My Favorite anti-utopian revolt movies

In Time
I'm prompted to blog because I've just finished watching In time. I watched a preview some time ago and added it to my netflix queue and forgot about it. It arrived and I love it. The premise is simple, everyone is genetically engineered to live 25 years and at that age you are stuck looking like your 25 year old self. You can then add time to your life, but you won't look any older. From the IMDB:

In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.

 It's a fun and thought provoking film. (Where were the cellphones people? I mean that was my only real problem with the film, no cells, I'm so attached to my new iphone I can't even watch a movie and not wonder where the cellphones are..)It has left me thinking more about the importance of time.
 I suspect I'll find myself pondering this film for some time to come. The concepts behind this film are fascinating for me. It's crazy to watch people pay for coffee with 5 minutes worth of time. Time off their life. Paying bills with minutes, hours, or weeks off of your lifetime. It is a horrifying thought.  I really enjoyed this, though I spent a good 20 minutes trying to place the Timekeeper, he was the Scarecrow in the first Batman movie. I also should add, this movie surprised me a few times. Things were done that I'd never seen happen in a film, which is saying something. Oh, one last note, I really like Timberlake's performance. It is the 2nd or 3rd of his movies I have seen. He's always been a basic guy.He isn't distracting and he doesn't chew up the scenery. I like that. He puts in a really solid performance in this film. I really liked it. I recommend it.
Okay, because In Time was movie about an anti-utopian time with major acts of revolt in it I have now had to come up with a list. 


Children of men


A fabulous film that is now one of my all time favorites. I love Clive Owen in this, and I love Pam Ferris and Michael Caine and Julianne Moore. It is a violent, brutal but touching film. Not a world I'd want to live in, but a story that should be told. The idea of humans facing their own eventual extinction, and having no way of stopping it, and the idea of babies as miracles really touched me. I felt all the acting was superb. I highly recommend it.

Fight Club
I'm hesitant about this being an dystopian film. I would, however call it a movie about rebellion. And, like in time, it is rebellion of a sorts against capitalism. Here's one of my favorite moments, partially because I love that they used a Pixies song, I won't lie, I love that. Also, the destruction is fantastic.

I had made notes here to myself to mention, since I'm talking about dystopian films and rebellion, why not mention A Clockwork Orange. Here's why: I hate the film. Loathe it. Can't stand it. Find it a violation of the work of writing itself on a primevel level. It is loathesome and horrid and blasphemy. I also am not a fan of the edited novel. I find that, in my universe to be an agregious sin. Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange had a full 21 chapters in his novel. It was published for years with only 20 chapters. The entire last chapter was cut. It changed the entire meaning of the novel. Because Kubrik used the American version as his model for the film, it is inaccurate. It doesn't represent Burgess' novel. I loved Burgess' novel.
You can see here what Anthony Burgess wrote about it here.


Dark City
I couldn't tell you now what this film is about, needless to say, all I remember is that it was pretty and reminds me of Seattle, no sunshine whatsoever. Oh, and it had a crazy looking Kiefer Sutherland (another good Kiefer movie - Flatliners, if they're going to re-make anything, why not have Darren Aronofsky get his hands on that film). It is dark and pretty.

Ghost in the Shell
Actually, this is a lie, I love Ghost in The Shell 2nd Gig more than the movie, by a long shot. It's lovely and it's a TV series, not a movie. Still, that is closer to a world I want to live in. I would be cyberized. I would also want a Tachikoma of my own. 

Bladerunner

 Pretty, dark, sad. I like both versions. There, I said it. I like the narrated version and the quiet version. I just like it all the way around.

Tank Girl

I adore Lori Petty, and really liked Naomi Watts in this. This came out ages ago, and was a blast then, and I can still dig it now. It's fun, there are tanks and Malcolm McDowell plays (gasp!) a bad guy. There are also kangaroo men and Devo songs. What's not to love here? However, much like Dune, water is a shortage but this is a funnier sillier dytopia. I love it, and still don't want to live in that universe either.

These are my picks. What would you pick?