Jason Reitman is officially a brilliant filmmaker. After “Thank You For Smoking” and “Juno,” he delivers another surefire awards contender. His third film couldn’t be more timely, thought-provoking, darkly funny, challenging and heartbreaking. George Clooney has one of his best roles to date, and quite possibly delivers his best performance to date.  He plays Ryan Bingham, a service-for-hire executive rented out by companies big and small to essentially terminate employees and save employers from growing a backbone.  Bingham spends most of his time alone, flying all over the country and sleeping in hotels.  His greatest ambition is to earn a record of ten million flier miles and earn himself a special name-tag.  Life switches gears on him when his company hires a new gal (Anna Kendrick) to turn employee termination into a 5-minute private chatroom via the internet, saving the company all the travel expenses.  Bingham objects to the idea and has to take the young graduate under his wing and demonstrate why he is so good at his work.  Along the way he meets Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga–The Departed), another executive with a similar lifestyle of constant travel, and potential romance ensues.

I can’t stress enough how brilliant Clooney is in this film–able to evoke disdain and sympathy within a brisk 2 hours.  Jason Reitman has penned his screenplay adaptation so strategically and carefully, and it really pays off.  He has an ear for dialogue and an eye for his characters.  Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick also deliver strongly in a film praised for great reason.  “Up in the Air” is a brilliant, airy, intelligent, and tragic film well worth seeing.

Drama Anna Kendrick, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, Jason Reitman, Vera Farmiga, Zach Galifianakis

The new year brought in a comedy that seemed destined for instant cult status, but instead Michael Cera (after that ‘Nick and Norah’ film I despised, and ‘Year One’ which I seemed to be the only one to marginally appreciate) delivers another crap-sack version of “Superbad” as the awkward hero desperate to lose his virginity.  How to do so this time?  Create an alternate persona known as Francois to be the dark and dangerous man he wants to be on the inside.

“Youth in Revolt” is based on a book I haven’t read, and I can imagine it being a funny novel that fails to translate well onscreen.  The film continually beat me over the head with its dull pacing, boring characters, uninteresting dual-personality plot device, and mean spirit. Enough of these teens trying to get laid, especially Michael Cera.  The pacing is laborious, and nothing beyond what was shown in the redband trailer works for laughs in the slightest.  I’ve always appreciated Cera’s knack for dry, awkward situational humor, but he wears incredibly thin in this film. It doesn’t help that eventually his character becomes so unlikable, and for a 90-minute movie that feels double its running time, this film has to be described as painful and uneven. Perhaps it will find its following on the small-screen, but I can’t get on that train.

Comedy Jean Smart, Michael Cera, Miguel Arteta, Portia Doubleday, Ray Liotta, Zach Galifianakis