Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Movie Review: Up in the Air

Two different CPL staff members reviewed Up in the Air. What do you think about the film?

Up in the Air, the recent Golden Globe winner for best screenplay, is a movie about relationships: with our jobs, with ourselves and of course with our significant others. The film takes us through the empty life of Ryan Bingham, played masterfully by George Clooney, a corporate-hired “hatchet man” who fires people for a living. Ryan’s new, type-A colleague wakes him up to his unfulfilled lifestyle, and his love interest comes with an unexepcted twist, far from the fluff of your typical movie romance. Both characters show the audience a side of them we haven’t seen before, in a dramatic ending worth the wait. Go see Up in the Air for the extraordinary acting, solid life lessons, and two-hour escape the movie will give you. - Kathy (Sunset)

Many critics call Up in the Air one of the best pictures of 2009. The Chicago Tribune even notes that it is nearly impossible to dislike this film. It seems obvious to this movie watcher that those who lavish such positive comments have not read the novel Up in the Air, a brilliant contemporary social commentary by Walter Kirn. Supposedly the movie is closely based on the book but I challenge you to read this fictional masterpiece and tell me you think so. Walter Kirn has presented a novel with little romance and much about how our business community's principles have caused social and economic damage. However, director Jason Reitman saw fit to turn this thought-provoking commentary into a warm romance. The true brilliance of Walter Kirn’s social commentary has been replaced by romantic fluff! - Henry (Downtown)

No comments: