A hot shot young Navy lawyer defends two Marines accused in the death of a another Marine.
A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee

A Few Good Men (Special Edition) is available at Amazon for $9.99. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Crimson Tide
• Donnie Brasco (Special Edition)
• The Patriot (Special Edition)
• The Rock [Region 2]
• The Firm

Rob Reiner dirigió en 1986 esta fascinante y nostálgica película, basada en una novela corta de Stephen King, titulada “El cuerpo”.

“Cuenta conmigo”, que nunca pretendió ser mas, que una sencilla película, consiguió calar en todos los que la vimos, mucho más que un film con pretensiones.

La historia de los cuatro amigos que durante sus vacaciones de verano deciden salir en busca del cuerpo de un muchacho desaparecido, para nada ha envejecido con el paso del tiempo. Y no envejecerá, por que siempre habrá niños que recrearán historias parecidas, y adultos que recordarán con añoranza a sus amigos, y las aventuras que compartieron con ellos.

Los caracteres tan bien definidos, y la inocencia y espontaneidad de estos niños de doce años (casi en el límite que los separa de la adolescencia), nos atrapa desde los primeros fotogramas. Junto a ellos viviremos situaciones realmente cómicas, pero también escucharemos conversaciones serias; porque cada uno de ellos tiene tras de sí una vida, y para algunos, no les es fácil vivirla. Pero todos están ahí, y dan igual sus diferencias y sus peleas.  Son amigos y con un amigo siempre se puede contar.

Narrada por uno de ellos, ya adulto (Richard Dreyfuss), y que ha hecho de la afición de su infancia (la literatura), su profesión, nos involucraremos en sus recuerdos de aquel verano, en el que la palabra amistad estaba escrita con mayúscula.

Conoceremos al “terrible” perro guardián que va directo “¡a por los huevos!” de los intrusos, y al vengativo Gordi, personaje de uno de sus relatos infantiles, y protagonista de una encadenada serie de jocosas vomitonas.

Conoceremos, y nos identificaremos, en resumen, con un mundo irrepetible, porque sólo se vive así en la infancia.

Redondeando el entrañable argumento, la banda sonora que lo acompaña, va desgranando atemporales temas musicales (aunque sean de los 60´s), que despiertan las nostalgias, aún de los que no vivieron aquellos años.

Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, y Jerry O'Connell, daban vida a los cuatro protagonistas, y nos ofrecían todos, unas excelentes interpretaciones de sus personajes.

También pudimos ver, ya en papeles más adultos (aparte de a Dreyfuss), a Kiefer Sutherland, y a John Cusack.

El trailer de la película no nos mostraba la magia que íbamos a encontrar en ella, pero casi era de agradecer conocer poco, y encontrarte con una agradable sorpresa.

Un consejo: Ved el trailer, ved la película por primera vez, o revisadla. El verano es un buen momento para ello.

Swanson 

Rimane incastrato nelle lamiere e salvato da Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates che ha ricevuto l'Oscar per questa interpretazione). La donna, ex-infermiera, lo porta a casa poichè le strade sono impraticabili e dopo averlo sedato riesce in qualche modo a sistemargli una frattura al braccio e a steccargli entrambe le gambe anch'esse fratturate.
Durante il periodo di convalescenza Sheldon scopre che Annie è una sua fan sfegatata, che lo idolatra e soprattutto adora alla follia (letteralmente) il personaggio di Misery.
Tutto procede liscio fino a quando la nostra non legge (disprezzandolo) l'ultimo romanzo che lo scrittore ha con sè (il manoscritto). La situazione inizia a divenire inquietante e si aggrava quando Annie compra l'ultimo romanzo di Misery in cui scopre il destino tragico della sua eroina. A questo punto capiamo che lo scrittore passerà dei brutti momenti e sarà costretto suo malgrado a scrivere un "ritorno" di Misery alla grande per non dover rischiare di morire per mano di Annie.

Il film è teso, avvincente e fa davvero paura senza mostrare (quasi) mai nulla. E' la situazione, con i particolari dello scrittore che è menomato dall'incidente e cerca disperatamente una via di fuga a tenerci col fiato sospeso. Gli attori sono davvero grandi e il regista moltro bravo a rendere merito alla storia scritta da King (tra l'altro alcuni particolari nel libro erano molto ma molto più spaventosi e raccapriccianti di quelli usati nella pellicola).

Un film sempre "piacevole" da vedersi e per emozionarsi. Il finale è crudo come ci si deve aspettare.
Sempre attuale comunque, sembra girato ieri.

Voto: 8
Ciao, J

Jennifer Aniston portrays Sarah Huttinger whose return home with her fiance convinces her that the sedate proper country-club lifestyle of her family isn't for her and that maybe the Huttinger family isn't even hers. Join Sarah as she uncovers secrets that suggest the Huttingers are neither sedate nor proper - and as Kevin Costner Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo join the fun. The story is rumor. The laughs are real!

Rumor Has It... (Full Screen Edition) is available at Amazon for $5.99. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Failure to Launch (Special Collector's Edition)
• The Break-Up (Widescreen Edition)
• The Family Stone (Widescreen Edition)
• In Her Shoes (Widescreen Edition)
• The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)

A hot shot young Navy lawyer defends two Marines accused in the death of a another Marine.
A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama. --Alan Smithee

A Few Good Men (Special Edition) is available at Amazon for $9.99. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Donnie Brasco (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray]
• The Patriot (Special Edition)
• The Rock [Blu-ray]
• The Firm
• Top Gun

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLane, Mark Ruffalo, Mena Suvari

Director: Rob Reiner

Genere: commedia / sentimentale             Produzione: USA 2005

InVoto: 6

Sara Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) torna nella natale Pasadena con il fidanzato Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) in occasione delle nozze della sorella (Mena Suvari). Ma più guarda i suoi parenti, più si vede diversa da loro. Sua mamma è morta quando aveva nove anni, e la sua confidente familiare è sua nonna Anne (Shirley MacLane). Collegando varie informazioni "estorte" in famiglia, capisce che la famiglia cui Charles Webb si ispirò per il suo famoso romanzo Il laureato era proprio la sua. Miss Robinson che Dustin Hoffman aveva sedotto era la nonna, e sua madre... Già, sua madre, che una settimana prima del matrimonio, era scappata in Messico proprio da Beau Burroghs (Kevin Costner), appunto il seduttore interpretato da Hoffman ne Il laureato. Madre che poi si pentì e ritornò, sposandosi con suo padre qualche giorno dopo. Possibile che Beau sia il padre biologico di Sara, nata otto mesi dopo il matrimonio? Questo potrebbe spiegare la differenza fra Sara ed il resto della sua famiglia. Sara si mette in testa di scoprirlo e cerca di rintracciare Beau. Sarà veramente suo padre? E riuscirà a non essere attratta da un uomo così irresistibile e che ha già sedotto le sue due generazioni precedenti?

Commedia semplice, e tutto sommato gradevole, che spesso strappa un sorriso. Poteva scadere nella farsa veramente idiota, ma grazie alla bravura del cast si mantiene ad un buon livello. Oltre al fatto che fa venir voglia di vedere (per chi non lo ha visto) o di rivedere Il laureato. E questo vale un mezzo punticino in più.

"la storia era tutta vera salvo un dettaglio, non mi ero laureato, ma il film non poteva mica intitolarsi 'il bocciato'"

Buona visione!

Plot Synopsis: (courtesy of wikipedia.com)

"Blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers and billionaire hospital magnate Edward Cole meet for the first time in the hospital after both have been diagnosed with cancer. They become friends as they undergo their respective treatments. Carter is a gifted amateur historian and family man who had wanted to become a history professor, but in his youth had been "broke, black, and with a baby on the way" and thus never rose above his job at the McCreath body shop. Cole is a corporate tycoon, eccentric loner, four times divorced, who enjoys nothing more than tormenting his personal valet/servant, Matthew, whom he calls Thomas. He quickly befriends Carter, making Matthew serve Carter as well as him and ordering his doctor to familiarise himself with Carter's health. Both are diagnosed with a year or less to live. Carter begins writing a "bucket list," or things to do before "he kicks the bucket." After hearing he has less than a year to live, Carter wads it up and tosses it on the floor. Matthew comes in the next morning and picks it up with other things that are on the floor. Cole finds it among the items and reads it. Cole pushes Carter (by suggesting he add things like seeing the world, sky diving, "fun things," etc.), and promises to finance the trip. Despite the protests of his wife, Virginia, Carter eagerly agrees." And thus, their adventures begin...

Movie Genre: Adventure, Comedy, and Drama

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for language, including a sexual reference.

