Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Best I've Seen Since Patch Adams
I don't usually do reviews unlike my dear bro Roy, but this movie deserves every ounce and more of the literary creative juice that ebbs and flows through this body of mine. =) Truly one of the best movies I've seen since Patch Adams, it was a pleasant surprise given the fact that it was on impulse that Kyohei and me decided to catch a movie.A Synopsis
To keep it short and sweet, a rich man (Edward Cole, played by Jack Nicholson) who owns hospitals contracts cancer and is admitted to his own hospital, where he is warded in the same ward as Carter Chambers (played by Morgan Freeman), who suffers the same fate as him. When they both realize they have barely a year left to live, they decided to embark on a mission to fulfill their wishlist before they kick the bucket. To quote the movie, the bucket list left them with their 'eyes closed but their hearts open'.
My two cents' worth
Funny, comical, wisecracking in all its geriatric humor, inspirational and clever all at the same time, The Bucket List, with its all-star cast of two of Hollywood's most influential actors of all time, is a must watch approved for all audiences.
The Cast
First up, Morgan Freeman. Acting as God in the last two sequels of the Almighty series, Bruce and Evan Almighty, seem to have prepared him for this part as a wise and loving Christian Grandpa. Cast as a mechanic by occupation, he is portrayed as a humble family man who gave up his ambition for the sake of his family. He never gave up his pursuit for knowledge though, and the richness and depth of his wisdom was cleverly woven in through his witty replies and love for a trivia game show, in which he always got the answers correct. Some of his lines are in fact quote-worthy, like this one: "Stars are like little holes on the floor of heaven". Ok, at this point I can't be sure if it was said to him or by him, but it's cool all the same. =) And he has many other cool quotes. So there.
Up next, Jack Nicholson. It seems a Hollywood formula to have contradicting roles that would end up complimenting each other so well. Or maybe that's the way life goes. Like Morgan Freeman, he is also not much different from the him that was cast in 'Something's gotta give' and 'As good as it gets'. In fact, I'm starting to think the epitome of acting is to get so comfortable with being yourself that your personality becomes the stuff movies are made of. Like Sean Connery and Harrison Ford and maybe even Jackie Chan. =) In his own words, Jack Nicholson is cast as one who 'likes getting married but also likes being single and has a hard time doing both at the same time'. He plays the one with the bravado of a teenager and suggests things like skydiving and getting a tattoo, or even kissing the most beautiful girl in the world (which has a lovely twist at the end!). Contributing largely to the hilarious in the movie, one can't help but laugh even when it's supposed to be a pitiful part of the movie like him feeling lonely even with all the girls he could hire.
The Art of the Movie
With such colorful characters, it takes meticulous effort to weave in lovely touches such as those portrayed in the movie. The ending was swift and surging, with the beauty and magnificence of a butterfly taking flight when it is fully grown. The filmakers, being artists in their own right, brings the audience through a myriad of emotions, sometimes even contrasting ones in the same scene. Watch for yourself and define those moments for yourself. It would do injustice to the movie to reveal them to those who potentially have yet to watch it. On the overall, as New York Times would put it, "Two Thumbs Up!"
Mantou at 11:15 PM