Up in the Air.  Critically acclaimed and rightfully so, Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking) adds to his impressive resume’.  George Clooney is so deft and smart he veers into Cary Grant territory, and when you are looking for sexual chemistry, the definition is Clooney and Vera Farmiga.  The message, about disconnectedness and love, is ready-made for debate over drinks after the movie, while the dialogue and the performances are uniformly crisp.

In a sea of asinine “I always get the bridesmaid dress, I’m a wacky misunderstood gal, hey, there’s my Romeo and whoda’ thunk I fall for such a Neanderthalic misogynist,” Up in the Air is a refreshing comedy about adults.  One other note, in what is becoming a hallmark of Reitman’s, there are 3 or 4 moments in the film where a lesser director or writer might have done something different and more obvious, and it would have been understandable, but Reitman does not and the film is much better for it.

Minor nits – the idea of outsourcing firings to a company specializing in same, including using them in face-to-face “we’re letting you go” encounters, seems contrived, and Anna Kendrick gets by with one too many facial tics (oh, that’s surprise!, of, that’s hurt!).

Funny People.  A Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) dramedy, I was surprised at how much I liked it given its length (almost 2 and a half hours) and a certain maxed-out sense with regard to “bro’ mances.”   But this one delivered both laughs (Adam Sandler plays a wildly successful comic, dying and friendless, who takes on Seth Rogen, a nobody comic, as a personal assistant to help him through the medical ordeal) and a bit more, reminding me of James L. Brooks, in that Apatow delivers a story that is universal while using Sandler’s job and surroundings for texture, ala’ Broadcast News.  Better, as Sandler showed in Punch Drunk Love, he can be a good actor.  Finally, there is a scene with Sandler, Rogen and Sandler’s German doctor (no physical comedy) that is a worthy entry to funniest scenes of all time.

Adventureland.  I had counted on being a worthy addition to the Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall oeuvre, which would have been fine.  But instead, the film is more Dazed and Confused meets Tadpole (with a little Say Anything thrown in) with a deliberate pace, a keen sense of time (late 80s nod to The Replacements on the soundtrack), and a sweet love story taking the place of bro-mances, snappy male rejoinders and broad physical comedy.  It’s a very leisurely picture and an especially affecting performance by Jesse Eisenberg as the college grad consigned to working his local amusement park the summer before grad school.  Downside – Kristin Stewart as the love interest.  This limited actress who made her bones in the Twilight saga is charmless.