Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman’s third feature film, is a moving coming-of-middle-age piece that is a beat for beat redux of the director’s Thank You for Smoking. This film would feel stale if it weren’t so damn refreshing. Searing wit and heart-rending reveals are just two reasons to see this film. George Clooney is another, and in a big way.

Tossed around as sex-symbol, superhero, goofball and playmate, Clooney steps up to the plate in this film to portray Ryan Bingham, a jet setting consultant whose sole purpose is to fire people at companies across the country. A frequent traveler, Bingham has bought into everything we always thought was so cool about flying. The compactness, the anonymity, the human ingenuity. Where most people cringe, he feels at home; and at home, he there are no traces of an existence. Only someone of Clooney’ charisma could make a vagabond look so put together. Read on…

The internet has been touch and go the past two days, and I’m on a friend’s computer instead of my own, so I can’t add the usual flair you have come to know and love to this post. Even with the fest completed, this continues to be an intensely film-related vacation. After a buffet breakfast at a place called Ingrid’s Kitchen, I headed over to the best bookstore in Oklahoma City, Full Circle. Designed with all kinds of nooks and crannies and rolling ladders, it is a store whose selection is not only Okie specific, but wide ranging. It’s design encourages discovery and their staff are super friendly. No one paid me to say that, seriously.

I went to Full Circle because my friend, Sunrise Tippeconnie, was signing a book in which an essay of his is featured. The book is Sooner Cinema: Oklahoma Goes to the Movies and I’m in the process of reading it. Quite interesting. This state has a long history of making movies and being portrayed in them. Which brings me to my next point.

The talk of the town right now is Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me, which is shooting here right now. The film has brought stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, and Ned Beatty. During the final day of deadCENTER they had blocked off streets downtown and filled them with 1950s cars. Last night I headed to Cookie’s, a tiny bar with a lot of heart, for the Cast and Crew more-than-halfway-through-production party. It was a nice time with some wonderful karaōke singers. The only celeb to show up was Mr. Beatty, and he was a gentleman.

I love hanging out with film crews. They are so much more tolerable than filmmakers because they rarely want to talk about movies. After the bar I went straight to a Sonic for the second time today. For those of you who don’t know about Sonic, well, you just have to drive until you find one. I got an Ocean Water Slushie and some onion rings. They tasted delicious after drinking a Pacifico cerveza.

We are off to the Wichita Mountains now, probably no more film to deal with today. I still owe you all some reiews and you’ll get them, but probably not until I’m back in New York. Poke around the site in the meantime, there’s a lot going on here.

Yesterday was a bit of whirlwind, even though I spent most of the day on my ass in the same theater. It just so happened that all the films I wanted to see were at the same venue. Really, I mean it, I’m not just lazy. It started out with a little filmmaker coffee time over at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. It is nice when everyone comes together for a bit of starbucks and biscuits in the morning. Makers, fans, critics and friends all hung out, some tooling around on MacBook Airs that are provided in the lounge. I, course, just slapped my giant 17″ MBP next to those lithe little machines and went to town.

By days end I managed to see 3 features: Official Rejection, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, and Weather Girl. All attracted nice sized crowds and were recieved quite positively by the festival audience. As I settled into the 8:00 screening of Weather Girl, I finally realized that I hadn’t eaten all day. More than anything, I feared my critical rendencies being affected by the hunger pangs that would taunt me throughout. As you could guess, I was fine and ended up going to an Italian joint named Flip’s on the way back to the house.

Let me tell you about Flip’s. The food was okay, and the Oklahoma Belgian-style beer I had was delicious, but the real charm was the music. I swear, for the entire time I was there, they must have been playing the theme song from King of the Hill on loop. It was just plain awesome. Filmmaker coffee this morning was pretty nice. I got to talk to some filmmakers about the reviews I’ve given them, but more on that later. Right now I’ve got to head to another feature doc, Our Spirits Don’t Speak English: Indian Boarding School. I’m not sure what I’ll be seeing after that, but check back soon for the liveblog where I’ll keep you up to date.

Here is a picture of how intense filmmaker coffee can get in the morning. And yes, I did choose a pic that made everyone look bad on purpose.

Scott Storm, Aaron Hillis and Paul Osborne talking about stuff.

There are so many films showing here at deadCENTER that it is impossible for me to see everything that I want to. Yesterday I was only able to check out two features and no shorts. If only the festival could be two weeks long so I could see it all.

Anyway, most of yesterday was spent in friend’s car, searching for Route 66, which we didn’t find. I still got a scenic tour of Oklahoma, so it wasn’t a total loss. When we cot back to the city, I went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. This is a beautiful memorial for this terrible act that happened on our soil. Given that I am here to observe cinema, it is fascinating to see a horror like this bombing being dealt with through art. The memorial is a peaceful place. Very fitting. Pictures below.

But this isn’t a sightseeing tour, it’s film festival coverage. You can check out my reviews on the films I saw yesterday, Triangle of Death and Pearl, elsewhere on the site. Afterwards I headed over to a swanky party, much swankier than the party on Wednesday night. How swanky? A friend of mine ordered a glass of water and it came in an 18 inch tall fluted glass. Classy? Hells yeah it’s classy. Unfortunately, my beer only came in a 12 ounce bottle. Bummer.

Today is going to be a busy slate. Official Rejection screening and panel is at 2:00pm, then Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo followed by Weather Girl. I’m hoping to bounce in and out of shorts programs in between, and my late night screening plans are still up in the air. Live blog will start soon, keep checking back for the latest and greatest from the center of the earth. Pictures from the Pearl première and requisite party below.