Cast of Characters: Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole; Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers; Sean Hayes as Thomas, aka Matthew; Beverly Todd as Virgina Chambers; Rob Morrow as Dr. Hollins; Alfonso Freeman (Morgan Freeman's real-life son) as son Roger Chambers; and Rowena King as Angelica.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Rob Reiner film. I thought it was well written and well produced. Never before, at least to my knowledge, have such greats as Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson made a picture together. I think their work together was absolutely phenomenal. It was awesome enough to leave you thoroughly sad by the ending, wishing the movie had never got there. I would positively give this move 4 & 1/2 stars, although me being fans of both of theirs does help. Also, I must say that I loved Sean Hayes interaction with the two as well. I think Hayes showed a true potential to become an all-time great actor through further major motion pictures besides being a TV Series actor. In fact, I will leave off with a memorbable quote from the movie....

Thomas: "I am proud of you."

Edward Cole: "Nobody cares what you think."

THE PRINCESS BRIDE | A FILM BY ROB REINER

THE CLASSIC FAIRY-TALE LOVE STORY FEATURING BILLY CRYSTAL!

"When I was your age, "television" was called "books"."

With this, Grandpa (Peter Falk, TV's Columbo) introduces Grandson (Fred Savage, TV's The Wonder Years) to "The Princess Bride", S. Morgenstern's tale of high adventure. What follows is a delightful story interspersed with Grandpa and Grandson bantering about how to tell the story and other things. Director Rob Reiner (This is Spinal Tap) brings a great cast and a great script together to make one of the greatest films of all-time. 

Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn, Forrest Gump) is a beautiful young lady on a farm in the countryside. She spends her time tormenting the farm boy, Westley (Cary Elwes, Saw). His only answer is "As you wish." Buttercup soon realizes that he means, "I love you," when he says that. Soon the couple are swept in love. Westley leaves to get money for marriage. But he is killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, and Buttercup is devastated. Meanwhile, Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon, Dog Day Afternoon) has chosen her to be his bride. Buttercup doesn't love Humperdink, and only finds joy in her daily rides. On one of them, she is captured by the Sicilian genius Vizzini (Wallace Shawn, voice of Rex in Toy Story films) and his cohorts: the oft-drunk Spaniard Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin, TV's Criminal Minds) and Turkish wrestler Fezzik (Andre the Giant, WWF wrestling). Along the ride, they meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, go through the Fire Swamp, and encounter a very interesting character...Billy Crystal!

Though it was not a huge success at its release, The Princess Bride has grown in popularity, often being shown on network and cable television. There are many great points and few weak points about this movie.

Positives: The acting in this film is ridiculously good. Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright Penn all give great performances as the three leads. Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest (as Humperdink's right-hand man Count Rugen) and Wallace Shawn give crazy great performances as supporting actors. And, Billy Crystal is hilarious as Miracle Max and Andre the Giant's transition from wrestler to actor is seamless. "It's not my fault I'm the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise." The script in this film is also ridiculously good. The Writers Guild of America named the screenplay the 84th greatest of all-time, beating films such as Forrest Gump and Memento. There are so many one-liners. Lemme give you a few here:

• "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."-Inigo Montoya
• "I only dog paddle."-Fezzik's response to Vizzini's plea to jump into the water
• "Ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?...Morons."-Vizzini
• "I always think everything could be a trap-which is why I'm still alive."-Humperdink to Rugen
• "And this is for posterity, so, be honest."-Rugen to Westley
• "Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice MLT, a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They're so perky, I love that. But that's not what he said. He distinctly said "to blave." And, as we all know, "to blave" means "to bluff," huh? So you're probably playing cards, and he cheated!"-Miracle Max

"Non avevo ancora tredici anni la prima volta che vidi un essere umano morto. Fu nell’estate del 1959. Molto tempo fa... ma solo misurando il tempo in termini in anni."

Con queste parole si apre Stand By Me, terzo film di Rob Reiner, tratto dal racconto The Body di Stephen King, a sua volta contenuto nel libro Different Seasons (Stagioni Diverse, edito in Italia da Sperling & Kupfer).

L'io narrante (Richard Dreyfuss) è uno scrittore che, a distanza di anni, rievoca le due giornate più decisive della sua esistenza...

