“U” is for Up in the Air

source: geektyrant.com
source: geektyrant.com

Watched: April 22, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingUpInTheAir

Year Released: 2009

Genre: Drama

Starring: George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga

Run Time: 109 minutes

Description (from IMDb): With a job traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham enjoys his life living out of a suitcase, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a new hire and a potential love interest.

source: giphy.com
source: giphy.com

This is another DVD borrowed from my mother.  She’s got a thing for George Clooney.  She thinks he looks like my dad.  Not the other way around, not that my dad looks like George Clooney, but that George Clooney looks like my dad.  Spoiler – he doesn’t.  They are pretty close in age, though.  Dad is about 2 weeks older than George.

My dad (holding my niece), not George Clooney.
My dad (holding my niece), not George Clooney.

Okay, sorry for that detour.  My thoughts on this movie – I really enjoyed it!  I thought Clooney’s acting in this movie was much better than in The Descendants, probably because he was really able to tap into his own experience.  He played a man who didn’t really believe in commitment, and there was a scene where Anna Kendrick’s character was trying to convince him that relationships were important and didn’t he want to get married someday where you could almost sense him winking at the audience.  After all, at the time the movie was made he was a serial bachelor.

But then, towards the end, he gets his heartbroken by the woman he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with, and you can see those walls he’d put up crumbling down.  It was lovely.  And as always, Anna Kendrick is Queen.

My one grip was the “cool girl” character.  The put a twist on her at the end, but she was still annoying.  Newsflash, saying you are not like “other” women is a shitty thing to say.  All women are awesome.  Implying that there is something wrong with the way “other” women act or think, but you’re cool because you act like a man, is horrid.  Every woman should be proud of herself and love herself just the way she is.  Don’t be like a man or a woman, just be you.

source: wifflegif.com
source: wifflegif.com

As always, you can check out all of my tweets from this movie by following me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and searching for #WatchingUpInTheAir.  Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of tweets from the later half of the movie, because my phone lost service 😦

 

“D” is for The Descendants

source: sequoiaprod.com
source: sequoiaprod.com

Watched: March 19, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingTheDescendants

Year Released: 2011

Genre: Drama

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley

Run Time: 115 minutes

Description (from Google): Native islander Matt King (George Clooney) lives with his family in Hawaii. Their world shatters when a tragic accident leaves his wife in a coma. Not only must Matt struggle with the stipulation in his wife’s will that she be allowed to die with dignity, but he also faces pressure from relatives to sell their family’s enormous land trust. Angry and terrified at the same time, Matt tries to be a good father to his young daughters, as they too try to cope with their mother’s possible death.

source: wifflegif.com
source: wifflegif.com

I went into this movie not knowing much about it (like most of the movies I’m watching for this project), except that Shailene Woodley had received a lot of praise for her performance and my mom didn’t understand why.  See, I got the copy of the DVD from my mother and she said that while Shailene was fine in the role of Alexandra, there wasn’t a lot to it, certainly nothing extraordinary.  I actually disagree.

Shailene and Amara Miller, who played the younger daughter Scottie, were the best part of the movie.  I was a little worried that Shailene would be too angsty, too misunderstood teen, but she actually took that start and really amped it up with pain and betrayal and grief and loyalty to her father, yet at no time did it feel like she was acting the part.  It was so natural.

Mr. Clooney, on the other hand, I really didn’t care for.  Especially at the beginning of the movie – his narration just keep reminding me of the old writer’s adage, “Show, don’t tell.”  I wanted him to stop telling us the story and let it unfold for itself.  Usually I like narration in film and television, but it really took this film down a few notches for me.

I liked the Hawaiian music and the overall plot, but I probably won’t watch the movie again.  I can’t see myself getting anything else out of it on repeat viewings.

source: chels725.com
source: chels725.com

 

 

If you want to see more of my tweets from my viewing of this movie, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingTheDescendants