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UP IN THE AIR (**) – Dir. Jason Reitman
Even if “Up in the Air” succeeded at being the breezy middlebrow comedy-drama it wants to be, its massive critical appeal would still be baffling. George Clooney plays a corporate crony who happily lives out of hotel rooms, suitcases, and business class airlines. “Up in the Air” barely gives us time to feel the allure of such a life before it crams Clooney’s change and redemption down his throat. I enjoyed the bits of Clooney doing his job and there were some good throwaway scenes involving an industry convention, because people with real jobs fascinate me. But there’s not much to this movie.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (**1/2) – Dir. Robert Zemeckis
About as good as a 3D Disney movie starring Jim Carrey could be. And maybe a little better. There’s a little too much whooshing and chasing through the streets of London for a movie about the change in a man’s soul. And there are some jarring changes in tone between serious and jokey that undercut the movie’s power. Still, it’s good to be reminded how great Dickens’ story really is. It’s so good, so seminal, that it’s hard to imagine a human being wrote it. It feels more discovered than created. As for the motion capture animation – either the technology has gotten better, or we’ve grown accustomed to it, or Zemeckis has simply found subject matter more appropriate for its inherent creepiness.
ZOMBIELAND (**1/2) – Dir. Ruben Fleischer
The good parts are good and there aren’t any bad parts, but since there’s no goal for the characters besides not getting killed by zombies, “Zombieland” sort of runs out of steam between the halfway mark and the last act. This happens a lot in zombie movies and your attention might wander. Woody Harrelson is great and the guy doing a nonstop Michael Cera impersonation is good too.
