Two old men with radically different lives, both terminally ill, meet in a hospital, decide to complete a list of things to do before they die, travel the world, and discover that what means the most to them is waiting for them back at home.
Clearly originality was not the foremost concern of the screenwriter Justin Zackham and the director Rob Reiner when they pitched this idea to the money guys at Warner Bros. "It's Easy Rider meets My Name Is Earl. We're thinking Jack Nicholson in the role of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in the role of wise, hopeful voiceover." Well, with that cast, you can't lose, can you?
Sugary sentiment and soft-focus camerawork aside, this is not such a turkey as you might fear. Both Nicholson and Freeman turn in sterling performances, the former as Edward Cole, a hardened, heartless billionaire who made his money cutting costs and standards in hospitals, the latter as Carter Chambers, a humble mechanic who gave up his dream of being an academic to support his family. When they find themselves sharing a room, thanks to Cole's own ruthless hospital-management principles - "two to a room, no exceptions" - they overcome scepticism, cynicism, grumpiness and witnessing one another's bodily functions during the misery of chemotherapy, to become card partners and firm friends. Following the revelation that each has six months to a year to live, Cole persuades Chambers to turn his "bucket list" - a list of things to achieve before death - from a few vague but earnest promises ("Help a complete stranger"; "Laugh until I cry") into a round-the-world blast of a road trip, leaving behind his distraught wife of 45 years.
After a couple of US-based adventures, such as racing one another around a circuit, smashing up their shiny new Mustangs (ironically, given his recent crash in Memphis, Freeman's character emerges without a scratch), they jump on board Cole's luxurious private jet and head for the rest of the world: the south of France, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, a Tanzanian safari, the Great Wall of China... After all, what better legacy to the world than a stonking great carbon footprint?
And legacy is what this film is really, soppily, about. Chambers' defiant decision to take some "me-time", after decades of devotion to his family, and Coles' hedonistic, self-obsessed lifestyle, in which he routinely abuses his only real companion, his assistant Thomas (an excellent, understated Sean Hayes), seem to be all about fun, freedom and selfishness, but while both men are blind when it comes to their own true feelings, each tries to persuade the other to think about their most important legacy: their families.
Bearing all the hallmarks of a classic Hollywood morality tale, characterised by warm music, golden lighting and clunky preaching, The Bucket List defies logic by remaining a rather sweet little movie, whether because of the comedy timing of the ever-sardonic Nicholson, the twinkling gravitas of Freeman or the script that again and again pushes the saccharine as far as you can bear before puncturing it with a comic one-liner or visual gag. This is no Frank Capra tearjerker, but, against all the odds, it works.
@Email:gchamp@thenational.ae
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
