Review of Up in the Air (2009) by Skyler B — 22 Jan 2013

In what will no doubt NOT win the "best picture" award this year, Clooney nails the role of Ryan Bingham, a man that can scarcely be said to even exist as a man at all. Of course, his (anti-)status falls under pressure when the "threat" of real life shows up, promising its sweet rewards.

Is this a tragedy, that - in the end - Clooney doesn't get anything he wanted? Here he had it all for a brief time, a woman at his side, a "daughter", even his old family and home back. But he doesn't hold on to any of it, just fleeting glimpses at a past now more long-gone than before.

Or is it an uplifting tale about a man that finds a life worth entering into, finally? All that matters, here, is that this movie is better than any of the other films this year and will not win because Hurt Locker and/or Avatar will be prime to take all the damn prizes.