Time Is Money

Introduction
The most recent movie that was super excited to watch was In Time starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy. My only impressions of the movie was from the trailer and I absolutely loved Inception and to me, this movie had that kind of feel. After watching the movie, I don't think I will ever say the words, "I don't have enough time," because this movie gives that phrase a literal meaning. In Time ended up being a really good movie with a great cast and intersting plot.



Individuals receive a mortal clock using time as the standard currency.  

 Describe
In Time is set in a future where time is money. Every person stops aging at 25 and has enough time to buy themselves immortality. The rich can live to be hundreds of years, whereas the poor are constantly under a time restraint. This time has control over all individuals becoming the currency which pays for coffee, bus rides and rent. The cost of living takes away a person's time to live and the time is kept on a mortal clock on the individuals arm. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) crosses paths with a rich and wise man who gives him all of his time. Will finds himself with a century of time and decides to overthrow the currency system while trying to give others more time. The video below gives an in depth look at the movie, In Time.

The main character of Will Salas really stood out to me and that was played by Justin Timberlake. Although some people may know him from the pop band N'SYNC or even his solo singing career, he has really made a name for himself in the film industry. He's recently gotten a lot of praise for his recent role as Napster founder Sean Parker in the academy award winning movie The Social Network which he was nominated with the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award. Timberlake has also been seen or heard in a few movies the last few years including Bad Teacher, Friends with Benefits and Yogi Bear. I have been pleasantly surprised by Timberlake's performances in the films that he has been in. I think he has been making a great transition from singer to actor and I believe we will be seeing a lof of him in even bigger and better films to come.

Analyze
I have yet to see Timberlake in an action movie and it is a little bit different from the comedies I have seen him in. He is a very versatile actor, being apart of cartoons, comedy, action, and drama. So far, I absolutely love what he is doing in all of his movies and he is one of those actors who will take on challenges which I think really benefits him. It was refreshing to see him in a different element and I have really enjoed watching him in the drama and actions films versus the comedies and cartoons.

Amanda Seyfried portrays Sylvia Weis, a rich socialite. She is also a major character opposite Justin Timberlake. Seyfried has been in a lot of different movie throughout her career and some of the movies she has been involved in has also gotten a lot of buzz. Then on the other hand she has taken on some roles that I didn't think she would ever be in. To me, I always know Seyfried as the ditsy, blonde in Mean Girls, she has also had leading roles in Mamma Mia!, Dear John, Letters To Juliet and Red Riding Hood. I have actually seen every one of those movies and she has been involved in a lot of romantic movies, but if you also look into the plot of In Time, she ultimately has a love interest as well so it isn't too far out there for her to take on this character. Although, I have yet to see her in an action type role and in this movie she does it wonderfully.

The movie, In Time is similar to the movie Inception because, in a way, they are both psychological thrillers. With the movie Inception, you really had to pay attention and follow along with the drastic phychological ideas that were presented in the film. The same goes for In Time, you have to pay attention to the "outside of the box" ideas in which the plot revolves around. Inception didn't outright tell you when the characters were in a dream which made it suspenseful and in In Time doesn't always let the audience know how much time they have left on their clock which also brings suspense. The difference between the two is that ultimately there are two different idea, but both of these ideas evoke interest in the audience. I don't think before either of these movies I would have ever thought, what if we are all dreaming right now in the world we're in? Or even, what if our lives were marked by a fast ticking, money hungry clock? Even though those questions are different, both movies tackle those specific ideas and are a mix of drama, romance and action.



Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried).


Interpretation
The one reason why I really liked this movie is because it made me think, what if this really happened? What if our society was based not on paper and coin money, but time? All of these questions are answered in this movie and it blatantly shows you all of the things that could go wrong. I think the movie mattered to me because I sometimes don't have an "out of the box" thinking and this movie is solely based on an idea "outside the box". Although it isn't exactly seen in our society, it does reflect and directly mirror a lot of the trends we see in our culture. People will kill for money, people will steal money and people will ultimately do anything for money and in the movie all of that is just replaced with time. The only factor is that in the real world you won't die when you're checking account hits zero (thank goodness). The target audience is hard to pinpoint, I think anyone who is interested in drama or action movies or even someone who is interested in culture and society could also enjoy this movie. The movie clearly depicts the stereotypes of the rich and poor. The poor steal and the rich just steal in a more classy way, but what it really reveals is the difference between the lower class and upper classes of society.

Evaluation
The only problem I had with the movie was the ending. I don't want to ruin it at all, but I think the entire movie was great, it was just the ending that was mediocre. I just finished watching it and thought, that was it? I felt like it could have came to a better conclusion. Overall, the movie really makes you think and it does have that Inception kind of plot. I think aside from The Social Network it would have to be one of the best films that Justin Timberlake has been in. I think this movie necessarily won't be a classic, but I think it won't be forgotten either. I mainly think that because of all the futuristic ideas and how closely it resembles our society today, just in extremes. Roger Ebert gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars in his review, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111026/REVIEWS/111029992, the Washington post raves that it is "stylish" http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/in-time,1177766/critic-review.html#reviewNum1 and the San Francisco Chronicle boasts that it is " satisfying and...feels like part of the national conversation". http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/27/DD631LMEUL.DTL

I agree with Roger Ebert, although I almost would have given it a higher star rating because I think he is always harsh anyways. But, when I read his review he didn't give it a lot of praise, but he did mention how Justin Timberlake is becoming a great actor which I do fully agree.

I do agree with the Washington Post, it's certainly a "stylish" movie. The movie has the feel of maybe being a futuristic movie, but then some situations happen or the surrounding don't necessarily reveal what the actual year is. They also meantion it is a "big idea" in which I also agree, but like Roger Ebert they didn't give it an amazing review. I don't think it was totally amazing, but looking at the movie as a whole it was a good, thought provoking movie.

I really like that the SF Chronicle talks about the movie being apart of the national conversation. These are the words that I wish I could say and I totally agree with the statement. I noticed that the movie mirrors a lot of the society in today's world, but the real world isn't as extreme as the film's idea. The movie is kind of a picture of what things could be like and I think that's what the SF Chronicle noticed about the film as well.

Engage
I haven't gone out and bought any other movies that Justin Timberlake has been in, but I think when In Time does come out I'll probably purchase it. The movie literally had me in tears at the first 15 minutes of the movie and that just shows how great it was all put together. I searched for nominations and other projects that Justin Timberlake has been in and although it isn't a long list now, I know it will significantly grow in the next few years. Acting wise, he is headed in the right direction. Sadly, none of my friends or family have seen the movie, but they both think it would be interesting to see. They saw the same interesting storyline that I saw in the trailer for the movie.

Summary
All in all, the cast is full of great actors, the storyline is interesting and the ending is mediocre. Although, the conclusion doesn't meet the standards of the rest of the movie, it really is a great. Critics gave the movie very average ratings, but in my opinion it's a movie that's worth the money to see (and time). Justin Timberlake gives a very convincing performancing portraying the hero of the storyline. I also hope I don't see the day that this may actually happen, it makes me just a little nervous about all the technological advances now a days. I learned how to look more in depth to movies. I kind of view movies on the surface and the outside, but now I can see the layers of everything that it takes to make a good film.

The Modern Day Family

Describe

On Wednesday, October 19th, I sat down and watched ABC's hit show, Modern Family. The series is a fairly new comedy hit that is already in its 3rd season and is a success because of a brilliant cast and crew. Modern Family highlights a "dysfunctional" yet loving, extended American family. There are many main characters within each family. Let's see if I can describe the family tree, without a lot of confusion, sixty something Jay Pritchett married thirty something Gloria Delgado, who has a son from a previous marriage named Manny, Jay Princhett has two existing children from a previous marriage named Mitchell Pritchett and Claire (Pritchett) Dunphy. Claire Dunphy is married to Phil, and they have 3 children, Hailey, Alex and Luke. Then, over to Mitchell whose husband is Cameron Tucker and they have an adoptive child named Lily, who has, in Hollywood style, gone from 1 year old to 4 years old in one season. The video below gives an easier description and explanation of the characters.

