This afternoon I went to see Up In The Air at the Sirius. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer and consummate modern business traveller whose airborne bachelor lifestyle is upset when his boss decides to ground him and he falls for a fellow traveller (Vera Farmiga).
WHAT I THOUGHT
If you saw Thank You For Smoking by the same director (Jason Reitman), you'll know what to expect: a fairly gentle satire of corporate America with a sentimental subplot. I liked the film (what's not to like?)— George Clooney (in full Nespresso mode) was excellent, and there was plenty of humour, as well as some moving scenes with the 'terminated' employees. However, I did feel that the film lost its way somewhat in the final third, when Ryan returns home to attend his sister's wedding. Not as good as last week's A Serious Man, then, but well worth seeing.
FOR TEACHERS
Whenever I watch a movie, I'm always on the lookout for scenes which could be used in class. Up In The Air contains several scenes featuring presentations and interviews, which would be perfect for business English classes. The DVD will be a 'must buy'.
REVIEWS
• Rotten Tomatoes (90%)
• Metacritic (83)
• Peter Bradshaw (Guardian)
• Roger Ebert
• Dana Stevens (Slate—with Spoiler Special podcast)
TRAILER