The Bucket List... A Journey of your life

The Bucket List is a movie about two old men who find out that they are terminally ill and decide to live their life to the fullest.  It was directed by Rob Reiner who is also known for Alex & Emma which I will be reviewing some time later.  As far as this movie goes it was written by Justin Zackham.

This was another movie which was a step out of my comfort zone but I feel that is the only way that I am going to grow as a critic.  It starts off with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) who is a mechanic working then he gets a phone call and ends up back in the hospital.  He is married and has three children who he loves dearly but lately feels a little disconnected from.  Then we get to billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) who owns many hospitals, and is single because he has been through many marriages and he also has a daughter that wont talk to him.  Edward find's himself winding up in one of his own hospitals and due to his own work ethics, his hospital puts him in the same room as Carter, instead of giving him his own room.  During their time together the two become very close and then they both find out how much time they have left.  Edward finds Carter's 'bucket list' on the ground which lists everything that he wants to do before he dies and he decides to add to it.  He then invites Carter to join him on the most amazing journey this new friendship could offer.

 

This scene pictured above is by far one of my favorite in the movie.  There is a part where Edward refers to his second wife as the sequel and he wonders why she hated him so much and one of the sky divers says maybe its because you called her the sequel.

Both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman worked really well together on this.  They make you believe that they are both terminally ill and on a journey to live their final days on an adventure to complete an awesome bucket list.  I think it helps that the two of them are both the same age because it adds to how genuine the movie feels.

Overall I would give this movie a B.  The acting and chemistry was great but there were some other aspects of the movie that really stood out that bothered me and that was during the car chase when the cars would magically keep losing their dents and also some scenes Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholsons makeup was not put on great and you could notice it.  Other than that check it out because the story is great!

The Notebook Movie Review

The Notebook is a movie about two peoples journey and it makes you hope they get together.  It was directed by Nick Cassavettes who prior to this was best known for John Q which is about a father, who doesn't have the insurance to pay for his son's heart transplant so he takes the hospital's emergency room hostage until the doctors agree to perform the operation.  Back to this movie though, it is based off the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, Jan Sardi was in charge of adapting the novel into film and Jeremy Leven wrote the screenplay.

I have to admit, I don't normally gravitate to the love story movies, I feel like that is because that is because I enjoy action and comedy more but I wanted to broaden my movie perspective and take on a different genre.  This story starts with an old man who is in a nursing home and he reads a story to an old woman each day. The story he reads is about these two young lovers named Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams). They met one evening at a carnival many years ago. They fall in love but Allies parents dissapprove of Noah because of his lack of wealth, and they force the two to break up and Allie moves back home. She waits for Noah to write her for several years, but gets nothing so she moves on and meets and becomes engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon (James Marsden).  Then while getting fitted for her wedding dress she looks at a local newspaper and Noah's picture catches her eye. He is standing in front of a fully restored, 200-year-old home. Allie then passes out because that is the house he told her he would restore for them.  Needing to clear the air and see if Noah is okay, and tell him about her marriage she goes to see him. They both still have feelings deep in their hearts for each other, feelings that have lasted all these years, and even though she is engage this is love like no other.  It wasn't over but she was engaged....

 

This scene pictured above is my favorite of this movie because it shows when she first really begins to trust him.  Also it shows the more fun side of her, plus there is a little bit of humor which as a said before I lean towards those types of movies so I am glad to see their was some funny parts in this movie.

I have to say that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have amazing chemistry, I felt that they truly fell for each other and were in love from the minute he was hanging from the ferris wheel.  I have seen movies where the two playing the love interests struggle to make a connection but that was not the case here.  These two lit up the screen like magic from the second they were together it was amazing.

Overall I would give this movie a A-.  The story is just amazing about how these two fall in love, get disconnected and then they reconnect.. granted there is the factor that she is engaged which is always a bum factor but does she stay with him or does she pick Noah.  I can't tell you.  If you haven't seen it yet you will just have to go watch it to figure that one out!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit...Humorous from start to finish!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a humorous movie that makes you laugh and keeps you wanting more.  It was directed by Robert Zemeckis who prior to this was best known for Back to the Future which I will be reviewing later so I won't tell you anything about that now.  Who Framed Roger Rabbit is loosely based on a novel written by Gary K. Wolf, while Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote the screenplay.

This movie was very enjoyable to watch.  It is set in the 1940's in Los Angeles. It is a world were Humans and Cartoons both exist which to me would be awesome. A famous toon known as Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer, voice) thought he had an easy life that is until he discovers that his wife, Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner, voice) is having fun with R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern), after that things get really bad for Roger as he is now accused of murdering Mr. Maroon. Roger must now go to detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) , who has it out for toons for killing his brother.  Even though he doesn't want to he decides he will help Roger, escape from Judge Doom, and even try to clear Roger's name, in order to do this, he must travel all over L.A. and even into Toontown.

