UP IN THE AIR

CAROLINE: “Up in the Air” is easily one of my favorite movies of the year. It might even be my favorite. There, I said it.

RYAN: I love your passion, and I agree. It’s an excellent movie that just gets better and better as it goes along.

CAROLINE: I was so impressed by this movie! George Clooney is wonderful, of course, but the writing and directing were just superb. Jason Reitman, who also directed “Juno,” has really outdone himself.

RYAN: It’s almost like you don’t realize how average every other movie is until you see a movie with such an outstanding screenplay that it hits you like a ton of bricks and you think, “Wow, this writing is beyond good.”

CAROLINE: This is the kind of role I love to see George Clooney play. It reminded me of his Michael Clayton role a little bit, plus a dash of romance and wit.

RYAN: This is my favorite performance of his ever. I also think he’s never looked better, and I’m not even a huge fan of his.

CAROLINE: I loved seeing Jason Bateman as his boss; I had totally forgotten he was in this. But the real tour de force performances, other than George’s, are from Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. Both are amazing in very different ways.

RYAN: Anna’s best known for playing Kristen Stewart’s BFF in the “Twilight” movies, but I love her most from the movie musical, “Camp.” She was a scene stealer then too.

CAROLINE: I love the mentor relationship she has with George Clooney in this movie. Some of my favorite scenes are when he’s showing her how to pack more efficiently and get through airport security quickly. And then the love story between him and Vera Farmiga is just so much fun.

RYAN: It’s all just so quirky and yet totally realistic.

CAROLINE: That’s what I loved about this movie. I really feel like it so accurately depicts human relationships. George’s character is someone who fires people for a living, and those scenes are so sad, funny and true-to-life. Of course, they used actual people who’d been fired so it feels extra realistic.

RYAN: This movie shows you many different parts of rural America, and I especially loved the scenes in Wisconsin since I’m from there. The depiction is so true. All the accents and the gross Wisconsin decor were perfect.

CAROLINE: This movie is as efficiently directed as George Clooney’s character lives his life. It’s tight, it’s smart, it’s witty and it’s both funny and heartbreaking. It’s kind of the perfect movie.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: This is easily one of the best films of year. It’s definitely worthy of the Oscar buzz it’s getting. I knew about the buzz going in, but I still totally loved it; and that’s saying something.

CAROLINE: It will get tons of Oscar nominations for sure. I have yet to see a movie this year that made me go, “Wow,” like this one did. And I’ve seen almost everything, so that’s also saying something.

RYAN: Don’t miss this one, people!

— RATING —