In Time, 2011

 In Time is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried star as inhabitants of a society that uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, with each individual possessing a clock on their arm that counts down how long they have to live. Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, Matt Bomer, Johnny Galecki, and Alex Pettyfer also star. The film was released on October 28, 2011, and grossed $174 million against a $40 million budget. It received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which praised the premise but called the execution heavy handed. On Metacritic, it received mixed reviews.

TRAILER

PLOT

In 2169, people are genetically engineered to stop aging on their 25th birthdays and are given one free year to live. Everyone has a timer on their forearm that shows their remaining time; when it reaches zero, the person "times out" and instantly dies.

Time is now the universal currency, transferred directly between people or stored in capsules. The country is divided into Time Zones; Dayton is the poorest, a ghetto where people rarely have more than 24 hours on their timer. New Greenwich is the richest, people there are effectively immortal.

Factory worker Will Salas lives in Dayton with his mother Rachel. One night, he rescues drunken Henry Hamilton from time thief Fortis and his gang the Minutemen. Hamilton reveals that the people of New Greenwich hoard their time while constantly increasing prices to keep the poor dying.

Hamilton transfers all his time to a sleeping Will before deliberately timing out and dying. Raymond Leon, the leader of the police-like Timekeepers, assumes that Will killed Hamilton and pursues him.

Will's friend Borel warns him against having so much time in Dayton. Will gives Borel ten years, one for each year of their friendship. Will sets off to meet his mother, intending to take her to New Greenwich. His mother times out and dies in his arms, less than a second before he could transfer time to her and save her life. Will vows to avenge his mother's death by taking the people of New Greenwich for everything they have.

In a New Greenwich casino, Will meets time-loaning businessman Philippe Weis and his daughter Sylvia. Will wins over a millennium at poker while nearly timing himself out. Sylvia invites him to a party. Leon arrests Will and confiscates all but two hours of his time.

Will takes Sylvia hostage and escapes to Dayton, but Fortis's gang ambushes them, leaving them with 30 minutes each. Will attempts to get some time back from Borel, but his wife Greta explains that he has drunk himself to death. They get a day each by pawning Sylvia's earrings. Will demands Weis pay a 1,000-year ransom to the people in Dayton in exchange for Sylvia's safe return. Weis refuses, and Will releases Sylvia just as Leon finds them. Sylvia shoots Leon in the arm, and Will gives him enough time to survive until the other Timekeepers arrive. They use Leon's car to pull over a New Greenwich resident whom they rob of her time and car.

Will and Sylvia rob her father's time banks and give time capsules to the needy. They realize they cannot significantly change anything, as prices are raised faster to compensate for the extra time. Fortis's gang ambushes them to collect the reward for their capture, but Will kills him and his gang. Will and Sylvia steal a one-million year capsule from her father's vault. Leon chases them back to Dayton but fails to stop them distributing the stolen time. Leon times out, having neglected to collect his day's salary. Will and Sylvia nearly time out themselves but survive by taking his salary.

Television reports show factories in Dayton shutting down as everyone has enough time to abandon their jobs. Having seen the consequences of his obsession with the pair, Leon's colleague Jaeger orders the Timekeepers to return home. Will and Sylvia progress to larger banks, still trying to crash the system.

Rating: 10 Stars

30 Minutes or Less, 2011

 30 Minutes or Less (stylized onscreen as 30:Minutes or Less) is a 2011 American action comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Michael Peña, and Fred Ward. The story follows a pizza delivery boy who is strapped with a bomb and forced to, with the help of his friend, rob a bank in exchange for disarming it. Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller, and Jeremy Kramer produced the film.

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PLOT

The film follows Nick Davis, a man who works as a pizza delivery driver and rarely completes the "30 Minutes or Less" policy which leads to him being reprimanded by his boss. Nick's school teacher friend Chet discovers that Nick slept with his twin sister, Kate, on their high school graduation night, causing Chet to end their friendship.

