The Bucket List
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Movie Reviews of The Bucket List
Movie Review: Two of my favorites together for an unforgettable movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I hadn't seen in a movie in..drum roll please..six years. ANY movie.
As I bought myself a portable DVD player for Christmas for business use and for travel, I of course needed to get some movies!
AHHHH!!!!!!!! I had no idea what was even out there or what I would like to watch!
I had a plane trip coming up and wanted to get some for the trip as well as to have with me to view so I didn't want anything that would be offensive to anyone near me on the plane.
Yes, it's sad, but so are lots of things in life but this is a different kind of sadness. It's a sadness that also comes with great joy because it reached its full cycle and you felt that fulfillment. You also felt its purpose, and the love.
I think for some to comment that it was 'predictable' miss the point. Much in life is predictable. For me, I don't care that some things are predictable; or simplified, or maybe not even 'realistic'. I can get reality in the day to day. To watch a movie is to become involved deeply with so many levels of the movie and to glean from it whatever message you are receiving at that time.
I enjoyed Morgan's wife in the movie and the relationship he had with her. Of course she is going to get mad at him; be frustrated, concerned and then absolutely shocked and bewildered when he announced his plans. But, she also showed great trust, and love and knew that whatever he was needing to do, it's what he needed to do and let it go. Let him go. I enjoyed those intimate scenes. People need to see great strength and trust between two people.
I also found myself hanging on the edge of my seat when Morgan was at the bar and the beautiful lady came up and sat next to him. I found myself thinking that if MORGAN (the actor - not even the character!) 'gave in', then I would change how I felt about him (however irrational since it was his character, not him). I held my breath in anticipation...
Now, whether Morgan had any say so on the outcome of that scene or whether that was how the script was written anyway, it made a world of difference to me. And if Morgan did have a say so, well, all the more reason why I esteem him so highly.
I thought it was a wonderful movie and am so glad I got to see it.
Movie Review: The Bucket List
Summary: 5 Stars
A long time ago, Carter Chambers' philosophy professor suggested that his students compose a "bucket list," a collection of all the things they wanted to do, see and experience in life before they kicked the bucket. But while Carter was trying to define his private dreams and plans, reality intruded. Marriage, children, myriad responsibilities and, ultimately, a 46-year job as an auto mechanic turned his concept of a bucket list into little more than a bittersweet memory of lost opportunities and a mental exercise he occasionally thought about to pass the time. Meanwhile, corporate billionaire Edward Cole never saw a list without a bottom line. He was always too busy making money and building an empire to think about what his deeper needs might be beyond the next big acquisition or cup of gourmet coffee. Then life delivered an urgent and unexpected wake-up call to both of them. Carter and Edward found themselves sharing a hospital room with plenty of time to think about what might happen next--and about how much of that was in their hands. For all their apparent differences, they discovered they had two very important things in common: an unrealized need to come to terms with who they were and the choices they'd made, and a pressing desire to spend the time they had left doing everything they ever wanted to do. So, against doctor's orders and all good sense, these two virtual strangers check themselves out of the hospital and hit the road together for the adventure of a lifetime--from the Taj Mahal to the Serengeti, the finest restaurants to the seediest tattoo parlors, the cockpit of vintage race cars to the open door of a prop plane--with just a sheet of paper and their passion for life to guide them. Adding and crossing items off their list while taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world, they grapple with the difficult questions and the even more difficult answers that plague all of us. And, without even realizing it, become true friends. This movie is full of well-earned rueful humor. What a gift. Two of the world's greatest actors come together and create movie magic.Movie Review: I Laughed. I Cried.
Summary: 5 Stars
What the devil was I thinking? When Rob Reiner's THE BUCKET LIST first appeared in theaters, I passed. I saw the trailers--two old coots kicking up their heels before cashing in their chips--and thought the film looked too contrived and superficial. Well, I caught the ending of the movie on cable recently, then couldn't wait to view it again, which I did (several times). This is one of the most moving films I have ever seen, and I've seen some intense movers and shakers.