Siamo in un paesino dell'Oregon del 1959. Gordie, il futuro scrittore (Wil Wheaton), e i suoi tre amici hanno tutti dodici-tredici anni e, anche se non sempre lo sanno, diversi problemi da superare. Vern (Jerry O'Connell), quello che sente parlare del cadavere riverso da qualche parte nel bosco lungo la ferrovia, è un vigliacco congenito e grassottello. Teddy (Corey Feldman) è afflitto da un paio di occhialoni, da un padre squilibrato e collerico nonchè da una tendenza assai sintomatica a mettersi continuamente e pericolosamente alla prova. Chris (il compianto River Phoenix), il più maturo del gruppo, è anche il più povero e, per colpa di un fratello poco di buono, gode di una cattiva reputazione in paese. Mentre Gordie, sensibile e già portato alla difficile arte del racconto, soffre del confronto con un fratello maggiore morto pochi mesi prima e mitizzato dai genitori. I due giorni trascorsi nel bosco alla ricerca del cadavere non avranno però lo stesso effetto sui quattro amici...

Il viaggio intrapreso alla ricerca del cadavere diventa, quindi, metafora della crescita, del passaggio dalla giovinezza all'età adulta, con le prove, le scoperte e le sofferenze (fisiche e morali) che costelleranno il cammino dei quattro amici...

E la parole "Non ho mai più avuto amici come quelli che avevo a dodici anni. Gesù, ma chi li ha?", scritte alla fine del film da Richard Dreyfuss (il Gordie adulto e scrittore), che ha ripercorso gli eventi successi tanti anni prima, non sono altro che il sigillo a questo toccante inno all'amicizia.

Chiudo citandovi, dal libro Stagioni Diverse di Stephen King, il prologo del racconto da cui è stato tratto il film:

Le cose più importanti sono le più difficili da dire. Sono quelle di cui ci si vergogna, perchè le parole le immiseriscono. Le parole rimpiccioliscono cose che finchè erano nella vostra testa sembravano sconfinate, e le riducono a non più che a grandezza naturale quando vengono portate fuori. Ma è più che questo, vero? Le cose più importanti giacciono troppo vicine al punto dov'è sepolto il vostro cuore segreto, come segnali lasciati per ritrovare un tesoro che i vostri nemici sarebbero felicissimi di portar via. E potreste fare rivelazioni che vi costano per poi scoprire che la gente vi guarda strano, senza capire affatto quello che avete detto, senza capire perchè vi sembrava tanto importante da piangere quasi quando lo dicevate. Questa è la cosa peggiore, secondo me. Quando il segreto rimane chiuso dentro non per mancanza di uno che lo racconti ma per mancanza di un orecchio che sappia ascoltare...

La premisa de partida és prou interessant: ajuntar dos personatges, el ric i el sabi, que saben que els queda molt poc temps de vida, per a veure com poden aprofitar el poc temps que els queda. Afegiu-li una parella protagonista estelar, Jack Nicholson i Morgan Freeman i teniu un producte més que prometedor.

Si The Bucket List l'hagués dirigida Scorsese, segurament hagués muntat un drama i hagués exprimit el talent de la parella d'actors buscant escenes elèctriques, de confrontació i el film hagués estat nominat a un parell d'Oscars. Però qui l'ha dirigida és Rob Reiner, un home a qui li agrada fer comèdies amables i pel·lícules d'èxit, o sigui que ens serveix una comèdia molt agradable de veure i que lateralment planteja alguna pregunta interessant.

Tot i així, The Bucket List està molt millor que la majoria d'ensucraments hollywoodencs a favor de la família que ja estem acostumats a patir. Hi ha gags previsibles, n'hi ha de més aconseguits, i hi ha un guió tant previsible com eficaç. Però sobretot hi ha un parell d'actors com n'hi ha pocs que t'apropen la història fins a la pell, humanitzen el relat i emplenen la pantalla.

A mi m'ha agradat molt, més del que m'esperava.

Adient si voleu passar una bona estona sense complicacions. Contraindicat pels fanàtics de Bergman.

Salut i sort,
Ivan.

Why don't you just make ten louder, and make ten the top number, and make that a little louder?

...These go to eleven.

"I got married in Las Vegas once. To Gloria Grahame. I didn't like her very much. I was infatuated with her, but I didn't like her very much.

