REVIEW: UP IN THE AIR

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George Clooney in "Up in the Air"

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We're in a recession and many are losing their jobs everyday. It's a dark time in American history...except for companies that specialize in corporate downsizing. One of its employees is Ryan Bingham (George Clooney). He's nomadic by nature, so he doesn't mind traveling the country and firing people. In fact, he's about to become the 7th person to reach ten million frequent flyer miles and he's proud of it. Then one day, a 23-year-old college grad named Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) is hired to save costs by making the company more electronic. Her idea is to fire people through webcams. Bingham doesn't like that. It has to be done in person...or atleast that's the excuse he's using so he can remain on the road. So, he takes the young lady under his wing and shows her how it's done. In the meantime, he meets a fellow frequent flyer named Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) and the webcam idea doesn't sound bad anymore.

Overall, it's another well-done and quirky film from director Jason Reitman whose credits include Thank You For Smoking and Juno. However, I don't think it's the year's best as the National Board of Review claimed yesterday. The highlight is mostly the performances. Clooney is his usual charming self, but the stand-out is Kendrick. You might remember her as Jessica in the Twilight series. She's very spunky and adds a lot of humor to the film. I can see her being nominated at the Oscars for best supporting actress.