to money. If they think there's cash to be made by making films with a conscience, then you might see a revival of that kind of film-making. Otherwise, forget it." – Andrew Niccol

When you hear quotes like this from Niccol, you have a perspective on what he is trying to achieve and deliver to customers through the Hollywood sausage machines. So if Hollywood has an allegiance to money then what is that value actually mean to you and I? In a not too distant future Niccol suggests through In Time  a world where genetic engineering means you don’t age past 25. Look in the mirror, like what you see? This is what you’re left with for as long as you have credit. And in this environment the credit for every transaction from taxes and loan repayments through to a bus ride are all paid in ‘time’.

Once you kick over your 25^th year like Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) you have a year’s time credit and if you want to keep on living then you need to earn more time anyway possible. Joining Daddy’s role at the factory could be the inheritance you’ve wished for. Hard working blue collar works get 24hrs of credit for a day’s production if they meet every increasing quotas while four ‘time-zones’ away the white collar elite like Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) live on Daddy’s money. A gap year here is talked about as taking a ‘decade’ to party. The economists give way to the ‘Capitalists of Time’ who play on a global scale creating the capitalist environment of haves and have-nots. This sets up a story where the phrase ‘Got a minute’ can have life and death consequences. Walk in Henry Hamilton, a supposed ‘Immortal’ with 1000s of years in credit who doesn’t feel the need to keep living and wanders into the ghetto flitting away time to the those with minutes to spare on a forgettable drink before he gives away his last 100 years to someone who ‘wouldn’t waste it’.

The backdrop of the story is laced with metaphorical nuances that address our values from time for pleasure and work through to possessions and family. All can be bought and earned. From the ghetto life we see the pitch of the “99 second” stores through to the toll gate to riches that can cost you a ‘year’ of time. When the real push of this Robin Hood story approaches its crescendo we’re playing for big bucks and a Million Years of time doesn’t seem enough to change the balance of power. The story is paced by each human’s matrix green time clock running up their forearm. Allegiances are bought and sold and family members can be those we die for or those we live to destroy. Time comes and goes in mere seconds and the ups and downs of a life worth living or acquired through ill-gotten gain keep the characters in a heady momentum.

When the poor become desperate they can approach a time pawn shop as a hope against the ‘Minutemen’; the Swindlers and Thieves willing to pray on those near death. If they succeed the poor are granted relief from this world while those who survive to chase the cheese another day are trying to avoid the Timekeepers. These are Police, the supposed keepers of justice making sure that every man has his day or minute and only as much as he deserves. A challenge thrown through the script is the quote; “For a few to be immortal many must die.”

Be prepared to be disturbed one key aspect of the movie. If we all stop aging at 25 then what would your 60year-old mother-in-law look like? If you’re introduced to a mother and daughter then how do deduce the roles and engagement of a relationship? It brings a whole new game to “whos who in the zoo”. This brings another interesting side discussion to the movie when the cast of mid thirty aged actors are playing 25year-olds on screen. Mad Man, Vincent Kartheiser (32yo) is typical of this decision with a hairline most 25 year-olds would run from. He plays ‘distinguished’ well but some characters were a distraction from the supposed storyline. An aging more rugged Cillian Murphy (35yo) plays the timekeeper Raymond Leon, a man from the ghetto who for seventy five years has ruled the roost, in keeping time. Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki (36yo) plays a mate of Will Salas who pays the consequences of drink and the ripples of time while a more appropriately aged Alex Pettyfer (21yo) brings out the thug side to keep the suffering minions in line. One cast member who steals a scene or two is Shyloh Oostwald. After small roles on House, Criminal Minds and iCarly this young lady may steal a feature movie or two in the future.

A wide supporting cast keep the action moving but this isn’t a vehicle for Timberlake or Seyfried to shine rather they are carried through the story. Maybe this perception speaks to the power of a strong story that doesn’t need a dramatic leading actor. The tone and backdrop of the movie bring a distinctly Detroit feel to the screen reflected in Mad Max style police vehicles and industrial concrete settings. Combine that with some CSI: Miami style sunsets and you constantly feel time like the sun is running out. In Time does Andrew Niccol justice in telling the story but I can’t help feeling it could have been paced better to create more tension that possibly another director may have brought to the script.

So walking away with time on my hands what has In Time done for me. It made me think about my next 23hrs and 59min for 109min and if I keep thinking about it I will value my time against living and family and not possessions.

Justin Time!

Worth 3.5 stars out of 5

Note:

Did this review bring back memories of Logan’s Run then watch for the remake scheduled for 2014 with Ryan Gosling and Rose Burne. Apparently they are dropping the age from 30 in the 1976 movie back to 21 to align with original book. It’s said the original movie was re-scripted to make the story line work for Michael York to be lead actor in the production when he was actually 34 at the time of the movie’s release.

