comment #1

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

Count me completely disappointed with this film. Saw it last night and couldn't believe all the hype. it was so rote and pedestrian in every sense of the word. Hate to break it to y'all, but JR couldn't direct his way out of a paper bag. His uncinematic tastes (clearly, inherited from daddy) are so vanilla and borig. Hard to believe that anyone found this some kind of timely drama.

His use of bad emo music was so fucking annoying that I was ready to walk out. Really great choice to put fucking dumb music over your bland pastiches. try again, idiot.

Also, as much as I love the Cloon, and especially Vera (Good Christ, you culd see the fucking twist for her coming a thousand miles away), I was a little sad to see the script was beneath both of them. Cloon is all charm, as we all know and that is whay makes him a great movie star (see MICHAEL CLAYTON) but he needs to be in the hands of a good director who knows how to push the right buttons to get him to truly give his all (see Gilroy, Coens).

Like that fucking awful JUNO, this film feels smug and trite and completely vapid in every sense. The fact that AK is getting oscar buzz is really pathetic. this year has been pretty shitty for movies.

Oh yeah, and all the interviews with real people who have lost their jobs, are we supposed to know this? The truth is that if you know this going in, it TOTALLY jars you out of the BS movie you are watching. Complete dumb ass move (see REDS to understand how to do it the right way).

I couldn't help but think how Payne might've made this a better film so easily. Can't wait for his next film, which, naturally, the Cloon is top lining.

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

Overhyped, good but not great. Couldn't have said it better myself.

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

Also where was the link when they raved PRECIOUS

comment #4

moviesquad says ...

Once again, UITA is a Lifetime movie of the week on steroids and NOT a Best Picture of the year.

comment #5

Mike Ock says ...

Finally, the word is out about the Emperor's New Clothes! I've been saying this for a while. I saw this at the Sony Lincoln Square last month, and was completely underwhelmed.

What a stretch for George Clooney. Playing a smug, arrogant, ladies man in a suit.

Goes to show you how out of touch critics are, and how they'll bend over backwards to rave about mediocre films and performances by one of their darlinigs.

As for the rest of the film, there is nothing special about the story. I found myself checking my watch alot. I knew I wasn't alone because at the end of the movie there was no applause whatsoever.

Usually when you watch a great movie at that theater, you get a nice round of applause at the end. I saw Inglorious Basterds twice there, and the crowd went nuts both times.

comment #6

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Will Kris Tapley weigh in on this, please? He felt/feels the same as I did/do about UITA starting last September, and maybe he's hearing the same kind of thing from others...or maybe not. If he's hearing the same things, how does he explain the disconnect between the majority of the critics and tastemakers and the industry crowd vs. non-pro types and the internet talkbackers? Does he suspect that UITA might surge forward again when the inevitable Avatar backlash kicks in? To what extent does he feel that the Real Geezers are a bellwether of over-60 Academy sentiment about this film in particular?

comment #7

The Hoyk says ...

Hey, I'm still in your corner on this one. While I didn't pick it for my #1 (or #2) of the year, it was one of the best nights I'd had at the movies in quite a while. I'll do what I can to spread the word.

comment #8

Jeffrey Wells says ...

From 9.11.09...

"Up In The Air really has it all -- recognizable human-scale truth, clarity, smart comfort, the right degree of restraint (i.e., knowing how not to push it), and -- this got me more than anything else -- a penetrating, almost unnerving sense of quiet.

"This is one of the calmest and most unforced this-is-who-we-are, what-we-need and what-we're-all-afraid-of-in-the-workplace movies that I've ever seen. From an American, I should say. (The Europeans have almost made job-anxiety films into a genre -- i.e., Laurent Cantet's Time Out, etc.) But I would guess that Up In The Air will play very, very well in Paris.

"It's a film that walks and talks it and knows it every step of the way. Work, adulthood, asking the questions that matter, compassion, family, stick-your-neck-out, etc. The whole package. With an almost profound lack of Hollywood bullshit and jerk-offery. And a kind of Brokeback Mountain-y theme at the finale -- i.e., "move it or lose it."

"Up In The Air doesn't tell you what to feel -- it lets you feel what it is. All the best movies do that. They don't sell or pitch -- they just lay it down on the Oriental carpet and say to the viewer, 'We've got a good thing here, and if you agree, fine. And if you don't, go with God.'"

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/09/quietly_touches.php

comment #9

Devin Faraci says ...

