In Time

Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake in In Time

Story: In this not so distant future, time  is the universal currency. When you ran out of time, you ceased to exist. The monetary unit changed but society didn't. The upper class have 100 years and keep on accumulating more that makes them almost immortal while the poor has only 25 years and forced to beg, borrow, steal to make it through the day. Will Salas is one of the unlikely ones. Waking up every morning with 23 hours left on his literal body clock to work and so he will live to see the next day. Will's fortune took a different turn when a wealthy stranger ends up dead and finds himself 100 years richer.

My thoughts: This gives us a grim idea of a future. It actually reminds me of credit cards or better example is money transactions done through SMS services but with your own life at stake. This movie will make you learn how to value time. A professor of mine once said that we are living liminal lives. How are you going to spend it. That is why Carpe Diem has been my motto ever since I first heard it in another movie, Dead Poets' Society. It is Latin for "Seize The Day" meaning living your life to the fullest. It is maximizing your life as if you were living your last.

This kind of society is not perfect. But no society has ever been perfect. The American Dream does not exist anymore for those who want to migrate or already migrated. China and Russia tried to build an utopian society but failed because there is still corruption. Remember the story "Animal Farm"? The animals overthrown their human oppressors which was masterminded by the pigs but the pigs became the next oppressors. This is actually true when socialist educator Paolo Freire said that when you overthrow the oppressors to change the society but when they are overthrown, there is always a tendency that the oppressed will turn oppressor. Karl Marx may have an ideal society but human nature always been what Charles Darwin sees our society: The strong will survive, the weak shall fall.

As for the movie, Justin Timberlake is having a lot of movie breaks recently. After his supporting role in the movie adaptation, The Social Network, he became also had a wonderful performance in romantic comedy, Friends With Benefits and now in this sci-fi action. Since then, Justin Timberlake is becoming multitalented following the footsteps of Will Smith who was also a performer like him.

Amanda Seyfried is also a revelation. She proved she can also do action movies. This is also a movie debut from a couple of TV stars. Johnny Galecki(The Big Bang Theory) leaves his dorky glasses and Matt Bomer cuts off his "White Collar" temporarily for the supporting role. This may also be a big break for them in movie career. The movie will not only entertain you but also stimulate your thinking cap which is also suits me.

Opens today in cinemas nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.