Up in the Air may be the perfect movie for this period of U.S. history. It's not necessarily a feel-good film (which makes us wonder why it's opening for wide release on Christmas), but it is a film that a large part of the United States can connect with, in one way or another.

George Clooney portrays a businessman who is always on the go. His job is to deliver employees and corporations with the bad news that they're being downsized. As can be imagined, he doesn't have a lot of time for love, or a very warm heart in general. His job has made him callous to feeling emotion, and he's quicker to see the negative (or realistic) side of things instead of the positive.

Good ol' George can't go a whole movie without getting some quality time with a woman though, and in this film he gets a little one-on-one time with a businesswoman played by Vera Farmiga. He doesn't go all sappy on her, he's not that kind of character, but once his life begins to unravel he gains a little perspective on life. The man whose life is dedicated to firings and layoffs winds up being down-sized himself. Only now does he realize how much of his life has been wasted, and how careless he was with his past decisions.

Fearless Prediction: George is laid off from his job, but winds up alone at the end of the film. While he discovers that he has strong feelings for Vera's character (possibly even love), she ditches him and leaves him heartbroken. It's a film made by the director of Juno, what do you expect?

Predictive Score: 3.5 out of 5

Opens: 12/4/09 (limited), 12/25/09 (wide release)

Rating: R

Note: Predictive score is based upon how good we feel the movie will be. The Fearless Prediction is our prediction on what will happen in the movie, but not necessarily what will occur.