The 2011 release “The Tree of Life” is his written as well directing work and one could assume it brings elements of the director’s personal life journey to the screen. Visually it is a masterpiece from abstract cell to birth transitions and elemental earth and water pieces through to the camera circling contemplative 1950s characters as they absorb their environment. One of the conflicting pictures that typifies the movie is of young 1950s 10-12 year-old boys joyfully playing in a cloud of spray highlighted by the sun’s mid-afternoon rays. As the picture of joy drives past we realise the truck the boys are running after
is spraying the pesticide DDT to kill the mosquitos in the area and our perceptions are challenged.

This 139min epic is no popcorn flick. Be prepared to walk a lifetime in the characters moccasins as they interact in the dance of life and death. The life of ‘Jack’ is a pivot point as a son reflects on his life, his Father’s views on morality, work and death and the longing we all take of looking to our parents for acceptance. The ‘old Jack’ played by Sean Penn is one of longing, reflection and acceptance as he nears his own end of life retrospective.

‘Young Jack’ is also an anchor too for Brad Pitt’s character to foster his own struggles through the eyes of the 50s. Pitt is both believable as well as detestable in the role of the father, Mr O’Brien. He plays the aloof moralistic role well, creating a chasm between himself and his wife and children.

This is where Jessica Chastain bridges a gap in supporting her boys on the merry-go-round of life. Her almost ethereal character seems to dance from tragedy to triumph no matter how large or small. The boys rally around their mother while still reaching out to a distant father. It provides a stereotypical tale that you are drawn into yet feel there is no conclusion that would satisfy.

Ultimately “The Tree of Life” is art rather than entertainment. In many ways you won’t be taken ‘away’ from your life but rather the silverscreen becomes a mirror on your own life and journey to discover the Tree of Life and you walk away asking what are the unresolved relationships that have yet to be pruned.

4 out of 5 for the discerning movie goer.

Don’t take these thoughts for cynicism. This movie delivers and aside from a couple of ‘why did they do that’ moments, it climbs on every level. Kenneth Branagh has surprised many detractors on this project. Could the man who brought us Frankenstein and The Magic Flute as follow-ups to his 1989 hit Henry V deliver a comic book superhero? He does, and he’s brought the right combination of artistry and superhero action to a script that is also able to bring in the nuances of Norse myth lore. Combine that with some great ‘God meets Humanity’ humour points and we’re loving it. The preview audience were vocal in both their laughter and post screening praise.

So what were those ‘why did they do that’ moments? Simply put, the extensive CGi backdrops under 3D conditions took the fantasy meets realism aspect to the extreme. Sadly under 3D conditions many of the Asgardian sets looked plastic and blurred in comparison to the CGi shots that took place on our big blue planet. Some shots seemed to overplay ‘expanse’. When done once to develop a sense of the backdrop to a story its understood but it was played time and time again with horses riding across Bifröst, the rainbow bridge to Asgard looking like a CGi shot from 20 years ago in what overall was a brilliant special effects movie.

Great parts are picked up by actors like Colme Feore as Laufey. Think of this villain as Dr Freeze meets Voldermort. His depth of character in the closeups was incredible. Battling for screen space was the character of Loki. A god of mischief and Thor’s under appreciated younger brother, Tom Hiddleston nailed this character with great presence. Natalie Portman as the love interest Jane Foster shows versatility when combined with her recent role in Black Swan. She delivers the balanced damsel with depth and a vibe that keeps her front and centre to the story while Anthony Hopkins continues his double act of doing the voice over routine combined with King of Asgard, Odin. This keeps the tension of father and son relationships in focus as Thor and Loki fight for affection and acknowledgement from the winner of ‘Dad of the Universe’. Speaking of voice-overs, the role that steals some ‘thunder’ comes from Idris Elba who portrays the gatekeeper of Asgard, Heimdall.

Watch for the cameos we love like Stan the Man Lee and an intro for Hawkeye played by Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker) from the upcoming Avengers movie. Clark Gregg renews his Shield Agent role to be a key thread in these Avenger themed movies. 

All in all this THOR gets a FOUR out of five popcorns. From the hammer to the shield to the kick the back out of the monster’s skull moments you’re going to love every minute of this movie. It keeps you cheering for the hero, laughing with some classic lines for both comic and literature buffs and at the end it leaves you wanting THOR!

The heart of Suckerpunch captures three essential themes in empowerment, survival and sacrifice for the sake of a friend. The underlying story of Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is a journey to freedom via extreme fantasy, with the accompaniment of her gun slinging compatriots of Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). We haven’t seen a lot of the Australian actress Emily Browning since she shared the screen with Jim Carey in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. While she has handled the lead role of this psycho melodrama in a way that definitely captures your attention there wasn’t quite the pull of heart strings as much as soulful glances of the eye that would entice. Another Australian, Abbie Cornish provides an anchor point in the movie as the solid member of the escape team a similar strength she brought to her recent role in Limitless. Supporting roles from Malone, Hudgens and Chung felt more like parts in a girl band than solid characters.

Carla Gugino as Dr Vera Gorski and Oscar Isaac as Blue Jones seem to get more depth of character development and their roles define the journey on a number of levels. Without their roles this would have been a Spice Girls World Tour, however with them this becomes closer to the cerebral maze that Snyder would have wanted.

