Up in the air

In "Up in the Air" the main characters played by George Clooney and Anna Kendrick (who plays a psychologist), travel in airplane to several cities in a short time. The function of these characters in the company which they work is to dismiss people. Bosses that do not want to face their employees in this situation hire this company to dismiss them. This causes a deep suffering in employees.

The movie deals with contemporary themes, such as fear for commitment, and difficulties of human relationships. Another great theme in the movie is the dehumanization brought due to technological.

A good issue in the movie to be discussed is when the company that Ryan works changed the face to face dismissal; instead they started using of video conferencing to dismiss people; this would lower costs of travel of the company a lot. Despite the great savings that the company would have with this new tool, the changing was not efficient due to the emotional issue and great impact on people's lives that this situation causes.

It is possible to realize that company did not think about people’ reaction and feelings when they made this decision, only in profits. It is hard to see any of the characters wondering how the employees would feel about the new way of dismissal. George Clooney character dislikes the new idea; however, he was thinking about his personal interests. The movie clearly shows the scenario of nowadays. Individualism and own enrichment  

Up in the Air

Directed by Jason Reitman; written by Mr. Reitman and Sheldon Turner, based on the novel by Walter Kirn.

The movie up to the middle doesn't surprise you, even the end doesn't really surprise you. You don't expect him to have a real relationship with Alex, settle and stop flying, that would be a terrible and clichè ending. However, could you expect him to start and end in the exactly same place? Does he really change? I think that is the strong point of the movie, it makes you reflect. You go throughout the movie with Ryan, he gains your simpathy, and then comes the end. Can you not wonder about what will happen to him now?

There is a contrast from the man who says:

The one who is preaching detachment to human relations. To then you find this man:

The man who not only changed his speech but his perspective about human relations.

Ryan's actions seems to indicate that he realised what he has been missing his whole life. It's very clear in scene when he accomplish his goal: 10 000 miles.

Ryan:  Captain.

Captain: That seat taken?

Ryan: No. No.

Captain: You're the youngest yet to hit 10 mil. Don't know where you found the time.

Ryan: Yeah. I don't know.

Captain: Here you go. 7th card we've made. Small club. We really appreciate your loyalty.

Ryan: You know how many times I thought about this moment? Played out the conversation that you and I would have right here.

Captain: Really? What did you want to say?

Ryan: You know, I don't remember.

Captain: That's all right. It happens to all of us. So, where are you from?

Ryan: I'm from here.

Suddenly, his dream, his lifestyle lost his appealing which he always believed it had. He is finally ready to make a connection. However, Alex is married. Natalie (co-worker) is no longer part of the company. He is back, up in the air. Will he truly unchain himself from the life  he has built?

Mammoth

What does the title mean? If refers to the movie's $3,000 fountain pen made from ivory from a frozen mammoth. Not coincidentally, it's also the word for "mother" in Tagalog, a national language of the Philippines.

The first half of the movie I was convinced on awarding the film five stars, but in its latter half things started repeating themselves a bit, and the story started losing its emotional grip. Somehow I believe that due to the strong emotions on children, Mammoth will affect more those people who have children on their own. After all the biggest idea behind the story is that children and parents need time together.
The people in this film aren't ignorant or arrogant; they're aware of the often-awkward social boundaries that money creates. They know the unfairness of the Western system, yet they are powerless to change it. They unwillingly feel themselves becoming cogs in the machine, when- like the mammoth- all that'll be left of them in the end is bone. (Who knows, maybe one day human bone will become a commodity as well). The tragedy in the film is that Leo an Ellen are so wrapped up in their own worlds of pain that they don't recognize the true depth of Gloria's pain.
It shows the children collecting garbage and selling themselves for tourists in the Philippines, it shows both the beauty and the ugliness of the tourism in Thailand, and it shows also how a seemingly normal life in New York can be so filled with emotions that are not getting fulfilled. And also it shows that in a world full of technology that should keep people more easily connected to other people, people still need each other in person and not just as a voice, sms or email.

50/50

The movie 50/50 is a dark comedy that deals with an extremely serious issue, cancer.  The young and talented Gordon-Levitt portraits an 27 year-old radio journalist, who is diagnosed spinal cancer.   Adam sees his world falling apart after the news.  The odds were against him, he lived his whole life making sure to follow the right path, eating the right food, avoiding dangerous habits, and yet the disease got him.

Seth Rogen is in charge of most of the comical situation from the picture.  In fact, the actor is real-life close friend to the movie’s screen player, Will Reiser, who had faced cancer himself.  So basically, the movie is an autobiographical attempt to humor such tragic fate.

The movie flows almost awkwardly, switching from Rogen’s character ridiculous attempts to cheer up his best friend, to Adam’s realization of his disease.  The director tried to deal with the subject as light as possible, bringing up the “bright side” of cancer, as Kyle said, for comedy sake.

