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All in Time

2015, Comedy, 1h 38m

Where to watch All in Time

Rent All in Time on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

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All in time   photos.

A man quits his job and moves from New York to Pennsylvania to manage his favorite hometown rock band.

Genre: Comedy

Original Language: English

Director: Marina Donahue , Christopher Fetchko

Producer: Chandra Baird , Marina Donahue , Christopher Fetchko

Writer: Marina Donahue , Christopher Fetchko

Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2016

Runtime: 1h 38m

Production Co: Chris Fetchko Productions, Corner Bar Pictures, Expressway Productions, Headspark Productions

Cast & Crew

Sean Modica

Mrs. Joshman

Jean-Luc Bilodeau

Vanessa Ray

Josh Burrow

Pritesh Shah

Marina Donahue

Christopher Fetchko

Screenwriter

Chandra Baird

Paul Donahue

Executive Producer

Robert Najim

David M. Dunlap

Cinematographer

Film Editing

Michael Taylor

Christopher North

Original Music

Alanna Dempewolff-Barrett

Production Design

Chuck Yarmey

Brenda Moreno

Costume Design

Judy Keller

Critic Reviews for All in Time

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, kurt vonnegut: unstuck in time.

Now streaming on:

"Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time" is messy in the way that wakes for dear friends are messy. 

Some speakers go on too long, and there are others that you may wish you'd heard from at greater length, or at all. And the raw sentiment coursing through every moment of the affair, however heartfelt, can be overwhelming, especially if you didn't know the deceased as well as the folks memorializing him. 

The deceased here is Kurt Vonnegut , and the person who planned, executed and hosted this cinematic wake, director Robert B. Weide (a veteran documentarian and an Emmy-winning director for "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), was a friend of Vonnegut's throughout the final 25 years of his life. This movie, co-directed by Don Argott , runs over two hours. Thematic and structural ideas are introduced, nurtured, forgotten, then reintroduced awkwardly. Weide himself is a major character—as well he should be, considering that Vonnegut essentially made Weide his personal archivist, sending him letters and manuscripts and faxes and video and audio tapes, and this film is as much a portrait of a friendship as it is the warts-and-all record of a great writer's life—but sometimes the proportions feel off. When Weide disappears for long stretches, I don't know that it's exactly a slam to say that you don't miss him, because people are mainly here for Vonnegut, one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, and a fount of charisma even at his lowest depths of sour narcissism in the 1970s. 

Vonnegut fans know that he specialized in slim, nimbly written books, with short chapters and short paragraphs that jumped wherever Vonnegut's consciousness happened to take him. "Unstuck in Time" lets us know that it is consciously modeling its structure on Vonnegut's writing, in particular his widest-read work, the nonlinear novel/memoir "Slaughterhouse Five," from whence the documentary's subtitle is drawn ("Billy Pilgrim came unstuck in time," it starts); and to a lesser extent, Vonnegut's late-career bestseller "Timequake," a fragmented, self-aware book that is partly about the difficulty of writing "Timequake." 

There are also cinematic allusions to Vonnegut's literary alter-ego, Kilgore Trout, in the way that Weide and Argott and three credited film editors weave together the relationship between Vonnegut and Weide. Weide first meets Vonnegut in 1982 at age 23 after writing him a fan letter inquiring about the possibility of making a documentary about his life, and he holds onto that youthful starstruck quality even in reminiscences shot long after Vonnegut's death in 2007. Over time, the pupil gains the master's respect, to the point where Weide writes and coproduces a feature-length adaptation of Vonnegut's novel " Mother Night ," starring Nick Nolte and directed by actor-filmmaker Keith Gordon , who as luck would have it played Rodney Dangerfield's son in " Back to School ," a comedy in which Vonnegut played himself. 

This may all sound as if it's articulated more cleanly and effectively than it is. The filmmakers have committed simultaneously and with equal enthusiasm to a couple of filmmaking approaches that are at odds. One is the detached, clinical-mathematical, unsentimental, science-fictional, time-tripping biography, a la "Slaughterhouse Five" and "Timequake," represented here by inventive cutting from image to image and idea to idea, sometimes lingering on signifiers of creative self-awareness. These include closeups of the timeline on an editor's computer screen, montages of Vonnegut doing or saying the same thing in different decades of his life, snippets of films based on Vonnegut's writing, and animated sequences modeled on Vonnegut's drawings, which were as distinctive as his prose. 

The other approach is more straightforward: Weide and Argott are making a straightforward PBS-style documentary about an artist's life, supervised by a director and fan who knew him intimately, and tghat draws on footage ranging from childhood through old age. The latter might jump around in time in terms of the years in which it was created, but it ultimately tells Vonnegut's story in a far more conventional way that the movie promises to do in its opening minutes.

This is fine; in fact it's more than fine, because as Vonnegut and various experts on his work point out, Vonnegut remains readable and relevant in large part because he expressed himself in a direct way, drawing upon what's described here as a journalistic writing style. Correspondingly, the most moving scenes and moments in "Unstuck in Time" are unmannered accounts of events. These range in emotional character from elating (Vonnegut's commercial and critical success with "Slaughterhouse Five" after years of financial struggle) to vexing (after that success, he left his first wife, Jane, who'd been by his side during the lean years, moved to Manhattan, and married his mistress) to tragic (Vonnegut's brother-in-law dying in a train wreck just two days before Vonnegut's older sister died of cancer) to inspirational (Vonnegut unhesitatingly raising his late sister's four sons alongside the three kids he had with Jane).

All of this material is fascinating, and articulated in vivid detail thanks to Weide's trove of material. There are closeups of typewritten revisions of Vonnegut classics, each alteration indicated in pencil or pen, and letters and answering machine messages covering every imaginable life event. The filmmakers lay it all out so elegantly that whenever the movie seems to forget that it's also about Weide and suddenly interrupts the flow to insert a reference to one of Weide's own milestone events (such as his wife's own battle with a debilitating illness and his Emmy win for "Curb," which seems to be in there so that he can include Vonnegut's answering machine message congratulating him) it's awkward because Weide is clearly still grieving, too, and the viewer is torn between wanting to bear witness to Weide's miseries and triumphs and wanting him to get back to Kurt Vonnegut as quickly as possible.

There is, nevertheless, something to be said for a documentary that tries to do something different and perhaps impossible, even if it doesn't quite get there. And in the end, any flaws or missed opportunities are subsumed by the movie's sincerity and wealth of insight. Its analysis of the role that Vonnegut's World War II experience played in his demeanor as well as his fiction is fascinating and on-point, and the editors bring it all back at the end when Vonnegut, outraged by the second Bush administration's invasion of Iraq and weaponizing of patriotism, writes a series of columns for "In These Times" magazine that will ultimately be collected in 2005's "A Man Without a Country," arguably his last major work.

Weide himself comes across as a sardonic and compassionate witness and guide, often taking the piss out of his own reverence for Vonnegut just when things threaten to get a bit moist. The devotion he displays towards Vonnegut throughout the second half of the writer's life is as inspiring as Vonnegut's own high points as a human being. We should all be lucky enough to have a friend who will tell our story.

Now playing in select theaters and available on digital platforms.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)

127 minutes

Robert B. Weide as Self

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Self (archive footage)

Sam Waterston as Self (voice)

Morley Safer as Self

Edie Vonnegut as Self

Bernard Vonnegut as Self (archive footage)

• Robert B. Weide

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Review: Dramedy ‘All in Time’ rocks, but time travel gambit fails

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What if you could go back in time to see a legendary band perform before it was famous? That’s the intriguing notion that plays like a blurry afterthought in the earnest, underwhelming dramedy “All in Time.”

