Air Reitman scores high!

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2009)

I will try to downsize this review of a downsize flick in less than 500 words. I am up for that even though I probably will not be able to pilot that task. Writer-Director Jason Reitman's "Up In The Air" is already airing it out as probably the best reviewed film of the year. Hope Reitman still stays grounded with all the Award accolades he will be receiving very soon. I am sure he will; because of his humbleness and mindset is one of the main reasons why "Up In The Air" is extrairdonaire! George Clooney stars in "Up In The Air" as a certified airhead who is always daydreaming throughout his day. Kidding! OK, to pilot this plot properly: Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer who spends most of his time traveling from city to city firing away downsizing bullets by informing employees of corporations that "their services will no longer be needed". Bingham has an innate talent in his corporate executions in a way that it does not demean the employee, even through all the grief & anger they go through when they hear the news. Bingham does not seek comfort in completing such a task, but that is what he specializes in. He does seek comfort in living the solitary jet-set life of business travel. He also obsesses on obtaining an ultimate frequent-flyer mileage zenith goal, not for the perks but for the experience. Bingham's "one man is an island" life has left him still single at middle-aged with no children, but Mr. Bing would not have it any other way. Not to say he is shy and reserved, because he does possess the gift of gab. Example: On occasion, he is hired as an independent contractor to conduct "What is in my backpack?' presentations in business seminars on prioritizing what & who is important in one's life. Other Example: He also does air out the lothario muela by meeting and bedding beautiful & intelligent women during his city stops; which by the way this is a good segue to introduce the character of Alex to all of you. Alex becomes "Ryan's Hope" of meeting the female version of him. She shares many of the same qualities & preferences as Ryan and also strives on living a corporate traveler lifestyle. Their connecting banter at the hotel bar where they first meet is of screenplay supremacy. Let me now stopover to Natalie. No, she is not another Bingham bang. Natalie is a novice employee of the Omaha "downsizing services" corporation where Ryan works. She is chatty, motivated, and straight out of college. She convinces the corporate boss Craig Gregory to consider making some technological revolutionary "downsizing" moves to cut cost corners. That would be for all the employees to do the axing over teleconferencing instead of city-to-city travel. Of course, Ryan loathes the idea and puts his two-cents why that would be disastrous, not to mention will also entirely change his life and keep him grounded in the republic of Non-Mutual to Omaha. In order for Natalie to obtain more hands-on and personal experience, Gregory decides to have sex with Natalie. Oops, wrong review, that was from my 1994 film review of "Disclosure". What I meant to say that Gregory decides for Natalie to shadow Ryan during a tour-of-axing duty in order to obtain that experience. And that becomes the lesson learning plight for both Ryan & Natalie in "Up In The Air". Juno that with his masterful directorial piloting of "Up In The Air", Jason Reitman has heightened himself to "up in the list" as one of the most sought out directors in the industry. His timely depiction of the downsizing humane horror was upsized with precision and authenticity in "Up In The Air". Also, his "non-crash landing" of the film's ending was unpredictable by cinematic nature. Reitman and co-writer Sheldon Turner also developed a sky-high clever screenplay. The last act of my "Up In The Air" review before landing is on its stellar acting. I could not visualize anyone else than Clooney to fit the Bingham bill. By George, could it be another Oscar for George? Could someone already give Vera Farmiga the kudos she deserves? The veritas is that Vera continues to excel with her acting but most average moviegoers have never heard of her. Farmiga was pitch perfect as Alex, and I will "farmiga" those Academy voters' offices if they do not give her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Anna Kendrick was a nice revelation as Natalie, but not yet in the "calling the shots" acting category. However, Kendrick is one little actress with a big future. Jason Bateman took command of his role as honcho Gregory. I am glad that Reitman did not ax and still had room to include commendable brief supporting roles by Zach Galifianakis and J.K. Simmons as downsizing victims. Hey, I even enjoyed Danny McBride's performance as Ryan's sister's fiancée "cold feet" groom. "Up In The Air" is a first-class film, that is worthy of some frequent viewer mileage. ***** Excellent