You've gone gaga for the most pedestrian stuff this year. Getting old really mellows people out, makes them appreciate cheap sentiment and cloying familiarity.

comment #10

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Wells to Faraci: That's what getting old does to you, Devin...sho 'nuff. Which is mainly why that doddering old biddy Karina Longworth with the failing eyesight liked Avatar, I think.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/12/is-avatar-the-timeliest-movie-of-the-year.html

My other old-fogey picks of 2009, every last one of them pathetic in their pandering to cloying bourgeois formula and crusty-moldy sentimentality:

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces, Chris Smith's Collapse, Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, Lone Scherfig's An Education, Armando Ianucci's In The Loop, Cary Fukunaga's Sin Nombre, Michael Mann's Public Enemies, Lynn Shelton's Humpday, Tom Ford's A Single Man, Louie Psihoyos's The Cove, Neil Blomkamp's District 9, Sacha Gervasi's Anvil! The Story of Anvil, James Toback's Tyson, Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience, Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo, and Jane Campion's Bright Star.

Next year they should put these movies into a special "old fart" DVD box set and offer them specially priced to assisted living facilities.

comment #11

moviesquad says ...

I'm with Devin on this one. It's hard to believe Jeff is pushing UITA as his top pic and the Best Picture winner this year... but, I'm still amazed at his trashing of Inglorious Basterds after gushing over the script.

comment #12

Gordon27 says ...

Like I said in a thread below, does anybody else think that actors may think that 'Avatar' represents a threat to their profession and vote against it for Best Picture?

comment #13

Gordon27 says ...

"You've gone gaga for the most pedestrian stuff this year."

G.I. Joe... a real American hero... G.I. Joe is there!

comment #14

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Wells to Gordon27: If they did think that, that would be a fairly ignorant assumption on their part.

comment #15

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

If UITA somehow manages to win Best Pic, it will just show (again) how out of touch the movie industry (and Wells) is with the real America.

comment #16

Gordon27 says ...

"If they did think that, that would be a fairly ignorant assumption on their part."

I agree that it would; have you ever talked to an actor/actress who took their craft seriously and hadn't ever done motion capture work?

comment #17

K. Bowen on vacation says ...

The fact that that Up in the Air is getting so overpraised and the subtle brilliance of Bright Star is getting overlooked is a real downer for the state of film criticism.

Let's face it: Newspaper people are suckers for any film about downsizing, because that's their life. They rush to call it the "movie of our times" because it's happening to them and the people that surround them.

Clooney and especially Farmiga are good, but the bizarre overpraise for Kendrick's one-note performance is really, really discombobulating. The film gets better when she leaves.

In the George Clooney carnivorous-capitalism category, MIchael Clayton runs rings around Up in the Air, IMO.

comment #18

Terry McCarty says ...

I'm reminded of a ROLLING STONE review for a long-forgotten Neil Sedaka album which was produced by George Martin. The reviewer said something about already-washed dishes going into the dishwasher.

Yes, young Reitman retains his skill for directing actors. But the film is overpolished and ought to have been a bit more raw in approach (i.e. handheld DV camerawork) for a film dealing with downsizing/major life changes.

comment #19

lawnorder says ...

What is this fixation with handheld, cheap DV looking "technique" as if shooting your film that way gives you more indie cred? It's like catnip with critics, while polished, well designed films in terms of camera movement and composition are all seen as Hollywood phony by the same group of critics and bloggers. I hate the loss of craft in American films and, believe me, in about five to ten years, these loose looking, jittery, handheld films are all going to feel dated - just like the overuse of the zoom lens in the 70s. Thank God a few directors in this business still respect craft, like James Cameron with AVATAR and even what Jason Reitman did with UITA. UITA is an excellent film on all counts - and I say this as someone who did not like his first two films. No one seems to care that the quality of the movie image is becoming shittier and shittier with the use of inferior digital cameras. It takes time to light and choreograph interesting camera moves, so let's throw that shit out the window because we can make our films faster and cheaper without planning our shots in the classical sense. That approach works on some films - like THE HURT LOCKER - but it wouldn't have benefited UP IN THE AIR. Michael Mann has sold out his entire body of work, which was always immaculately crafted, by swallowing the digital Kool-Aid for the last three - and butt ugly offerings they are indeed. Same goes for Fincher, in my opinion - though Fincher at least knows how to get the most out of his digital images, but they still aren't one tenth the quality of his celluloid works. There's more to directing a film than just pointing the camera at your actors. The most talented directors understand this - which is why you can enjoy their films based on the sheer audacity of their craft, even when the subject matter isn't your bag. An example of that is Chan Wook Park's latest, THIRST. I thought the story was shit, but the man's craft is exemplary - and for that, I will always be in line to see his work. I would have to say that Park's OLDBOY is the most exquisitely crafted film of the decade - and, probably, my favorite as well.

comment #20

lawnorder says ...

