As all bloggers, chatters, writers and public speakers have discovered (and are still discovering), WORDS are very powerful.

They can be used to hurt and to soothe; to ask and to answer; to give sympathy and to elicit support. When used properly, they can make us laugh and cry; they can sway our opinions about a product, a service or even a person. Words can change our lives, and they can change the world.

Even most movies are only as good as the words in the screenplay. An actor's performance, regardless of their talent, is dependent upon the material they are given.

So, this weekend's movie recommendations all revolve around the power of words, and how they affected the lives and the worlds of the characters using them.  

The Number 23 In this psychological thriller, Walter Sparrow (played by Jim Carrey) becomes increasingly obsessed with a novel his wife gives him for his birthday. He begins to draw startling parallels between himself and the novel's main character, and the power of the words on the page begin to blur the lines between fiction and reality. Rated R

Freedom Writers In this true story, Hillary Swank portrays inner-city teacher Ellen Gruwell. Mrs. Gruwell is fresh out of school with lofty ideas about the difference she can make in the lives of her students. Her students, however, having learned most of their lessons on the streets, aren't interested in what a pretty, white, privileged teacher has in her lesson books. When she encourages them to right their own rule books, however, their lives (and opinions of her) will never be the same. Rated PG-13

Finding Forrester Starring Sean Connery and Rob Brown, this powerful film depicts the effects one man's powerful words have upon himself, and the young man who shares his secret.  In order to save one, the other must reveal a truth he had long ago buried. (This is one of my ALL TIME favorite movies!) Rated PG-13

Stranger Than Fiction The life of Harold Crick (played to the hilt by Will Ferrel) is literally being dominated by the written words of famous novelist Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). Upon making this discovery, Harold's days are spent trying to determine what sort of story his life will have told once he's gone. When he fall's uncharacteristically in love with baker Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the plot definitely thickens. Rated PG-13

Good Night, And Good Luck Co-written by George Clooney, this films takes us inside the life and mind of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow (played by David Strathairn) as he uses his most powerful tool to bring down Joseph McCarthy, senator and fear-monger extraordinaire.  Rated PG