Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. I find myself rooting for Rob Reiner to make a good film again. I don’t even need “best movie ever” or “best movie of the year,” either. I just want a good solid Rob Reiner movie I can enjoy. Reiner had one of the best runs of any comedy director at the start of his career, but when he ran of the rails, it was pretty much as ugly as ugly gets. So is THE BUCKET LIST a return to form? It’s got a good cast, and it’s intriguing. Can’t wait for a trailer for this one soon.
Hi Harry & Co. Long time lurker, first time I've ever been within a mile of having anything to write about. I'm a GALCIT (Aeronautical Lab) grad. student at Caltech, more comfortable writing about bio-propulsion and dynamic energy conversion than reviewing movies, but would definitely include "amateur film geek" in my resume of other non-jockish pursuits. Over a week ago I got a chance to attend my first ever fancy-pants Hollywood screening here in Pasadena. The movie was called "The Bucket List" and stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I've been checking AICN every day since the screening, waiting for what I felt would be the inevitable slew of reviews. But all I hear is crickets, so I'm taking the plunge. In the interest of full-disclosure, I have to first admit that I would not be posting this if my review were negative. Luckily, my girlie and I both agree that this is one of the best films we've seen in a really long time. In short, it's the story of two guys (Jack & Morgan) who are roommates in a hospital. Jack is super-rich and Morgan is a mechanic. Hoping that he recovers, Morgan writes a "Bucket List" of all the things he wants to do with his life if he gets another chance. They both have cancer and go through chemo only to discover on the same day that they only have a few months left to live. Morgan throws the list away, thinking it's pointless, but Jack picks it up and starts adding to it, saying they should do it. I won't say too much more, but the next thing you know they're skydiving, visiting the pyramids, hunting big game in Africa and riding a motorcycle down the Great Wall of China. The funny thing is that for a movie about dying, it's really funny. We both laughed pretty much all the way though, and she cried a whole bunch (okay, I might have cried a little). This is definitely a tear jerker and though there are parts that crush you, you're laughing at the same time... All in all, the feeling of the film is really uplifting and hopeful. The actors are amazing, both guys have to be shoe-ins for Oscars along with the screenplay, which seems like it was based on a novel, and no way this doesn't get nominated for Best Picture. As far as negatives, the music (which I assume they'll change) was recognizably ripped off from a bunch of movies (Braveheart, Jerry Maguire) and the some of the effects were clearly temporary, but once those are fixed I couldn't find anything wrong to complain about. When we were leaving, the guys next to us were talking about Jack being bald at the Oscars for this part - which makes complete sense once you've seen it. Anyway, I really recommend this film. Dr. Emmett "1.21 Jigawatts" Brown
