Up in the Air (2009)

Director Jason Reitman captures the current zeitgeist of unemployment, and George Clooney (a corporate downsizer) delivers the bad news. Clooney is at his best — charming, perfectly dressed and engaged by smart, sexy Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

d: Jason Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | “Charlie Rose”
Bar club cards | I’m not a tour guide. | Miles | Something real

Brittany Murphy (1977-2009)

Equipped with expressive doe eyes, Brittany Murphy played innocent in “Clueless” and forgettable romantic comedies but also found more serious work — suicidal in “Girl, Interrupted,” Eminem’s girlfriend in “8 Mile” and an abused waitress in “Sin City.”

imdb.com | The New York Times | Esquire
clips: “Clueless” | “Girl, Interrupted” | “8 Mile” | “Sin City”

My favorite movies (2000s)

1. Lost in Translation (03 Sofia Coppola)
2. Juno (07 Jason Reitman)
3. Where the Wild Things Are (09 Jonze)
4. Inglourious Basterds (09 Tarantino)
5. The 40 Year Old Virgin (05 Apatow)
6. Shaun of the Dead (07 Wright)
7. Religulous (08 Charles)
8. Million Dollar Baby (04 Eastwood)
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (04 Gondry)
10. Junebug (05 Morrison)

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

The only film written by Dr. Seuss captures the wit, whimsy and imagination of his other work with playful musical numbers and sets straight out his children’s books. In this story, the sinister Dr. Terwilliker operates a piano academy for boys.

d: Roy Rowland | imdb.com | trailer | the whole movie
“Because We’re Kids” | “Dressing Song: Do-Mi-Do Duds”

A Single Man (2009)

Fashion designer Tom Ford’s first film is a bit pretentious, but it captures the look and feel of Los Angeles in 1962 — from skinny ties to the Cuban missile crisis. Colin Firth, a gay college professor, mourns the death of his partner in a human performance.

d: Tom Ford | imdb.com | trailer | Becoming George.