Think Like a Man

The movie Think Like a Man is adapted from the New York Bestseller book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment, written by Steve Harvey.  It is a dating advice book for women.  The movie is about a group of male BFF’s who use the book to launch a counter attack against their women when they find out the ladies are using the advice from the book on them.  Each of the men is in various stages of their relationships, from happily married, divorced, marriage resistant, mama’s boy and a ladies man.  The movie has an all-star cast including Meagan Good, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Terrence Jenkins, Regina Hall, Romany Malco, Jerry Ferrara, Michael Ealy and comedian Kevin Hart.  Steve Harvey makes an appearance as himself. 

I’ve not read Steve Harvey’s book but enjoyed the movie.  Comedian Kevin Hart was the natural fit to play the comedic role.  Pretty much every line he spoke was laced with comedic humor, which worked most of the time but other times was too much.  This movie was definitely a romantic comedy, heavy emphasis on the comedy.  Each of the major actors was good and I enjoyed the supporting role of Jennifer Lewis, who’s an expert in playing the feisty, unnerving, meddling mother.  My favorite cameo appearance was Morris Chestnut.  He’s a veteran actor that delivers consistently and is delicious eye candy. 

The most disturbing and disappointing part of the movie was the frequent use of the “N” word and variations of it.  It was ABSOLUTELY not necessary and definitely not funny, particularly, since this predominantly African American cast had the platform to present a non-stereotypical picture to the world.  The frequent use of the word was every bit stereotypical.

I give the movie 3 stars…

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a futuristic science fiction film based on the best selling novel by the same name. 

The film pits the extremely poor against the extremely wealthy in which the annual Hunger Games are televised and watched by the entire nation but only the poor have to participate in the games.  As punishment for rising up against the government in the past, each poor tribe must sacrifice one boy and one girl to participate in the Hunger Games.  Randomly selected kids from each tribe must fight to the death in a hunt and be-hunted survival “game”.  The children are taken to the Capital and trained in survival tactics, archery and mental stamina to prepare for the games. The last child alive can go back to their tribe where, by the way, they are still poor.  The film follows, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who volunteers in her younger sister's place so she doesn’t have to participate in the games.

I haven’t read the Hunger Games book series but went to see the movie because of all the hype. I wish I would have known a little more about the book before going to the movie.  The thought of children (some as young as 9 years old) fighting to the death while thousands watch and cheer on is repulsive and barbaric!  I’m totally amazed at how teens are fascinated with the book series and the movie.  I can only guess that eventually the poor rise up, rebel and win against the wealthy.  However, that victorious moment is probably the last in the series of movies to be released.  How many more horrific scenes have to be portrayed before the rebellion begins?

Although I wasn’t fond of the story line, the acting was phenomenal!  The young actors, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Amandla Stenberg are better actors than some adults!  Veteran actors, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci were also superb.  The costume design was amazing too. The best part of the movie was the special effects; I was captivated at the technological preciseness and vibrant scenes, especially when superficial 3D attack dogs became real attack dogs. 

Due to my mixed feelings about The Hunger Games, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before…provide two scores for the movie. The first score is for the acting, costumes and special effects, 4 out of 4 stars.  The other score is for the story, 1 out of 4.

Let me know what you think…

A Thousand Words

I went to see A Thousand Words with three of my best girlfriends and ALL four of us fell asleep during the movie (we saw the movie before going out for adult beverages)!!  Fortunately, we didn’t go to sleep at the same time because that would have been a tragedy!  We kept taking turns nudging the person who was snoring or breathing hard.  Given my disclaimer for sleeping during a part of the movie…my review is based on what I DID see.

A Thousand Words is about successful literary agent Jack McCall, (Eddie Murphy), who uses his gift for gab to secure deals with clients.  After his recent s-t-r-e-t-c-h of the truth to secure a new client, a spiritual guru played by Cliff Curtis; a Bodhi tree magically appears in Jack’s yard.  The tree sheds a leaf for every word that Jack speaks.  He has one thousand words left to speak before he dies.  Jack begins to pick his words more carefully with the threat of death looming over him. The best part of the movie was watching eye candy, Cliff Curtis.  Have you seen him in the movie Colombiana?  I digress…

It should have been a great formula to have comedian Eddie Murphy use few words and non-verbal communication to deliver a movie; however, it just doesn’t work.  Don’t get me wrong, there are a few funny moments during the movie but overall it’s not funny.  Perhaps Eddie is the funniest when he CAN speak.  Leave the non-verbal funny tactics to Jim Carrey.  Someone made the decision to leave this movie on the shelf after it was made in 2008…well, it can now be returned to the shelf.

