UP IN THE AIR (USA 2009) ***
Directed by Jason Reitman

Director Jason Reitman’s UP IN THE AIR is more THANK YOU FOR SMOKING than JUNO.  Again, Reitman tackles an unpopular occupation.  The smoking lobbyist is replaced here by a professional downsizer. 

BROTHERS (USA 2009) **
Directed by Jim Sheridan

Based on the 2004 Danish film BRODRE by Susanne Bier, this Hollywood adaptation actually makes more sense as it deals with a brother going off to fight in the Afghanistan War.  Director Jim Sheridan (MY LEFT FOOT, IN AMERICA), no stranger to family dramas, deals with the effects of the social/political climate on a typical American family.

THE ROAD (USA 2009) ***
Directed by John Hillcoat

Director John Hillcoat (THE PROPOSITION) proves again his mettle at drama in barren landscapes with this tale of the end of the world based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Cormac McCarthy. 

PARKING (Taiwan 2008) ***1/2
Directed by Mong-Hong Chung

PARKING is one of the most impressive directorial debuts I have seen this year.  Writer/director Chung’s film is an art film set in the real world of broken relationships, prostitution and growing old.

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU (USA /Fr 2009) **
Various Directors

Following the success of PARIS, JE T’AIME, the producer Emmanuel Benbihy has brought the same film concept to the city of New York.  NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU is a collection of short vignettes, each shot in the city’s five boroughs with the common theme of finding love.