Up In The Air

I saw Up in the Air last night. I'm still undecided how I feel about it. Does that make it a good movie or a bad one? I didn't hate it. I'm just not sure what it was trying to say. Everyone needs someone? Sometimes it's just too late? People are assholes?

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a consultant who travels around the country firing people. He is forced to take the new upstart go -getter along for some of his trips so she can learn the ropes. Along the way, he meets Alex, the female version of his character. Another person who gets lost and finds comfort in the traveler's life. No real connections, the airport as your second home. Fleeting conversations, one night stands.

It had its moments. I find George Clooney nice to watch, and not in a sexual way. I just find him very comforting on screen. The supporting cast was okay. Vera Farminga is super hot in an Ellen Barkin way. Anna Kendrick lost me in her portrayal of the upstart go-getter Natalie. She was a little over the top in a movie that was trying to be "real".

There were some funny lines, some serious moments. The scenes where Ryan and Alex had to fire people were very convincing and a little hard to watch. The rest of the movie was very dry. Most of the characters are very unhappy. It seemed to be another movie where everyone is sad because, hey, aren't we all and can't we relate? (sarcasm)

The females, as usual, were written very poorly. Especially Natalie. Just another girl who can't find happiness without a man.

It seems that most of what I'm saying is negative, so I guess that would mean I didn't like it. It did seem a lot longer than its less than 2 hours time frame. It had a lot of "all you need is love" crap that I find nauseating. I'm sorry, but love does not get you through when you've lost your job, you're broke, hungry, and the bills are piling up.

Oh, and everyone says there is a twist at the end or that the ending is really crazy. I didn't feel that way at all. The "twist" was very obvious and the ending just left me kind of empty.

I'll give it 2.5 stars (out of 5).