The film, set in the lower-tech late-1990s, was inspired by the experiences of onetime music manager Chris Fetchko, who co-wrote and directed with Marina Donahue. It follows Manhattan banker Charlie (Sean Modica) as he quits his soul-sucking job and returns to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to manage his favorite hometown band, the Damnsels.

These Damnsels are soon in distress, though, as their local fan base shrinks and the group’s disillusioned frontman (Josh Burrow) can’t crank out a much-needed new album.

For Charlie, desperate times — made worse by issues with a longtime girlfriend (Vanessa Ray) — lead him to rep a new act: aspiring singer Laura Kelly (composer-vocalist Laura Shay). And it’s at her first show that the “time travel” bit kicks in for real — or rather surreal.

But this half-baked device proves too little, too late and fails to jump start the film’s prosaic narrative. How Charlie’s landlady (Lynn Cohen) fits in adds to the confusion.

The movie rocks, though, whenever the Damnsels (voiced by Fetchko’s former clients, the Badlees) or Shay (also once managed by Fetchko) perform. Only then do we remember the power of music — and movies — to excite.

-------------

‘All in Time’

Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica; also on VOD

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‘all in time’: newport beach review.

Love of roots rock meets lo-fi magic realism in a Pennsylvania-set comic drama.

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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All in Time Still - H 2015

In the music-fueled comedy All in Time , a Manhattan investment banker flies the corporate coop, returning to his Pennsylvania hometown to manage his favorite band. The “follow your bliss” setup might be the latest variation on a very old song, but filmmakers Chris Fetchko and  Marina Donahue find a fresh hook, one that combines a charmingly no-tech sci-fi twist with a resounding affection for straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll.

Though the first-time writer-directors don’t entirely avoid awkward patches or clunky dialogue, especially in the early sequences, they find a winning balance between high concept and downhome sensibility. Using a mix of low-key magic realism and relatable characters, they offer convincing, unpredictable solutions to standard movie-formula dilemmas over the work-life balance.

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Sean Modica  brings an Everyguy quality to the role of Charlie, who’s first seen in suit and tie, wistfully listening to a busker before returning to his gray cubicle. The year is 1996, back in the music business’s pre-Internet, pre-Great Recession era. The recent period setting is crucial to the movie’s old-school vision (and its low budget). The filmmakers also mine it for subtle humor, as when Charlie’s mother bemoans his having turned his back on the “job stability” at Lehman Brothers to pursue his dream.

See more All the Looks from the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

The dream, such as it is, plays out with hard work and little money as Charlie and his devoted intern, Clark ( Jean-Luc Bilodeau ), try to get Wilkes-Barre faves the Damnsels to the next level. With one hit and one major tour behind them, they’re 15 years into a career that has stalled on the local club circuit — all of which rings potently true. On the other hand, the indifference of the band’s songwriter-guitarist, Glen ( Josh Burrow ) — the only Damnsel who gets any attention as a character — feels forced and flat. Bitter over the “suits” who nixed the album he considers his personal best, Glen has one foot out the door, throwing the inevitable monkey wrench into Charlie and Clark’s plans for a concert featuring long-anticipated new material. Their last-ditch marketing hook for the show is a “time traveler” theme, inviting people to don duds from the rock era of their choosing. In a simple, affecting twist, some of those rock T-shirts on concertgoers might actually be from the future.

Glen’s desire to spend more time with his daughter dovetails with the standoff that develops between Charlie and his girlfriend, Rachel ( Vanessa Ray , of the cop series Blue Bloods ), who’s tired of competing with the band for his time and attention. Like most of the film’s characters, she’s represents an idea rather than flesh-and-blood complexity. Even so, her own career struggles make her more than the typical perennially slighted significant other.

Perhaps it’s the balance of male and female in the writing team, but the movie avoids the kind of pat answers that can push so many screen romances into fantasyland. When Rachel and Charlie have it out, their argument cuts to the core of who they each are, and proves transformative in unexpected ways. Furthering such breakthroughs is Charlie’s sometimes intrusive elderly neighbor, played by standout Lynn Cohen . Urging him to embrace life’s detours, she ultimately connects the story’s increasingly mysterious dots, her insights sharp and bromide-free.

Fetchko is drawing on his experiences managing Pennsylvania band the  Badlees , who provide the Damnsels’ rootsy rock, a vital element of the movie’s persuasiveness. (The band’s lead singer and drummer, Pete Palladino and  Ron Simasek , also play their onscreen counterparts, while Ellis Paul provides Glen’s singing voice in a pivotal scene.) As Charlie’s second client, singer-songwriter Laura Shay adds another strong indie facet to the movie’s soundtrack, although the character’s “who me?” attitude is a bit disingenuous given the polish of her songs.

In contrast to some of the overripe caricatures in the Brit comedy Still Crazy , the Damnsels look and act like middle-aged rockers. Spinal Tap-worthy moments arise without undue emphasis, as when the band’s name is misspelled on a marquee because the venue proprietor “needed the ‘L’ for ‘cole slaw.’”

The production’s tech and design aspects are solid and fittingly understated. Love of the music is signaled in the opening credits, which make clever use of equipment cases being unloaded by roadies. In unfussy fashion, d.p. David M. Dunlap ( Shaun of the Dead ) captures a world both lived-in and transcendent, from the Wilkes-Barre settings to the inventively matter-of-fact metaphysics that are all about fans’ ineffable gratitude and devotion.

Production companies: Corner Bar Pictures in association with Expressway Prods. and Headspark Prods. Cast: Sean Modica, Vanessa Ray, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Lynn Cohen, Josh Burrow, Rob Bartlett, Laura Shay, Jay Klaitz, Pete Palladino, Ron Simasek, Thor Fields, Tom Wopat, Fred Norris Directors: Chris Fetchko, Marina Donahue Screenwriters: Chris Fetchko, Marina Donahue Producers: Chandra Baird, Chris Fetchko, Marina Donahue Executive producers: Paul Donahue, Robert Najim Director of photography: David M. Dunlap Production designers: Alanna Dempewolff-Barrett, Chuck Yarmey Costume designers: Brenda Moreno, Rita Squtiere Editors: Cindy Lee, Michael Taylor Composer: Christopher North Casting director: Judy Keller

No rating, 98 minutes

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Common sense media reviewers.

Sci-fi thriller has violence, sexuality, language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The idea that time is precious is a good message f

At times, Will is a good role model: He's a lo

Plenty of shootings (some at close range, though t

Will and Sylvia hook up pretty quickly; they flirt

Occasional use of words like "s--t," &qu

Adults drink wine, champagne, and hard liquor at s

Parents need to know that this sci-fi adventure features a fair bit of violence, twentysomething sexuality, and heavy themes about social equality and injustice that may not be appropriate for tweens interested in seeing a Justin Timberlake movie. Language includes one "f--k," as well as "s--t," …

Positive Messages

The idea that time is precious is a good message for all, as is the notion that no one should ever die so that someone else can become richer. But the movie's moral is muddied by the main characters' inconsistent behavior. How can they judge who merits the time and who doesn't? Still, despite their dire situation, Will and his mother love each other unconditionally and are always willing to spare some time for each other and those who are even less fortunate.

Positive Role Models

At times, Will is a good role model: He's a loving son, a generous man, and a good friend. His mother is also a sweet and kind woman who gives her son time she can't really spare. The manager of the local mission gives most of his time away to the needier, and even Sylvia grows to understand the plight of the timeless.

Violence & Scariness

Plenty of shootings (some at close range, though there's little blood); one suicide. Most people die when their countdown clock hits zero, and this can happen to anyone -- particularly the poor -- at any time if they can't find someone to give or lend them some extra time until their next time-paying job. The dead are shown peppered throughout the streets; in one heartbreaking scene, two characters miss being reunited by a second, and it's just long enough for one to die in the other's arms. Those who do have more than enough time can still die if someone steals their time or if they're injured beyond repair in an accident, by a gun shot, etc. Most of the characters who die in the movie have their "clocks cleared," although a few are shot.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Will and Sylvia hook up pretty quickly; they flirt and go skinny dipping (her nude bottom is shown under the water) before they even have their first kiss. Later, after their first passionate kiss, they end up staying together and making out. They play strip poker on a bed, and Sylvia is obviously losing -- she's down to her lace bra and panties. There's no actual love scene, though, since the couple is interrupted before they can go all the way (although it's clear they've done so off camera). In other scenes, a prostitute propositions a cop and rich women wear tight, revealing outfits.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional use of words like "s--t," "ass," "damn," and "hell," as well as one memorable "f--k" (said as "un-f--king-believable." "God" and "Jesus"-based exclamations are said several times as well.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink wine, champagne, and hard liquor at social events, a bar, and in private. Will's best friend (literally) drinks himself to death by using all of his bonus "time" on alcohol.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this sci-fi adventure features a fair bit of violence, twentysomething sexuality, and heavy themes about social equality and injustice that may not be appropriate for tweens interested in seeing a Justin Timberlake movie. Language includes one "f--k," as well as "s--t," "damn," "ass"; violent scenes feature close-range shootings (mostly bloodless), people dropping dead when their clocks reach zero, and one suicide. Sex is implied rather than shown, but there's a skinny-dipping scene with a glimpse of a nude bottom, as well as strip poker and some skimpy lingerie. There's a Robin Hood-esque theme to the second half of the movie, but it's wrapped around a shallower Bonnie-and-Clyde vibe of "let's have fun robbing from the rich." Despite the movie's mixed messages, one lesson is loud and clear: Don't waste your time. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (12)
• Kids say (43)

Based on 12 parent reviews

It was good

What's the story.

Will Salas ( Justin Timberlake ) lives in a futuristic world in which everyone ages until 25 -- and then, the instant they hit that milestone, their internal clock is turned on like a glowing counter on their forearms, and they must work to earn each additional minute, hour, and year of their lives. Will and his mother, Rachel ( Olivia Wilde ), live in Dayton, the "poor" time zone in which everyone lives minute to minute; one night, after Will helps a wealthy man flee the zone's biggest time thief, the mysterious rich fellow explains how the rich are immortal, while the poor die in the streets. He then gives Will 116 years before committing suicide. Left with more time than anyone in his zone, Will flees to the far posher zone of New Greenwich, where businessmen like Philippe Weis ( Vincent Kartheiser ) are so time-rich that their wives wear gloves so as not to flaunt their millennia. Wanted by the head Timekeeper ( Cillian Murphy ), Will narrowly escapes the zone with Philippe's daughter, Sylvia ( Amanda Seyfried ), as his hostage. The two embark on a mission to redistribute time and expose the system's injustice.

Is It Any Good?

The first half of IN TIME is stylish and original and offers just enough action and punny time jokes to be genuinely entertaining without being over the top. Parading an all-star cast of talented actors, led by the always charismatic Timberlake, the movie is by turns a thriller, a treatise on the unfair distribution of wealth, and a Bonnie and Clyd e-meets- Robin Hood caper. Parts are particularly poignant, like a gut-wrenching sequence in which Rachel is running as fast as she can to meet Will before she times out, or when Will sweetly gives his best friend ( Johnny Galecki ) a decade in tribute to their 10 years of friendship.

But once Will and Sylvia hook up to free the time, the movie's many flaws emerge to bog the action down in unanswered questions. Will's dead father's name is brought up several times, but it's never exactly clear why he was such a revolutionary hero. It's also uncertain when or how the time system started -- if it's a genetic alteration introduced in a dystopian future or something created to keep the masses in slave-like conditions. Some of the relationships, especially Sylvia's with her parents, are especially one-dimensional (it's ludicrous that one of the richest men in the world wouldn't give away time for his one and only daughter). Director Andrew Niccol gets points for the movie's fascinating premise and the exciting cast, but he should have done a better job of sustaining the cool concept and tightening up loose ends. This is one of those entertaining-enough sci-fi movies that it's best not to overthink, or else your time will feel wasted.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie's sci-fi themes. Why are futuristic storylines so compelling to audiences? Is this vision of the future a positive one or a cautionary tale? Can you think of other movies with futures that seem better to live in than this time-obsessed one?

How do the filmmakers cleverly use "time" to replace wealth in the story? Pick out a few examples of how characters literally mean it when they say "I'm out of time," or "have a minute?"

How is the movie's message of wealth distribution and injustice relevant today?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 28, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : January 31, 2012
• Cast : Amanda Seyfried , Justin Timberlake , Olivia Wilde
• Director : Andrew Niccol
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Run time : 109 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : violence, some sexuality and partial nudity, and brief strong language
• Last updated : March 14, 2024

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In Time – review

T his new sci-fi thriller from Gattaca director Andrew Niccol imagines a future where time is – literally – money and everyone stops ageing at 25. After that, their final year, etched on their arms as a ghoulish green countdown, starts ticking away. Justin Timberlake plays Will Salas, one of the 99% working today to earn time to live tomorrow. When Will is gifted 100 years by a jaded multi-centenarian who winds up "timed out" (aka dead), the authorities call foul play. He goes on the run, kidnaps a time tycoon's daughter (Amanda Seyfried) and sets about redistributing hours, minutes and seconds to the needy like a Rolex Robin Hood. Niccol's anti-capitalist allegory is clunky, his premise dense, but this is still a playful caper that ticks along on the strength of its cast. As such, it's just about worth spending time on.

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Content Caution

In Theaters

• October 28, 2011
• Justin Timberlake as Will Salas; Amanda Seyfried as Sylvia Weis; Cillian Murphy as Raymond Leon; Vincent Kartheiser as Philippe Weis; Olivia Wilde as Rachel Salas

Home Release Date

• January 31, 2012
• Andrew Niccol

Distributor

• 20th Century Fox

Movie Review

We sometimes talk about living on borrowed time. But no one takes the phrase quite so literally as those who live in the rundown Dayton district.

Here, in a world where time really is money—where people stop aging at 25 but start dying then, too, where folks spend minutes for coffee and weeks for a hotel room—the residents of Dayton literally live day to day. Will Salas, ever since his clock started ticking, has never gone a day with more than a day to live: He’s survived the last three years through guile and hard work—pulling extra shifts at the factory and then running home to share his precious minutes with his mother.

But there’s never enough time to do what you want to do, and Will knows that he can’t stay 25 forever. Prices keep rising. His wages keep falling. His time is running out.

Then one night he sees a guy at a bar spending decades like Monopoly minutes. He’s carrying more than a century with him—and carting around that much time in Dayton is like signing your own death warrant. Will rescues the dude from a tough scrape and spirits him away to safety. And while the guy appreciates the gesture, he tells Will that, at the eternally youthful age of 105, he’s ready to pull out the batteries.

“The day comes when you’ve had enough,” he says. “We want to die. We need to.”

Yeah, sure , thinks time-deprived Will, and he drifts off to sleep. But when he wakes, he discovers two curious things: One, his own internal clock has been reset with another 116 years. Two, his new friend is lying dead outside.

So Will’s been given the precious gift of time. Lots of it. But in this crazy, clock-obsessed world, folks like Will aren’t supposed to have extra time on their hands. They’re supposed to live and die like good citizens, so a few rich and powerful people can live for as long as they want. Will’s new cache of time violates the scheme of things—a delicate economic system that’s worked so nicely for … well, quite some time. And it’s not long before time-coveting crooks and time-keeping cops decide to clean Will’s clock, whispering to themselves, We want what’s … hours .

Positive Elements

Maybe we could all use a green, glowing countdown clock on our forearms—something that would tell us how much time we really had. Perhaps if we did, we wouldn’t waste our time like we sometimes do. Will, in some ways, sets a good example for us: He certainly makes the most of the time he’s been given—using every hour, minute and second to its full potential.

And that ethic hasn’t made him stingy, either. He’s generous with his time. We see him give a decade to a friend and an unspecified amount to a little homeless girl. He even gives a couple of hours to a timekeeper who’s pursuing him—allowing the cop to get back to base before he expires. Why? Because Will doesn’t think time should be rationed, that the poor should have days and the rich eons. He believes there’s time enough for all—and he pushes the powers that be to become fairer and more equitable.

(Now in so doing, Will becomes something of a chronological Robin Hood, and naturally that comes with its own set of problems. But while we may take issue with his methods, we can’t fault Will’s heart here.)

Spiritual Elements

For a world so obsessed with time, there’s very little mind paid to the subject of eternity. There’s a sense here that when your clock stops ticking, that’s it: You’ve just stopped ticking. There’s no discussion of an afterlife, no ruminations on God and whether He would’ve approved of time being used and abused in this way.

And yet faith is not entirely absent. There’s a mission house in Dayton that doles out time instead of food. The place is headed by an apparent priest (in the credits he’s called Levi) who bears a religious symbol that ever so slightly resembles a Christian cross. Will sneaks up on Levi at one juncture with a mask on, and Levi assumes that he’s being robbed:

“I don’t have much,” Levi says. “Everything I have I give away.”

“I know,” Will says, and loads up Levi’s counter with his own minutes.

One more spiritually themed note: The world’s time-based economic system is often characterized as fair, in a strictly survival-of-the-fittest sort of way. And the code needed to access a safe holding lots and lots of time is, unsurprisingly, Charles Darwin’s birth date.

Sexual Content

Will hooks up with a girl named Sylvia, daughter of a fabulously wealthy time magnate. The two skinny-dip in the ocean (we see a glimpse of Sylvia’s backside) and later play strip poker in a hotel room (Sylvia, dressed in only her underwear, is clearly losing when they pause to make out on the bed). The pair also smooches passionately a few times.

Women wear formfitting, cleavage-revealing clothing. A prostitute propositions a timekeeper, offering him 10 minutes of her time if he gives her an hour. Will makes a crude sexual allusion to a waitress.

Violent Content

In Time gives us a world in which people die when their countdown clocks hit 0. These genetically predetermined deaths aren’t particularly lingering: Victims look as if they were stricken by a sudden heart attack—a gasp, a grimace and they’re gone. We see a handful of folks go this way—one after his time’s been forcibly taken from him, another after losing a “fight” in which the contestants vie for each other’s allotments. A man gives away all of his time, killing himself.

The deceased get little notice, interestingly. And their bodies are sometimes left out in the open like old candy wrappers.

There are other ways to die of course. Several folks carry and use guns. One man is shot in the back of the head. Three others are gunned down in rapid succession and then laid out on a sidewalk like logs. Another takes a bullet to the arm and survives. People get punched, kicked and slammed into bathroom stall doors. Will and Sylvia get into a serious (though seriously fake-looking) car accident.

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word, three s-words and a smattering of other profanities, most prominently “d‑‑n” and “h‑‑‑.” God’s name is misused a half-dozen times (once with “d‑‑n”), and Jesus’ name is abused once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

We’ve always heard that drinking heavily can take years off your life, and in this movie that’s very, very true. Will, when he comes into some unexpected time, gives his best friend a decade. But his friend—who seems to spend a great deal of his spare (and not-so-spare) time at the local watering hole—wastes it all on booze and literally drinks himself to death, leaving behind a wife and baby.

Others drink wine and champagne. Will’s rich friend shares a flask of something with him.

Other Negative Elements

[ Spoiler Warning ] When Will has his gift of time—the time given to him by his suicidal friend—taken away from him by the timekeepers, he turns to a life of crime. He kidnaps Sylvia, though it’s not long before the two become the time-bandit version of Bonnie and Clyde. They begin robbing time banks, giving the poor most of what they take … a crime spree that eventually culminates in them stealing a great many years from Sylvia’s father and turning it over to the destitute.

“Is it stealing if it’s already stolen?” Sylvia asks. It seems like a fair question, but the answer still has to be yes. Because the counter-question is, If the stuff you’re stealing was really stolen from someone else, is it OK to spend it on yourself?

Will and Sylvia refuse to grapple with that second question, using their ill-gotten time to pamper themselves. Will and others engage in high-stakes gambling.

Someone throws up in a toilet.

It’s appropriate that In Time is so focused on the clock, because the film itself is a little two-faced. On the hour hand, we have this intriguing premise—the distribution of time. One of the world’s great levelers has always been time: No matter how rich or poor we are, we all get the same 24 hours in a day, and (quality healthcare aside) we can’t ever really buy more of it. In Time flips that long-standing reality on its head, transferring our days and weeks and years into the hands of a very few, very wealthy people.

But if you look at the minute hand, you can see that the film manages to transform this compelling theme into a silly, almost campy crime caper pandering to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Certainly those who question the merits of capitalism and favor redistribution of wealth—however wealth is defined—will find much to like here.

And even then, In Time isn’t wholly consistent. It’s easy to latch onto the idea that hoarding time would be a crime. That the economic system in play here is inherently unpleasant. But the fact that Will and Sylvia spend so freely of other people’s time when they “steal it back” doesn’t bode well for an unswerving narrative. Shouldn’t they be giving that time back to its rightful owners? It feels sort of like a rapper railing against poverty on one song, then trumpeting his latest Maybach on the next. There’s just something unseemly about it.

The film tells us that time is a precious commodity. Agreed. It’s all the more reason to think long and hard before spending it on this movie.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Review: In Time Is Tepid Sci-Fi With an 'Occupy' Message

They should screen In Time at "Occupy" sleepovers around the country. It's a tepid sci-fi movie with a simplistic message about "Darwinian capitalism" that should resonate with the crowds assembling to protest the current state of affairs.

That message is: Rich people are bad and the system is rigged.

In the dystopian future nightmared up in the movie, which opens Friday, working-class zeros face a relentless industrial hell that makes our current debt-fueled recession look like a picnic. The blue-collar drones of In Time would never think of sitting around "occupying" Wall Street or anything else – in their world, time is literally money, and most people seem to be within a day or so of running out, which results in sudden death.

( Spoiler alert: Minor plot points follow.)

Time is money, and individuals' constantly dwindling bank accounts are displayed on their forearms.

