[SPOILER ALERT: Up in the Air] What does Ryan Bingham do at the end.......

[2muchplastic]

You're kidding right? "Titanic" (James Cameron's version) was ALL about sinking the ship. .......

The ship sank?? Why has no-one ever mentioned this before?

 

[QF WP]

Thinking about watching it tonight, after the tennis has finished.

 

[thewinchester]

No, but my first reaction to those fares was, "meh".

Are you kidding me? PER-LAX in Y for AUD1064 isn't meh - it's lets find these fares now.

 

[futaris]

And you can get NRT-LAX eVIP upgraded fairly easily. There are a few people with eVIPs to spare on this board... (e.g. me - PM if you need eVIPs)

 

[Alanslegal]

Personally I thought it was pretty clear-cut. He tried a new lifestyle, completely changed his perspective on life, got badly burnt, and went back to his old (and comfortable) lifestyle.

I finally watched this movie earlier this evening and interpreted the movie just like Febs' did above.

Apart from that, I found the movie so-so. The trailer made it appear that the flying component was glamorous, but there was nothing in the actual movie to suggest that (eg. domestic F cabins). I went with my GF and thought I would persuade her how cool/fun flying is through the movie but guess it didn't work.

Unless one was interested in loyalty prorgams, when there was reference to flying, hotel or car programs in the movie, I would guess it probably wouldn't make sense (eg. what is Lifetime Executive Platinum and what benefits do they give?)

Anyway, if I had to give an opinion on to see it or not, I'd say wait for it to come to Free 2 Air television

 

[anat0l]

The trailer made it appear that the flying component was glamorous, but there was nothing in the actual movie to suggest that (eg. domestic F cabins). I went with my GF and thought I would persuade her how cool/fun flying is through the movie but guess it didn't work.

Unless one was interested in loyalty prorgams, when there was reference to flying, hotel or car programs in the movie, I would guess it probably wouldn't make sense (eg. what is Lifetime Executive Platinum and what benefits do they give?)

Well, let's take care of the easiest part of that, which is AA does not have a lifetime EXP. AA will probably like you if you had flown 10 million BIS miles, but you probably will not get a heavy piece of engraved metal, an hour with AA's most senior pilot and a personal AAttendant.

When I watched the movie, I only laughed at the FF/loyalty program references because it was so extreme. Ditto with the FF traveller patterns. I mean, the way that Ryan approached the security screening (both with and without Natalie). This guy despises not being in the air - whilst I'm sure we all love travelling, even if you had a personal plane outfitted with the best F in the world, I'm sure you do not want to be stuck in it all the time! And what kind of sick freak builds up a huge balance of miles but does not redeem them? There are a lot of mileage runners around the world, but I'm sure we will not find one that does not wish to earn miles but not burn them!

This was not the way to show your GF that flying/status is cool! The only way to do that is through taking her on trips. Unfortunately, unless you start with "low" standards , you're probably going to create an expensive <insert appropriate word here>.....

Notice how, except for Alex (who is a status freak herself), no one else in the entire movie - including and especially Natalie - appreciates Ryan's status at all, except for himself?

 

[Alanslegal]

Well, let's take care of the easiest part of that, which is AA does not have a lifetime EXP. AA will probably like you if you had flown 10 million BIS miles, but you probably will not get a heavy piece of engraved metal, an hour with AA's most senior pilot and a personal AAttendant.

I realise all that but my point is I don't think a lay person who has no interest in loyalty programs would have grasped those ideas, whether actual or fiction, very easily.

This was not the way to show your GF that flying/status is cool! The only way to do that is through taking her on trips. Unfortunately, unless you start with "low" standards , you're probably going to create an expensive <insert appropriate word here>.....

I am dragging her along for our RTW in a few months time and she does not think my routing to chase SC and miles is cool. I thought that by showing her the movie, it could show her that flying more, could be more fun with its added perks. The movie, I felt, just didn't make that point.

 

[Mal]

I thought that by showing her the movie, it could show her that flying more, could be more fun with its added perks. The movie, I felt, just didn't make that point.

Well you did choose the wrong movie

Instead she probably thinks FF'ers are heartless b*ds, with very low moral codes of conduct and a fear of any form of commitment.

 

[Travel Guru]

You're kidding right? "Titanic" (James Cameron's version) was ALL about sinking the ship. He just had to fill time up until that point so the most implausible romance since Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in "As good as it Gets" was constructed.

I hate to break it to you, but Titanic actually pre dated As Good as it gets by 6 days (Titanic released 19 Dec. 1997, AGAIG Released 25 Dec 1997).

TG

 

[JerseyVics]

when will you guys get this movie in Australia?

YouTube - 'She's Out of My League' Revised Trailer

not Oscar material, but still about flying...

 

[anat0l]

when will you guys get this movie in Australia?

YouTube - 'She's Out of My League' Revised Trailer

not Oscar material, but still about flying...

...not much about flying either Just so happens the protagonist is a TSA b****.

 

[QF WP]

Don't know, but I'd probably see it on a slow day...

Is the March release date 2009...or 2010?