It's a given when a film features talent like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman you are going to get excellent performances. And both actors deliver: Freeman as a lifelong mechanic whose true ambitions were thwarted by circumstances; the irascible Nicholson as a curmudgeonly tycoon. Both characters are suddenly thrown together by terminal illnesses, yet through all the turmoil and heartache a fast friendship develops. The friction between them as they first meet, the adventures they share as they go through their respective "Bucket Lists", make up the movie's most comedic scenes. The skydiving scene, in particular, was very effective for me, as it was readily apparent both Freeman and Nicholson were actually freefalling through the air during the scene.
The actors themselves could have kicked the bucket.
Yet the ending was what moved me the most. Because we as the audience have developed an attachment to the characters, it becomes very difficult to watch as they meet their respective fates. The interaction between the two in the end--the total and complete way each man has made a change, for the better, in his friend's life--makes for one incredibly poignant climax. THE BUCKET LIST covers the full range of emotions; easily one of the best bittersweet movies in many years. Highly recommended.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
Movie Review: How do you measure a man's life?
Summary: 5 Stars
By what they've accomplished? According to soft-spoken cancer patient, Carter (Freeman), you measure a man's life by who measures their lives by yours.
Edward Cole probably was a lot of people's yardstick. He was wealthy, powerful, and he ran hospitals.
"We run hospitals--not resorts!" E. Cole (Nicholson)
If Cole hadn't been so mercenary, he'd never have been stuck with another patient in his hospital room. At first, the very wealthy Cole doesn't care for the soft-spoken auto mechanic, but as time goes on the two develop a friendship--and Cole begins to both share food and care for Carter.
When Edward sees Carter's 'Bucket List,'(a list of items he wants to accomplish before he kicks the bucket) he realizes it's something the two of them can do--and says they should. That's when the two cancer patients break out of the hospital and go on a world tour. Together, they write out a new bucket list and work to make each other's dreams come true.
"Bucket List" is sentimental, predictable, and yet more than my words can encompass. The film's not just about dying, but friendship, and finding joy to spread to others--even at the worst times in a person's life.
In my opinion, the three best aspects of this film were Morgan Freeman's outstanding narration and Sean Hayes' well-done portrayal of Cole's ever-present assistant (Thomas). Another nod goes to actress Beverly Todd, who played Virginia Chambers. Even the young girls in the film were exclaiming how amazing she looked and acted.
Warnings:
Bring tissue
If 'laugh til you cry' is on your 'Bucket List,' you can check this item off
Movie Review: Top ten material
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't give five stars very often, but this movie deserves every one. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are top-notch in this film, as are the other actors, the directing, the cinematography, and the incredibly excellent script.
The basic story: Two men meet in a hospital room as they are being treated for cancer. They both find out the same day that they only have six months to a year to live. They make a list of things they want to do before they die, and set out to do them. In the process, the true gold in this film is illuminated. It isn't in the things the two men do, but is in the developing relationship between the two men, and especially what happens with Jack Nicholson's character. There is even a touch of the mystical that sneaks up on you at the end.
I won't say any more, because I don't want to spoil anything. Just see the movie. Though it isn't one you can get up and walk away from to get a snack. Everything is needed in this film to tell the story. And again, I cannot state strongly enough how incredibly excellent the script is. The dialog is wonderful without ever striking a false note. The story is completely believable, and never once do you think that something isn't plausible, or that something doesn't sit right.
I was a bit worried that this movie would be maudlin and/or depressing and/or incredibly sad, but it isn't. This movie is instead an affirmation of life.There are laugh-out-loud moments (again, fabulously excellent dialog!), and there are some moments when I cried--sometimes not because something bad happened, but because something wonderful did. I am very happy I saw this movie, and hope you will be too.