"Bucket List" isn't critic-proof

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Rob Reiner's The Bucket List (Warner Bros., 12.25), the Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman movie about dying from cancer but also getting to fly around the world in a private jet, has been flunked by the Rotten Tomatoes chorus. It managed only a 48% positive (and if you read the presumably positive red-tomato reviews you'll realize they're half-and-halfers at best).

Best slam quotes: (1) "Any moron can make a bad movie, but it takes a special breed of schemer to make a picture as shameless as The Bucket List -- Salon's Stephanie Zacharek; (2) "It''s a picture about two cancer patients confronting reality, and deciding how they want to spend their presumed last days, that has not an ounce of reality about it...Ikiru for meatheads" -- Variety's Todd McCarthy; and (3) "Hollywood rarely makes movies about the dying wishes of poor people, since that might actually teach something about life lived to the fullest without global traveling...seeing this movie is not something you need to do before you die." -- Metromix's Matt Pais.

I've said before I don't think it's awful -- its just tired and perfunctory. It wouldn't have been made if Warner chief Alan Horn hadn't given the green-light, which was primarily based on his long friendship with Reiner. (It doesn't make him look very sage as he prepares to surrender administrative power to Jeff Robinov.) I will say that the CG shot of Nicholson and Freeman sitting on one of the great Egyptian pyramids struck me as half-decent, except for the closeups.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 25, 2007 at 12:52 PM

comment #1

Terry McCarty says ...

Having read the Todd McCarthy review, I think he's right in prognosticating that THE BUCKET LIST will be Rob Reiner's first hit since THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

Posted by Terry McCarty at December 25, 2007 1:38 PM

comment #2

actionman says ...

this film looks like a huge piece of shit

Posted by actionman at December 25, 2007 2:13 PM

comment #3

dangovich says ...

I'm surprised it's as high as 48 percent.

Posted by dangovich at December 25, 2007 3:20 PM

comment #4

Rothchild says ...

I take everything back. Nothing this year was as bad as AVP2. Holy shit.

Posted by Rothchild at December 25, 2007 3:24 PM

comment #5

Terry McCarty says ...

When I read the brief blurb in the LA TIMES yesterday about AVP2 and it mentioned the Fox marketing person with the last name of Brilliant, I wondered if this was a Fox creation just like Sony's David Manning from a few years back.

Posted by Terry McCarty at December 25, 2007 3:26 PM

comment #6

scooterzz says ...

greg brilliant has been a publicist for decades...he used to be with paramount...and he's a really nice guy despite 'avp'.....

Posted by scooterzz at December 25, 2007 3:42 PM

comment #7

T. Holly says ...

Two weeks ago, at Harmony Gold, it played to big laughs and a few tears (at the end), so I thought it would be a hit here in Floriduh, but it went over like a fart in church and TWBB. The only DVD that's hit this crowd is Juno and Rat. I still have No Country and Diving Bell to torment them with, though. "Hol-ly?" "Coming".

Posted by T. Holly at December 25, 2007 3:48 PM

comment #8

JD says ...

This movie is a joke, the Wild Hogs of tear-jerkers. It will be a hit.

Posted by JD at December 25, 2007 4:04 PM

comment #9

Joe Leydon says ...

I want to ask a question about AVP-R, but I have to be careful lest I give a spoiler.

POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD!!!!

Regarding the very final scene: I know it's a set-up for a possible sequel. But do you think some people might assume the woman in the scene is a survivor of the previous AVP?

Posted by Joe Leydon at December 25, 2007 4:06 PM

comment #10

Terry McCarty says ...

scooterzz wrote:
greg brilliant has been a publicist for decades...he used to be with paramount...and he's a really nice guy despite 'avp'.....

Thanks for the information. I feel bad about his having to carry water for the film with LAT.

Posted by Terry McCarty at December 25, 2007 7:46 PM

comment #11

William Goss says ...

*AVPR spoiler-ish*

Joe, re: "I know it's a set-up for a possible sequel. But do you think some people might assume the woman in the scene is a survivor of the previous AVP?"

While most of my audience seemed pretty blank as to whoever she was, I didn't get the feeling that they felt she had been that film's remaining link, especially with this taking place so close to the events of the, er, 'original', not to mention that the survivor had been of African-American heritage, not Asian-American.

