17/50: Up in the Air

Wow. I was totally not expecting to like this so much. It really surprised me.

I guess I just didn't understand what Up in the Air was all about. I was expecting a love story - which I sort of got - but that wasn't the heart of the story. I was just really knocked back by how much I enjoyed this film.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) fires people. I mean, that is what he does - it's his business. Companies hire Bingham's firm to lay off their employees, and steer them in their next direction.

Because of this job, Bingham is on the road pretty much the entire year. He lives on airplanes, in airports, hotels and on the road. It is what he likes. He doesn't like being tied down - he doesn't like having baggage.

On one of his trips he meets another woman, Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), who, much like himself, is constantly on the road and they strike up a friends with benefits friendship. No real strings, just meet up whenever their paths are able to cross again.

Bingham's "home" is in Nebraska, and his boss, Craig Gregory (Jason Batman), has called all of the travelers to home base for a meeting. It turns out a newly hired genius, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), has revolutionized how the company will do business. Things will now be done over the computer instead of face-to-face, saving the company tons of money - but also taking people like Bingham away from what he loves.

Apparently, Bingham has a goal he is trying to set - seventh person ever to fly 10 million miles. So, he raises a bit of a stink with his boss and he is teamed with Natalie to show her the ropes in face-to-face firing.

I am not going to give too much away about the movie because a lot actually happens with them while they are out on the road together. If you haven't seen it, I hope that you do sometime soon.

Also, Kendrick needs to get better roles from here on out. She is a fantastic actress - not to mention pretty darn cute - but her roles since this film (which she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar) have been extremely minor. Small roles in the Twilight series and a bit part as Scott's sister in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Get her better roles.

This grade may be a bit higher than it should, but honestly I came away from this really liking it and was so pleasantly surprised that I am sticking with it.

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