A $4 Starbucks latte seems like a bargain compared to In Time's paranoid PG-13 scenario, in which you trade four minutes of your life for a cup of coffee. In that horrible world, work a double at the factory and you might earn enough to sleep in, but the clock's always ticking.

What's worse, it's ticking in your arm. As explained in the movie's breezy prologue, some sort of genetic-engineering breakthrough has transformed human life so that everyone stops aging at 25, at which point they have exactly one year to live. Everybody's remaining time is conveniently tracked in florescent-green digital readouts embedded in their forearms. The upshot is that the rich are basically immortal, as long as they don't choke on a spoonful of caviar or wreck a fancy car.

It's an interesting concept, but that's about as deep as the thinking goes. In poor "time zones," the people are always running about in a hurry; in the rich sectors, the elites relax and gamble away spare decades. As the movie unfolds, we get sinister glimpses of a deeper conspiracy afoot – laced with loopy talk about crashing the market if too much time gets into the wrong hands – all based on the concept that for a few to live forever, many must die. We also learn that the father of Will Salas (played by Justin Timberlake ) was some sort of freedom fighter, presumably in a half-hearted attempt to give the character depth.

Cillian Murphy plays a relentless time cop in In Time. Photos: Stephen Vaughan/20th Century Fox

What we're left with is basically a chase movie. Shortly after a suicidal time baron leaves his fortune to Salas, a disastrous turn of events sets him on a course for revenge. He makes his way to New Greenwich, where the rich people live, intent on making "them" pay. He quickly runs into Sylvia Weis ( Amanda Seyfried ), daughter of oily time baron Philippe Weis ( Vincent Kartheiser ).

After she lays out the dilemma of the rich – living in fear, they shy away from any type of risk – she and Salas share a little bit of old-fashioned skinny-dipping as she discovers the raw joy of the ocean. Soon he's kidnapped her and the pair are off and running, dodging cops known as Timekeepers and time-thieving thugs known as Minutemen. (There's plenty of that kind of time-oriented punning in the movie, so brace yourself – you can almost set your watch by it.)

Director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne) obviously loves thinking big thoughts. "When I was doing Gattaca," he told Film School Rejects, "I knew the holy grail of genetic engineering was to discover the aging gene, and switch it off . You'll see, even in Gattaca, the symbol of the genetically superior in this world is the infinity symbol. Obviously, their goal was to live forever.... [The two movies are] not intentionally tied together, but the implications are so great. If everyone could live forever, then there would be massive overpopulation, so that's why I came up with the idea of trading time."

David Kushner

Andy Greenberg

Louise Matsakis

Unfortunately, this high concept could use some solid grounding. Niccol is making an extremely timely (forgive me) if ham-handed argument about the roles of the rich and the poor in a capitalist system, but all the broad-brush talk about the abuses of the superwealthy and the importance of valuing your remaining time on Earth does nothing to elevate In Time beyond the pseudo-intellectual realm. None of it feels very visceral or all that original.

We're left with an action movie with stylish cinematography, ridiculous arm-wrestling duels and cerebral ambitions. Timberlake is undeniably good at running, and he's not a half-bad actor. In a movie almost devoid of special effects – the gritty slums and gilded mansions of various time zones are retro-futuristic, meaning we get sleek sports cars, not jetpacks – Seyfried's beautiful bug eyes steal the show. The two main characters are likable enough, and Cillian Murphy plays the creepy Terminator card as a stony Timekeeper intent on bringing Salas to justice, but it's hard to care about anybody's fate without the proper groundwork being laid.

Worse yet, In Time squanders its built-in mechanism for generating tension. When people "time out," their deaths are almost laughably simple. 24's ticking clock made for much more taut entertainment.

That's probably because, much like the Occupy movement , In Time can't seem to decide what it wants to be. Is it a Logan's Run ripoff? A Gattaca clone? A Total Recall parable about the oppressed working class? A sci-fi Robin Hood or Bonnie and Clyde?

In the end, it's a simplistic sci-fi story with clunky dialogue, few surprises and very little real insight into the human condition. They should've spent a little more time, or money, on the script.

WIRED High-concept sci-fi idea; badass retro-futuristic cop cars.

TIRED Dicey dialog; yet another dreary dystopia.

Read Underwire’s movie ratings guide .

See Also:- Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried Talk In Time's Sci-Fi Nightmare

• Director Calls In Time 'Bastard Child of Gattaca'
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Screen Rant

The beast review: the world is always ending in this sweeping sci-fi romance.

A centuries-spanning romantic odyssey that is equal parts strange sci-fi and melodrama, Bertrand Bonello's The Beast is unclassifiable and refreshing.

• The Beast examines past lives' influence on the present, focusing on a central pair's history.
• The film mixes genres excitingly, with horror constantly looming in each story.
• The fear depicted in The Beast reflects contemporary anxieties, emphasizing the importance of feeling over forgetting.

The Beast is an apt title for a film that often feels untamable. A centuries-spanning romantic odyssey that is equal parts strange sci-fi and high melodrama, Bertrand Bonello's film is unclassifiable, wild, and refreshing. The French director examines how the past never stays in the past and how the baggage we attempt to rid ourselves of from moment to moment, or even from life to life, will inevitably rear its oft-ugly head.

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay).

• Though spanning centuries, The Beast brings modern fears into the story
• Léa Seydoux and George MacKay are excellent
• The Beast knows how to balance its sci-fi and romance
• The film lovingly highlights the importance of feelings and not forgetting

The Beast Moves Through Time To Unveil The Past Lives Of Its Central Pair

How they influence the present is just as important.

In 2044, Gabrielle ( Léa Seydoux ) is trying to rid herself of that baggage through a procedure that purifies a person's DNA, purging the patient of leftover emotions from their past lives. This procedure will rid her of these past traumas that cause Gabrielle to feel a lingering sense of doom in the present day. What that doom entails remains a mystery, but she's not the only one hoping to temper feelings of disquiet.

Gabrielle encounters Louis (George MacKay) while prepping for the procedures, and she is drawn to the man with an air of familiarity about him. When she finally dives into her past lives, we see her encounter different versions of Louis that change the course of her various lives. First, the pair meet in Belle-Époque-era Paris. In another life, Louis is an incel stalking Gabrielle as she house-sits a Los Angeles mansion while working as an actress.

The Beast Plays With Genre In Increasingly Exciting Ways

But the inevitability of horror lies around every corner.

In all of these lives, Gabrielle is near fatalistic in her conviction that some bad thing will befall her. The Beast 's real terror, though, comes from actualizing this feeling in its various tales. Whispers of Paris flooding follow Gabrielle and Louis in the early 20th century. Misogyny and violence hover over Gabrielle's life in 2014 Los Angeles. The threat of control follows her everywhere in 2044. The film's score and sound design are unsettling as they mimic or even impact what's happening onscreen.

All of these disparate elements feel like they shouldn't work together, but it's their discordant qualities that allow The Beast to coalesce into a symphony of anxiety.

Tight string arrangements follow Gabrielle as she's stalked through the Los Angeles mansion. Sweeping orchestral music accompanies Louis and Gabrielle's outings in Paris and deep synths serve as a backdrop for the film's minimalist future. All of these disparate elements feel like they shouldn't work together, but it's their discordant qualities that allow The Beast to coalesce into a symphony of anxiety.

In The Beast, The Apocalypse Is A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The end is just the beginning.

