Up in the Air (2009)

This film is about a man who fires people for a living. His world becomes upside down when his job is radically changed by a newly recruited young fresh graduate.

"Up in the Air" is a well made film. The plot focuses on character development and emotional changes of the characters. It is not easy to make characters interesting and memorable, but "Up in the Air" does just that. Both the characters of George Clooney and Anna Kendrick have strongly divergent attitudes and personalities, but they have great chemistry and change each other slowly but surely. How they radically shake each others core belief is engagingly told. I enjoyed watching "Up in the Air" a lot, as it tells an engaging story of self discovery.

Fmovies: Up In The Air takes a strange premise that could easily feel stale or cold, especially given the perfunctory connotation that airport travel has, but succeeds as a pleasant, if forgettable, movie. Clooney is very good as a detached but thoughtful lead, and Kendrick also impressed, injecting life and uncertainty into the movie. The comedy works well and doesn't feel overdone. The way the travel scenes were cut also showed Bingham's comfort and intimate knowledge of the airport drill in a way that was fun to watch. Reitman does a good job of keeping each scene engaging and is at his best when he uses subtle social commentary. The themes of personal connection and security were amusingly turned on their head by Clooney having to teach Kendrick about maneuvering firing, as she makes the job he loves obsolete. The twist with Farmiga's character was also good and surprising, keeping the film from being a by- the- numbers rom-com. The timing and reaction to the 10 million miles was also well done. It's not a movie that's exceptional in any area and not one that will ever immediately come to mind, but it's a solid, pleasant watch with some originality.

We are drawn in by interesting, unique storyline and smart satirizations. About a man whose unique job is to fly around the country to inform people that they are fired. He meets a young ambitious woman that joins his company and who wants to change the system. Her ideas clash with his personal lifestyle choices.

What the movie really is about is lifestyle choices, and relationship choices, choosing independence and freedom versus commitment and well established interpersonal relationships. By taking a definitive stance the movie provides interesting commentary on those that for whatever reason (not necessarily for work) don't stay put.

A Monotone mood is established, that gave a bland aspect as though nothing substantial was happening. Part of the story took a dull meandering at times, however there were unconventional plot twists that made something that was seemingly Hollywood predictable not that way at all. And it was still interesting and entertaining to watch the contemporary witticisms.

The two main characters, although not the most true to life characters ever created, were brilliant satires of people we all know. We are all too familiar with the fiercely independent, non-committal, cockily at ease bachelor and we have also come across the, sharp, type A, ivy league know it all yet with an obvious naivety especially shown with her declaration of the specific laundry list of traits that her partner must have.

There were also some smart satirical illustrations of contemporary times in business, relationships, how people interact and the recession. For example the use of the smart phones in the new techno/relationship world is not simply put in as a momentum mechanism but is used as a symbol to satirize contemporary society.

It is not so much Clooney's acting that is a marvel as the casting, which was perfect. By being so spot on by choosing someone on the cusp of getting a little older yet with plenty of playful, youthful vigor we sense the conflict and the melancholy.

Up in the Air fmovies. So 2009, and the decade known as...(what do we call this decade?), are ending later this month. And there is no better film to wrap up a (frankly) terrible decade (in terms of news events, unemployment, the economy, the media stronghold, the trashing and dumbing down of American culture, technology, narcissism, vanity obsession, a divided nation, violence and hostility) than Up in the Air. The film, the best I've seen all year and one of the best of the decade, captures many of the factors that made this decade the worst one, at least in my 42 years. The 70s may have been bad economically but hey, at least we had Bruce Springsteen and real music on the radio, women still seemed to like men and not only if the men were millionaires, thoughtful movies in the theater, and only five or so TV channels to pick from. Up in the Air features George Clooney as a man with no "roots," (that is, no wife, no kids, and his apartment in Omaha is about as furnished as a room at Embassy Suites), who fires people for a living because the companies who hire him are too cowardly to do it themselves. It is a juicy role for Clooney, who has made a career out of playing easy-talking charmers. The film sounds depressing and in many ways it is, but it is also witty, quietly hilarious at times, and full of pathos when it becomes a morality piece near the middle (and like the best morality pieces, it doesn't shove its message down your throat). It reminded me in many ways of American Beauty, the masterpiece that capped off the '90s when it hit theaters ten years ago. Clooney's character slowly is stripped of the things he only cared about--including a one-night-stand that becomes a "Same Time Next Year"-like meeting in Hampton Inns and Hiltons in Miami, Detroit, Wichita and other random cities, with another constant traveler (we never know what exactly she does, and that's not supposed to matter) played by Vera Farmiga, who may win an Oscar nomination for her mysterious, slightly passive and jaded, 30something character. The final important character is an eager young Cornell graduate (played by Anna Kendrick, from Twilight) who thinks that a career in firing people is a wise choice now, and in some respects she's not that far off. Her character represents many of the Twitter-obsessed twentysomethings driven for money money money, who live for texting, and has naive and even immature ideals of what makes a relationship work. But she too goes through a transformation, as Up in the Air reaches a "feel good while feeling bad" quality of Frank Capra's darker films, like Meet John Doe. One of the most amazing things about this film is its use of real people in the "firing scenes;" people who have really lost their jobs several weeks or months before being filmed. Director Jason Reitman combines scenes of these people being fired by Clooney and Kendrick, and their instant responses are wholly authentic. There are a few actors playing the "firees" as well, but they blend in with the real folks. I really can't think of a better film to cap off this decade. This one will stay with you. Highly recommended.