So what holds this eclectic cast together? The three key ingredients that spring to mind are headed first by the cinemagic feast of fantasy that leads you to meet, a Japanese Darth Vader, dragons and warlocks, then ask yourself how a Mech Warrior ended up on a World War I battlefield? Secondly, the added story thread of Scott Glenn as a Wise Man is a nice link that also adds comic relief with a healthy dose of one liners that are worthy of memorising for that next party scene when you need something profound to say that can’t be questioned. Finally, the soundtrack rocks from the moment the Eurythmics song Sweet Dreams breaks upon the stage to the final rolling credits.

Of course the merit badge that Zach Snyder wears to this performance is as “CGI Employee of the Month” with his performances on 300, Watchmen and lately the dark animated ‘kids’ movie ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’. This was where the DVD was given its free reign into Snyder’s teen land of fantasy. You enter the video games he played, the dungeons and dragons models on his bookshelf come to life and the model planes he built roar past the screen. You can’t help but think that the female characters were taken out of Dead or Alive to give them a new lease of life in this cinematic composition.

So what does this movie leave you feeling? Firstly it appears you are forced into a space where you are asking was this Vaudeville or Pleasantville. Was Snyder trying to give us a movie to help us forget with a heavy dose of distraction or to provoke a philosophical dialogue over an espresso? My gut feel is the latter and a spoonful of sugar did help the medicine go down. All up a great use of the this media we call home cinema to ask your eye to take in the whole screen and try not to blink. Answering my own question from the start of this review. It was fast food in the food court but the company was great, the variety met a range of tastes and the experience was great value for money.

Starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert DeNiro

Come away from Limitless and I dare you not to ask yourself was this an advertorial for “Existentialism in a Bottle”?! When I was first asked to review this new vehicle for Mr Charming, Bradley Cooper I looked at the published details and was surprised to see it was only 105 min long. Not enough time for character development I thought, so walked in expecting a surface level storyline. At the end of the evening I was surprised how time had truly stood still in what was a cinematic feast. Let me walk you through the menu.

While Bradley Cooper is the kind of good looking guy that average blokes want to hit in the face, his performance brought shadows of conflict to the surface of his character, copywriter and stumped novelist, Eddie Morra. At first you'll expect more of the 'Facetime' he brought to the A-Team, but the character's narrative quickly takes you into a more bewildered state. In the midst of a 'writing block' his cry for help leads him to succumb to temptation taking an untested medication and here the roller coaster begins. Cooper will always lead the camera with his  Paul Newmanesque eyes and good looks but in this movie he will still keep you guessing on his character's moral direction as he assesses ambition over consequences.

For you and I as we see all around us the challenges of life, we're often left breathless, craving the superhero edge. When it comes to power we all want what God has, the power of omnipotence, the be where I wanna be omnipresence and of course the think ahead, know your enemy, omniscience. Its this last powerplay that draws our character in to its grasp as h the pill he takes opens up the untapped potential of his brain to think ahead, assess, calculate and ultimately control his destiny by decisions. He can out-think and outplay his opponents but can he outlast them?

Taking a art gallery sojourn from the plot for a moment, Limitless is a credit to the art and cinematic direction. On more than one occasion I felt I'd taken a step inside the head of M. C. Escher the tessalation artist who made water romp up stairs. This combined with moments where our characters are thinking outside of themselves constructed Salvador Dali type sets as matter bent around time and space. If this is inline with Director, Neil Burger's visual concept that kudos. It was  this unique photography combined with the pacing on film that kept the rhythm of the movie vibrant. Moments of chaos, punctuated with dream in motion pausing was superb. The opening sequence is not to be missed and to that end you would decry your own priorities if you run late and miss the setting of the stage.

If there was a downside to the movie it was that some of the side characters weren't as embedded into the storyline as you would hope. The Russian Mobster, the Blonde Moll, the Corporate Lawyer and the Hitman seemed like after thoughts rather than threads of the tapestry. Even the token screen time afforded to Robert DeNiro didn't indicate it was a role worth his skill and more of the cameo of all cameos in the scope of the movie. Abbie Cornish for the most part handles the supportive yet unsure girlfriend role well. Only one small portion of the movie tests her to a greater depth of believability and this is handled superbly.

Where does Limitless fit into the cinematic landscape. You won't be laughing with Bradley Cooper on this journey. Like Eddie Morra's girl, you'll ask your own moral questions regarding the balance of payments when taking drugs for power and its a roller coaster film with one more loop than you saw when you got on the ride. For eclectic content, its sublime, a dynamic backdrop to a storyline that keeps you guessing the answer to the question; “What would I do in Bradley's shoes?”

I'm giving Limitless 7out of 10

Watch for the Keyser Söze limp. Some great visual cues should be retired.

The beauty of this clip is it still reminds us of God’s Master Plan of salvation. Jesus proven as the son of God comes into our world to save you and I. We can’t earn, buy or trade our way out of our sin. You’ve probably tried that already. Who is Jesus? Not a wimp in long blonde hair. Check this out as Mark Driscoll helps explain the real Jesus

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