Buddies Dwayne Mikowlski and Travis Cord are miserable, living under the shadow of Dwayne's domineering father, Jerry "The Major", who won over $10 million in the lottery about 10 years prior. Dwayne confides in lap-dancer Juicy about his contempt for his father and his presumed inheritance.

They devise a plot to kidnap a complete stranger, to strap a bomb to his chest, and get him to get them hitman money. They order a pizza and wait for a driver to come to their hideout. When Nick arrives, Dwayne and Travis assault him and knock him unconscious.

When Nick awakes, he is in a vest rigged with explosives, with both a timer and phone-activated detonators. The bomb will explode unless he gets them $100,000 within ten hours, and they also threaten to detonate the bomb if Nick notifies the police. Nick finds Chet, alerts him of the situation, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nick rob a bank. En route, Nick goes to say goodbye to Kate and quits his job.

Nick and Chet hold up the bank and flee quickly. Dwayne says he and Travis will meet Nick at an abandoned rail yard to make the exchange, but go to a restaurant. Instead, Dwayne calls Juicy to get the hit-man to go. Juicy and the hit man Chango arrive to pick up the money, but do not have the bomb deactivation code. Chet appears and knocks out Chango with a metal bar while Nick incapacitates Juicy. The two grab the money and escape.

Frustrated by the turn of events when Nick refuses to answer the phone again, Dwayne activates the speed dial number on his phone for the bomb to explode, but Travis had altered the number. Rethinking their plan, he and Dwayne head to Kate's apartment in their masks and kidnap her. Chango breaks into the Major's house, the Major attacks him with a pen gun, but is shot by Chango after a struggle. Chango then finds a hand-drawn map to the scrapyard. Dwayne threatens to kill Kate unless Nick meets up with him at the scrapyard.

At the scrapyard, Dwayne gives Nick the code to deactivate and unbuckle the bomb with just minutes to spare. Dwayne has them at gunpoint but Nick has Chet fake having a sniper on them by pointing with his laser pointer. Believing him, Dwayne and Travis drop their weapons and Nick starts to leave with Kate. However, Chango knocks him out, then has Dwayne at gunpoint, demanding the money. Dwayne gives the money to him, but Chango decides to still kill him and is torched with a flamethrower by Travis. While burning on the ground, Chango wounds Dwayne and shoots the gas tank on Travis's back, causing it to explode.

Nick grabs the money and leaves with Kate and Chet. Dwayne chases after them and when he is about to shoot Nick, the bomb explodes, seemingly killing him. (Nick reveals he reactivated the bomb and put it in Dwayne's van). While Chet looks at the money, a blue dye pack explodes in his face, making the rest of the money worthless.

In a post-credits scene, Dwayne (who survived the explosion), Travis, the Major recuperating in a wheelchair, and Juicy are seen in an advertisement for their new family business called "Major Tan: Tanning Salon", which is implied to be a cover for a prostitution ring.

Rating: 10 Stars

21& Over, 2013 Comedy

 21 & Over is a 2013 American comedy film written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, in their directorial debut. The film stars Justin Chon, Miles Teller, and Skylar Astin, and follows a trio of friends who go out drinking to celebrate one of their 21st birthdays despite having a medical school interview the following morning. The film was released on March 1, 2013 and received generally negative reviews from critics with a gross of $48 million.

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PLOT

Casey and Miller invite their college friend, Jeff Chang, out to celebrate his 21st birthday. Jeff declines, citing an important medical school interview early the next morning that his domineering doctor father arranged; Jeff finally agrees to having one drink.

At a bar, Jeff accidentally hits a guy with a dart, and the trio flee, interrupting Casey's chat with Jeff's attractive friend, Nicole. Enthused about drinking legally, Jeff over imbibes and passes out. Casey and Miller want to take Jeff home but forget where he lives.

