Night @ the Movies Double Feature.

One of these movies didn’t live up to expectations, and one far exceeded them.  So without further ado…

Up in the Air was just ok.  Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and a myriad of other awards, critics absolutely loved this movie.  Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga’s amazing ass, and new comer Anna Kendrick, this dramedy is about taking risks by being with people vs. never taking risks by being alone.  Clooney plays a man named Ryan, who travels all over the country firing people.  His company is hired by other companies who are “too much of a pussy” (to quote Clooney’s character) to fire their own employees.

During his travels, he meets Alex (Farmiga) and predictably begins to question whether solitude is the best thing anymore.  Young up-and-comer Natalie (Kendrick) wants to save the company a butt load of money by grounding flights of their employees, and instead operating out of their headquarters, firing people via satellite chat.  Her ambition is commendable, but her knowledge of the business is immediately questioned by Ryan who is at home on the road.  So naturally, their boss (played by the always awesome Jason Bateman) suggests Ryan take Natalie out on the road with him to “show her the ropes”.

Predictably she is up tight about everything and too-big-for-her-britches, and eventually has an easily foreseen emotional breakdown while Clooney’s character is cool, calm, collected, and comforting.

The problem I have with this movie is it was sooooo predictable.  It was still funny, dry, and witty, but does that mean we should be able to telegraph each character’s next move in every scene?  And while we’re on the subject of predictability, does George Clooney ever play a different character?  In every movie, he’s Danny Ocean.  He’s cool, calm, suave, older-man-sexy, speaks softly in a baritone voice, and always knows what to say in a difficult situation.  He plays it really well, but I sort of think that’s not acting; that’s what Clooney is like in real life.  Sort of like how Robert Downey, Jr. is a narcissistic, boozing, womanizer, so playing Tony Stark was just another day at the office.

Farmiga is not ridiculously hot, but still pretty attractive.  However, her ass is ridiculous.  Go watch Running Scared with Paul Walker and you’ll know what I mean.  She’s also not bad as the therapist in The Departed who is getting railed by both Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Kendrick does a really good job and outshines both of her more famous co-stars.  While you want to slap her character in the face at some moments for not shutting up or saying something bitchy, she does that on purpose and does it well.

Overall, Up in the Air wasn’t a bad movie by any stretch, but it wasn’t anything special, either.  The critics all agreed this was one of the best movies of the year, and I simply didn’t see it.  I could name 10-15 movies that were superior to this one, but that’s not meant to demean this movie’s quality.  It’s worth seeing, but just make sure you curb your expectations before viewing.

7 out of 10.

The Fourth Kind, however, was so much better than I anticipated that I don’t really know how to evaluate it.  Labeled as a horror movie, originally, I figured it’d be sort of like Paranormal Activity and be somewhat scary and still manage to be awful.  I was very much wrong.  More of a thriller than a horror flick, The Fourth Kind is supposedly based off of actual case studies in Nome, Alaska in which people claim to have seen aliens and/or been abducted by aliens.  Starring Milla Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler, the movie begins with a warning:

I’m actress Milla Jovovich, and I will be portraying Dr. Abigail Tyler in The Fourth Kind. This film is a dramatization of events that occurred October 1st through the 9th of 2000, in the Northern Alaskan town of Nome. To better explain the events of this story, the director has included actual archived footage throughout the film. This footage was acquired from Nome psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler, who has personally documented over 65 hours of video and audio materials during the time of the incidents. To better protect their privacy, we have changed the names and professions of many of the people involved. Every dramatized scene in this movie is supported by either archived audio, video or as it was related by Dr. Tyler during extensive interviews with the director. In the end, what you believe is yours to decide. Please be advised, that some of what you’re about to see is extremely disturbing.

 

They weren’t kidding.  A few of the scenes completely mind fucked me.  I wasn’t scared, but good God, disturbed doesn’t even being to describe how I felt.  The only thing I can compare it to was watching 8mm with Nicholas Cage.  I felt dirty and it was extremely disturbing to witness.  The Fourth Kind didn’t make me feel dirty, but it messed with my head and made me question what I thought about the possibility of intelligent lifeforms actually existing.

The best thing about the movie was the extremely superb editing and seemless transition between scenes.  Perhaps, as a film student, I see things that the normal populous overlooks when watching a movie.  But I can’t help but notice how great a job the people behind the scenes did.  Most of the movie is a split screen between the movie and actors portraying what happened in the archive footage, and the actual archive footage itself.  The voices being more or less dubbed over each other sounds weird and unexpected at first, but then you realize how great a job the actors are doing portraying what they saw while researching their roles. 

If you like thrillers, like being creeped out instead of flat-out-scared or watching the torture-porn that horror has become today, then I’d highly recommend watching The Fourth Kind.  I’m not going to sit here and say I believe everything that happened in the movie, or that I didn’t believe anything at all.  I’m not going to tell you what happens, if it’s real, or if it’s fake.  It’s not my job to make your mind up for you.  Because in the end, what you believe is yours to decide.

8.5 out of 10.