 

[QF WP]

Okay, so tonght in my HI Potts Point room , I'm going to watch this movie...finally, downloaded the missing codecs and have a couple of hours spare.

 

[kpc]

I went with my GF and thought I would persuade her how cool/fun flying is through the movie but guess it didn't work.

Alan, based on what your GF told mine in Tokyo, I don't think simply watching a movie will change her mind! I have "dragged" my SO to Barcelona, Morocco and Paris in November 09, we're off to Argentina in 9 days time (Peru leg cancelled due to floods in Machu Picchu!), then Bangkok / KL / Singapore in July, and I can't for the life of me understand why she is not keen to come to Vancouver with me in October....I keep pointing to all the spectacular scenery in the Winter olympics to no avail. Oh, that doesn't include all the other (mainly) domestic trips and to NZ that she won't be accompanying me!

PS she did enjou the movie tho

 

[QF WP]

Well, I just finished the movie. What does Ryan Bingham do at the end....

I don't want to spoil it for others, but I have my thoughts.

I think he considers what Natalie told him (views the departure board and contemplates picking a random destination), but from his final comment, I think he goes back to continuing to work in his job. That's his life (after his mis-connection with Alex - yes, pun intended).

Just goes to show that women can do it [fool around on the side] just the same as men (well, in the movies). As I sit here alone in my hotel room tonight (ala Ryan), I do think of my wife and kids back home...and yes, it's for them as much as me (what I am doing)

 

[anat0l]

Just goes to show that women can do it [fool around on the side] just the same as men (well, in the movies). As I sit here alone in my hotel room tonight (ala Ryan), I do think of my wife and kids back home...and yes, it's for them as much as me (what I am doing)

So, LW....what's in your backpack? :mrgreen: *

* this thread was marked spoilers - so you were warned - so shaddup in the peanut gallery if you haven't seen the movie!

 

[Skyring]

When am I going to get time to watch it at the theatre anyway. Just wait until it get's onto Foxtel channels that I watch

I saw this in the cinema, which is a rarity for me, because I usually watch most recent films "Up in the Air".

In fact, coming home from SFO last October, I got to watch "The Time Traveller's Wife" on Qantas before it had been released in Australia.

The Wikipedia link given above was bro-ke so here's the correct one here.

A film that says a lot about modern life and what's really valuable. Perhaps the biggest cost in our various quests for status is not the money – Ryan Bingham in the film can scarcely be short of money enough for top tier status in various programs – but the time and energy and love we spend.

There are online reviews around, but for some reason I liked this one. Maybe because it includes a couple of trailers.

 

[Skyring]

Notice how, except for Alex (who is a status freak herself), no one else in the entire movie - including and especially Natalie - appreciates Ryan's status at all, except for himself?

I dunno. Ryan gets chaste by a carhop who tells him he forgot to sign a rental slip or something, quoting his Hertz Number One Club status. And of course there's the scene right at the end where you've got a whole planeload of pax applauding as he makes ten million miles.

The whole film is Ryan trying to convert the world to his lifestyle. He preaches to halls full of conference attendees in general, and specifically to Natalie, beginning with the moment she shows up lugging an unwieldy piece of checked luggage.

One jarring aspect is that in Ryan's stripped-down world, firing someone over the internet would seem appealing. Reduce human interchanges to the barest possible minimum. But no, the need to keep travelling to maintain the status and build the miles keeps him favouring face-to-face. And he's good at it.

But not so good that he doesn't spot a clearly-flagged suicide risk.

Anyway, I divert. My wife cares about my status. Our upcoming RTW, she made sure that we get an hour or so in the Sydney Flounge. She likes some of the little perks.

But for her, the pleasure lies in the destination, not the journey, which is why we're staying three nights at every stopover, rather than my more usual one or two.

Apart from a very quick transit of Helsinki between Kyoto and Istanbul. Dam' but I'd love to get a Finnish stamp in my passport!

 

[QF WP]

So, LW....what's in your backpack? :mrgreen: *as

Hmmm, no backpack this trip, but when I have one on a trip, it's normally full of childrens toys, nappies, nappy bags, wipes, clothes, etc.

I related to the change in Ryan when he met Alex and look at my changes in flying. Whilst I miss my jet-setting days of overseas flying, my life is fulfilled in different ways.

After only 2 night away, I am desperate to get home tonight - and kiss my sleeping children and watch them sleep. Absence makes the heart grow fonder....and concern for what I miss in their lives being away. A nightly call to my daughter before her bedtime always helps and then chatting to my wife about our respective days.

 

[QF WP]

A film that says a lot about modern life and what's really valuable. Perhaps the biggest cost in our various quests for status is not the money – Ryan Bingham in the film can scarcely be short of money enough for top tier status in various programs – but the time and energy and love we spend.

Absolutely, people cherish different things for different reasons. Whether it is the planning, the journey or the destination - to me, it is a part of all three that brings the magic to travelling.

Ryan Bingham certainly wouldn't have been short of money from his job (he was the leading consultant in the business), but most of the money he was spending was his companies'. It wasn't clear to me whether he was spending his own money going to the Conferences and doing the talks, or whether they were organised to coincide with where he was for work.