The world is always ending in The Beast, and it's easy to see our own world reflected in the ones portrayed by Bonello. Seydoux's dialed-in performance — detached but all too aware — ensures that we are never too comfortable. Gabrielle's anxieties are much like our own — sea levels rising, political unrest, the erosion of the truth and empathy. Ironic detachment is the mode of our times, but when the irony disappears and all that remains is indifference, the world starts to feel a lot like the future in The Beast .

Even the film itself begins with detachment personified. In 2014, Gabrielle films a scene for what appears to be a horror movie, but in place of the empty house and horrifying monster, the floor and background are green screen. The director asks if she can be afraid of something that isn't really there. Gabrielle says she can. The fear we create in our heads is just as real as the fear created by a world in disarray. Those fears can manifest in people, in world-ending events, or in ideologies.

12 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2023

By the end, The Beast knows that this fear — Gabrielle's and our own — is not something that can be purged. It is this fear that allows Gabrielle to be sincere, to search for meaning in a world where it is being sucked out of the air. In 2044, Artificial Intelligence rules the world after an unspecified catastrophe.

This catastrophe isn't the one Gabrielle is afraid of, but it is one that perhaps influenced her fear of the future. Our minds are always searching for something to be afraid of. Sometimes we need that fear. Bonello posits that, even in fear, feeling is more important than forgetting, and every little death is a door to another future.

The Beast opens in select theaters on Friday, April 5, expanding to more theaters on April 12.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Tearsmith’ on Netflix, An Italian Teen Romance Based On A Popular Novel

Where to stream:.

• The Tearsmith

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The Tearsmith (Netflix), directed by Alessandro Genovesi, is adapted from Fabbricante di lacrime by novelist Erin Doom , a bestseller that took the Italian version of #BookTok by storm in 2022. The orphanage where Nica and Rigel were raised was a brutal place, a place full of fairy tale imagery the children used to try and withstand their emotional and physical traumas. While they’ve been at odds their entire lives, yet also drawn powerfully to one another, Nica and Rigel must reckon with their upbringing and individual feelings when they are adopted by a couple as teenagers. Get ready for a lot of longing looks, brooding at benches of pianos, and desperate searches for the traditional parts of a fairy tale that will hopefully, finally stick together. “The wolf of the story may seem evil, but he isn’t always so…”

THE TEARSMITH : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

The Gist: When her parents died in a car accident, Nica (Caterina Ferioli) was sent to Sunnycreek Home, which all of the kids called “Grave.” She did have one friend there, the loyal Adeline (Eco Andriolo). But the orphans knew their souls were being choked off in that facility, with its cold marble domes, spare sleeping quarters, and mysterious torture chambers. And Margaret (Sabrina Paravicini), their cruel headmistress, only reserved love for Rigel (Simone Baldasseroni), the boy she had named for a star. After years of being passed over, Nica was finally adopted by a couple who recently lost their own son. And when they heard his beautiful playing at the piano, Anna (Roberta Rovelli) and Norman (Orlando Cinque) were inspired to adopt Rigel, too. 

Now on a fast track to officially becoming siblings, Nica and Rigel attend Barnaby High School, where she makes fast friends with Billie (Nicky Passarella) and Miki (Sveva Romana Candelletta) while he strikes tortured handsome guy poses while getting in fights Lionel (Alessandro Bedetti), who’s sweet on Nica. In flashbacks to their time in the orphanage, we also glimpse how Rigel was medicated for fevers and severe headaches, and Nica was strapped to a gurney by Margaret for the slightest infraction. “Don’t touch me,” he says now, in their adjacent bedrooms at Anna and Norman’s. “Are you brave enough to imagine a fairy tale without a wolf?” But Nica has always noticed something in Rigel, even if he won’t admit it. “Maybe there was more than just anger and pain,” she muses in a voiceover. “Maybe there was light in him, too.” 

Cue many extended bouts of staring into each other’s eyes. When his condition causes a seizure, she puts him to bed and comforts him – this leads to nuzzling. And while both Rigel and Nica know that their experiences with Margaret at Grave broke something inside of them, they don’t want to face that trauma. Nica would instead embrace her new family dynamic with Anna and Norman, while Rigel just wants to be close to her, even if he won’t admit it. When Nica’s old friend Adeline arrives with news of the plan to pursue charges of abuse against Margaret, it inspires Nica to come forward. The scars Grave inflicted on her are lasting. But what their headmistress did to Rigel is worse. If the embodiment of evil loved only him, then how can he be loved or give love?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Wolves in The Tearsmith are only metaphorical. But the forbidden but smoldering romance between Nica and Rigel is right out of the dramas of the Twilight saga. 

Performance Worth Watching: Caterina Ferioli carries the bulk of The Tearsmith , lending Nica a burgeoning sense of confidence she can explore while still processing the traumas of her childhood. But Nicky Passarella and especially Sveva Romana Candelletta are also really good here as Nica’s pals Billie and Miki, respectively, even if their own emerging romance is only hinted at before being forgotten entirely.  

Memorable Dialogue: “Yes, it’s true. We’re broken. We’re not like the others. Maybe we broke into a thousand pieces so we’d fit together better.” In a romance, this is the kind of stuff someone will say right off the top of their head. But Ferioli, together with Simone Baldasseroni as Rigel, at least have enough chemistry to sell it. 

Sex and Skin: Some petting and ear-kissing and eventual shirtlessness; also, Nica experiences a brief moment of unwanted physical aggression. 

Our Take: The novel on which The Tearsmith is based was apparently set in Alabama, which might explain the movie’s reliance on US vehicles from the 1980s and ’90s, as well as Nica’s adoptive parents seeming to emulate American styles of dress and homemaking. But the film’s actual setting is not named, all of the dialogue is in Italian, the orphanage that appears in flashbacks is possessed of a brokedown opulence that feels very Baroque, and scenes that occur in a high school building or hospital setting rely on close-ups and soft lighting to obscure their location. All of this makes it really difficult to become fully immersed in the love story between Nica and Rigel. Chemistry-wise, Caterina Ferioli and Simone Baldasseroni have their moments, as far as frustrated lovers trying to find their purpose together certainly can. It is quite possible to root for them. But the setting as it’s portrayed in the film took us way, way out of the immediate story, and especially impedes the romance, which sometimes occurs between two young people who have technically been adopted as siblings, with doors open in a house owned by a couple who are technically now their parents. The Tearsmith doesn’t really ever address the potential ickiness of this, beyond a jealous kid at school attacking Rigel. Maybe this theme found fuller expression in the novel, but in the film, it can’t align itself with the overdone riffing on fairy tales, wolves, and innocent damsels.        

Our Call: In The Tearsmith , there are fleeting moments of real chemistry between our youthful romance-havers. It’s a lot of slow burn! And aching looks in the crush’s direction! But there is also the lasting trauma of emotional and physical abuse in one’s childhood, shared with your true love because while you were once orphans, you have been adopted together? Alas, a few of the pieces in The Tearsmith don’t really fit together, and that will make it a SKIP IT for some audiences.  

Johnny Loftus ( @glennganges ) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.

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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Review

A spectacular (if hollow) clash of kings.

You’ve gotta respect when a movie knows its audience. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is effectively what would happen if you took a thread from r/Godzilla and put it up on screen: a visually stunning, sensory extravaganza that’s all crescendo and no build-up. The stakes are high – though not quite firmly established – and the entire film presents action payoff after action payoff. It’s utterly breathless – unless that breath is bellowing out a massive stream of ice or fire. Especially in IMAX, it’s a 1-hour-and-55-minute amusement park ride; I was oohing and ahhing through the entire thing, wondering what was lurking around the next corner – or, as this outlandish universe would have it, behind the electrified plasma wall. I just couldn’t take it too personally when it all didn’t quite add up.