Director Jason Reitman, that has brought us great Indie classics such as Thank You for Smoking and Juno has crafted his most personal and most effective portrait to date, Up in the Air. The film stars George Clooney, also giving his most intimate and beautiful performance of his career, as Ryan, a traveling "Firing-Man," who plans on racking up as much frequent flyer miles as he can. Completely void of human connection and emotion, even from his two sisters, one of which is getting married, Ryan seems completely content with his choice of living. All seems well until he meets his female version in the beautiful and charismatic Alex, played with sexual force and intensity by Vera Farmiga. At the same time, a change at his job makes him acquire a student, Natalie, played with sensitivity and vigor by Anna Kendrick, to learn the ropes of the business before potentially making a devastating change to Ryan's way of life.

The film, based on the book of the same title, is a moving and witty piece of cinema. The line deliveries given are some of the best liners of the year. The adaptation by Reitman and Sheldon Turner is of beautiful and social importance in today's day and age. There was no better time than now, to bring a film like this to the table. Dana E. Glauberman's crisp and precise editing sets the pace as we travel with Ryan in this beautiful account. Reitman's direction shows he's a force to be reckoned with and should be in full blown force for Oscar consideration along with the adaptation shared with Turner.

George Clooney, who's having one hell of a year along with his other comedic turn in The Men Who Stare at Goats, gains sympathy and emotion from the viewer, which up until now, Clooney had always struggled for. The role is right up Clooney's alley and with humorous strength, conveys the pain and loneliness of an otherwise charming man successfully.

Vera Farmiga as Alex, is a beautiful as she is dark, and as sexy as she is ugly. Farmiga has finally landed the right role that, in her years of wrong place at the wrong time, should land her a first-time Oscar nomination. Never showing her hand, Farmiga keeps and earns your trust, attention, and admiration. It's one of the most divisive and structurally brilliant supporting turns of the year.

Seemingly not playing with a full deck is Natalie, played most beautifully by Anna Kendrick, who portrays brains don't equal smart choices. Kendrick earns your care and concern for the character, as she follows Ryan around and constantly badgers him about happiness and love, she naïvely and courageously shows the tenderest parts of youth in today's world. Kendrick will likely be sitting along side Farmiga at Oscar's ceremony.

Jason Bateman, playing Craig Gregory, the boss in charge, is amusing in a brief but memorable role. Amy Morton and Melanie Lynsky, who play Ryan's sisters, are valuable and sufficient enough to book end a wonderful tale. Danny McBride, an outstanding comic talent to watch, is as good as ever. And finally, in otherwise cameos, Sam Elliott and the great Zack Galifianakis are uproarious in their respective roles.

This could very well be the crowd and critical pleaser of the year. It has what the 2004 film Sideways lacked, the emotional edge. Long after the film, you take these characters home with you and remind yourself of its authenticity in delivery, poise, and premise. Up in the Air is one of the best pictures of the year. ****/****

Anyone who has ever been fired must see "Up In The Air." Jason Reitman has done again. The director of "Thank You For Smoking" and "Juno" puts real life out there in an incredible way, where we all laugh and then walk out of the theatre thinking about what is really important. A film with a message that's entertaining: what a concept.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man that flies all over the country firing people for companies that don't have the spine to do it themselves. He is so proficient at it, when he meets his "expert traveler" equivalent, Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga); he is emotionally drawn to another person, beyond a passing interest, for the first time.

Bingham's travels are a quest to be a traveling legend. When his company takes the advice of young newbie, Natalie Keener (Kendrick), he is grounded, endangering his quest to achieve frequent flier miles that number in the, uh, stratosphere. When his boss (Jason Bateman) assigns him to "show her the ropes," so she can revolutionize the company's firing technology, the resulting road trip is not only riotously funny, it is a self-exploring journey into the three people's strengths and weaknesses. The life decisions they make are the emotionally important message of the film.

The rest of the story must go untold, so you can savor every morsel from your own perspective. For that is what this film does best. Almost all of us have been canned. Sitting across the table, being told we'll be glad it happened, one day. Our participation in the film is subtle, as we sit across the table from Bingham as he cans us.

The film's cast is like the story: they suck you in. Clooney is Clooney, like Cary Grant was Cary Grant. You think he's not acting, that's just who he is in real life. Maybe it is. Vera Farmiga's performance is seductively natural. You've met people like her. You admire her. Then you find out you don't know her at all. She is the mystery you wish you were. Anna Kendrick as Natalie is a perfect, perky, know-it-all that becomes all too human. Kendrick makes her character's transformation special parts of the film, when she could have easily have been regulated to a supporting character. This has become Reitman's trademark as a director. He empowers actors to make the movie their own.

Up In The Air is a movie that is over before you want it to be. You want to get to know the characters better, to follow them around a little longer and make sure everything goes well for them. Another credit to Reitman for his extraordinary skill at taking the common things in life and make them extraordinary. Which makes us all feel better about the common-ness of our own lives.

Written by: Vincent for Overcranked.net If you liked this come read more reviews http://www.overcranked.net/movies.php