One of my biggest beef with the domestic audience is its pension for “light” movies.  Film is seen by many as a means of “escape.”  Viewing with this thought as one’s home base, an audience member alienates himself from 80% of the best films out there.  But once in a while, a great director manages to squeeze his “heavy” film into the Hollywood spotlight and trick the U.S. into believing that it’s something other than the bleak, scathing criticism that it is.  Wall-E did it in 2007, and Jason Reitman does it again with Up in the Air.

Anyone who ever worked in the corporate world will be particularly amused by this film.  Reitman’s quickly-edited commentaries on hotel living and Sheldon Turner’s snappily-written dialogue about how to choose the right security lane strike at the truth with charismatic and truthful poise.

The film’s incredibly acted.  While Clooney is the film’s central character, it’s the women who really kick ass.  Vera Farmiga turns in the performance of her career, and Amy Kendrick charges out of the gates in her first lead role.

Up in the Air is a film that masquerades as a popcorn film, but deep down, is a bleak depiction of humanity in the 21st century.