The fountain of youth, the cheating of death, the fight for survival, and for love. All of these provocative themes collide in the new sci-fi thriller IN TIME from writer / director Andrew Niccol.

The Kiwi film maker has constructed a world in the not too distant future where over-population has required a draconian system that ends life at age 25... unless you can afford to buy more time.

Watch Niccol explain how it was more the current obsession with staying young that a preoccupation with mortality that drove him to write this piece, and how he turned Justin Timberlake into an action hero.

Then watch JT recount how he grew up shooting guns in Tennessee and reveal the kind of action films he admires. Then hear co-star Amanda Seyfried describe how courage is what makes a regular person extraordinary.

Movie News celebrates the rise of the latest digital revolution from Weta Digital in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

The visual effects wizards have once again evolved their technology to deliver the most amazing photo-realistic cgi chimps to ever hit the big screen. To find out what was involved Movie News chats one-on-one with four-time Oscar winning Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri.

Joe explains why, without the technology development on AVATAR, this film would not have been possible in the short time they had - a mere 1 1/2 years,

At the time of recording our interview with Joe, his visual effects team of 500 were back at Weta Digital HQ in Wellington working around the clock to get the film finished, with Joe supervising on his laptop in Sydney. The dedication is incredible, especially when you think that the most of Weta Digital's blood, sweat and tears are not even noticed by moviegoers, with their seamless blend of cgi and live action.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is a re-boot of the sci-fi franchise and is the first of the series where the apes have not been actors running around in monkey suits. Instead Weta Digital have used their motion capture performance technology with actor Andy Serkis (Gollum & King Kong) as their dancing monkey.

Visual effects aside, the film takes us back to tell us how and why the apes first began to revolt. It's a well thought out origin story that delivers on all accounts, with great performances from James Franco and John Lithgow.

We can't wait to see the next instalment. This is a movie news must see.