"There was something vindictive about me that made me stay at the crap tables while she was waiting out the last few days before her divorce became final. I wanted to be absolutely broke. I didn't want this dame, who later proved to be as shrewd as she had begun to threaten to be, to have anything of mine. I didn't want her to have any money at all. I was in the middle of making IN A LONELY PLACE. I lost a bundle."

~ Nicholas Ray in I Was Interrupted, Nicholas Ray on Making Movies.

I wonder if Ray really lost all his money quite as deliberately as that.  If he did, it annoys me somewhat -- I'd rather he gave the money to a good cause. He seems to have had a gambling addiction, of the kind that gets satisfaction from losing rather than winning.

Witnesses who saw Phil Silvers at the roulette wheel or craps table reported the same thing -- his body would relax totally once he had lost his last dollar. Some kind of relief was achieved.

In his collected diaries, Charlton Heston reports asking a friend about Ray before embarking upon the colossal misadventure that was 55 DAYS AT PEKING. I'm paraphrasing from memory, but the friend said something like, "Oh, he's a good director. Good sense of story and good with actors. Great visual style. Intelligent. But Chuck, I've played poker with him. And Chuck, he's a loser."

In the U.S. the word "loser" seems to have a greater power than elsewhere, like it's the worst thing you can call somebody. I think in Scotland we'd just shrug that one off. "Yeah, so what?" But Heston's friend is using the word in a more precise and meaningful way -- a loser is someone who sets out to lose.

When William Goldman and Rob Reiner were preparing to do MISERY, they talked to Warren Beatty about possibly playing the lead role. Beatty told them that if they kept the script like Stephen King's novel, where the character has his foot chopped off by the crazed fan, "He's a loser." Having his bones broken was a way to make the injury recoverable, so that the ending is happier. The hero can win back what he lost.

This is kind of weird and repugnant to me. The idea that a person who loses a foot is a different KIND of person -- a loser -- from a person who just has his bones broken, then gets better, is a basically false view of the world, a place where shit happens.

Anyway, returning to Ray, whose loserishness I find appealing and attractive -- that marriage to Gloria Grahame ended, and then she married Ray's son. That didn't last either. When I mention this in lectures, there's a sort of shudder of revulsion, as if an act of incest were involved. But it's not! O.K., marrying your ex's offspring might be sort of unusual, but really, there's nothing actually wrong with it per se. Tony Ray was probably closer to G.G.'s age than Nick, and if not, who cares?

G.G.'s last love affair is commemorated in a fine book, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.

1986.- Cuenta Conmigo de Rob Reiner

2006.- Dicen por ahi... de Rob Reiner

PS: salva i suoi assistiti e fa mettere Jack Nicholson al gabbio. Mette sotto anche Jack Bauer. Troppa grazia, proprio.

I was so excited to go on this trip (I'll tell you why in a minute) but not so much when the plane we boarded turned out to be the propeller kind. You know. Two seats on each side of the row? Very noisy, very compact? The flight attendant tried to ply us with an announcement promising some free microbrew and some of those new chips that are half a serving of vegetables (as if you care about nutrition when you can feel every air pocket), with the flying pig on the label. So that we would not notice the lurching! I decided that's what we really were. Flying pigs crunching on vegetable chips, swilling fancy beer, praying to God that the pilot was really really good at turbulence flying. So we would land in Seattle. Alive.

And we did. The weekend started on Friday, with a day trip into the city, to Pike's Place market. I was on a quest. A personal one, involving some crab, snapping a photo of a restaurant in one of the most famous scenes in my favorite movie "Sleepless in Seattle" where Rob Reiner tells Tom Hanks he had better find out what tiramisu is. 

We ate some yummy crab there, and tried to drink a really watery version of a Ramos Fizz. But I just could not do it. I had to have a Diet Coke instead. Here is the recipe for a real Ramos Fizz, one we make at home with Hendrick's Gin, the best gin ever made. It's delicious and not at all watery.

Then we went to get a donut. A baby one. We followed our noses to the stand, just past the guys who throw fish to each other and yell. We ordered 12 assorted (hush, they're small!) and decided the best of the best is cinnamon sugar. The powdered are not covered with nearly enough sugar, the sprinkled with chocolate are really, really sweet and much too rich, and the plain are well, too plain.

The cinnamon sugar ones are perfect. Really moist, melt in your mouth yumminess. If you do go get 12 of those. I swear. And they are not the least bit fattening.

