Monday, February 1, 2010

Mini Reviews - Up In The Air

Up in the Air

Ryan Bingham, a corporate hatchet man who loves his life on the road, is forced to fight for his job when his company downsizes its travel budget. He is required to spend more time at home just as he is on the cusp of a goal he's worked toward for years: reaching five million frequent flyer miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.

To be honest, I didn't like Jason Reitman's previous film, Juno. To me, despite the great writing, most of the characters especially the lead just come off as immature. It doesn't matter now, but gladly his next film is very much mature. George Clooney keeps remind us why he's still the most coolest and reliable actors around as he is just great as the isolated distanced frequent traveler that wants to be anywhere but home. The film greatly explored the clash of age and experience with the inclusion of a young female co-worker and apprentice, played wonderfully by Anna Kendrick of Twilight fame. And that is quite a surprise that she was both a great film and a very crappy film series. I would say that the film is slow in the beginning, but it does get wistful, funny and a bit emotional as the film progress. The great irony of this film is the themes and insights are grounded and kept it close to reality, so you won't be expecting anything typical of a drama film. It is a good balance of a feel-good and think-harder on life.

4 out of 5 stars

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