Up in the Air

I did something Sunday night that I rarely do these days. I actually went to the theater and paid to see a movie. The movie was suggested by a friend, and I didn't really know much about it other than that a friend from high school happened to work on the film (read: corral hoards of women swooning after George Clooney) when shooting was being done in Omaha. Anyway, there wasn't much appeal. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised. Clooney continues to get better with each new film. The supporting cast was great as well, with appearances from Zach Galifianakis, Danny McBride, Jason Bateman, and Sam Elliott, to name a few).



George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who travels around the country to various workplaces and conducts employee layoffs on behalf of bosses too cowardly to do it themselves. On occasion, he also delivers motivational speeches about the virtue of a relationship-free life, often using a backpack analogy. He relishes the comfort of being anonymous during his perpetual travels. He does not have a personal life and chooses to stay away from his family. He is close to achieving his personal goal of 10 million miles.

One of my favorite things about the film is the opening credit sequence featuring some amazing aerial shots and an outstanding version of This Land is Your Land by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. This isn't really a video, but you get to hear just how amazing their version of the song is.



The other major highlight is that the film includes various shots of Omaha, including the downtown area and the airport. Seeing this movie in Omaha is probably a completely different experience than seeing it anywhere else. You can literally feel how excited people get seeing an Omaha landmark (even though Clooney's character frequently laments the fact that his life is based out of Omaha and refuses to admit that he actually 'lives' here). When it's all said and done, Up in the Air is good movie with a good soundtrack and is, overall, a pretty solid piece of film making.