Thinking that Nicole knows Jeff's address, they sneak into what they believe is her sorority house, only to discover it is a Latina one. Upstairs, they encounter two blindfolded pledges undergoing initiation. Miller paddles the girls' buttocks, ordering them to make out. Upon realizing they were tricked, the entire sorority is furious. Casey and Miller escape, first tossing Jeff from an upstairs balcony onto a covered pool. Bouncing off, a drunken Jeff lands in a rose garden still passed out.

The boys locate Nicole at a pep rally. She refers them to her boyfriend, Randy, the angry guy from the bar. When he refuses to look up the address in his phone, they steal it. Jeff no longer lives at that address but a party is in progress there. Searching for somebody who knows Jeff's address, Casey and Miller leave him alone with two stoners. For fun, they strip Jeff, write "Douche Bag" on his forehead and glue a teddy bear to his crotch. He then wanders into the street, causing a commotion. The police apprehend and transfer him to the campus health center.

As Casey and Miller head to the clinic, the vengeful Latina sorority girls abduct them. They find themselves in a ritualistic setting, stripped and shackled to the floor. They are forced to endure what they tricked the two pledge girls into doing. Embarrassed, bruised, and sporting bright-red spanked buttocks, they are released and walk across campus wearing only tube socks over their genitals. Casey blames Miller's immaturity for their predicament, unleashing long-simmering mutual resentment that culminates into a brawl.

At the health center, Casey and Miller discover Jeff is on a 24-hour hold due to a previous suicide attempt. They encounter Nicole. She is there with Randy, who was injured at the pep rally, though she has just broken up with him. Casey and Miller eventually deduce where Jeff lives and smuggle him out of the clinic. Groggy and barely sober, Jeff steals Randy's truck, fleeing with Miller and Casey. Randy and his buddies, and also the police, chase them until the vehicle careens down an embankment, losing the pursuers.

CAST

Justin Chon as Jeff Chang

Miles Teller as Miller

Skylar Astin as Casey

Sarah Wright as Nicole

Francois Chau as Dr. Chang

Jonathan Keltz as Randy

Daniel Booko as Julian

Samantha Futerman as Sally Huang

Eddy Martin as Eddy

Dustin Ybarra as PJ Bril

Christiann Castellanos as Pledge Gomez

Jeremiah Sird as Dr. Cabahug

Rating: 10 Stars

The Dirt, 2019

The Dirt is a 2019 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jeff Tremaine from a screenplay by Rich Wilkes and Amanda Adelson, about heavy metal/glam metal band Mötley Crüe. The film stars Douglas Booth, Colson Baker, Daniel Webber and Iwan Rheon.

TRAILER

PLOT

In 1973, Frank Carlton Feranna Jr. walks away from his mother Deana after years of abuse and moves from Seattle to Los Angeles in 1978. After a failed attempt to connect with his biological father who abandoned the family at birth, Frank legally changes his name to "Nikki Sixx" in 1980. A year later, after a falling out with members of London at the Whisky a Go Go, Nikki befriends drummer Tommy Lee and reveals to him that he is forming a new band. Joining the band is guitarist Mick Mars, who suffers from ankylosing spondylitis. The trio then recruit Tommy's high school friend Vince Neil from the cover band Rockandi as lead vocalist, and after some brainstorming, the quartet name themselves Mötley Crüe.

Despite a brawl with some crowd members, Mötley Crüe's first gig at the Starwood is well-received. They progressively sell out night clubs all over Los Angeles and rookie producer Tom Zutaut of Elektra Records approaches them with a five-album deal. They sign Doc McGhee as their manager. During their first national tour, the band is given advice by Ozzy Osbourne to know the limits of their partying before he snorts some ants and licks his and Nikki's urine on the pool floor. Before long, the band's albums go platinum and they each spend millions of dollars as fast as they earn them. Vince marries mud wrestler Sharise Ruddell, while Tommy announces his engagement to a woman named Roxie, but after his mother calls her a groupie, they get into a heated argument and Tommy punches Roxie in the face.

