So Lee, should I go see Up in the Air?

[jb]

or what?

[Guest]

Ag-i-ta-tor.

[e0y2e3]

Yeah it was amazing.

One of three must see movies I have seen thus far.

And you are a dick.

[jb]

Yeah it was amazing.

One of three must see movies I have seen thus far.

And you are a dick.

What was your favorite George Clooney outfit?

[peeker643]

Yeah it was amazing.

One of three must see movies I have seen thus far.

And you are a dick.

With apologies to Mitch, that may have been the shortest, most concisely accurate film/character assessment I have ever read.

"VISUALLY STUNNING"

"TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!"

[e0y2e3]

Yeah it was amazing.

One of three must see movies I have seen thus far.

And you are a dick.

What was your favorite George Clooney outfit?

You gonna get one to match it before we go out "to watch football" when I get to Y-Town later this month?

*and it should say thus far this year in my original post

[olecowboy]

so, what makes it a good movie?

[e0y2e3]

so, what makes it a good movie?

No one needs an internet comedian OC.... damnit!

That said, I gave my detailed synopsis already once and Poove had his way w/ it. Maybe he can help you out?

I will say this, it was both deep and thought provoking, hits you on many levels.

[olecowboy]

well, maybe there's a reason why I always keep my suitcase packed and near the door when I work a room, then. . .

[motherscratcher]

You guys talking about that Kevin Bacon flick? You know, the one where he goes looking for tall guys in Africa to play basketball?

That get re-released or something?

[e0y2e3]

well, maybe there's a reason why I always keep my suitcase packed and near the door when I work a room, then. . .

Well done. And you're certainly on to one of the pivotal human nature/lifestyle crux's the film.

[olecowboy]

haven't actually seen the movie, but I have been to 17 state fairs and numerous championship rodeo's, so I pretty much know everything there is to know about life. . .

[e0y2e3]

What is there left to know once you have mastered raising championship rodeo pigs?

[jb]

haven't actually seen the movie, but I have been to 17 state fairs and numerous championship rodeo's, so I pretty much know everything there is to know about life. . .

What animals do they tie up nards on and ho do they do it. I read that's wht bulls get all angry and just can't figure out how. I know I'd fuck someone up.

[e0y2e3]

Here OC,

I honestly think the greatest strength of Up in the Air is its ability to serve as a mirror into our own character and nature. The movie is in and of itself an intricately woven web of human traits, decisions, goals, dreams and ends that is strongly complimented by fantastic acting, solid humor and great writing. That said, no one person is going to walk out w/ the same interpretation of it. It is written in such an adaptive and reflex inducing way (as any very good snapshot into human nature should be) it is bound to take everyone to a different place. I think that each person is going to leave the film w/ a different emotion, understanding, or appreciation and I think that is a sign of great filmmaking. Also, there is a lot of Clooney’s character in me and that is going to, of course, lead me to relating to the movie in question and is bound to have effected my judgment a bit. It’s going to be hard to hate on any single interpretation of the movie *aside from anyone that goes into the theater looking for a happy go lucky movie and leaves bitching because of is not that, do some research before going next time. And if you want puppies, rainbows and chocolate bunnies go see the freaking Blind Side, because Up in the Air is not for you*

That said, what Reitman manages to do w/ this film is dissect the lives, personalities and engines of a slew of characters. He takes the goals of each of them (including family, living the American dream, employment, living life w/ an empty back pack, materialism, career) and at some point or another forces the character to evaluate said goal (from an exo and esoterical perspective) and how it fits into the box of a life they have put themselves in. Each character is forced to wrestle these goals against their inner emotions and freedom, causing each to (at some moment) strip themselves of all of their prior weight and jump toward one of those goals. Reitman clearly points (through Clooney) to death and says to everyone “okay, that’s the end, what have you done today!” But Reitman poses the question in a manor that isn’t so much a “hey, go climb Mount Everest!” manor, as it is a question of what is reality. He is actually asking the age old cliché, what is life and why are we here. In the end that is what the movie is really about, what are we doing right now and why are we living. If this is all we have are we destined to just maintain water level and keep whatever it is around us that makes us happy (whether that is being alone, moving to SF, having kids, or getting married) or are we destined to reach out beyond that comfort level? And if we do reach out beyond that comfort level why are we doing it (because we actually want to or because someone else told us to), what happens if you reach out and fail, and even if you do reach out of your comfort level and fail was it not worth it? That's about as far as I can push this aspect of why I liked it w/out ruining the movie.

EOD: the movie should leave you thinking, whether it is about what you did to get to where you are, where you are going, where a loved one is going or where you should have gone. I appreciate that immensely. Oh and did I mention the acting is tremendous, it has very funny moments, it has very touching moments and the writing is top notch?

I know this isn’t really why I like it and is more so a jumbled stream of conscious platitude, but that’s the best I got, especially since I need to see it again and don't want to ruin it for anyone, even someone that is so spoiler immune they have read the collective works of Alexander Pope 657 times.

[olecowboy]

I have always said that if you show me someone's living room or den, I can tell you what he is like, but if you show me what is on his bookshelves, I can tell you who he is. . .

[e0y2e3]

I have always said that if you show me someone's living room or den, I can tell you what he is like, but if you show me what is on his bookshelves, I can tell you who he is. . .

yes and no, I have played the "I can only sleep w/ a girl w/ great books on her shelves" card for a long time. I have also stocked my shelves w/ more Rumi poems and Gilles Delluez books than I have read. You can see into someone's life by what the have and will read, but some people know how to stack the deck in their favor.

[HoodooMan]

I have always said that if you show me someone's living room or den, I can tell you what he is like, but if you show me what is on his bookshelves, I can tell you who he is. . .

[Guest]

I have always said that if you show me someone's living room or den, I can tell you what he is like, but if you show me what is on his bookshelves, I can tell you who he is. . .

Kind of reminds me of my bookcase.

First book I read in the last two or three years that wasn't related to my "real" profession was reading "The Road" last week while I was on my cruise (great book, BTW).

Now if you amend that to commenting on my DVD collection....

[olecowboy]

(sigh) you know, the philosopher jean jacques rousseau once said "books only teach us to talk about things that we know nothing about."

[Fire Marshall Bill]

(sigh) you know, the philosopher jean jacques rousseau once said "books only teach us to talk about things that we know nothing about."

You've read a lot of books, eh?

[olecowboy]

now, you see, bill, this is the whole problem with the internet:
everyone thinks that they are some kind of little comedian. . .

[Guest]

Very much a feel of "Juno" and "Lost in Translation" in this movie. Not that it's "like" those films...it's not. But there is a similarity in how it's very character focused, with very unique, flawed, but still sympathetic characters. Also a touch of "Thank You for Smoking" in it (another Jason Reitman film), in that it makes people doing jobs considered bad not only appear human, but also likable.

Will have the review up later next week...Sherlock Holmes will go up first.

[Guest]

Got more to talk about this with e0y...but it may involve some spoilers.

The great thing about this movie is that it will mean different things to different people.

For Lee, I think it "might" hit close to home as someone who sees himself somewhat in Clooney's character. (that's just the guess of someone with a minor in Psychology).

For my wife, who saw it with me, it meant something else. She is an HR professional, who has had to deal with laying off or firing people many times during her career.

For me...it is something altogether different. I took the other path from Clooney's character. I always chose personal relationships over professional ones...which is why I had children at 22 years old, and chose to stay in "lower" jobs when they were growing up, instead of moving away from them and my ex-nightmare to further my career. But now that they are grown, I've been finally semi putting career first...so you have that dynamic going, which makes things interesting when looking at this film.

Finally, there is the "loyalty gets you screwed" aspect of this movie. They show several scenes where men (and women) are canned from jobs they've been dedicated to for 20+ years. Welcome to life in the 21st century. One thing I've definitley done over the past 10 years...always positioned myself so that I'm not ever again screwed over by a dick-headed company who really doesn't give a shite about me. This is why I was able to get out of Amp Incorporated before they were stupid enough to be purchased by TYCO...and got out of the mortgage insurance business in 2006 (yeah....you all know what that means).

To me, this "loyalty sucks" part of the movie hit home hard, as my father spent 33 years at a factory that made exhaust systems for the Big 3. Things went south in the 80s, and he found himself out of work at age 57. Sucked for him. But he was smart...he was always frugal (cheap assed bastard), and after spending 6 months looking for work, he realized that he was in a position to move to rural Virginia, buy a smaller house with cash, buy a fishing boat, and then live off his pension for the rest of his life while fishing, watching football, and picking up some spare cash fixing lawnmowers and rebuilding old car engines.

He lived his last 10 years happier than any man I ever met.

It's not the life I would choose...but it worked for him, and taught me to value more than just the career and paycheck.

A great lesson...one that was brought back to my attention from this movie.

(Poove can feel free to jump all over this post as well...j/k...yes, I am an asshole).

[jb]

(Poove can feel free to jump all over this post as well...j/k...yes, I am an asshole).

Not to disrepect an absolutely awesome post and story, Mitch, but this right here is funny, and I don't care who y'are.

Got yer transcripts and lie time ready?

[Doc]

Awesome movie. Thanks for the recommendations.

Best part was Clooney and Natalie talking about kids and marriage. Was talking about the same thing in the car with the gf on the way to the theater. Got a good laugh during that part, as my views are pretty in line with Clooney, while the gf is much more in line with the girl. Anyways, I want to see it again. Smart, funny, sad, touching. It hit all the emotions, has a great story, and makes you think, and you can't ask for much more than that.

[jb]

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/01/08/herbst

Academic all American contest.

Lee vs Jeff.

Substantiate or refute the author's connection of Weber and his work to the plot and character elements of UitA. Cite hyperlinks only to journals subject to peer review. All sources must have a complete and annotated bibliography using footnotes rather than endnotes and the work must be turned in with a style that would sweep Kate Turabian off of her feet.

2,000 words of less.

Go.

[olecowboy]

I would have sworn years ago that I would never see anyone cite McLuhan ever again. . .

[swerb]

Finally saw this. Make some good out of the Cavs debacle and start knocking through my loaded Netflix Q.

Great movie. Top 50 all time for me. Three grand slams in a row for Jason Reitman with Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and this one.

Clooney is a dick, but he can act. And it always helps when you have actors playing roles close to their real lives. Both the gals in the film were cast perfectly. Love Vera Farmiga. Gone from the "who the hell is that" chick in The Departed to someone I will see everything shes in. The dialogue was great. Made you care about the characters.

Very well done.

[waborat]

Finally saw this. Make some good out of the Cavs debacle and start knocking through my loaded Netflix Q.

Great movie. Top 50 all time for me. Three grand slams in a row for Jason Reitman with Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and this one.

Clooney is a dick, but he can act. And it always helps when you have actors playing roles close to their real lives. Both the gals in the film were cast perfectly. Love Vera Farmiga. Gone from the "who the hell is that" chick in The Departed to someone I will see everything shes in. The dialogue was great. Made you care about the characters.

Very well done.

One of my faves from the last few years

Loved JK Simmons in the cameo

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I'm not going to see it.