 

The scene pictured above is one of my favorite in the movie.  Earlier Roger Rabbit slaps the handcuffs on the two of them which makes things very difficult for as far as navigating around L.A.  Then they get to a safe place to try and cut them off and Roger just slips his hand right out of them.  This makes Eddie very angry and Roger told him he could only do that when it was funny, which it was.

The special effects in this film were flat out amazing.  Throughout the movie you truly believe that toons and humans live in a world together because between the acting, animation and the editing of the scenes it was flawless.  This movie won an Oscar for Best Film Editing for Arthur Schmidt's work on the film as well as one for Best Effects, Visual Effects for the work by Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Ed Jones and George Gibbs.
Overall I would give this movie an A because for 1989 you don't see anything like this as far as special effects and acting.  This movie was all around an enjoyment to watch and if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend that you do.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes... Whats going to happen next???

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a movie that keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. It was directed by Rupert Wyatt, who before this was known for Subterrain which is about A Pastor who was taken on a journey by the spirit of a Train Driver. Back to the movie at hand, it was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver while it was inspired by the characters from the book written by Pierre Boulle.

I will have to admit this movie was a little slow for me at the start, to the point of almost losing my interest but I wanted to know what was going to happen to Ceasar so I kept watching. The focus of this story is Caesar (Andy Serkis) a chimpanzee who seems to have gained human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug his mother was given. After Ceasars mother was put down for terrorizing a pharmaceutical lab he was raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and Will's girlfriend a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto). After things happen Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and locked up with other apes in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Wanting to escape, Caesar gives all the apes a drug which makes them as intelligent as him. The apes assemble an army and escapes the sanctuary - what happens next could change the planet forever.

My favorite scene in this movie is the one in the photo above where Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) walks into work and sees hundreds of apes all around him. Its amazing because not only does the actor do a great job and make it believable but it also has a bit of humor to it because he walks in all calm and then he is like OH SH**. Granted he doesn't say that but his reaction to the room speaks louder than his words and you just know that is what he is thinking.

In this movie you have to give credit where credit is due and that would be the visual effects department which consists of Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett. Without the apes this movie would not have happened and these guys made them look real. They even got nominated for an Academy Award for their work which tells you that it is some amazing work.

Overall I would give this movie a B+, the story and the fact that it made me feel it was believable and wanting more is why I gave it the grade I did. If you haven't seen it check it out!

The Bourne Identity... Action Packed or Acting Flat?

The Bourne Identity is an action packed movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat!  It was directed by Doug Liman who before this was best known for the movie GO which was about the events after a drug deal told from 3 different perspectives.  Back to this movie though, it was written by John August and it is about a man is picked up by a fishing boat, he has been shot and is without memory, then he must race to escape from a group of assassins and recover from amnesia.

The story is more based on the characters of Robert Ludlum's novel than the actual novel but that didn't mean it wasn't an exciting movie to watch.  It is the story of a man "Bourne"(Matt Damon) who is discovered by fishermen who must nurse him back to health because he is bullet-riddled. He can remember nothing and begins to try to rebuild his memory based on clues that the fisherman gives him such as a Swiss bank account number of which, was implanted in his hip.  After getting to the bank he realizes that he is being hunted and takes off with Marie (Franka Potente) who he met at the United States embassy and they both go on a journey to find out who he is and why he is being hunted.  I have said this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat and it will deliver.  Starting with the action that happens between the Swiss bank and the Embassy in London, to the car chases that happen all throughout the area.  One scene that I thought was impressive and is probably a reason why it won World Stunts Award for Best Work With A Vehicle was a car chase that included driving on sidewalks filled with people, navigating through small alleys, driving down stairs, a motorcycle slide, crashing through a glass door and a motorcycle crashing into a car and flipping over the vehicle.

This scene was by far my favorite of my movie because it was the the one that really gets you wondering if he is going to get caught or not.  The music really makes the car chase even that much more suspenseful because its the right music at the right time. Then seeing the Mini Cooper drive down the stairs was just amazing, I didn't want the car chase to end because the action and suspense in it was just amazing.

Matt Damon portrayed Jason Bourne well though at times it seemed as though he was a bit robotic with no emotion.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it when he had is fight scenes because you really come to understand why he fights like he does but as the person he should have shown a little more emotion.

Overall I would give this movie an B-.  The lack of emotion and chemistry between the main characters brings it down.  Its just hard to watch Matt Damon as a "robot".  I still give this movie a good rating because when it comes to the fight scenes he is amazing and the car chases really kept me on the edge of my seat.  All in all if you haven't seen this movie yet, go check it out.

