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He can carry all he needs in one tiny suitcase; he's a pampered, elite member of every travel loyalty
program in existence; and he is close to attaining his lifetime goal of
10 million frequent flier miles - and yet... Ryan has nothing real to
hold onto.
When he falls for a near identincal fellow traveler (the super hot Vera
Farmiga), Ryan's boss (an always consistent Jason Bateman), inspired by a young upstart
efficiency expert (Twilight's Anna Kendrick), threatens to permanently call him in
from the road. Faced with the prospect of being grounded, Ryan begins to contemplate what it
might actually mean to have a home.
Showbiz
is a strange beast - when it loves you, it loves you and when it's out
for blood, it will take you down quicker than Pauly Shore can say "When
are we making Bio-Dome 2?". Such is the case with the latest flick from Juno director, Jason Reitman, who has teamed up with Oscar winner George Clooney for Up In The Air... a film which had more unwarranted Oscar buzz surrounding it than any other film of it's year.
That includes Avatar, people! The
problem with this over-abundance of public and critical confidence in
the product is that... dare I say it... it is totally unjustified.
Don't get me
wrong, Up In The Air is
thoroughly entertaining, thought provoking and interesting. Clooney is
excellent and incomparably charming, as is the stunning Vera Farmiga -
but it's hardly the earth shatteringly good movie which everyone claims
it to be. Put simply, Up In The Air
is a "bandwagon" that every man and their dog hoping to get their
review quote on a poster has jumped on board. Will you enjoy it? Yes,
very much so. However, is it anything more than a "Wait for a Cable Screening" and
"Kind of like a prequel to About Schmidt"? Sadly, no. Definately check it out, but don let the media fool you into thinking it's the second coming...DVD Special Features
Not too much on offer here (despite the commercial
success of the film) with a couple of Deleted Scenes and a Filmmaker's
Commentary tacked on to wet your whistle.
To be honest, it's getting to a point in which if you aren't going to do Special Features well - don't do them at all.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 50%
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