Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in "In Time"; photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Who would have ever thought Justin Timberlake could play an action hero, but that is what he does in his new film. Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried co-star in the sci-fi film “In Time.” Neither of these young Hollywood stars, and I use the term lightly, have impressed in their short movie careers, but in this film Timberlake’s performance actually enhances Seyfried’s. In short they are better together than apart.

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The plot of the movie deals with a futuristic world where time is money. Everyone is given twenty-five years at birth. When they reach that age they remain there for the rest of their lives. However at this point they must earn additional seconds, minutes or hours. Rich people are almost immortal while the workers live from paycheck to paycheck literally.

Timberlake plays Will Salas, a worker. He lives with his mother (Olivia Wilde) and works in a factory. One day he meets a man named Henry Hamilton (Matthew Bomer) who has a surplus of almost a hundred years. Hamilton is one hundred and five years old and tired of living. While Will is sleeping he transfers just about all of his time to him, and then dies.

Now Will is a wealthy man but he doesn’t stay that way for long. There are people who want to rob him of his “time,” and others who want to cheat him out of his time. It doesn’t take Will long to become dissatisfied with his new life. Accompanied by a girl named Sylvia (Seyfried) who is the daughter of a wealthy man (Vincent Kartheiser), he plans to distribute some of the time wealth to the poor.

At this point the movie becomes a sort of futuristic “Bonnie and Clyde,” leaving all the intricacies of the original plot behind. Still both the first half and the more action packed second half work to hold the audiences’ interest.

All of the actors in the movie do a good job. Timberlake and Seyfried are romantic and energetic as the couple on the run. Cillian Murphy adds a little punch as the “Timekeeper,” a man who chases down time robbers or violators. Alex Pettyfer pops up as a time thief and makes him totally despicable. Wilde is dramatically heart-breaking as Will’s mother.

The plot is not of the type you want to analyze too thoroughly. You have to accept some things as fact without any basis in logic. This includes the way time is transferred between two people, or how they get the original time at birth.

The movie does prove to be interesting, suspenseful and involving and that isn’t bad for a movie that looks hokey based on its premise. You may not be impressed with the overall product but you will have a fun time getting through it. Justin Timberlake as an action hero. Who’d have thunk it!

Also who would have thought a movie about “a thing” would inspire sequels and remakes galore, but back in 1951 there was a horror movie titled “The Thing From Another World.” It starred, of all people, James Arness (of later “Gunsmoke” fame) as “the thing.” In 1982 horror meister John Carpenter made his version of “The Thing” and it starred Kurt Russell. Now we have the newest version of the film and it is also called “The Thing” and it is a prequel of sorts to Carpenter’s film. Will the horror never end? Not as long as there is a drop of money to be made from it.

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Actually this version isn’t so bad. Once again scientists in Antarctica stumble upon an alien space craft buried deep in the ice. They also find an alien creature there which they carve out in a block of ice that is encasing it. They then bring the ice-bound creature back to their camp. Once it is there, trouble begins as the alien breaks out of the ice and starts a deadly rampage.

The cast is composed of mostly unknown actors such as Ulrich Thomsen, Trond Espen Seim and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. More familiar are Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton and Eric Christian Olsen. Winstead played Bruce Willis’ daughter in “Live Free Or Die Hard”; Edgerton made an impression in the recent film “The Warrior”; and Olsen gained a following when he co-starred in “Dumb and Dumberer.”

The best thing the movie has going for it is the “alien.” This creature can kill and then replicate the victim so that it looks and acts like the person it killed. Once this fact is discovered in the movie paranoia sets in and everyone suspects everyone else of being “the thing.”

“The Thing” is still a thriller and in this version there are enough twists and turns to make the whole thing exciting. It might not be the scariest movie you have ever seen but you will have fun with the frightening parts. “The thing” does tend to jump out at you in the most inopportune times.

Most people believe Daniel Craig is a box office draw – when he is playing James Bond. When he isn’t, the jury is out on his box office appeal. His big screen adventure “Cowboys & Aliens” with Harrison Ford made money but not as much as expected. Now to DVD comes “Dream House” in which he co-stars with his now wife Rachel Weisz. It is a modern day horror film that combines fantasy and reality.

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Craig plays Will Atenton, a book editor who has retired to write a novel. His wife (Weisz) and two daughters are thrilled to have him at home with them all day. Still there is trouble in paradise as his wife reports someone is spying on their house. Will investigates and learns a murder took place in the home several years ago.

The film now shifts to who was murdered and why. It takes a creepy turn when Will learns he was involved and so were his wife and daughters. A sympathetic neighbor (Naomi Watts) tries to help him with his investigation but is only willing to impart limited information.

The acting by Craig and Weisz is very good, with Weisz being fragilely beautiful. Watts makes a minimal impression as the solicitous neighbor. Elias Koteas is menacing as the lurking presence. Jane Alexander has a cameo as one of Craig’s mentors.

The premise for “Dream House” is a good one, and Jim Sheridan is an excellent director. That is why it is so surprising when the movie just falls apart at the end. There is an explanation for all that has happened but it is just tossed up on the screen with very little logic following it. Then there is the final scene which is just laughable.

Therefore this looks to be another mediocre Daniel Craig film. It won’t be a complete bomb but it won’t be a blockbuster either. At least he has “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” which is drawing good reviews and making money. This may save his career until the next James Bond film comes out this fall.