Friday, January 25, 2008

The Bucket List - Movie Review

We Saw The Bucket List last weekend. I’ve got to say it was good but not really as good as I had hoped. I tend to cry and trivial things, such as the commercials about adopted dogs on TV or even happy events in movies. Yet, for some reason I didn’t shed a tear during this film and for some reason I was really looking forward to a good cry. And that’s not to say it wasn’t sad it just didn’t hit me like I expected. Maybe it was because I went into the movie knowing it was going to be about death, hence the title Bucket List. On the other hand I did bawl my eyes out at Bridge to Terabithia and I knew how that was going to end.

The movie was good though probably one we’ll add to our collection one day. Although Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are getting up there in years. Even so they’re still great actors and had great on screen charisma. Sometimes its hard for me to watch Jack especially in serious scenes because I just always picture him looking through the door yelling “Here’s Johnny”. I think it’s probably a problem many of us suffer from.

And even though the movie is about death and the list of things to do before dying there are some hilarious moments throughout the film. Seeing the two men’s friendship evolve in life and death over their crazy adventures makes you think about your own friends and life in a different way.

If you’ve got nothing else to do see this movie, otherwise just rent it.


“Here's something to remember when you're older Thomas - never pass up a bathroom, never waste a hard-on, and never trust a fart.”

Sunday, January 13, 2008

National Treasure: Book of Secrets - Movie Review

I actually ended up watching National Treasure: Book of Secrets almost two weeks ago but hey I’ve been busy. So I’ll try to write this review with as few spoilers as possible, but depending on your definition of spoiler I can’t make any promises…. So Beware!

I really liked National Treasure: Book of Secrets. As you know I’m not a big fan of Nicholas Cage but I think he is spectacular in both National Treasures. I really enjoyed all the American history found in the first National Treasure while they darted around the East Coast, but I also enjoyed Ben and Riley darting around Europe just as much in this one. I also like they brought the movie back for the finale in American but not somewhere they had been in another movie.

As with every movie there are good things and there are bad, so of course I did have a couple of things that stuck out to me. As always the movie and facts presented are quite fabricated; which I find sad. Such as the Olmecs weren’t in the United States and you can’t easily pick up a brick of solid gold and shove it in a backpack. Didn’t the movie Zorro teach movie makers anything?

And with all the extra locations it didn’t seem as if there were as many clues in this movie. It just took longer to find and solve each clue since they were darting between continents.

Yet, as a movie fan I can look past all those things there was only one piece of the script that bothered me and still is. After finding the City of Gold no one even makes an estimate of how much the find will be worth or how much they decided to take from it. If you recall in the first National Treasure Ben does agree to let Riley make the decision on the percentage they get to keep on their next find. Plus with his looming tax debt I’ll go out on a limb and say it would be significantly more than 1%.

But as always the treasure protectors break laws, steal precious artifacts, and sneak into secure locations. Of course all of these high crimes are forgiven once they can produce the cash.

In the end if you haven’t yet you should make sure to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

“What is it about treasure that makes history so fascinating?”