Movie – Up in the Air

This was a surprise choice for the BF but it turned out to be and an interesting movie.The basic story line is of a man who travels constantly for his job as what I can only describe as a professional ‘firer’. Only in America.His firm sends hires out ‘consultants’ to fire people when companies cannot be bothered to do their own sullied work and these scenes were undoubtedly the saddest of the film, a little too close for comfort in these uncertain times.Having Clooney play the part doesn’t make the job any more glamorous but the sparkle comes from the executive lounges, airline upgrades and not too shabby hotels that he stays in.The real story is that his job is threatened when a new employee devises a way to do it by video conferencing. He doesn’t like being on the ground – doesn’t even have a proper pad to live in, just travels around America staying in hotels and accumulating air miles through a multitude of loyalty schemes. The part where he meets his female counterpart resonates with me as they compare loyalty cards. Heaven knows I do anything to accumulate air miles.Their ‘relationship – for want of a better word – evolves and entwines with his own estranged family.I’ll leave you to find out the ending but I was not too happy with it. At no point in the film did I get the feeling he would change from being a non-committal to someone who bonds with anything other than the inside of a hotel room but the film writers felt differently.There were some funny lines and interesting twists but not Golden Globe material.Oh, and the product placement (American Airlines and Hilton Hotels) is way too obvious for an industry that has a daily need for hotels and aeroplanes.6½/10 Smile 7/10Follow my updates on Twitter[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m-Da8Tz4_E&hl=en_GB&fs=1&]Ocean's Trilogy [Blu-ray] [2001]