This story is pretty clearly made with MonsterVerse novices in mind – which would be great if that were the case for anyone who’s going to see the fifth film in the series, but that person is difficult to envision. (Maybe Godzilla Minus One served as their introduction to kaiju movies, and now they want to check out The Big G’s noisier, flashier American output.) We know that not one, but both of these titular alpha titans come with decades of built-in lore, and those who will be first in line are superfans who have memorized every. single. detail. To have the human characters once again experience shock and confusion from yet another “electrical anomaly” – in a universe where seismic waves and electric currents have factored into Godzilla’s appearances since time immemorial – infantilizes the most passionate audience members and presents a missed opportunity for some more imaginative writing. Sure, going back to these basics keeps The New Empire aligned with the classic mythology, but at this point, our characters should be recognizing these signals from the get-go. There’s a chance to build here – we don’t have to play stupid and lose respect for the characters out of the gate.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Gallery

The New Empire sets up its “Godzilla above, Kong below” dynamic early, so we know that after 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong the two frenemies have come to an understanding of mutually assured destruction should they stray from their respective lanes. But, as a shock to no one, that fragile peace doesn’t last for long. Kong serves as the main monster throughout The New Empire, which immediately casts him in a more human, sensitive light that’s easy to empathize with. Showing clear signs of aging through graying fur, the leviathan is weaker and more vulnerable than ever before – at one point, he’s taken out by a toothache.

His sense of mortality is what sells a desire for familial connection, and that drives most of the plot for both monkey and man. It’s also what sees Rebecca Hall’s Dr. Ilene Andrews disappointingly go from the strong, intelligent protagonist of Godzilla vs. Kong to a mother-like figure softened by love for adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and… an old college buddy? It doesn’t help that, though she is arguably the main human character, Ilene’s opportunities to shine suffer under the heavy weight of the Titans. Kong's emotions, and those of the other apes he seeks out, come across stronger than hers do.

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On top of all of that, Andrews takes a back seat to new addition Trapper – a monster veterinarian played by Dan Stevens – only serving the purpose of pushing certain plot points forward by reading them aloud from ancient ruins. There are a few feigned moments of emotion that fall flat – the question is, why even bother presenting the idea of a mother/daughter connection in a monster movie?

There’s no time for emotions! A new, more intellectually-advanced villain spurs the team of world savers to – what else? – come together to save the world. While small details are brushed under the rug, Wingard’s imagination for non-stop action and awe-inspiring visuals is at an all-time high. There are textures in Godzilla x Kong rarely seen on the big screen, with brightly oozing guts, frozen meat blasts, and glowing plasma veils.

While that’s all certainly impressive, and the worldbuilding is literally out of this world, there are far too many elements at play in The New Empire. It’s sensory overload. Wingard, an avowed fan of both title characters, has perhaps gone overboard, quickly plunking us down in a world that blends ancient wisdom, advanced technology, and primeval lands. It all looks great, but because we’re rushing through many of these environments it’s hard for any of them to make a lasting impression. Before we can even ask ourselves, “How does Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie figure everything out so fast?” we’re on to the next location. The only depth we’re getting is that of Hollow Earth – though The New Empire goes deeper on the Titans’ subterranean home turf than either Godzilla vs. Kong or the Apple TV+ Monarch series .

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The New Empire borrows heavily, creating a mash-up of fan-favorite bits and pieces from past sci-fi hits. There’s a sprinkle of Jurassic Park in every acre of Hollow Earth, a near doppelganger for the orcs from Lord of the Rings , Game of Thrones ’ Night King in Titan form, and a straight-up Stargate . And did someone order a new volume of Guardians of the Galaxy ? I’m not just talking about the classic rock hits on the soundtrack: Trapper makes for an unlikeable leader in the snarky Chris Pratt mold. Think Star Lord with an Australian accent and more irritating.

The new villain, on the other hand, is a fierce adversary beyond compare. The Skar King is ruthless, terrifying, and grotesque, and he’s enslaved Kong’s species into doing… what, exactly, is unclear, but it’s rendered Hollow Earth into a Mordor-esque hellscape, and that alone establishes him as a threat. In addition to his sweeping reach and a gnarly whip made out of bones, Skar King’s most fearsome weapon is the control he wields not only over the ape race, but also over Shimo, an ancient creature said to be the most powerful Titan of them all.

Backup comes in the form of an evolved Godzilla, who takes on a shocking pink hue after a battle that I wish we got to see more of. Kong, fitted with a fresh beast glove, teams up with his new ride-or-die to face off in an outrageous battle with Skar King. It’s absolutely incredible to watch, taking monster-on-monster action to new heights. Is it worth slogging through the human-drama undercard leading up to this royal rumble? Sure. I could’ve done without Hall and company, but boy is it fun as hell if you don’t think about it too much.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a textbook visual thrill ride punctuated by brief moments of forced emotion and little else. Director Adam Wingard has a lot of fun with textures, colors, and camera work, and he’s adept at giving fans the over-the-top monster action that they demand via an imposing new villain. Unfortunately, there’s no time to spend on making things make sense or even matter all that much, and what few emotional punches are thrown lack the necessary wind up to connect, save for some very well done moments between Kong and his Hollow Earth kin.

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The Best Movies of 2024, So Far

By Richard Lawson

Though some high-profile duds may have given the impression that the year in film is off to a rocky start, our list of the best movies of 2024 so far reveals a wealth of worthy, (mostly) smaller fare released since January. Some are available to stream, while others are playing in theaters (or soon will be). We’ll keep updating this list all year, so be sure to check back in the coming months for more recommendations of what to watch in between Traitors seasons . 

The End We Start From

Killing Eve breakout Jodie Comer (who recently won a Tony for her staggering solo performance in Prima Facie ) further proves her talent in this somber but never lugubrious survival drama from Mahalia Belo. As floodwaters overtake London, a new mother must head north in search of safety and sustainability while a nation credibly collapses around her. Finely observed and avoidant of melodrama, The End We Start From is a thoughtful, occasionally profound manifestation of a collective anxiety, the shared feeling that the fabric of the world is rapidly fraying to a breaking point. Belo steers through all that fear and calamity and finds something like hope on the other side. 

The Promised Land

Nikolaj Arcel ’s robust, lushly mounted film is an old-fashioned epic, a settler Western unfolding on the barren heaths of Denmark rather than the American frontier. Mads Mikkelsen is sternly magnetic as Ludvig Kahlen, a longtime soldier seeking the favor of the Danish crown by cultivating a harsh landscape long thought to be an impossible wilderness. Through that struggle, Kahlen cobbles together a ragtag crew of waifs and cast-offs, and goes to bitter battle with a preening local lord played with perfect movie-villain sliminess by Simon Bennebjerg. Neither subtle nor overstated, The Promised Land reverently restores old forms to past luster, while paying stirring tribute to the resolve and fortitude of the simple potato.

How to Have Sex

A spring-break-esque holiday in Crete, booze-soaked and sun-baked, takes a grave turn in Molly Manning Walker ’s striking debut feature . As a young woman who experiences a dire violation of consent, Mia McKenna-Bruce is a revelation, intricately mapping her character’s struggle to process, and name, what’s happened to her. Manning Walker stages a party gone to ruin with bracing realism, resisting sensationalism by leading with compassion instead of alarmism. True to its title, How to Have Sex is instructive in at least one crucial way: It yanks certain predatory behavior into the light, refusing to let it hide in supposed gray areas.