Posted by William Goss at December 25, 2007 9:12 PM

comment #12

berg says ...

two adversaries tear up a town while trying to kill each other ... AVP*R? .... No - No Country For Old Men

Posted by berg at December 25, 2007 9:59 PM

comment #13

Dzayson says ...

Sometimes I just wish I could murder everyone.

Posted by Dzayson at December 25, 2007 10:15 PM

comment #14

justin says ...

Can't wait to see this new movie. I love Rob. He is my favorite! It seems Rob is single now. His profile was found on millionaire & celeb dating site http://WealthyRomance.com last week.

Posted by justin at December 25, 2007 10:26 PM

comment #15

TyroneSlothrup says ...

Oh well. He gets a pass for Princess Bride. The perfect movie.

Posted by TyroneSlothrup at December 25, 2007 11:19 PM

comment #16

Craig Kennedy says ...

Joe, I'm less concerned that you saw AVP-R (I assume you had to review it?), but I'm troubled you're still thinking about it.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at December 26, 2007 12:51 AM

comment #17

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

SPOILER

The very final scene of AVP2 is continuity porn -- the woman is named Yutani for the Weyland-Yutani company that dominates the Alien movies.

And Weyland's fate was revealed in AVP1

I enjoyed all the scenes in AVP2 that didn't feature humans. The predator's a better actor than all of them.

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at December 26, 2007 2:02 AM

comment #18

Joe Leydon says ...

AVP-R SPOILER!!!!!

William Goss and LYT: True enough -- as I noted, the ending is an obvious sequel set-up -- but I still wonder how many people in the audience will THINK she's the woman from the previous film, based on their hazy memories of AVP. Remember, I teach college classes. And you might be surprised how many questions I get like that from students (and not just the slow learners) after some fantasy, sci-fi or horror movie is released. That, CJ, is why I sometimes have to actually think more about these things than I really should. Also, keep in mind: There are lots of people who saw AVP who did NOT see earlier episodes in the Alien or Predator franchise. No kidding. Think of the audience demographic...

Posted by Joe Leydon at December 26, 2007 7:03 AM

comment #19

Joe Leydon says ...

Er, or course, the above should read: There are lots of people who saw AVP who did NOT see earlier episodes in the Alien or Predator franchises.

Posted by Joe Leydon at December 26, 2007 7:05 AM

comment #20

Dave Polands Gut says ...

You need a life/some taste if you are posting and discussin AVP 2 spoilers the day after it comes out.

Posted by Dave Polands Gut at December 26, 2007 8:40 AM

comment #21

christian says ...

I like to pretend there have been no Alien Vs Predator movies.
As far I know, there were only two ALIEN films.

Posted by christian at December 26, 2007 10:40 AM

comment #22

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

DPG - our life is being paid to see such things.

christian -- there were two Predator films as well, right? No love for those?

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at December 26, 2007 11:11 AM

comment #23

christian says ...

Luke, I love the first PREDATOR.
But not Alien Vs Predator films. As if any existed.

Posted by christian at December 26, 2007 11:19 AM

comment #24

Craig Kennedy says ...

Love it or not, Predator isn't in the same league as the first two Aliens...is it?

Posted by Craig Kennedy at December 26, 2007 12:18 PM

comment #25

christian says ...

No. But it's got one of the best movie monsters of the past decades. And the ending is rather grim for an 80's action fest.

Posted by christian at December 26, 2007 12:39 PM

comment #26

BurmaShave says ...

Speaking of Reiner and BUCKET:

PREDATOR, DIE HARD, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER...

What the fuck happened to McTiernan? I would love to see both of these filmmakers back at the top of their game.

Posted by BurmaShave at December 26, 2007 2:27 PM

comment #27

OddDuck says ...

Well, apart from the Thomas Crown Affair, McTiernan's been busy breaking the law and making shitty films like Rollerball, 13th Warrior and Basic. I don't remember much about the third Die Hard other than being kinda bored with it.

But Predator/Die Hard/Hunt for Red October -- hard to come up with a better run of legendary films than that (ok, Predator maybe isn't quite "legendary" but still very kickass and an action movie to be proud of).

Posted by OddDuck at December 26, 2007 4:01 PM

comment #28