Up In the Air

Up In the Air is a sublime meditation on life. This third film from Jason Reitman proves he has the chops of a major director but that was already apparent on his first film Thank You For Smoking. Up In the Air deals with a middle aged dude going through a life crisis with subplots revolving around his family and what few friends he has.
George Clooney as Ryan Bingham has played this kind of role before most notably in the far more serious Michael Clayton. There's even a shot here where Clooney gazes with the look of self recognition right into the camera, although it's much shorter in duration than the closing shot of Michael Clayton. Bingham works for a firm that outsources its employees to other companies in order to terminate said other company's employees. His living arrangements are spartan and although he maintains a small apartment he's on the road the majority of the time.
Am I the only one that occasionally refers to this film as The Air Up There, which is a 1994 basketball film starring Kevin Bacon? Non sequiturs aside, Up In the Air works best at the beginning and middle while the last act tends to ground itself with the resolution of Bingham's problems in a rather prosaic manner.
Rather than reveal specifics about the last act that would spoil plot twists allow me to point out the areas of Up In the Air that really work for me. The tone of corporate indifference to the feelings of their workers are best expressed in what is for me the best scene where Clooney fires J.K. Simmons (in a cameo) and goes from being an asshole to making the guy relate to him. Clooney explains how Simmons needs to get back in touch with his true desires that he sublimated when he first entered the corporate climate. Also beautiful footage of American cities as seen from thousands of feet in the air punctuate the film from time to time. Supporting performances are fine with notable finesse coming from Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

Me and Orson Welles: Richard Linklater interview

When Richard Linklater purchased the rights to Robert Kaplow’s Me and Orson Welles, a fictionalized novel that takes place during the 1937 Mercury Theatre production Julius Caesar, he knew he might never make the film.
“Welles was the master of balancing genius and disaster, his whole life is about that. It’s extremely daunting; he’s the big director. It’s like a Christian making a film about Christ,” Linklater told Free Press Houston during an interview.
In recent films Welles has been played by Vincent D’Onofrio (Ed Wood, although Tim Burton dubbed the voice with another actor), Angus Macfadyen (Cradle Will Rock), and Liev Schrieber (RKO 281). Linklater wanted an actor that could fill the shoes of a young Welles, yet he didn’t want a known commodity. “Welles made masterpieces in four different decades. That’s a career,” remarked Linklater.
“Kaplow sent me an email saying to go check out this guy doing a one-man show about Welles at a 50-seat theater in New York. It’s a wonderful play, it starts at War of the Worlds and goes to the end of his life,” recalled Linklater.
That actor is Christian McKay and to see his performance in Me and Orson Welles is to see a star in the making. Linklater admits he wouldn’t have done the film if he hadn’t found McKay.
“The thing about Christian is that you don’t know him. With an unknown the critical antenna comes down. You are with Orson Welles hanging out at the Mercury Theater,” explained Linklater. “That’s the magic of cinema.”
McKay hails from Manchester in the UK. “His big influences are people like Richard Burton or Winston Churchill. He helped to create the one-man show mainly as motivation for when he was an out of work actor.”
Me and Orson Welles was shot in the UK, on the isle of Man for the interior of the Mercury Theatre, with exteriors and other sets shot at Pinewood Studios. In fact, expect to see some play from Me and Orson Welles at the 2010 BAFTA awards as it was primarily and English production.
“1937 New York is so long gone,” noted Linklater. “This theater on the Isle of Man had the correct stage area, the same size trap doors, a similar area under the stage. There’s one existing photo of the interior of the Mercury theater, and the orchestra and balcony are similar.”
The Isle of Man also had a film fund that Linklater was qualified to use due to shooting there. “They became my main producers. I know all about the Isle of Mann now, they have the longest standing government, over 1000 years. They’re a little jewel in the British crown; the Queen comes over ever 30 years,” laughed Linklater. The film credits include CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film. The manx cat also hails from the Isle of Man.
“Cecil Beaton took a series of ten photos so we have those as references,” said Linklater. “Some of the lighting design Welles had based on Triumph of the Will, he wanted it to look like a fascist rally.”
Me and Orson Welles depicts Welles as an immovable genius who used any means necessary to accomplish his goals and Linklater captures the atmosphere of that audacity. For instance, did Welles regularly take an ambulance from rehearsal to his CBS radio gig?
“Who knows with Welles,” queried Linklater. “Where does that myth meet reality? I would think with Welles he probably did that once but it’s the kind of movie where you print the legend.”
Me and Orson Welles opens Friday in an exclusive engagement at the Angelika.

