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What makes it different from others?

This is How Movies Should Be Made

The first must-see film of the year.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I always remembered this movie but only saw it once, on the orig. broadcast. I constantly search for it on eBay but come up w/ the wrong movie - if the director is "Vanessa Middleton" it's not this one. What a unique idea - if only this could be done in reality - age the person instead of having them suffer the inhuman horrors of jail, at the expense of the taxpayers. Only what if the person was really innocent? Sorta like that EP of the series Black Scorpion, where the totally innocent "Clockwise" "steals time" from the jurors who convicted him, by aging them each the length of his sentence, out of revenge. That is the dilemma of Vinnie, now 45 instead of 15 b/c he was convicted on circumstantial evidence of his stepfather's murder. Only they didn't tell him there are some unpleasant side effects to the aging process, such as insanity, pain, & suicidal tendencies. Can he find the real killer - but even so the process has never been reversed! My 1st review here & I gave it a 10!PS - 6/8/2010 - Movie being released 1 week from today on DVD - about to order - Peace, out - RICHARD

OK, it's a TV movie and that means it was shot on a short schedule (probably less than a month) for a low budget. As a rule that combination results in a film that is something less than memorable. Not so in this case."30 Years to Life" is a pretty darned good film that can't be faulted in any way whatsoever. Acting, directing, cutting, writing, story, photography, sound, whatever... all the elements are there. I caught it on the late show and I'll be darned if I don't look for it again. Why? Because I love happy endings.

I suppose if you've never seen an episode of any science fiction series, read any books from the genre or done anything within the genre, this might seem original. However, if you've had any exposure to the genre at all, the only entertainment to be found here, besides Robert Hays and the rest of the cast's hilariously wooden acting, is in the utter stupidity of the dialogue, special effects, (and boy are they 'special') and 'plot'. If you're really bored and this is on, and your only other choice is Garden Club or Ready, Set, Cook!, watch this. But otherwise, steer a clear path unless you're well and truly inebriated.