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Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve ’s massive sequel mightily improves on its predecessor by infusing the franchise’s stunning aesthetics with actual plot and meaning. The empty beauty of the first film now keens with megalomaniac prophecy and religious fervor; the ministrations of a universe-spanning empire are brought terribly to bear on our revolutionary heroes and their worrisome messiah. Dune: Part Two functions equally well as either a bridge to further films or as the closer of a two-part franchise. It’s an all-too-rare IP blockbuster that is sturdy on its own feet while leaving open a door to further grandiose adventure.  

A true-story tearjerker of the highest order, James Hawes ’s rousing film is a memory piece about an elderly Nicholas Winton—a stockbroker who organized the rescue of nearly 700 Jewish children as the Nazis approached Czechoslovakia in 1938—recalling his boggling feat 50 years later. It’s a process movie too, as we watch a younger Winton use various bureaucratic and legal maneuvers to ensure safe-ish passage for each group of refugees. Anthony Hopkins continues his recent run of terrific work as the older Winton, crafting a portrait of heroism as a humble act of decency, of recognizing a mounting tragedy and simply doing what can be done to stop it. A worthy message for this or any era.

The Shadowless Tower

This quiet but sweeping drama, from director Zhang Lü, is a delicate romance, a sweet story of unexpected friendship, and a softly heartbreaking family reunion. It is also, in Zhang’s elegant framing, a winsome tribute to the old quarters of Beijing, their narrow streets and hole-in-the-wall eateries. Xin Baiqing, playing a rumpled, middle-aged food critic, is the soulful center of the film, while Huang Yao gamely plays the young photographer who coaxes him out of his stasis. Zhang’s modest narrative gradually builds toward a poignant conclusion, capturing the sound and sensation of time swiftly passing.

Another of Alice Rohrwacher ’s folksy curios that are actually saying something rather deep about modern-day Italy, La Chimera concerns unlicensed excavators of antiquity, a band of rogues who dig around in the ancient soil to see what evidence of history they might find. Among them is a British man, Arthur ( Josh O’Connor, speaking almost entirely in Italian), who is mourning a lost love. As La Chimera whispers and clatters along, the film contemplates what it means to go about the business of living when we are forever surrounded by reminders of the dead—people who came before us and made their own music, had their own romances, and left their own trail of debris before becoming it themselves. (In US theaters March 29.)

Housekeeping for Beginners

Macedonian Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski ’s third feature is a rambling, sometimes bruising found-family drama about a home shared by an interconnected crew of misfits in Skopje, North Macedonia’s capitol city. The great Anamaria Marinca plays a health care worker who finds herself taking on the role of den mother following a tragedy, working to formalize some of the bonds holding her motley clan together. Among other things, Housekeeping for Beginners is a sober look at the realities of Roma life in the Balkans, especially for those contending with the additional stigma of being queer in a bigoted society. Stolevski—one of the most exciting emerging directors on the world scene—manages a controlled chaos, keeping his film loose and lively while driving toward a stirring finish. (In US theaters April 5.)

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Chelsea vs Man United live stream: Can you watch for free?

Though the inconsistency of each club this season takes some of the shine off this matchup, it’s still always worth watching whenever Chelsea and Manchester United square off.

The Best Way to Watch Chelsea vs Man United

Is there a free chelsea vs man united live stream, how to watch the chelsea vs man united live stream from abroad.

That’ll be the case today when they meet at Stamford Bridge. The match is starting very soon, at 3:15 p.m. ET, and will be televised on USA Network if you’re in the United States. There are also a number of different ways you can watch a live stream of the match, including some free options.

If you want a way to watch a live stream of Chelsea vs Manchester United for free, you can head to the next section. If you want the cheapest long-term way to watch a live stream of Premier League games that are televised on USA Network, that’s Sling TV .

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The “Sling Blue” channel package, which includes USA Network, costs just $20 for your first month (and then $40 per month after that).

That’s all you need for today’s match (as well as Crystal Palace vs Man City, Aston Villa vs Brentford, Brighton vs Arsenal and Spurs vs Nottingham Forest this weekend). It’s as simple as that. But if you then also sign up for Peacock Premium, which is $6 per month and includes every non-televised and NBC-televised game, that’s every single EPL game. Even at Sling’s regular price, that’s a total of $46 per month, which is still  cheaper than any other live-TV streaming service by itself.

OK, we promised free options, and we’ve got ’em. Fubo (“Pro” channel package), YouTube TV (“Base Plan”) and DirecTV Stream (“Entertainment” channel package or above) all include USA Network, and they all come with a free trial.

If you want the longest free trial (seven days), or you want to watch Man United vs Liverpool (NBC) in 4K this weekend, go with Fubo. If you want to watch multiple games or events at once, go with YouTube TV and it’s “multiview” feature. If you intend to keep one of these beyond the free trial, try DirecTV Stream–which will give you Max, Cinemax, Starz, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and MGM+ all for free for your first  three  months ($168 value).

And if you just want to watch today’s match and don’t care about any of those other things, then pick any of them. They’ll all get you watching Chelsea vs Man United for free in seconds.

The main function of a virtual private network (VPN) is to provide you with safety and security while online. But it happens to accomplish this task by hiding your IP address and connecting you to a digital server in another country. This just so happens to hide your online self from location-restrictions, allowing you to stream content that’s normally only available in other countries.

As such, if you want to watch Fubo or any of the aforementioned streaming services from outside of the US, then a VPN is required. We would go with NordVPN , but you can also take a gander at our ranking of the best VPN services for some other options.

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Back into second place on the Premier League table, Arsenal look to keep pace when they take on Luton Town in a mid-week fixture today. A late stoppage-time Declan Rice header secured the thrilling 4-3 Arsenal victory when these teams last met in December, and we can only hope this one has similar drama in store, but considering Arsenal's current form, it'll take a Herculean effort from Luton to make that come to fruition.

This match is starting very soon, at 2:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised on USA Network in the United States. If you don't have cable though, there are a lot of ways you can watch a live stream of Arsenal vs Luton Town for free or cheap. The Best Way to Watch Arsenal vs Luton Town Live Stream

London adversaries West Ham and Tottenham meet in a mid-week Premier League matchup today. The Hammers won the first matchup, a 2-1 result in early December, so Spurs will be looking for some revenge as they attempt to chase down Aston Villa for that coveted fourth spot on the table.

The match starts at 3:15 p.m. ET, and in the United States it will stream exclusively on Peacock. Here's what you need to know about the streaming service and how to watch West Ham vs Tottenham live online. Watch West Ham vs Tottenham on Peacock

In a match that will see the first non-Bundesliga team reach the DFB-Pokal final since 2011, third-division FC Saarbrücken take on second-division FC Kaiserslautern at Ludwigsparkstadion today. A cup semi is always big. A cup semi between two underdogs is huge. A cup semi between two underdogs that also happens to be a derby is can't-miss stuff.

This one is about to kick off, at 2:45 p.m. ET, and will be televised on ESPNU in the United States. But if you don't have cable or don't have that channel, there are also several ways you can watch a free live stream of Saarbrücken vs FCK. Is There a Free Saarbrücken vs FCK Live Stream?

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The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

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