The relationships portrayed in the film gave the viewer an idea of how cancer not only affects the diseased, but also, the close ones.  Rachel, the unfaithful girlfriend, did not know how to handle the situation, choosing to hide away her real feelings, than actually breaking up with her boyfriend.  Kyle, the best friend, hid under his jokes in order to stay positive for Adam.  While the journalist’s mother chose to seek help in a specialized group, since her son kept pushing her away from his disease.

In general, the movie may make you shed a tear or two, and may leave you uncomfortable to laugh at some dark situations.  However, it grows on you.  It may not be a successful comedy film, but it successfully makes you wonder about life.  

50/50 Analysis

Cancer, one of the most tough diseases nowadays comes silently and suddenly, and that is the situation which Adam Lerner (Gordon-Levitt) needs to face in the movie 50/50. Adam is a 27 year old public radio journalist and he is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. Adam sees his whole life changing due to the cancer. He got the help of his best friend, his mother, and a therapist to handle the disease.

Cancer is really terrifying. It is the second disease that kills in the world (in 2008, almost 14%, or 7, 6 million, of all deaths were caused due to cancer, according to World Health Organization). It has more than 100 types and 60 organs can develop cancer. An interesting fact is that only 10% of cancer patients are hereditary cases and 90% of the cases are associated to environmental factors. Adam had healthy habits, so he got unlucky.

Another fact is that the older the person, more the chance of having cancer. 63% of cancer patients are more than 65 years old. Adam was 27, so he got unlucky again. 27 is an age where you probably left home a while and you are getting used to independence. In that moment cancer shows up to Adam, and he is thrown back into the position where you need to rely on people.

The cancer patient enters a stage of psychic reactions which is divided into five stages: denial, revolt, bargain, depression and acceptance. Those stages are present from the time of diagnosis, but they may vary from person to person. It is possible to realize some of these stages in Adam’s treatment period.

Science do not know to list precisely all the factors that cause cancer. However, it does know something: genetic inheritance, as previous said, is guilty for 5% to 10% of the cases. Smoking is almost a suicide: 90% of lung cancer comes from the habit. Obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse, lack of fruits and vegetables are factors that are directly connected to the disease. It is possible to see that a lot can be done to prevent cancer and keep healthy, unless you got unlucky as Adam.

The music never stopped (and never will!)

You can be the most skeptical person in the world, but you cannot deny that the story portrayed in the movie is actually very beautiful. We human beings are highly dependent of our memories and thinking that a simple song can bring a whole scene in a person's brain is amazing. We are used to connect particular scents and smells (a perfume, the small of a special food, and so on) to important people or to remarkable experiences in our lives, so why would it be impossible to happen with music? Particularly, I think that the power of a melody is even more strong, because the language of music is one that can't be translated, can't be measured, can't be described. It is something that you feel, and you feel only.

Believing in Gabriel's story or not, it is also undeniable that music, especially the band "Grateful Dead", had a great impact on Gabriel's personality. At the same time that he heard this band and identified himself with the lyrics and all the atmosphere it created, he also builded up his character and "being a fan of Grateful Dead" is part of what he was.

Besides the theme of music as being an important part of our lives, the movie talks about the pressure of society about people following the rules and being an important and successful "graduated" person. Having a diploma was - and still is - considered as the only way to be happy, rich, and respected.

Of course, being a musician, such as Gabriel wanted to be, had no value at all. People who spend their time and money to create songs that eventually may change or mark someone's life are just some lucky ones that were conceived with this "gift" by God and can be free from the pain of working in a dull office. Lucky bastards, right? The society's opinion towards musicians - that they are not professionals like all the others - may have destroyed the dreams of millions of others that wanted to live a life just the way Gabriel wanted to. In this sense, Gabriel's father is not the only one to blame. Even so, at the end he was freed from his prejudice and could see the beauty of simply letting the music guide him through paths that he was not able to walk on his own.

THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED

First of all, I have some questions I would like you to answer:

- Do you like to listen to music? 

- What kind of music? 

- Did you use to hear something that your parents disapproved? 

- If yes, what was your/their reaction related to it?

As in "Into the Wild", to understand better what happens in this movie, you have to put yourself in Gabriel's shoes. I mean, Gabriel was a typical teenager form the 60's. He wanted to play his ideas for people in U.S. who used to have a different idea of respect, love and war. He was being a rebel, which is not bad for me, but for his dad it was terrible. 

After running away from home (after an argument with his dad, who is very ignorant), he starts doing drugs and living as he wanted to. About twenty years later he is sick from tumors in his brain and, as a consequence, he partially loses his memories. I say partially, because he starts remembering things when he listens to songs he used to enjoy. 

You may think that music brought their parents back to him, but not only music. Actually, the disease was a crucial point for them to recover, and his dad to change his way of thinking (or maybe trying). Music helped him to remember important moments in his life.

I really enjoyed this movie and the story. I could see myself there, when I was a rebel teenager and when I got sick. Hard situations can change everything and everybody.