In Review: Nine

I love a great musical, so naturally I was very much looking forward to "Nine." Sadly, some of it works some of it doesn't. The movie is an adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name, which was in turn based on Fellini's landmark film "8 1/2."

The movie is about director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his attempt at making his ninth movie. The trouble is that Contini is having a horrible case of director's block. That's the story in a nutshell, along with the storyline concerning the director's womanizing ways. The result is a movie with a story that meanders all over the place and occasionally has some good musical numbers.

It must be said that the movie's lackluster quality cannot be blamed on the actors. On the contrary. Daniel Day-Lewis in particular does what he can with a weak screenplay. Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard deserve credit as well. And in a nice Hollywood flashback, Sophia Loren makes an appearance as Contini's mother.

Sadly the performances were for naught. With the exception of a few songs ("Cinema Italiano" and "Be Italian"), the music for this movie just lacked punch. Part of this could be that director Rob Marshall's previous movie musical "Chicago" was the exact opposite. In that film, the story was much more focused, the casting was a little better, and of course he had Bob Fosse's ground-breaking choreography to work with. It should be noted that this film is shot well at least. Like "Chicago" "Nine" does embrace making the film look as if it were live theater. The cinematography also embraces lavish colors as was the case with "Chicago."

"Nine" is not a completely terrible movie, but I just expected more. It might be an okay rental, but I think I will take out my "Chicago" DVD instead.

In Review: Up in the Air

Movies usually do either of two things: provide an escape or serve as a vehicle for understanding the world around us. "Up in the Air" manages to do both. It is part romantic comedy and part social commentary.

The plot: Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) flies around the country to fire people when companies don't have the guts to do it themselves. But when the budget at Bingham's company gets tight, Bingham is faced with the unthinkable reality of having to do his job via computer at a desk rather than on the road at the suggestion of new employee Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) . Ryan's boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) tells Bingham that if he feels so strongly that Keener doesn't understand what the company does, then have her shadow you for awhile so she does understand it. At this point I was expecting "Up in the Air" to turn into a traditional road movie or dopey comedy. I was dead wrong. What happens on the cross-country trip is funny, but also heartbreakingly honest and true. There are no false or cliched notes in this film.

Rarely these days is a movie so well-written with such real characters. I bought every single performance in this movie. It's fascinating to see how Bingham and Keener each help the other person come to terms with truths about themselves. Yes it's a road movie, but it's also a story of self-discovery. Keener realizes she doesn't know Bingham's business quite as well as she thought she did and Bingham realizes his life isn't as perfect as he thinks it is.

What also must be said is that this film does not go for the traditional happy ending. Far from it. While the laughs in this movie are frequent so are the harsh realities of the world around its characters. The recession is taking its toll on everyone, even companies that fly people around to fire people. At one point Bingham is arguing with his boss and Keener about the notion of firing people via iChat. Bingham argues there is a certain dignity to what he does. Given that he fires people for a living you may wonder what his character has been smoking. But by the end of this movie, it's painfully clear what Bingham means.

"Up in the Air" is the third feature from Jason Reitman after "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno." What is fascinating in all three films is how he makes you feel for seemingly unsympathetic characters: the tobacco lobbyist in "Thank You for Smoking" and the pregnant high school student in "Juno." Reitman manages to not turn any of his characters into caricatures. "Up in the Air" is funny, honest, and timely. See it!