From there we went to Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop, nibbled on some samples and settled on some anise and lavender chevre (distincitve creamy tartness) and a buttery sharp cheddar with the texture of a good parmesan. 

These girls were so helpful and saucy. It turned out one of them had taken an order for some Point Reyes Blue last year for a catering, and the cheesemaker is her dad! What? She promised a care package to be delivered soon! More on that when it arrives!

Next stop was Salumi, Mario Batali's dad's shop, where the pig truly rules. I am telling you, it is some of the best salami I've ever tasted. We settled on two - one seasoned with fennel and black pepper, and a mole-spiced snackerel. Mario's dad said if we were to come back Tuesday we would catch the pony tailed son for his new book signing. Alas. Sunday was pumpkin time for us.

We stashed the porky deliciousness on ice, but our small hotel fridge and then the entire room took on the aroma. So when we emerged three days later to board our returning flight, we smelled decidedly like porcine goodness. Passengers even sidled up to us to ask for samples, holding out crackers in a hopeful kind of way. Kidding.

All in all, I missed cooking my own food (poached eggs are better made at home) but did not regret the trip one bit. While I did not get to sit in Rob Reiner's seat, I did get to smuggle some cheeses and cured meats on the propeller plane back to Reno. And this time I had two glasses of microbrew , to take the edge off the bumpy descent. It worked.

Perfect Ramos Gin Fizz

1 jigger Hendrick's Gin

1 tablespoon simple syrup

2 ounces half and half

1 tablespoon egg white product

Dash of vanilla extract

1 drop orange flower water

Juice of half a lime

Hansen's Tonic (try Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)

Shake all of the above except the Hansen's tonic in a shaker filled with ice. Shake really hard for 15 shakes. Strain into pretty glass, finish with a splash of Hansen's Tonic and garnish with a slice of fresh orange.

Serves one gin lover.

Written by: Justin Zackham

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole(Jack Nicholson) finds out he is terminally ill and is placed in a room in his own hospital with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) who is also terminally ill. Carter is an aging car mechanic with a wife and family while Edward Cole seems to be a man who is an island.  No attachments, a various array of ex-wives, yet each have the same non-future before them.  Edward seems intrigued by Carter and his general enthusiasm for life.  The two together decide to make their bucket list,  a list that is all the things they always wanted to do by the time they die.  Carter makes the list and Edward has the means.   Together they start an outward journey that involves driving race cars, sky diving, and visiting the Taj Mahal.   But it isn’t long before their journey shows important things each of them have not yet faced.

Bucket List was full of inspiration, motivation and a very realistic sense of mortality.  The contrast of Edward and Carter is immediately evident but the way their differences affect each other and change their views is subtle and smart.  Rob Reiner is wise enough to know that Jack and Morgan are gifted and intuitive enough actors to take their characters to the right level, which they do.  The enjoyment of their adventure coupled with “Jack” moments and Morgan Freeman’s outstanding ability to convey the depth of any story he’s in was simply a gift to the viewer.  Both actors were seventy years old when they made this movie but they both retain the spirit of men twenty years their junior.

There are moments where the film takes the over sentimentality of the subject matter and almost borders it with cheese, but the veteran acting and implicit directing seems to have avoided letting it go too far by focusing on the interaction and developing bond of the two men and the great places they travel.  Carter’s reflectiveness and Edward’s refusal to see past the end of his own nose makes it almost seem like Edward is Carter’s conscience speaking to him.  A conscience that he acknowledges but doesn’t always want to concede is right.

The biggest problem this film faced and didn’t entirely overcome was the predictability of it.  You could see where one of the character’s would end up and how it would change the other.  It was the obvious answer to the rest of the events leading up to it, but in it’s moment it didn’t feel as natural, and did unfortunately cross over the barrier from smart, sentimental film to a movie that was searching for those sappy pressure points.  The rest of the film, though predictable, avoided that feeling.

The Bucket List turned out to be a really enjoyable movie to watch, due to the phenomenal acting of Nicholson and Freeman’s parts.  Two other great actors with less chemistry would have made this one a snoozer, but instead it turned out to be a film with heavy subject matter, that was portrayed in a way that left you feeling light and hopeful about life, not to mention gave you some well deserved laughter.  The finale wasn’t a tear jerker but it did call for a warm smile of closure.  Not sure this film will be revisited, but it would have been worth the cash to see it in the theatre.  The Bucket List gets Two and a half out of Four stars.