Set in a fictional world around the 1960s, “Never Let Me Go” posits the average human life expectancy has been raised to one hundred years old with the help of science cloning “donors” who are raised in boarding schools to adulthood, when their organs are harvested as spare parts. This process was an accepted norm in this world where teachers kept their students blissful and idyllic while raising them to accept their fate.

Carey Mulligan (“An Education,” and this weekend’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) stars as Kathy, a young girl at one of these surreal boarding schools. She grows up with a crush on Tommy, played by Andrew Garfield (who gets star turns in the upcoming films “The Social Network” and the upcoming Spider-Man reboot). All the while, her best friend Ruth, portrayed by Keira Knightly (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), does her best to keep Tommy to herself. Kathy grows up to become a sort of hospice caretaker for the dying donors.

Many years later, after the children have grown, the three reunite to share a journey that leads to redemption and fulfillment. Toward the end of this journey they meet up with their childhood school teacher played by Charlotte Rampling who reveals to them their particular school’s experimental purpose. This purpose was thwarted by the powers that be, but not without affecting the occasional alumnus. Kathy’s journey leaves the viewer feeling a need to fulfill one’s dreams and desires. Speaking of desire, the message I took from ‘Never Let Me Go’ was not different than the one I took from Wim Wenders’ masterpiece ‘Wings of Desire’ — It’s not how much time you spend on this Earth, it is whether or not you live and love while you are here.

Without reading the Kazuo Ishiguro novel from which the screenplay was adapted, it’s easy to look at the subject matter and moral arguments of the story as possibly too difficult to capture in a feature-length film. The producers chose the proper writer in Alex Garland to write the adaptation – his best-selling novel The Beach was brought to the big screen by Danny Boyle ten years ago. The energy and passive tension director Mark Romanek draws from the static shots and closeups was impressive, especially seeing that most of Romanek’s career has been spent directing music videos.

On a shallow note, it is the perfect (if not paradoxical) combination of elements of both “The Cider House Rules” and Michael Bay’s “The Island.”

“Never Let Me Go” makes a fantastic presentation of the moral question of cloning, stem cell research and other forms of preserving life by all means necessary. Is it ethical to kill a child to save an adult even if that child is a clone? Do clones have souls? Should we even attempt to know the answer?

With no soundtrack and a somewhat confusing storyline at times, if you have the patience to be flummoxed for an act or two, it’s no stretch to recommend “Never Let Me Go.” Overall, it’s a brilliant film – even if a bit tedious to watch.

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Trust is king. All of us ‘sell’ ourselves on one level or another, whether it is in business or in our personal lives. The success of everything you do is greatly dependent on your relationships. This week, have Charles H. Green, author of Trust-based Selling and co-author of The Trusted Advisor to discuss with us the importance of trust and its role in business. He is not only a best-selling author but one of the top speakers in this area.

Listen to everything this guy says.

This episode also marks the first installment of Sam’s Social Media Corner which is a conversational news segment on social media. You will recognize our previous guest Samantha Collier whom we have recruited to host this segment.

Go ahead. Press ‘play’ above or the iTunes link below.

Would you let your people trample a physical crime scene before allowing the CSI to properly preserve the evidence?  Of course you wouldn’t.  The Internet is no different.  The success of the case has everything to do with the actions of the ‘first responder’.  If a suspect is offering product, buy it.  Here are a few reasons to do so:

1. You have a better chance of identifying the suspect.  A purchase is interaction.  Not just interaction, but the same interaction that was welcomed by the suspect.  If you follow this entire process, you will acquire more evidence to be used when you need to identify him.

2.  The merchandise is physical proof.  Unless an investigator acquires the merchandise properly and stores it safely, there is no evidence that a crime ever took place.

3.  In addition to having the goods in your hands, you can also authenticate the goods and be ready to explain to a judge how and why you believe they are contraband.  This cannot properly be done by looking at a photograph online.

4.  After the purchase, connecting websites becomes easier.  Sometimes the payee is the only data that matches, sometimes it is the return address on the package, or the UPS account.  None of these methods can be used without securing the buy.

5.  Even if your initial position is to send a Cease and Desist letter, the subject often states he/she has never sold any goods.  If you don’t have proof, you’re shooting blanks.

6.  If a subject does not comply with your original demands, a later purchase is inevitable.  Without that first purchase, your case does not have as great an impact.

7.  You may only have one chance.  The website may be down the next week or the suspect may change his online name.  Without the buy, you may never know that the next site is actually a repeat offender.

8.  You have something to hand to a judge.  This cannot be overstated.  In the world of virtual crimes, nothing is better than a good hard piece of evidence.

My company IPCybercrime has been specializing in making undercover buys for our corporate clients and law firms since the beginning of e-commerce.  We have helped them win thousands of cases, both small and large.  From my experience, this is a step that is often skipped but ends up being the most important.  My advice is to leave your gambling in Atlantic City and out of the courtroom.