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Up in the Air

Up in the Air

From Jason Reitman, director of Juno and Thank You For Smoking, comes a comedy-drama about frequent flyers.

George Clooney is Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams (Vera Farmiga).

Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey

Directed by Jason Reitman ('Juno', 'Thank You For Smoking')

Written by Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner (based on the novel by Walter Kirn)

Festivals & Awards BAFTA and Golden Globe winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, 2010.

Drama, Comedy | 1hr 49mins | Rated (M) | contains offensive language & nudity | Origin: USA | NZ Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Flicks review

  • There’s no better time for a movie about redundancy and the a-holes hired to do the firing. George Clooney is perfectly cast as the non-committal, hotel-hopping schmoozer downsizing companies across America. As convincing as Clooney is, Ryan’s world is pretty far-fetched. Here’s a guy who doesn’t like being at home, has no ties to anyone, anything or any place. So it helps if you can suspend disbelief for those who’d rather eat plane food than a home-cooked meal.

    But just as Lost in Translation captured the loneliness of travel, Up in the Air brings its ridiculous nuances, from loyalty cards and crappy corporate parties, to life. Essentially the film hangs on the connections that arise out of being transient and how well you can really know someone you only see sporadically.

    Nothing about Ryan’s cute relationship with Alex, played by the cool and classy Vera Farmiga, feels like a conventional Hollywood romance. His slowly thawing relationship with icy upstart Natalie, Generation Y in a suit jacket, is just as believable.

    It’s a shame that a real-life scene at the end whacks viewers over the head with the moral, since the film’s main messages resonate throughout: no one is indispensible, family is all that really matters, life will teach you lessons when you least expect it. A first-class comedy.

    By Rebecca Barry, Flicks.co.nz

 Our Rating       4

The Peoples voice

  • Good, but...

     3

    I enjoyed the movie and thought it was quite clever in parts, and sometimes very funny, however the movie left me conflicted about what the ultimate message was that the movie was trying to convey. Perhaps a few messages, but they conflicted with eachother. That might just be the real life of it all, but it left me a little too wondering. Perhaps I just wanted sugar in my coffee but got sweetner instead and the bitter aftertaste wasn't worth the saving in calories. But i'm conflicted. Go watch and let me know your thoughts! Is this a 3, or is this a 4 start movie, I'm just not sure for once.

    By Mr G

  • Massively overrated

     1

    This is soulless rubbish. A total bore. Predictably and inane. George Clooney is always good, and Vera Farmiga stands out. Otherwise, this is another Reitman monstrosity that critics seem to love. It's not clever, looks like a TV commercial, and most definitely not funny.

    By Arnold

  • It was boring

     3

    i found this movie okkk, but it dragged on abit and took a while, and the end was a great dissapointment, im sorry but this film does not deserve the 4/5 rating
    :(

    By CHloe

  • great entertainment

     4

    good . i liked it.

    By kate k

  • Twists and turns are all in good time

     4

    Another light hearted comedy with a dash of realism from the director of Juno. George Clooney Clooney and twilight star Anna Kendrick are a surprising but great comedic match. While George and Departed star Vera Farmiga have convincing chemistry. A great movie for a weekend outing.

    By Grace

  • Fantastic. But not Brilliant.

     4

    A film which built itself up so well. But sadly it was a great movie, but not the expected 5/5.

    By Stephen Maslin

 Collective Voice    0000000000003.50

Your review has been posted, you have spoken, and for that we thank you. – Ed.

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Press Reviews

  • Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

    Up in the Air takes the trust people once had in their jobs and pulls out the rug. It is a film for this time.
    Click to read the full review

  • Empire Magazine (UK)

    5 5 out of 5 stars

    Oscar frontrunner? Certainly. But don’t let that drag it into some tough-but-good-for-you category. This is smart, silky, sensitive, and funny old-school movie magic.
    Click to read the full review

  • Hollywood Reporter

    It's rare for a movie to be at once so biting and so moving. If Ryan's future seems bleak, there's something exhilarating about a movie made with such clear-eyed intelligence.
    Click to read the full review

  • Los Angeles Times

    Up in the Air makes it look easy. Not just in its casual and apparently effortless excellence, but in its ability to blend entertainment and insight, comedy and poignancy, even drama and reality, things that are difficult by themselves but a whole lot harder in combination. This film does all that and never seems to break a sweat.
    Click to read the full review

  • NZ Herald (Francesca Rudkin)

    5 5 out of 5 stars

    An entertaining, smart, and classy piece of film-making.
    Click to read the full review

  • Rolling Stone (USA)

    One-word reaction: bravo.
    Click to read the full review

  • TV3 (Kate Rodger)

    4 4 out of 5 stars

    Up in the Air is a very good film, and a nourishing very worthy 4-star watch.
    Click to read the full review

  • Variety (USA)

    The timing in the Clooney-Farmiga scenes is like splendid tennis, with each player surprising the other with shots but keeping the rally going to breathtaking duration.
    Click to read the full review

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