I give this movie 1.5 stars out of 4. 

Good Deeds

Tyler Perry doesn't play Madea in this movie, thank goodness!  Good Deeds is about a wealthy business owner, Wesley Deeds, (Perry) who befriends and falls in love with a homeless cleaning lady, Lindsey (Thandie Newton).  His brother, played by actor Brian White, loathes Wesley because he's running the family business left to them by their father.  Their mother, played by Phylicia Rashad, pits the brothers against one another with the classic good brother vs. bad brother, which causes more drama. 

Thandie Newton struggles to care for her daughter after her husband dies.  She's a cleaning lady in the office building that the Deeds family owns.  They eventually meet and Wesley does a good deed by allowing her to stay in a corporate apartment until she can get on her feet. Wesley and Lindsey become close and Wesley realizes he can be himself with the "clean-up” woman.  Eventually, Wesley and his fiancee, played by Gabrielle Union, decide to call off their engagement. Wesley decides to live out his dream, ride off into the sunset and take Lindsay and her daughter with him.   Only in a movie, right?

The message of giving to others who are in need was the overall message of the film.  Tyler Perry is smart enough to surround himself with talented actors and actresses whenever he attempts to act.  In this case, Thandie Newton does the heavy lifting with support from veteran actress Phylicia Rashad.  I like Tyler Perry and respect him for the work he does but he is not the best actor around...but at least he wasn't playing the role of Madea again!  I give this movie 2 out of 4 stars.

Safehouse

Safehouse is about a young CIA agent, played by Ryan Reynolds, who receives his first big break when he’s required to transport an AWOL CIA agent, played by Denzel Washington from one Safehouse to another.  The movie takes place in South Africa and you will soon discover that the “Safehouse” isn’t so safe.  This is truly an action movie, from the beginning to the end; the movie is full of gun battles, car chases and flying fists.  Denzel performs all of his stunt scenes too! 

I admit Denzel Washington is my favorite actor so he can pretty much do no wrong.  Even if the script is bad, he’s an excellent actor.  However, in the case of Safehouse, the script is good.  Ryan Reynolds cannot be ignored either.  He delivers a stellar performance and holds his own against powerhouse, Denzel.  Mr. Washington is also an executive producer of the movie.  Love the movie…love Denzel.  I give it 4 out 4 stars.

Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close is a woman who poses and lives as a man in 19th century Ireland in order to obtain employment. She works as a butler named Albert Nobbs at a popular hotel. After living as a man for so many years, she struggles to understand her identify as she falls in love with a fellow hotel worker.  The make-up and hair transformation make Glenn Close really look like a man.  Glenn Close is a phenomenal actress and does a fantastic job pulling you into the story of a woman trapped in a man’s body.  Be prepared to go along for the ride as the movie takes you through her/his struggle.  Glenn Close delivers an Oscar worthy performance.  Movie of the year…not so much.  I give this movie 2 out of 4 stars.

The Grey

A group of oil drillers are stranded in a remote part of Alaska after their plane crashes.  If that wasn’t enough trauma, a pack of ferocious wolves are hunting the men down.  It’s a race against the clock for survival.  Liam Neeson leads the group of survivors through the wilderness in the dead of winter. 

You can never go wrong with Liam Neeson in a movie.  He’s a solid actor who can make you believe he can fight humans and wolves.  The movie is captivating from the start and you are likely to jump in your seat when the wolves attack.  The unexpected ending leaves you bewildered and anticipating more.  I give the movie 4 out of 4 stars.

Haywire

The movie Haywire is about a black ops solider, played by Gina Carano, seeking revenge after she is set-up in a mission gone bad.  The story was predictable…she successfully got revenge on those who set her up.  Gina Carano is a mixed-martial arts champion in real life. She is not an actor in real life.  The movie felt like a script was written to showcase her martial arts skills.  Although the fight scenes were good, that’s about the only thing that was.  It was painful to watch her recite her lines one sentence at a time.  Although veteran actor Michael Douglass is in the movie, it’s not enough.  Have you ever wanted a refund after seeing a movie?  If so, save your money and don’t go see Haywire.  You won’t receive a refund.  This movie gets 1 out of 4 stars (she deserves something for being a MMA champion).

Red Tails

Red Tails is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black World War II fighter pilot squad.  The movie takes place in 1944 in Italy where the airmen are there to fight Hitler’s army.  It chronicles their struggle to be assigned a real mission like they’re white counterparts.  In spite of the racism and segregated military base, the Tuskegee Airmen were brave heroes that defended their country. They were proud to defend a country, even if they weren’t treated equally in their country.  The aerial fight scenes were fantastic and comparable to Star Wars (George Lucas signature style).  You really felt the danger of aerial combat. 

All of the actors exemplified the characters; however, David Oyelowo, who played Joe “Lightening” Little in the movie, was the stand out actor.  To me his performance was the best and he drew you into his brave and reckless character.  Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard were excellent as well.  I wouldn’t expect less from these veteran actors. 

The only thing I didn’t like about the movie was the love story that was interwoven into the fabric of the movie.  I didn’t think it added value to the movie and thought it was a distraction from the overall message of heroism.  This movie did not need a love story to make it great!  ~Sigh~

Overall, I give the movie 4 out of 4 stars and encourage you to go see it if you haven’t already.  If you have seen it let me know your thoughts.

Contraband

Contraband is about a retired drug smuggler, Mark Wahlberg, who must do “one” last job to save his family.  It’s a typical story line but a little different twist on the “necessary” job because it occurs on a boat.  Mark Wahlberg is an average actor that always seems to be upstaged by his supporting actor.  Similar to the movie, The Fighter, where Christian Bale upstaged him and won a Golden Globe and Oscar for best supporting actor, Ben Foster upstages Wahlberg in Contraband.  Foster and Wahlberg are BFF’s in the movie and Foster betrays that friendship.  This is a good movie and I give it 3 stars out of 4.

Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes and Watson are not the twosome from long ago.  The new Sherlock Holmes and Watson use not only investigation and problem solving skills to solve crimes, they can kick butt too!  Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are a believable pair as they thwart an assassination attempt.  The special effects for the movie were excellent.  I especially like how the movie slows down to highlight the thought pattern of Sherlock before he strikes into action.  The also use this technique to draw your attention to the key clues that help Sherlock solve the crime, most of which you’re sure to miss if they didn’t point them out. 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is based on the trilogy book series Millennium Trilogy.  A disgraced writer, Mikael Blomkvist played by Daniel Craig, is hired to solve a 40-year-old murder mystery by a wealthy man.  The movie also chronicles the life a private investigator, Lisbeth Salander played by Rooney Mara, that is a ward of the state due to a challenging childhood.  Mikael hires Lisbeth to be his assistant investigator to help solve the murder mystery. 

Rooney Mara steals the show as the troubled, tattooed motorcycle riding, kick ass woman!  The movie is dark but shows the power of perseverance and strength of the human spirit.  Mara received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her role in this movie.  Well deserved.

 I’m looking forward to the next movie in the trilogy.  I give this movie 4 out 4 stars.  Did you see it yet? Let me know your thoughts.

War Horse

After seeing the movie, We Bought a Zoo, I thought I was done with animal movies for a while UNTIL I saw War Horse!  The movie is based on the novel and play by the same name. Jeremy Irvine plays a boy (Albert) who is separated from his horse during WW I.  The film draws you instantly into the intimate relationship between Albert and his horse, Joey.  They are separated due to the war and the story takes you through their trails and tribulations until they are reunited years later.  Steven Spielberg does a fantastic job directing a cast full of horses, oh yea, people too.  The lead horse was phenomenal and was depicted to be much smarter than many humans!  This movie is a tearjerker and solidifies the reality of the bond between humans and animals.  I give this movie 4 stars.  What are your thoughts about the movie?

We Bought A Zoo

This movie is based on a true story of a widow who bought a defunct zoo to get a fresh start for he and his kids.  Matt Damon and the youth star Patrick Fugit are exceptional!  Patrick plays Matt’s son who has a strained relationship with his dad after the death of his mother.  The animal scenes in the movie are realistic.  I wonder what kind of training was required to work with lions and tigers.  This is a feel good, family movie.  The movie is based on the Dartmoor Zoological Park in England.  My guess is visitation is has increased since the release of the movie.  I give the movie three stars.