Journeys, not ends

Ambreen Noon Kazi reviews a film that pairs two Hollywood titans for the first time.

The Bucket List
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow
Given that it's a Rob Reiner film, the Bucket List is delicately shot where the dialogue carries the story forward. Starring Academy Award winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in light hearted comedy with a message, the movie is about two men dying who end up sharing a hospital bedroom and realising that neither made time for the things they wanted to do in life before they kicked the "bucket".

Carter Chambers (Freeman) has a list he made as a freshman about all the things he wanted to do but life and its responsibilities never allow the list to see fruition.

As a car mechanic for 40-something years he turned to the list in bittersweet memory of lost opportunities. Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a corporate billionaire who was too busy making money to take time for his deeper needs.

Sharing a hospital room, the two strike up a camaraderie and Cole decides to fulfil Chambers dreams. Checking out of the hospital the two virtual strangers hit the road together for the adventure of a lifetime — from the Taj Mahal to the Serengeti, the finest restaurants to the seediest tattoo parlours and much more.

Adding and crossing items off their list while taking in the grandeur and beauty of the world, they grapple with the difficult questions and the even more difficult answers that plague all of us.

The end told in narration is poetic and touching, yet predictable. All the same, the journey these two men undertake is the important part — one that will resonate with audiences while pressing the importance of relationships and lack of time in one's life.

Bobby Z
Director: Paul Walker
Cast: Paul Walker, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Wilde
Think Aidan Quinn's 1997 film Assignment rehashed for a new decade. Story in short: former Marine and "bad-boy" Time Kearney (Paul Walker) is asked to impersonate legendary drug dealer and surfer Bobby Z in a hostage exchange with a drug kingpin.

Kearney is given a conditional release if he's willing to impersonate the missing Bobby Z. DEA agent Tad Grusza (Laurence Fishburne) sets Kearney up for the exchange. Kearney looks enough like Bobby Z to pass muster, but the exchange goes to hell and Kearney is left to fend for himself.

When he's captured and taken to Don Huerto's (Joaquim de Almeida) palatial Mexican estate, he meets Bobby Z's old flame Elizabeth (Olivia Wilde) and her teenage son, Kit, who just might be Bobby Z's kid.

Because Kearney isn't Bobby Z and he's far too brash and selfless, all sorts of trouble ensues. Fists, punches, blood and bullets roll for a fast-paced hour-something of cinema action.

Verdict: Highly gimmicky, it will only appeal to less demanding fans.

60-second Profile: Morgan Freeman

- Born: June 1st, 1937

- Background: Born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna, a cleaner and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis.

- First seen: Freeman made his acting debut at age eight, playing the lead in a school play. Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the soap opera Another World and the PBS kids show The Electric Company.

- Real claim to fame: After three previous nominations—a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart (1987) and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, 'War of the Worlds' and the Academy Award-winning documentary film March of the Penguins. He is also winner of a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.

- Moments: On October 28, 2006, Freeman was honoured at the first Mississippi's Best Awards in Jackson, Mississippi, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his works on and off the big screen. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts and Letters from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises in 2006.

- Personal life: Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. He has two sons, Alfonso and Saifoulaye, from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter, Deena and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana.

- The writer is an afficionado of film.