Houston Film Critics presentation 12/19

The Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) will announce their Best of 2009 Film Awards at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Brown Auditorium Theater at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 19. The event showcases the winners of the major acting and production awards selected by the members of the HFCS and will be highlighted by numerous film clips and guest appearances, including G.W. Bailey. The event is free and open to the public, followed by a reception in the museum galleries.
"The Houston Film Critics Society is once again excited to have a public platform for our awards presentation. We hope that the film community and fans of cinema will come out and enjoy our celebration as we recognize the best performances of 2009," said HFCS president Nick Nicholson. "In addition to the film awards, the HFCS will be presenting a few very special awards including a lifetime achievement award to Patrick Swayze and a humanitarian award to actor G.W. Bailey for his work with the Sunshine Kids Foundation."
Texas-born actor G. W. Bailey will be in attendance to receive the Humanitarian Award, recognizing his work with the Sunshine Kids Foundation,a group dedicated to providing activities, trips, and events for young cancer patients. G.W. Bailey is a regular on cable TV's "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgwick, and many people remember him from the "Police Academy" movies of the '80s. Since his goddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Bailey has volunteered for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, to which he was named executive director in 2001.
The 2009 ceremony is co-sponsored by the Houston Film Commission, Women in Film and Television/Houston, Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), the Houston Cinema Arts Society, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston, WorldFest Houston, Cullen's restaurant, and Fancy Flowers.

Invictus

Some Clint Eastwood films you can take or leave, then there are some Eastwood films that take hold of you. Not unlike another recent Warner Brothers release The Blind Side, Invictus functions both as a sports film and a social issues film. Invictus offers some very inspirational insights and a strong moving lead performance by Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. Eastwood has made a film as 180-degree different from Gran Torino as one could ever imagine.
Mandela has just been released from prison after being jailed for nearly three decades as a political prisoner in South Africa at the movie's beginning. Soon elected President, Mandela urges his staff to err on the side of forgiveness rather than revenge. The general consensus of the new staff as well as the South African sports commission is that the rugby team, the Springboks, should be disbanded. Mandela in his wisdom wants to use the team as a linchpin to unite the country torn by apartheid by winning no less than the Rugby World Cup. Since the team will barely make the playoffs the conflict and challenge of Invictus is quite clear.
The title Invictus is Latin for unconquered. The title also comes from a poem by William Ernest Henley (published in 1875). At one point in the movie Mandela references the poem while talking to Springboks captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon more sports hunk than trim spy). Later Pienaar visits the island where Mandela was imprisoned and we hear the words spoken over images as Pienaar stands in a cell that barely exceeds the width of his outstretched arms.
Eastwood has cinematic fun with this sequence. Likewise he sets up a couple of other scenes as if there's about to be an attempt on Mandela's life. One involves a van and the other a jet airliner. The humor is there as the danger proves to be something else. There's also a sly sense that Eastwood is manipulating the audience with the ease of someone who's been making films since the 50s.
The theme of forgiveness never seems mawkish and the drama extends to members of Mandela's staff whom we see dealing with their own issues. After a while it becomes apparent that the film has nowhere else to go but to witness the final game of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in an, at times, exhilarating act that lasts over a reel.