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.