So, if you're still with me, the episode I watched was entitled, "Go Bullfrogs!". Because there are three different families that are followed, there are essentially three different plots. The first plot that arises was about Phil Dunphy taking his daughter, Hailey to his college Alma Mater. The second plot was about Jay and Gloria noticing that Gloria's son Manny is growing up quicker than expected. The third plot was following Claire Dunphy trying to get her brother Mitchell and his husband Cameron to go on a "girls night out." Each plot contains its own raw comedy whether it be Phil ditching his daughter to relive his college years, Mitchell and Cameron accidentally taking the wrong Prius from valet or Claire getting a little tipsy before dropping her son off at a sleepover. The show always ends with a heartwarming, family message, this one happened to be accepting limitations in your own way and how it's never too late to grow in life. You can also get a full synopsis of this episode and many others here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442437/

Now for the advertisements, there were a ton of repeats throughout the show. They played a Ford car commercial more than 3 times, shopping places like K-Mart and Walmart, a kindle ad and kid movie trailers were also very popular. It is only a 30 minute show and didn't run as many advertisements as I thought they would.

Analyze

I absolutely love everything about this sitcom and it's extremely hard to describe such a funny show with a limited amount of words. The characters are portrayed as regular people, which is kind of rare in the television industry. There is obviously a humorous attitude projected by the program.  Mostly Jay and Gloria are depicted as being higher up in society and having more money than the other families. In a perfect world, it would be great for most regular, American families to be upper middle class, but nowadays that's harder to find.

No matter what is being done or said, there is some kind of comedic genius behind the writing of Modern Family. There is a good mix of dry humor and flat out stupid humor, which is just as good as any other kind! The father, Phil Dunphy, is portrayed dumber than his 12 year old son and a dull moment never passes by the antics of the same sex couple Mitchell and Cameron. The producers edit in these small clips that I like to call, "off the record interviews" that also add to the hilarity of the scenes. The filming is kind of erratic (and shaky) at times, going back and forth in between characters, but it adds to the dysfunction and realness of the series. Here are a few videos of my favorite Modern family moments:

The cast and crew of Modern Family must be doing something right because they took home 5 Emmy's at the 2011 Emmy Awards, winning for writing, directing, best supporting actor and actress and also took outstanding comedy for the second year in a row.http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44571396/ns/today-entertainment/t/modern-family-wins-big-emmys/




Modern Family Cast at the 2011 Emmy Awards

 Interpret

I have already mentioned that Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), portrays the flighty, child like father and husband. Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), is the strong, yet slightly insane housewife, and the three kids have their own significant personalities as well. Hailey, the oldest, popular and moody teenager is the complete opposite of her younger sister, Alex, the very studious middle child and Luke, the dim witted, accident prone younger brother. The biggest stereotypes I see is probably the way Mitchell and Cameron, the same sex couple are portrayed. Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is the working business man, whereas Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) stays home and watches their adoptive baby. Cameron is very flamboyantly perceived, he is one that loves dinner parties, singing and dressing up. The other stereotype that is prominently seen is that of Jay, the rich old guy and Gloria, the beautiful Colombian. And if I came from another country and watched an episode of this show, I would probably think the families are a little crazy and weird at times, but they obviously love each other.




Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson
on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

 



There were a lot of children commercials, along with many family shopping centers or family cars. I think the advertisements were spot on with targeting the families that would be watching the show. The shopping centers weren't expensive places, they were places where families could go to shop like Walmart and K-Mart.



Evaluate

Again, I could rant and rave all I want about this show. I believe the writing is amazing, the humor that comes across is brilliant and they deserve all the success they've been having. I believe it mirrors society in a sense, it mirrors society more accurately than some other current, successful shows. Every time I watch an episode, I swear I'm looking at the interactions between my family. I don't know if it's because I'm such a big fan, but I can't think of anything that I don't really like about the series. There is a good balance between each family and the positive message that comes across after all the family issues get sorted out are, in turn, great advice for the everyday American family.

Engage/ Conclusion

I watch Modern Family religiously every Wednesday at 9PM. And if I can't thank goodness for DVR because I refuse to miss an episode. I don't go on the ABC website and I am a fan of them on Facebook, so I can get updates on the latest stories surrounding the series. But, if you want to watch any episodes online, here's the ABC Modern Family website: http://abc.go.com/shows/modern-family

I learned while doing this in depth evaluation, that there were more stereotypes than I thought there were in this show. I just always went along and thought everything was funny, and it still is, but the stereotypes just stand out a lot more to me now than they did before. Nothing really surprised me other than how much of a crazed fan I sound like sometimes when I'm talking about the show. But, I think Modern Family is one of the more "real" sitcoms out there on TV, they have everyday life problems within the family and it's pretty realistic. What I'm trying to say is that I want everyone to know that if they just turn on their TVs they may see their own modern day family.