And speaking of disappearing craft, it's really telling that the cinematography for THE BAD LIEUTENANT - some of the worst in recent history - gets a Spirit nomination. What a fucking joke. Doesn't surprise me in this age when most theaters can't even project a focused image to start with.

comment #21

desario says ...

i find the Reel Geezers high praise of "Precious" very interesting. best film they've seen this year, they say, and they have very insightful analysis of the film and mo'nique's character.
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/precious_a_reel_geezers_review/

comment #22

C is for cookie says ...

I agree with K. Bowen -- the movie did improve considerably once Anna Kendrick's character was out of the picture. All of the praise around her performance is the most puzzling thing about the Up In The Air hype, IMHO.

I thought it was a good movie, a solid three-star piece of work, but Kendrick's character and performance are the main reason that I couldn't buy this as something someone would push for Best Picture of the year. Not since Oleanna have I wished for the film to break the fourth wall of its own milieu and deliver a violent, protracted death to a character (in the case of Oleanna, I wanted a bomb to go off in that office and blow both "characters" to kingdom come).

If she wins Supporting Actress, I will, ala Werner Herzog, eat my frickin' shoe.

comment #23

K. Bowen on vacation says ...

lawnorder, I agree. I love Thirst and don't understand why i haven't seen more end-of-year mention of it. A film like Bright Star that is one brilliant composition after another gets points off, because for some weird reason critics don't trust pretty.

I thought there were some really nice compositions and framing going on in UITA. The problem is that I nearly wrote a one-word review - "Smug."

comment #24

Phreaker says ...

It really doesn't hold up on a second viewing at all. Not at all. I get the feeling that Reitman lacks depth and maturity but mainly the kind of depth a person who has had to struggle in life gains. If you have never suffered you can't really know suffering, which is why those who are losing their jobs in the film ring hollow. It is fairly thin when put up against analysis and repeated viewing. It is entertaining. Funny that William Goldman admired it. I guess I'm not surprised since it has a screenplay-class type of script. The three actors are the best things about it. It does not hold a candle to Hurt Locker or Avatar.

comment #25

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

If THIRST was in english and took place in the USA, no one would've seen it in a theater.

comment #26

caligari says ...

And yet Bright Star is only getting a standard DVD release, not a Blu-ray. I don't get it. (Agreed it is the most overlooked film of the year.)

comment #27

COCO says ...

This Eloi stll wants to see UITA.....but JWells is correct....the sounds of crashing is growing by the day.....the Blueskins have spoken.

comment #28

TulseLuper says ...

I liked Up in the Air. Felt it did exactly what it set out to do, which is something to be admired. It's also a great film for the times above all else. I'd rather see The Hurt Locker win Best Picture but I wouldn't be angry if Up in the Air won it.

comment #29

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

Vapid, bullshit that Hollyqood thinks everyday Americans can relate to = a great film for our times.

Bullshit.

comment #30

Breedlove says ...

Yeah, throw me in with the good-but-not-great crowd. Nice movie, good script, definitely overrated. Won't make my Top 10 of the year, nowhere near as good as HURT LOCKER, PUBLIC ENEMIES, SERIOUS MAN, WATCHMEN, etc. Clooney is fine, of course, but he could have played the part in his sleep. Sorry.

The one film I missed this fall that is KILLING me is BRIGHT STAR. Worship the Campion. Any chance it's still playing anywhere in NYC? I know it was down to 2 theaters a couple weeks ago so I think I'm screwed...really annoying there won't be a Blu-Ray.

comment #31

Phreaker says ...

The other problem with the movie is that it peaked too soon - before it opened to the public. It's a subtle movie that needs to be "discovered".

comment #32

moviesquad says ...

Also, I don't believe George Clooney or his character every owned a backpack. And, wouldn't have made more sense for him to ask "What's in your SUITCASE?"

comment #33

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Most unintentionally ironic knee-slapper above?

lawnorder bitching about the loss of quality and polish in film today while writing a paragraph break-less diatribe which defies you to read it in its ugliness.

comment #34

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

UITA is subtle? Someone clue me into how that is. JR wouldn't know subtle if h went to school and learned it. sorry, but growing up a millionaire's son makes you ANYTHING but subtle. Motherfucker is a sham director. His track record is as awful as his style, which is non-existent. And I'm being nice. Jesus, I can't believe the hype around this POS.

comment #35

chris7crows says ...

"Thirst" is interesting, but the scattershot tone and sometimes murky plot probably explains the lack of year-end notice.

comment #36

moviesquad says ...

I wonder what Jeff has in his backpack that makes him love this movie so much?

comment #37

Terry McCarty says ...