 

Gone in 60 Seconds... Remake as good as the original??

 

There are 2 writers who are given credit for creating this film and I think we can all agree without the work of H.B. Halicki (the creator of the original Gone In 60 Seconds) this would not have been made.  The other writer who helped get this movie together was Scott Rosenburg who worked on the screenplay.

Untouchable car booster Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) retired from the business. Now six years later, his brother, Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) takes over "the job", employed by British car broker Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). Well one night Kip feeling on top of his game messes up stealing some cars and gets into some major trouble, Memphis gets called back to the life he got out of to save his little brother. To save his brother he must: Steal 50 exotic cars all over Los Angeles and Long Beach in just one night and deliver them to Long Beach Harbor, Pier 14 by 8:00am, Friday morning.  If he does not deliver all of them and on time then he will never see his brother again. So Memphis and Kip need to get a crew together to get this done so they ask for some help from longtime friend Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall) to get the old crew reassembled.That old crew includes sexy Sara "Sway" Wayland"(Angelina Jolie), Donny Astricky (Chi McBride), The Sphinx (Vinnie Jones). The only problem is the LAPD G.R.A.B. (Governor's Regional Auto-Theft Bureau). It's on the lookout and Det. Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and his partner, Det. Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are keeping close eyes on Memphis and his team. Can the team pull this assignment off and save Kip?   Can Memphis remain untouchable from Castlebeck and the cops? It's a long shot and it's going to be one hell of a ride but they may have a chance.

This movie gets a B.  It shows how much love Memphis has for his little brother, there are not that many people who are willing to put their lives on the line and possibly end up in jail to try to save a family member.  Maybe its just me because I don't know a family member that would risk going to jail for me.  That being said you can see the chemistry flow between Nicolas Cage and Giovani Ribisi because they make you feel like they truly are brothers.  When Ribisi is showing his anger at Cage for leaving him behind you really feel the sibiling bickering going on.  There are touches of comedy which I love to see in a movie like this because it breaks it up and makes the movie flow great.  Then the night they had to steal all the cars in my opinion was epic.  All in all watch this movie.

 

Jurassic Park... 63 Million years in the making!

If you didn't know already Jurassic Park was based on the book written by Micheal Crichton.  David Koepp and Micheal Crichton were in charge of putting the screenplay together which would explain why it followed the book so well.  If you haven't read the book I suggest you do because it is an amazing book, now back to the movie.  In this movie during a preview tour, the park suffers a major power breakdown during a bad storm that allows all of the dinosaur to break free of their exhibits and run free.

On the island of Isla Nublar, a new park has just been built with genetically engineered dinosaurs. They are transporting in some of those dinosaurs when one of the workers is killed by a velociraptor. The founder of the park, John Hammond, (Richard Attenborough) is forced to get an inspection of the park due to this incident and he requests Paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his assistant, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to come to the park and ensure that it is safe. Hammond's lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) is also joining them because he is the one that is requiring the inspection and he brought a chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).  After a long bumpy helicopter ride they get to the island and they are amazed to discover that Hammond has actually created living dinosaurs.  Even though amazed everyone but the lawyer have their doubts. Later, Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) join the group to take a tour of the park. While on the tour the come in contact of an ill triceratops and Sattler leaves the tour to take care of her.  Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) who wishes to steal embryos from the park to sell to a secret buyer sets up a program that shuts off all the power to the park except the velociraptors paddock. Due to this selfish act, many dinosaurs escape their paddocks, including the deadly Tyrannosaurus Rex, who, during a thunderstorm, escapes his paddock and attacks the cars on the tour. Malcolm is injured & Grant and the children are then lost in the park. Meanwhile, Hammond, Sattler and the rest of the operations team learn that Nedry has locked up the computer system to cover his tracks. They attempt to get power back in the park in order to escape the island. After shutting down the system, then restoring it, they then realize they just shut the power off to the velociraptors paddock and now they are also on the loose, & are now on the hunt for the visitors.

This movie won 3 oscars which is amazing, one of them for Best Effects, Visual Effects,  which you have to give credit to Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Michael Lantieri, and Stan Winston.  The CGI in this movie was amazing,  The dinosaurs looked real.  You can not tell that they are computer generated, I almost felt that I was at a real park with real animals.  Well Done.

This movie gets an A+!  I have always enjoyed movies that director Steven Spielburg has put together and he doesn't fail to deliver on this one.  The actors really make you feel like the dinosaurs are there and the story has a nice mix of action and humor with even a bit of suspense.  This is one of my top ten favorite movies and if you haven't seen it yet go get it and watch it.