Amazon Holiday

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Up in the Air

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A professional down-sizer (George Clooney) prides himself on having the perfect life, which consists of flying around the country firing people without ever having to make any real human connections. Then, two women (Anna Kendrick & Vera Farmiga) come along and create circumstances, at work and at play respectively, that force him to start doubting the validity of the lifestyle he has come to cherish.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride, Zach Galifianakis, J.K. Simmons, Tamala Jones, Amy Morton

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketProceed with Caution. This film is much closer in tone and style to Thank You for Smoking than it is to Juno-- which Reitman didn't write. If you loved Juno, this is nothing like it. If you loved Thank You for Smoking, you may be in business, as this story also focuses on justifying a controversial job, and how it makes the man who does it cold hearted. Ultimately, the film is extremely well done, but thoroughly depressing and anxiety inducing, so unless you can detach yourself from the feelings it's eliciting in you, watching this may not be all that enjoyable. Especially if you're experiencing the effects of the current economic climate.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: A lot of times you will think something is funny without actually having any urge to laugh about it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but in a weird way, it could inspire you to get back on your anti-depressant medication.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's highly likely to be nominated in the Screenplay, Directing, and Best Picture categories, but I think it's only got an outside chance of winning a WGA Award (Writers Guild of America).

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Vera Farmiga's face can say everything while doing nothing. George Clooney's face can say nothing much while doing anything. And Anna Kendrick's face only ever seems to say one thing, which I believe is something to the effect of, "The thing in my butt is stuck so far up there, that my gas has backed up all the way to my eyeballs, which I regularly have to squint and squeeze shut, in order to prevent myself from letting one rip out of my peep holes. And I really don't wanna do that, because then anyone who sees it will think I'm an eye-farting weirdo, and I totally can't handle the embarrassment." Just watch, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Jason Reitman knows what he's doing. From the moment the opening credits start to roll, he establishes his visual themes, setting them to high energy music that gets you fired up for what you are about to see, and he maintains his clearly defined personal style throughout. Did I just say "personal style"? Tyra would be so proud.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The craft is remarkable. This is one of those scripts that manages to clearly communicate almost all of what it wants to say without ever saying any of it directly. Unfortunately, the one place where it fails to communicate clearly is at the ending, which is ambiguous, and may or may not be completely devoid of hope, depending on how you chose to interpret it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/up-in-the-air/34956/trailers

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