Jason Reitman's sleek yet affecting 'Up in the Air' confirms once and for all that the 32-year-old filmmaker is more than just Diablo Cody's 'Juno' bitch or the opportunistic son of a Hollywood insider. His deft adaptation of Walter Kirn's source novel is a darkly humorous look at the life of Ryan Bingham (a never-better George Clooney), an emotionally stunted "career transition consultant."  

Don't over-think this one, folks. As awards season kicks into high gear, commentators of all stripes are going to talk about 'Up in the Air' in terms of its zeitgeist relevance, its timely attention to economic instability and the corporations that feast on the carrion of the down-sized and dispossessed. And in so doing, they will overlook how simply satisfying it is as a piece of filmmaking. Grade: A-.  

Vera Farmiga has cornered the market of mothers in crisis in recent years. In 'Orphan,' she and husband John (Peter Sarsgaard), struggling to adjust to a stillbirth and an accident that nearly took the life of one of their two surviving children, decide to adopt an adorable Russian orphan (Isabelle Fuhrman), the bad wolf in Little Bo Peep's dress. No surprises here. Grade: D.