New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

4. Up in the Air

Two years ago, the Academy Awards nominated Michael Clayton as one of the best pictures of the year. This thriller, headlined by George Clooney, was essentially a well-written John Grisham novel, but the Academy voters lavished praise on the film. I wasn't so sure about Clooney delivering a truly exciting performance; though I like the movie star just fine, I didn't think his work as the titular character was any more special than anything else in his filmography. Two years later, Clooney plays a similar character, a man by himself in the world doing seemingly lonely work. In Up in the Air, the difference is that Ryan Bingham says he likes being alone. As Bingham, Clooney has the best character of his career and does justice by giving his best performance.

Bingham fires people for a living, flying around the country to fire various mid-level employees for companies that are too weak-willed to do the dirty deed. Bingham's style is being questioned by a young woman at his company, who suggests firing via teleconference. As he takes her across the continental United States, Ryan begins to realize that maybe, just maybe, living the normal life with some kind of human connection. Clooney, Anna Kendrick, and Vera Farmiga (as the woman who Ryan may want to settle down with) are all amazing here, and co-writer/director Jason Reitman is smart to not let any stylishness get in the way of the charisma these actors ooze throughout the film. Clooney has always been a movie star, but in Up in the Air, a confident throwback to movies of the 1930s and 1940s, he gets to be an actor.

3. In The Loop

I have some mind-blowing news for you, dear reader. Are you sitting down? It turns out there were more comedies in 2009 than The Hangover. Now, I've got a solid sense of humor, so I'm not saying The Hangover wasn't funny. Believe me, I laughed plenty. But The Hangover is not the BEST MOVIE EVER, OMG. If we want to talk about the best comedy of the year, we have to look across the pond, to In The Loop. In The Loop, which manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and as satirical and biting as Dr. Strangelove, is about the trouble that the British and American governments could get into because one mid-level British politician said war in the Middle East (with an unnamed country, but the parallels to Iraq are clear) is unforeseeable. This meek politico (Tom Hollander) runs afoul of Malcolm Tucker, the Prime Minister's attack dog, a profane, lewd, yet very smart man who tries to serve both sides and be able to sleep every night.

Though every actor here is at the top of their game (Hollander, Steve Coogan, and James Gandolfini are the only well-known actors here), the scene-stealing star is Peter Capaldi. Not since Ian McShane hovered over the town of Deadwood in the HBO drama as Al Swearengen has an actor been given such free range with R-rated dialogue. As Tucker, Capaldi walks onscreen, nearly popping a blood vein by just heading into his office. His confrontations with Hollander and Gandolfini are particularly memorable; the latter one is especially awesome, as it's rare that Tony Soprano would ever get cowed by anyone, let alone a British official. In The Loop, like the great political satires, manages to make a withering comment or two on the politics of the day and, despite being wildly funny, is also grounded in reality. Unless you're one of the few who have seen the film On Demand or on DVD, you have probably not seen In The Loop. If you want to laugh, see In The Loop. Or I'll sic Malcolm Tucker on you.

Continued:       1       2       3