28/50: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I really have a hard time watching films that are older for the first time and actually liking them as much as a should. The quality just isn't there anymore and it really just feels old.

However, with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I really had issue with the fact that it was released in 1975.

R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a convict that is sent to a mental institution, despite the warden of the place believing that McMurphy is faking. While there, he befriends all of the other patients, and soon realizes that they are being treated unfairly.

He begins to teach them a few different things, like gambling and watching the World Series. He even breaks them out for a day on the lake fishing.

The main problem with the hospital is its staff, led by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). One of the worst villains in cinema history (even voted that by AFI). Her villainy is more mental than physical, but she is truly heinous. She treats the patients horribly - and won't let them enjoy anything.

A few other bright spots were spotting Christopher Lloyd as a patient named Taber. And, once the film ended, finding out that the person playing Martini was Danny DeVito. I honestly had no clue that he was in the film, and had to go back to see who he was. I was astonished.

Anyway, the ending was horrible - and not horrible as in I hated it, but just hard to take. I won't divulge too much in case someone hasn't seen it.

Either way, I loved the film. A great performance by Nicholson - even though he was supposed to be over the time, I don't think he felt over the top.

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The Bucket List

The third movie that my wife and I were able to watch this weekend was The Bucket List.

The film stars Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole, a billionaire who owns a ton of hospitals. During a hearing where he is trying to take over another hospital, Cole coughs up some blood and is sent to one of his own hospitals. There, he finds out that he has brain cancer.

His roommate, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), has also been diagnosed with cancer - his of the lung variety. During their stay, the two form a rare bond - which is only strengthened as they are each given a diagnosis of six months to a year to live.

Chambers' before the news, had started jotting down a 'Bucket List' - a list of things in which you would like to accomplish "...before you kick the bucket".

When the news came, Chambers tossed the paper on the floor. Cole, however, takes a glance at it the next morning, and is given the idea to add a few things to this bucket list - and convinces Chambers to join him in completing these items.

The movie was marketed as a comedy, which I think actually hurt it. Yes, it does have it's comedic moments, Nicholson and Freeman are a pretty good pairing, and play off each other well. But, the movie is a little more dramatic than comedic. And, it works.

Again, I am not giving away the ending, but there is a great moral to the film, and it sort of gets you thinking.

I really enjoyed the movie. It's funny though, even before I watched it - the trailer inspired me to think about things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. I, along with my wife, have started jotting down 10 things that we (each) would like to do over a lifetime. As of now, I only have five or six items, but I do hope that I will be able to accomplish them over time.

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