On December 8, 1984, during a party at Vince's home in Redondo Beach, California Tommy meets Heather Locklear, while Vince and Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle drive out to buy more drinks. They get into a car accident that kills Razzle, and has Vince sentenced to 30 days in jail for vehicular manslaughter, which is subsequently reduced to 19 days. Nikki becomes addicted to heroin and starts to display destructive behavior towards his bandmates. He fires McGhee for bringing Deana to visit him. On December 23, 1987, shortly after Tommy and Heather's wedding, Nikki overdoses on heroin and is initially declared dead, but a paramedic who is a fan of the band brings him back to life with two shots of adrenaline. Following this, Nikki has the band go to rehab. A sober Mötley Crüe rebounds in 1989 with Dr. Feelgood, which becomes their first number one album on the Billboard 200, followed by a lengthy world tour. The months of touring and staying sober take their toll on Vince and Tommy, who resort to drinking again after being away from their families for too long.

Following the tour, Vince discovers that Sharise and their daughter Skylar have left him, causing him to miss several rehearsals and eventually part ways with the band in 1992. The band then hires John Corabi as his replacement. In 1995, Skylar dies of stomach cancer at the age of four, while Heather divorces Tommy after he is caught having an affair with a porn star two years earlier. Mick starts to abuse painkillers as the disease is starting to overwhelm his body and movement. Seeing the backlash by fans over Vince's departure from the band, Nikki negotiates with Zutaut to give them back the rights to their songs in exchange for their release from Elektra Records. After visiting his father's grave, Nikki regroups with Tommy and Mick, who has had hip surgery, before they reconcile with Vince. Mötley Crüe would perform together for another 20 years, playing their final show on New Year's Eve 2015.

CAST

Douglas Booth as Nikki Sixx, Mötley Crüe's bassist

Trace Masters and Vince Robert Mattis play eight-year-old and 14-year-old Sixx (then known by his birth name of Frank Feranna Jr.), respectively

Iwan Rheon as Mick Mars, Mötley Crüe's guitarist who suffers from Ankylosing spondylitis

Colson Baker as Tommy Lee, Mötley Crüe's drummer

Daniel Webber as Vince Neil, Mötley Crüe's lead vocalist

Pete Davidson as Tom Zutaut, an Elektra Records executive

David Costabile as Doc McGhee, Mötley Crüe’s longtime manager

Leven Rambin as Sharise Ruddell-Neil, Vince’s wife who is a mud wrestler and a model

Kathryn Morris as Deana Richards, Nikki's mother

Rebekah Graf as Heather Locklear, Tommy's second wife

Tony Cavalero as Ozzy Osbourne, former lead vocalist of Black Sabbath struggling with drug addiction who headlined one of Mötley Crüe's earlier tours

Max Milner as Razzle, drummer of Hanoi Rocks

Katherine Neff as Lovey, Vince's first girlfriend

Jordan Lane Price as Roxie, Tommy's first fiancée, who prior to their breakup was having an affair with Nikki

Christian Gehring as David Lee Roth, lead vocalist of Van Halen

Anthony Vincent Valbiro as John Corabi, Mötley Crüe's second lead vocalist (1992–95) after Vince's departure from the band

Kamryn Ragsdale as Skylar Neil, Vince's daughter who died of cancer

Iris D'Aquin and Lyra D'Aquin play two-year-old Skylar

Melanie Hebert as an MTV VJ

Courtney Dietz as Athena Lee, a musician and Tommy’s younger sister

Joe Chrest as David Lee, Tommy’s father

Elena Evangelo as Voula Lee, Tommy’s mother

Michael Hodson as Rodney Feranna, Nikki's half-brother

Alyssa Marie Stilwell as Kayla

Rating: 8 Stars