BizarroJeffWells wrote:
UITA is subtle? Someone clue me into how that is. JR wouldn't know subtle if h went to school and learned it. sorry, but growing up a millionaire's son makes you ANYTHING but subtle. Motherfucker is a sham director. His track record is as awful as his style, which is non-existent. And I'm being nice. Jesus, I can't believe the hype around this POS.

Say this for Jason, his films are superior to father Ivan's later works, e.g. JUNIOR and EVOLUTION.

comment #38

LexG says ...

UITA = my favorite movie of the year.

It's definitely more of an "emotional" movie than an intellectual one, and the fact that so many people upthread and most of its detractors are griping about the interviews and JR's style and "what it says" about us and our times speaks to the disconnect here.

I think the movie is most likely to hit the sweet spot not for ANY of those reasons, but most directly and movingly for guys who can relate to lone-wolf existential Clooney's existence. Christmas is a terrible time for this thing to break wide, because it's a "family" time for movies, and I can't imagine a man or woman with three kids and two nice cars and Grandma and Grandpa in tow breaking down and RELATING to the plight of a devil-may-care bachelor who's eschewed societal norms like marriage and family to march to his own drum.

Most movie critics process things intellectually from a remove instead of SEEING THEMSELVES on screen; I'd be curious how many of the "underwhelmed" are guys with wives and kids. Not that anyone shouldn't be able to relate or appreciate the timing, pacing, melancholy mood, and individual brilliant scenes, but again, I think the movie's more likely to hook fellow solitary men (like Wells, like me, etc.) with a touch of misanthropy about their fellow man who don't necessarily embrace the all-American tenets of personal connection.

In a world where people can't be alone with their own thoughts for eight minutes in line at the post office without grabbing their cell and having a mundane conversation with family or friends, I don't know how many true "lone wolfs" there are left in America who would truly relate to Clooney's arm's-length predicaments in UITA. I think for those it speaks to, the movie means a lot. For people who process movies from the back row, notebook in hand, fixated on aesthetics and subversion and with no rooting personal interest, resonance, or identification, the movie's less effective.

And, yeah, probably just not enough "plot" for the Eloi, which is why 90% of Americans go to movies anyway. I'm sure in multiplexes showing UITA this weekend, a good majority of the crowds are shuffling in their seats waiting for Clooney to rob a bank or solve a murder, mystified by the scenes where people just talk.

comment #39

Phreaker says ...

"Motherfucker is a sham director. "

Thank You for Smoking is good, I thought. I think he's good working with black comedy but when he tries to portray "regular folks" it doesn't ring very true - many of the scenes in UITA feel phony to me, much the way Juno did. The small engagement ring on Clooney's sister stands out. Why would that necessarily be the case? The poorer you are the more audacious your engagement ring needs to be. It felt like a gimmick. On the other hand, it is entertaining.

A friend brought up the idea of how much better it would have been if it had starred Steve Buscemi instead of Clooney. What if no one showed up at those empty backpack lectures? Comparing it to The Graduate, which it seems to be kind of going for, there were so many layers to the character of Mrs. Robinson, so many layers to Benjamin; so much desperation at the end. It's the difference between making a movie about questions instead of making a movie about the answer.

comment #40

shanes5 says ...

I just got back from UITA. I'd hoped for so much more and it seemed to be there at JR's fingertips, but he just let it slip through somehow.

I found it predictable but could have overlooked that--so is Avatar. What Avatar had that UITA didn't was that the pivotal scenes where the character has his aha moment...I beleived it.

But when Clooney's character met what I felt like were the two most pivotal scenes for his character (when he had to talk his brother in law out of his cold feet and when he had his moment with the head pilot) they both should have been dramatic reality checks (the first to come to a full realization of what he was missing--the second to see the emptyness of all of his effort)...neither scene affected me emotionally or intellectually. They just didn't work.

comment #41

The Winchester says ...

I loved UitA. It got me on an emotional level. Loved everything about it.

And as much as I love it, I've come to terms that it probably won't win best picture, even though I believe it should.

comment #42

Terry McCarty says ...

Re shane5's comment:
I'm sure that the casting of Sam Elliott as the pilot wasn't coincidental; Elliott starred in 1976's LIFEGUARD--the UP IN THE AIR of its era, though without the downsizing of ours.

comment #43

lawnorder says ...

Fuck you, Deathtongue Groupie - you form humping cunt! Calling out my paragraphless "diatribe" on the lack of craft in today's cinema as some kind of "knee slapping irony" is an asshole troll move. It's called a "rant." They work best in single paragraph form because it's all coming out in one breath. How's that for a lesson on paragraph construction? Either have something meaningful to contribute to the discussion at hand, or shut the fuck up. I didn't see Jeff's sign declaring this to be a paragraph enforced zone. Twat.

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comment #46

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