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Movies / Upcoming / The Bucket List
The Bucket List

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The Bucket List (2007)

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Reviews Counted:160

Fresh:67

Rotten:93

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $93,452,056

Synopsis: Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy drama "The Bucket List," directed by Rob Reiner, a touching, no-holds-barred adventure that shows it's never too late to... Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in the comedy drama "The Bucket List," directed by Rob Reiner, a touching, no-holds-barred adventure that shows it's never too late to live life to its fullest. A long time ago, Carter Chambers' (Morgan Freeman) freshman year philosophy professor suggested that his students compose a "bucket list," a collection of all the things they wanted to do, see and experience in life before they kicked the bucket. But while Carter was still trying to define his private dreams and plans, reality intruded. Marriage, children, myriad responsibilities and, ultimately, a 46-year job as an auto mechanic gradually turned his concept of a bucket list into little more than a bittersweet memory of lost opportunities and a mental exercise he occasionally thought about to pass the time while working under the hood of a car. Meanwhile, corporate billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) never saw a list without a bottom line. He was always too busy making money and building an empire to think about what his deeper needs might be beyond the next big acquisition or cup of gourmet coffee. Then life delivered an urgent and unexpected wake-up call to both of them. Carter and Edward found themselves sharing a hospital room with plenty of time to think about what might happen next--and about how much of that was in their hands. For all their apparent differences, they soon discovered they had two very important things in common: an unrealized need to come to terms with who they were and the choices they'd made, and a pressing desire to spend the time they had left doing everything they ever wanted to do. The list wasn't just a mental exercise anymore. It was an agenda. So, against doctor's orders and all good sense, these two virtual strangers check themselves out of the hospital and hit the road together for the adventure of a lifetime--from the Taj Mahal to the Serengeti, the finest restaurants to the seediest tattoo parlors, the cockpit of vintage race cars to the open door of a prop plane--with just a sheet of paper and their passion for life to guide them. Adding and crossing items off their list while taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world, they will grapple with the difficult questions and the even more difficult answers that plague all of us. And, without even realizing it, become true friends. With humor, insight, heart...and a fair amount of attitude. Sometimes you just need a deadline to get your life in gear. --© Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd

Director: Rob Reiner

Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Justin Zackham
Producer: Alan Greisman, Rob Reiner, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Composer: Marc Shaiman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Bucket List

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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This rather special film is one about mortality and immortality and guarantees both laughter and tears. Of course, the combination of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman is special in itself

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/14/08
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Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/18/08
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/12/08
BBC
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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
12/26/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Times [UK]
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Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Screen International
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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
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Acting's good, but Bucket is half-empty.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
01/11/08
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Reel.com
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This terminally ill, terminally awful dramedy marks a sad cinematic milestone: The Bucket List is the first film in history to feature a truly wretched Nicholson performance -- and we're not talking about the character he plays.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment 1 Comment
12/23/07
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Premiere Magazine

... plays like Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries, reimagined as an uninspired sitcom and travelogue.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

This movie has the same level of false, mediocre level of entertainment as the movie WILD HOGS. If you liked that one, then you might like this. But I despise both.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
08/22/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

The Bucket List dies long before the characters do.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
01/12/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

The Bucket List must have seemed like a good idea -- around 1985.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/10/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

Just die, already!

Full Review Source: Reno News and Review | comment 6 Comments
02/25/08
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Reno News and Review

Recycled, formulaic poignance, something Hollywood has provided buckets of over the years.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
01/11/08
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
FilmStew.com

Those looking for a romp in the daisies should be advised that Bucket List isn't going to provide much in the laugh department. If you've seen director Rob Reiner's work in recent years, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

Full Review Source: OhmyNews.com | comment Comment
01/09/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
OhmyNews.com

The irony of it all, considering the message of The Bucket List, is that when the obituaries for all three of these Hollywood legends is written, this film won't even merit a footnote.

Full Review Source: The Deadbolt | comment Comment
01/11/08
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
The Deadbolt

The film lacks much zest or narrative drive -- essentials for a movie about appreciating the time one has left.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/11/08
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

Nothing wrong about a movie that says, Stop and smell the roses. Now, if only director Rob Reiner hadn't rubbed our noses in a bouquet of plastic blooms.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment 3 Comments
01/10/08
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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