George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in "Up In The Air"
courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment
“Too Much George”

George Clooney seems to be everywhere these days. He has been seen in clip after clip from “Up In the Air” as it tried to get a win as Best Picture and him as Best actor. Neither happened, and one reason for that is a little bit of Mr. Clooney goes along way. The American film critics slavered over “Up In the Air” calling it the one to beat for movie of the year. Now as the film reaches DVD let this voice in the wilderness proclaim again, “This is not the best movie of this year! Or of last year or of any year since time began.” Instead it is a depressing movie about depressing people, none of whom merit our interest or our focus.

Having said that I will also add this is George Clooney’s best performance in a movie, but that is because he is basically playing a man with the professed persona of George Clooney. Ryan Bingham (Clooney’s role in the movie) wants relationships but not commitment. Sound familiar!

Bingham flies all over the country as a paid hatchet man. Corporations don’t want to be the bad guys in firing their employees so they hire good old Ryan to do the job for them. The sad thing is he loves his job. He loves flying all over the country and basically living in the sky. On the ground he lives in hotel/motel suites.

On a trip he meets fellow journeyman Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). She likes the loose, non-committed life also. They make the perfect team checking their blackberries to see where they can next hook up. They are strangers on a plane and loving it.

One day Ryan’s boss Craig Gregory (a smarmy Jason Bateman) tells him they are going to bring the firing process in house and use teleconferencing to do it. This is the brainchild of new whiz kid Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick). But before they do this Ryan is to take Natalie on the road and show her some tricks of the trade.

This is basically what you get in this film. Director Jason Reitman seems to think someone who obsesses on how many air miles he can accumulate is someone of interest. This man also has no relationships with friends or family. He is pathetic. 

Clooney is charming and funny as Ryan but it isn’t acting per se, it is George being George just as John Wayne was always John Wayne. Farmiga does create a character and does a good job with her. Kendrick is good at projecting naïveté and innocence, but Oscar nominations notwithstanding neither Farmiga nor Kendrick is outstanding in their performances.

The film may be titled “Up In the Air” but it will leave you feeling down in the dumps. If this is the best Hollywood has to offer then we are in bad shape indeed. Clooney may yet have a good performance in him, and he might even make a movie that is outstanding, but this one is not it. Not by a long shot.

The movie “Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire” is one bleak movie. It starts out bleak and it ends up bleak. But in between you get some of the best acting you have seen in some time. Director Lee Daniels knows how to get the best out of his cast but when it comes to telling the story, well that is something altogether different.

Clareece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is an overweight sixteen year old living with her mother Mary (Oscar winner Mo’Nique) in Harlem. At the start of the film the audience learns Precious is pregnant with her second child. Her father is the father of both of her children. Her first baby is a special needs child being raised by Precious’ grandmother. The child is brought to Mary’s apartment whenever the social worker is scheduled to come for a visit. This insures Mary gets the welfare money for the support of the child.

Because she is pregnant Precious is sent to an alternative school. There she comes under the influence of her teacher Ms. Rain (Paula Patton). Ms. Rain learns to care about Precious and strives to offer her some hope for her future. In the meantime Mary sees this new school as a threat to her way of life and demands Precious stop going. Violent conflicts ensue.

Precious escapes from the horror of her real life by going into a fantasy world when she is being mistreated. These fantasies show her as a rock star or glamorous model. It is a sad and startling contrast to the dark squalor of her real life.

The acting in this movie is amazing especially when you consider the fact this is Sidibe’s first major acting role. She is equally adept at handling the dramatic aspects of Precious’ life as well as the few normal ones. She uses her facial expressions, her eyes, and her body to convey the rush of emotions going through Precious at any given time.

As good, or even better, is Mo’Nique. She makes Mary one of the grandest villains of all time, yet she still manages to imbue her with a small sense of reasoning. When Mary is at her worst she is revolting, but when she tries to justify her actions she is vile. It is a triumphant performance from a very talented woman.

Others who stand out in this cast are Mariah Carey as a sincere social worker; Paula Patton as the true blue Ms. Rain; and Sheri Shepherd as the no-nonsense co-worker at the school Precious attends. Each of these actresses adds something special to the whole of the film.

As good as the acting is it can’t overcome the bleakness of the film itself. Daniels keeps the audience at a distance and in some ways weakens the effect by throwing in humor and escapist fantasies. Precious is an admirable character but the movie does not pave the way for her success in life. She is a person to be praised but the outlook even at the end is bleak.

Also new this week on DVD is “The Sensei.” This is a teenage version of “The Karate Kid” with more of a message. In the film a gay kid (Michael O’Laskey) is brutally beaten up at his school. A woman named Karen (Diana Lee Inosanto) sees this occur and decides to train him to defend himself.

She becomes his sensei or trainer. As the kid becomes more self confident his actions speak for him. The reaction of the town to this change in the young boy and the woman who trains him makes up the core of the film.

In addition to the two leads Keith David and Louis Mandylor provide strong acting support. They help makes this a movie to watch, enjoy and be inspired by.
 

 

 

 

 

©2010 Jackie K. Cooper

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