Up In The Air

Cast: George Clooney, Vara Farmiga, Anna Kendrick Director: Jason Reitman

Set in the backdrop of the economic meltdown, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate firing expert for companies who want to downsize their staff. So, he spend 270 days in air, on airports and in planes. Hotels are his only home.

But his philosophy of carrying a light backpack in life changes when he is on the verge of becoming the seventh person to get the ten million miles frequent flyer card all because he meets a woman who appears to love being in the air.

Starting at a slow pace the film takes us to unchartered territories of the value of human relationship and home as the most important place to rest for the rejected and tired souls.
The importance of family is clearly shown in the employees’ testimonies who were fired by Ryan. They all had their families first in their minds when shown the doors.

“Up in the Air” is not just serious stuff. You get plenty of room to laugh too. It’s surprising – and that doesn’t happen in many movies.

The best part is that the film does not indulge too much in the self of the characters. Each characters reflects the common man who learns to live another day as it comes by. The editing is also finely executed to create an atmosphere of loneliness and its opposite.

The casting is one of the best in the last one year. Clooney’s performance is perhaps his best. With an easy going smile he also shows the vulnerability of a man caught in escapism. Farmiga as Alex, Clooney’s centre of attraction, is also convincingly sexy.

However, Anna Kendrick who plays Natalie, Clooney’s sidekick, seems brighter as a cute and daring fresher who believes in the value of relationship.

“Up in the Air” is both a comedy and a tragedy. One can laugh and feel sad with the characters as the script easily puts you in the shoes of each of the characters when it comes to family and career arena. It  is a must-see.

Read more reviews by Robert L Sungte, at Deccan Herald

Zombieland

Cast: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone Director: Ruben Fleischer

Talks of “Zombieland” being a good zomcom lies in its pointlessness which turns the film into a ridiculously merry making road trip flick.

The United States of America has become ‘United States of Zombieland’ with blood thirsty zombies roaming freely across the country looking for ‘munching humans’. We have four people still not affected by the zombie virus:- College kid Columbus (Eisenberg), zombie-hunter Tallahassee (Harrelson) and two sisters Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin) taking a road trip to Hollywood. On the way the girls steal the guys’ vehicles twice even as they are chased by zombies. Ultimately, they land together again, because the dry plot wants them to develop some bonding.

Most zomcom films used to be commentaries on politics and social issues, but this film is a rebuttal of all that. The closest it sends out a social message is when Harrelson cries for his child. However, he wraps up his tears with, “I’ve never cried like this since ‘Titanic’.” Is that funny or coarse?

The most pointless of all is the protagonists’ visit to Hollywood star Bill Murray’s home. The cameo by Murray serves no purpose at all.

Harrelson is perfect as a gun-toting obsess-ed with Hostess Twinkies. Eisenberg is tender as college kid Columbus afraid of clowns. Stone and Breslin aren’t bad either. However, if you think that “Zombieland” is a horror mov-ie you are wrong. It’s a comedy where characters run from zombies but they don’t look terrified. Director Ruben’s venture is intended to turn the table on zombie flicks and his success lies in suppressing fear and any coherent plot. “Zombieland” is dry and lazy black comedy that calls for a deep a sense of humour.

Read more reviews by Robert L Sungte, at Deccan Herald